Curt Martin joins Independence Motor Speedway Hall of Fame

INDEPENDENCE – There are 37 racecar drivers in the Independence Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.

No one had ever been inducted while still active in racing.

Until now.

“It’s my home track, so it’s pretty humbling,” Independence Late Model driver Curt Martin said after signing autographs for fans before the dirt racetrack’s Hall of Fame Night Saturday at the Buchanan County Fairgrounds. “They either think we are going to continue to do it too long or something. I don’t know, but it’s pretty cool to get in here with all these other guys. A lot of friends, family over the years.

“It’s just neat. It’s humbling to know that you’re in with a pretty good group of people.”

Joining Martin in the 2025 induction class is another active Late Model driver in Greg Kastli of Waterloo. No one in the history of Independence Motor Speedway has more Late Model wins than Martin (102). Kastli ranks third with 43.

It seems only fitting that the pair were inducted together.

“We have been friends since we were kids,” said Martin, now 61. “My folks and his folks were good friends.”

Martin nearly posted another win by placing second to Charlie McKenna of Ames in Saturday night’s feature race of the Pro Late Model Tour.

Other 2025 inductees included Hobby Stock drivers Brian Irvine and Rick Johnson, plus public-address announcer Ryan Clark.

Martin started racing in the Sportsman class at age 15, then moved permanently to Late Models in 1981, a year after his father Glen died. Glen Martin – who started racing Late Models at Independence in the 1960s – was part of the track’s first Hall of Fame class. The addition of Curt to the Hall of Fame completes the first father-son driving duo to be so honored.

“My dad was successful and I was around the racetrack a long time and watched everything,” Martin said. “Back then, it was a lot of hard work. You cut on the cars, you fixed them, you worked them. We traveled a lot, which helped us. I guess when I lost my father, I was out to prove some things in life. But it has been great. It really has. It gets a little harder as you get older, obviously.”

In the late 1980s, Martin’s professional relationship with Keith Simmons, an engine builder and owner/operator of Farley Speedway, led Martin to North Carolina, where he worked with NASCAR standouts like Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin. Just before the nationwide surge of NASCAR popularity, he considered a permanent move to Charlotte.

In the end, he remained in Iowa, married his high school sweetheart, Deb, in 1989 and raised two daughters, Kirstie and Delaney.

“My kids, my wife, my crew, they put up with a lot when you are doing all of this,” Martin said.

At his peak, Martin raced in a hundred events a year. These days, his ownership of the Remax Realty office in Independence has curtailed his racing to between 15 and 20 events annually. A career highlight occurred in 1990, when Martin claimed the International Motor Contest Association “Triple Crown” by winning the IMCA Summer Series, the IMCA National Championship and a track championship.

Martin has won at least one Late Model feature at Independence in five straight decades and no driver has more wins in one division or more track championships (12).

“A lot of friends, a lot of supporters over the years,” said Martin, who has no plans to retire from racing. “There is no way we could have done it without the sponsors and the partners and the fans. That is the main thing. You meet a lot of great people in this sport.”

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