King of the Hammers Lady Driver Bio for Martha Tansy
Driver of Record: Greg Lundeen
Co-Driver: Martha Tansy
Class: 4400 LCQ & (hopefully) Main KOH Race (Friday)
Car Number: 701
Driver of Record: Adam McGough
Co-Driver: Martha Tansy
Class: 4800 Smittybilt Every Man Challenge Race (Thursday)
Car Number: 4844
Age: 33
From: Wasilla, AK
How many times have you raced King of the Hammers? This will be my first time racing King of the Hammers, but my 3rd Ultra4 race as a co-driver.
How did you get into Ultra4 Racing? Two years ago I was in Las Vegas for the Safari Club International Show and heard that the King of the Hammers event was happening at the same time. Intrigued, I left the hunting trade show for a few days and found myself in Hammertown. During my time on the lakebed I helped a few teams, met some amazing people and eventually made my way back to the convention. I have to admit I was hooked!
Last year I was brought on as staff for 4 weeks to help build and breakdown Hammertown and operate the King of the Hammers races. Additional duties at KOH involved welding, fabrication, vehicle maintenance & repair to race and support vehicles in camp and out in the field. I enjoyed working with Ultra4 so much that I started helping with other races in the series as well.
I have spent the past 20 years of my life wheeling, racing and building vehicles in Alaska. My skills as a mechanic and fabricator are directly applicable to Ultra4, and allow me to continuously grow as a racer. My first Ultra4 race was in the co-pilot seat of Bailey Cole’s 4854 car. I loved it and knew I wanted to continue racing in the series.
What has been your most exciting achievement in Ultra4 racing? Last year I served as crew chief for Bailey Cole in the UTV and EMC races at KOH. I felt a significant amount of pressure to make sure things went smoothly, especially since it was Dave Cole’s son. Although at times it was stressful, all of the hard work was well worth it when I watched him cross the finish line for both races.
What does race prep look like in your world?
My race prep begins while I am still at home. I will print everything I need, as well as store a copy of it on my phone. This allows me to gather up all necessary team information and organize various forms of communication. I also post on social media about the race and give shout outs to the sponsors. Without them, racing wouldn’t be possible. Next I inventory all personal gear and ensure that all paperwork is completed. I live a very active life so physically my body is ready to take on the challenge that racing brings. From a diet perspective I try to wean myself off of caffeine and sugar. However, depending on how many late nights we have to pull to finish the car, I may give in to the coffee…
I think one of the most important parts of race prep is getting my hands on the car. The sooner I can familiarize myself with the vehicle, the more prepared I will be during the race. I like to be personally involved in the repair and maintenance of the vehicle as much as possible. Additionally I like to go through the pit/chase vehicles to get an idea of where tools and parts are located and check to make sure we have everything.
What are you looking forward to at this years King of the Hammers?
I love the opportunity to reconnect with old friends while simultaneously making new ones. Racing puts you in crazy situations where you are forced to communicate with other camps or teams that you may have otherwise never met. Maybe it's a last minute hunt for a transmission, or maybe it's just for some advice. Either way you are able to create relationships with people who love the sport just as much as you do.
King of the Hammers is also a great opportunity to learn and grow yourself as a racer. You are surrounded by hundreds of skilled and dedicated people who are more than willing to teach if you are willing to listen. My goal is to continue to work on broadening my co-driving communication skills this year. I have never met one of my drivers so it will be an exciting challenge to quickly understand his communication needs and match them.
I'm also looking forward to meeting with a future business and race partner, Courtney Latter. We will be building a 1969 Wagoneer to compete in the 2017 Rebelle Rally as Team Trail Tested. We've only met briefly so the lakebed will be a great place to get to know each other better.
What are your goals for this year's King of the Hammers? Of course, a podium would be nice! But my primary goal is to always have a good clean race with no injuries. I'd like to finish the races knowing I had good communication with my drivers and pushed myself to perform my best. Additionally, I would like to continue to build business marketing partnerships to help expand this year’s racing opportunities and to help promote some of the top brands in the industry.
What excites you about racing? I've been doing this for so long that it's a way of life. I thrive off of being thrown into crazy situations where there is constant change. Without being able to predict what is going to happen you have to quickly assess and adapt to remedy the problem. This always keeps things interesting and allows me to continuously grow my skillset.
What is a piece of advise that you have been given? "Never give up, there is always a way" and "Things could always be worse"
Tell us about the Team that Supports you. When I go home to Alaska it is chaos. I'm only there for a short period of time and must accomplish a lot, including keeping my 8 year old daughter’s home-schooling up to date. My friends and family are always willing to help support us and keep us on track.
My daughter is my best teammate; always content, helpful and appreciative. We do the best we can at having a normal life, while constantly traveling and connecting with new people. Everywhere we go people open up their homes to us and appreciate my help with their car or team. The way that I have been supported gives me a drive to support others and help them whenever they need it. I think this has given me an even stronger faith in God. It is extremely humbling to watch our crew members running around getting the car ready or fixing it at a pit because they are essentially spending their time taking care of and protecting us in the car. The support crews are the behind the scenes work force that help win races.
SPONSORS:
Greg Lundeen's 701:
• Xtreme Engineering
• ADS Shocks
• KMC Wheels
• ARB lockers
• Nitro Gear
Adam McGough 4844:
• Nitto Tires
• Rugged Radios
• Corbeau Seats
• 4 Wheel Parts
• PSC Steering
• Raceline Wheels
• Branik Axles
• Powertank
Martha Adds: I have been feeling overwhelmed by all the help and support coming from not only my home state of Alaska but from all over the world by people, organizations, businesses and race teams that have believed in me and given my daughter and I a chance. It is a long incomplete list but they all deserve to know that I've been deeply touched by their kindness on our journey. Navy off road, Cody Elliott, Brian & Kim Trotter, Stephanie & Stan Broder, Sand Tires Unlimited, WGAS Motorsports, Gary & Jan Haugley, B&R Buggie, Chris & Kristal Ridgway, UAA, Pysz Family, Mom, Nissan Titan Wounded Warriors Project, Ultra4 Staff and Racers, Ultra4 Europe, VORRA, NORRA, Nor Cal Rock Racing, Hotel Bahia, Ultimate Arm, Tom Martin, Kayla Neumann, GenRight, Trail Tested Mfg, Warrior Strong, ESAB, Ted Feg, Henry Stoyer, Zombie Tears Gun Oil, Action4x4 Magazine, Race Ready, KingRacing, Figspeed Speed Shop, PRP seats, Frontier Automotive, Cruisers Only, Rick & Cassandra Mooneyham, Myra & Bob Samson, Richard & Kelli Revelli, Crazy Moose Subs, Cottonland Cruisers, Green Tree Fab, Jeep Thrillz Offroad, Steve Sullivan Excavating, Garage May, Tribe 4x4, Gomez Brothers Racing, Iribe Racing, King Shocks, Campbell Racing, JNR Racing, Veech Racing, Chiddix Racing, Folsom Racing, Vince Cuccarese, Ben Hanks & Family, Jeep Power Racing, Levi Shirley & Family, JUMP Offroad, Team Pro Core Off-Road Racing, BMF Motorsports, Homemade Motorsports, Baja Fools, Adam McGough, John Hall, Fireant Racing, OffroadTerror, Nolan Knochenmus, Tansy & Read Family, Ray & Flowers Family, Diane, Adam & Hailey Johnson, American Off Road Driving School, Gene Mooneyham & family, Dave N Debbie LW, Pam, Mark & Clair Kasel, Mike Brown, Grandpa's Garage, Valley Rock, Dustin Cravens, JoAnn Bortles, Ultra4 Media Team, Todd Pedersen, Baja Mark, Jeff & Angie Knoll, 4x4Media, Rugged Radios, Casey Printing, Advance Adapters, AKX, 2B2P, AOAA, AKJK, Matsu Trails Council, Steadfast Offroad, Bethany Bible Church, Team Awesome, Meyer's Family, Bower Motorsports Media, Shelley & Rich Klein, Betsy Anderson, D&G Tuning, Fracing4x4, Zero53 Racing, Lake Trash Crew, Hutch Fabrication, Maximum Transmissions, Dawn Frizzell Matijevich, Dave & Bailey Cole, Casey Cook, Nicolas Sonrisas, Ricardo Garcia, MAXTRAX, Mike Bishop, Joanne Cole, New Image Automotive, Marty & Penny Zaritsky, Rob & Maricia Black, Louisiana Land Krewsers, Michael Legnon, Mike Cook, Warfighter Made, Racing4vets SoCal, ARB, Mobile Sleeper Company, Xtreme Adventure, Moore EFX, Off-road the planet, 4x4 off Road Princess, Greg Lundeen, Michael Golan, Greg Parker, Team Ready Gunner, Trapnell Orthodontics, Mag7, PowerTank, Jason Scherer & family, the Gilstrap family and RedNek Racing.
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Author: Martha Tansy
