MARTIN CONNELLEY wife , and making the most of his resources , and doing so offers more pride than any type of material item .
That mindset was embedded in him early on . While he didn ’ t grow up racing with his family , he did learn the value of hard work and the benefit of a simpler lifestyle .
In fact , he joked his parents only bought their first computer 5-6 years ago so they can watch their son race . Making the most of everything has been drilled into Connelley and that ’ s been evident in his racing career as well .
It was just Connelley and his wife early in his career , pulling an open trailer with a $ 1,500 truck . They found success , winning two local championships in 2005 , driving anywhere to race , and making the most of their situation .
“ It was usually one-day races , but , man , we stayed in some rough hotels and motels . We ’ ve slept in rest areas ,” Connelley says . “ The truck had a hole in the gas tank . It would only hold half a tank of fuel , and we ’ d have to carry five gallons of fuel in case we got somewhere in a pinch . That year was a significant deal because it was just me and her doing it .”
To get the silver Mustang in 2009 , Connelley , his wife , and Eric Mitchell made a 32-hour trip to Nebraska , driving 15 hours to pick it up , spending two hours loading it up , and then another 15 hours back . The purchase came uniquely as well .
“ My wife owns the silver car ,” Connelley reveals . “ When we bought it , she was the one with the money . It wasn ’ t even a race car then . We still had to put it together and she was the one that got it . I wasn ’ t going to go get it . She ’ s like , ‘ Yeah , this is what we need .’”
It was their next foray into serious , major outlaw drag racing , making the purchase that January in 2009 and racing it by May . After Connelley made all the necessary overhauls to make it race-ready , Mitchell drove the car , which had a small-block nitrous engine , for the first two years .
They didn ’ t race at all in 2011 , saving up their money to make the change to a big-block nitrous engine . That led to a move to X275 in 2012 , which proved to be Connelley ’ s breakout year .
He won the first radial race he entered at a track in Reynolds , Georgia , showing his talents on a larger stage in his burgeoning career .
“ That was pretty significant to us because that was the first big stage we were probably ever on ,” Connelley says .
He raced that combination for the next three years before feeling the weight of broken parts and a combination that kept leading to more and more heartache .
Eddie McCarty , who lives just down the road from Connelley , owns the orange Mustang and asked him to drive it starting in 2015 . They raced mostly local events that year , but it was highly successful right off the bat . That continued the next year before going back to the silver Mustang in 2017 . By then , the car had a small-block turbo combination in it , but that didn ’ t change those
struggles , as that motor got torn up as well .
McCarty , who also owns the ProCharger-boosted engine that ’ s now in the silver Mustang , got Connelley to campaign his car the next three years , including the terrific 2020 season where he raced both cars . Along with the success in DXP Street and Limited 235 , Connelley and his team won the NMCA / NMRA race in Martin , Michigan . Connelley remains plenty thankful for McCarty ’ s involvement .
CONNELLEY DOESN ’ T HAVE A BIG RACING BUDGET AND LIVES WITHIN HIS MEANS , BUT IT ’ S A NOTICEABLE GRIT AND DETERMINATION THAT DRIVES HIS ENTIRE TEAM .
“ One way or another , we ’ ve been kind of doing this together and it ’ s worked out great ,” Connelley says . “ A lot of time partnerships don ’ t work out that good , but this has been one that ’ s worked out great .”
The entire time , Connelley has praised a group that has worked together for more than a decade .
It includes his wife , Mitchell , Cory Brooks , Dalton Winfield , Jason Waterman , who owns the DXP Street engine , and Krusty Ramsey . Connel-
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