10.01.03_004_MAR_TRN_0070

Visitor's Comments		*To add your comments about THIS PHOTO - Click Here*
Date:	Visitor's Name:	Comment:
09/30/03	Todd Lewis	One of the coolest looking "plain" race cars ever driven by one of the nicest people on the planet. Although I dont remember Len in the cockpit I have parked next to him in the pits and even seen him outside his body shop, still one of nicest most genuine people you will ever meet.
09/30/03	Nick Leach	check out the cig hes smoking on the way out to the track way too cool
10/04/03	BOBBY FIORELLO	I USED TO RIDE MY BIKE TO HIS SHOP WITH MY FREINDS TO COLLECT DECALS. LENNY WOULD ALWAYS BE KIND AND GIVE US ALL HE HAD, BUT LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT SOME YEARS LATER I'D BE IN THE PITS AT EWS HELPING LES KATONA AND CHATTING WITH THE MAN HIMSELF. ALWAYS A NICE GUY. HEY LENNY IF YOU READ THIS, ITS BEEN AWHILE BUT LETS GO BACK AND DO IT ALL OVER - BOBBY FIORELLO
10/22/03	Jeff McClung	Awsome picture of Lenny at Trenton, open face helmet, a butt in his mouth, they seemed so much more relaxed back then.
10/22/03	3-Wide	I've always liked cars with a long nose and a short trunk area. Add to that the position of the seat being just in front of the rear wheels and the back sitting up just the right amount, and you've got the ingredients of cool. I always felt that this car stood out from the rest back in the day as a one of the best appearing Modifieds and just looking at the picture makes me miss the day's when the guys had to use at least some of a real body. Scott Pacich wrote in his column "Under the Radar" about some of the Falcon bodied racers from the 70's. I have to agree with Scott in that while Falcon's may never have lived up to their name on the street, they sure could make a bad ass looking racecar when done right!
08/01/04	Alan Sakowsky	Len Martin was always a sentimental favorite of the crowd (by reading the comments from fans you can tell people really liked him.) My Father knew and liked him and consequently I was a fan of too). I still remember that night he won at EWS (I was about 9 years old in 1970). I remember Stan Ploski at the rear of the field in the middle of the race (I think he had spun out). He was picking his way through the field one by one. Len Martin had built a strong lead in the Falcon. The crowd for the most part was sick of Ploski winning everything and rooting for Lenny the underdog to hang on. As the final lap started Stan "the Man" moved into second with Lenny maintaining a several car lead. Ploski's Deasey car was the best their was in those days and was gaining on Lenny and in the third turn was about to make a challenge when suddenly it went straight into the wall. I remember the crowd cheering and going crazy as Lenny crossed the line as Tex Enright waved the checkered flag. Ploski's car just sat in the third turn. One of my most vivid memories of my youth.
08/01/04	3-Wide	I don't remember that night as vividly as you do Alan, but I do remember Lenny winning that night, and I do remember Stan winning so often in those days that people were so desperate for a new winner that they would cheer if something happened to him. I read a quote somewhere that we are a country of people who like to root for an underdog.... watch them become a champion.... then boo their success.... and then cheer them on their come-back! How many times has that scenario played out in our sport. Here in the Vault, we root for everybody!
08/01/04	Alan Sakowsky	I do remember the day I first saw Martin's Falcon. When it first appeared I think it actually had a mini air-foil on the roof if I remember correctly. Lenny took it off after a few races though. Falcon's and Valiants were OK in my book (I was at Langhorne in '70 when I saw Bodine's Valiant #99 for the first time). When the Gremlin, Vegas and Pintos took over around '73 I started to loose interest and it only got worse later when everything was cookie cutter sheet metal with a big budget. Gone were the days of the hobbiest driver. I ceased going after that.
11/21/06	Keith Swisher	Lenny and Trenton Speedway will always be close to my heart. I grew up on Morgan Ave., which dead ended into the middle of the backstraight of the track. Lenny and his oldest son Len lived on the street next to us. Young Len was my younger brother's age and we all hung out together in our youth. Big Len accommodated us when we began to build our home-made motor bikes in the early 60's with some welding help here and there. I never missed a race at Trenton from 1956 until they closed the track. We would go to the end of the street and put our ladders up against the outside wire fence and watched the cars fly by only a few feet away from us. Looking back, sometimes I wonder who was braver, the dare devils in the racers or their fans hanging over the fence to cheer them on.

Photo ID #	10.01.03_004_MAR_TRN_0070_1
Car #:	#4
Driver (s) :	Lenny Martin
Location:	Trenton, NJ
Date:	1970
Photographer:	Ace Lane
Photo provided by:	Jimmy Martin
Comments:	One of my all time favorite cars. I remember Lenny winning a feature in this car at East Windsor Speedway. And you guys wonder why I'm always talking about how they should have a class now with stock quarter panels, roofs and deck lids from real cars. Who thought a Falcon could look so cool....