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February 1, 2005

By Mike Perry

Harold Martin (center) is pictured with The Co-Chairmen of the NAIAS 2005, (L) Bill Cook of Bill Cook Imported Cars and Richard Genthe (R) of Dick Genthe Chevrolet

Harold Martin has a message for his fellow drivers, as well as for professional athletes in general…the youth of America needs you.

Speaking to a group of inner-city high school kids at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Martin spoke passionately about the importance of goals, education and persistence. He talked about how today’s students have to look towards the future with a plan in mind, and how those who have enjoyed success should be available to shepherd these students along the way to success. Speaking to the group assembled for Automotive Education Day at the show at Cobo Arena, Martin was clear.

“I want to find our next successors, but it is a whole other level of accountability and responsibility to develop them,” Martin said. “From that standpoint, I think it is important for celebrities like me to truly accept their status as role models. We have to go out and look for opportunities to motivate, meet people and personally touch lives. I have that ranked as being as important as going out and winning a race. That is a priority to me.”

Martin knows all about the trappings of growing up in an urban environment as he grew up on the inner-city streets of Detroit, attending the city’s public schools. While he was growing up his father, an auto worker, raced at local drag strips as a hobby. Through his exposure to drag racing with his father, Martin fell in love with the sport that would shape his life. He mapped out a path for his future and followed it…going from an engineer at General Motors to owning his own million dollar automotive engineering company. As the saying goes, Martin has “street cred” with the kids he hopes to reach with his message.

“There aren’t a lot of folks they can look up to that have been in similar environments that they have,” Martin said. “They need people to come out and really encourage them with tangible ideas, things they can connect the dots to steps they can take to have a successful career. It is important that we prioritize our time to be able to come out and touch those lives and have the impact that we do.”

This message is not just tailored for the young people of his hometown. Martin speaks all across the country at career fairs, seminars and high schools. He knows the people the youth of today looks up to, and wants to let them know that everyone has a chance to succeed in life.

“It isn’t just the Detroit Public Schools system, but many of the urban markets. I grew up in an urban market, so I know what it’s like to not have the vision shared to how one can find a successful career path,” Martin said. “Certainly they all see the other avenues of professional athletes that have made it big in that small pyramid of basketball, football or whatever. But, let’s face it, that is a small opportunity. What I want to share is the educational path of how you can leverage education and how you can use it to find a higher career path. Also how you can use this to find a higher standard of life and a better quality of life.” Martin wants the kids to realize that everything they hope to accomplish, every dream which they hope to pursue, starts with one simple thing…hitting the books.

“Education is the foundation. At the end of the day, if you have a good education you have a value and no one can take that from you,” he said. “I encourage folks to develop that foundation and then look to grow beyond that. It all starts with a good education and I feel very privileged on behalf of the IHRA and on behalf of the whole motor sports community that I can come out here and represent the kinds of things that we stand for. I compete against folks that are smart racers. They have utilized their educations in various ways to do good things.”

Martin wants to touch as many kids as possible. Through his selfless acts of speaking and mentoring he feels he is rewarded. “It is rewarding, the compliments that come back from the parents. They tell me that their kids are really inspired and the message that was delivered is now conversation at the table that wasn’t previously a conversation,” he said. “It is as rewarding to me as winning a race. It is rewarding to me as conquering a world patent. I think we need to grow our sport through proactively getting more students involved. These are our successors and we have to lead them, we have to guide them. We have to help them to be successful in a respected career path.”

This isn’t a message Martin wants to spread by himself. He would like to see professional athletes across all sports to recognize that kids look up to them…and use this information to help the youngsters.

“You have to accept the role model responsibility. Our kids are looking at us for guidance and we have to be aware of that,” Martin said. “They need to be encouraged through good discipline and good focus. Understand that these successes do not happen overnight. We need more role models that will take the time in their respective pit areas to encourage these students to understand the importance of education, integrity and commitment. Our students today want it overnight. They need to understand that each of these successes did not happen overnight, they happened through a gradual, continuous improvement.” Martin is willing to do his part. He gives out his email and website address at every speech and hopes kids will contact them if they need help or encouragement.

“My heart is very big. While I know, physically, that we had an audience of 4,500 to 5,000 students you can’t reach out and touch every one,” he said. “But my heart is big enough that I want to touch each and every one of them and encourage them to utilize me as a resource. I also realize that they need a mentor, and the kids need a group that they can network with. That is the key, networking, finding a networking venue whether it is a schoolteacher or someone else you can talk to or be encouraged by. I hope today I get 500 e-mails from these kids. That is what my report card is all about, having that response and following through on that. I’m going to walk the walk.”