RaceTronics squad crossed the finish line at Road America in ninth place and fifth place in the Championship standings. While fifth in the standings would not qualify as extraordinary in many case, the financial obstacles that present5ed themselves at every race this season make a fifth place finish truly rewarding and a testament to the perseverance of the team and its talented young driver. After 2 difficult Qualifying sessions that saw Martinez have a combined time good enough for nineteenth the US RaceTronics squad was able to work on the car into the wee hours of the Wisconsin morning. Sunday morning approached and the #4 Sub-Hub entry was ready for one last hurrah.
Sunday morning, as the Green Flag dropped, Martinez rocketed out of the staring line and let his driving abilities take over. While much of the media attention was being focused on the Championship fight between Simon Pagenaud (#15 Team Australia / Location U. /Gen. Vienne) and Graham Rahal (#18 Gehl Company) Martinez and the crew focused at the race at hand and fighting to keep a top 5 finishing spot in the Championship. While the race progressed and saw the Championship be handed over to Pagenaud the US RaceTronics team continued to witness the excellent drive given to them by their driver.
While the race winded down Martinez was able to improve his position with almost every lap and at one point had owned the seventh spot in the race until the closing laps which saw Joe D'Agostino (#34 Newman Wachs Racing), Alan Sciuto (#12 Sealy/PKV Racing) race Martinez for those spots and relegate the # 4 car back to ninth, which is how the race would end up. Jonathan Bomarito (#23 Miracle Sealants/Dynacor) outraced polesitter Raphael Matos (#6 ProWorks) to score the first win of his Champ Car Atlantic career. Martinez was the only driver to complete each of the 402 laps run in competition this season. He is the last driver to complete every lap of an Atlantic season since Danica Patrick in 2004.
Shane Senerviratne: At the beginning of the year I knew that with the level of competition increasing to what it is now it would be a great accomplishment just to finish in the Top 5 in the standings and to be able to do that gives me a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. David and the Team were able to give it their all and the results speak for themselves. I’m very grateful to our Supporters, our Sponsors, the Team, Bite Racing, and those who contributed to our success.
