EDITOR’S NOTE: In the weeks ahead this blog will highlight just some of the many people who are important to the weekly show at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway. As my recent blog about the Speedway stated, everything we are losing as a society you can find at the local Speedway. I hope you enjoy reading about the people important to the racing industry and our community.
You may listen to someone on the radio for years, but walk by them on the street because you only know them by their voice. Thousands of race fans pass by Dan Martin each year and never know that is the guy whose voice they hear each week through the racing season. Dan works in Malta during the day and has a short drive to his side hustle at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway on Friday evenings. If you are at a Stewart’s between his day job and the speedway on a late Friday afternoon, you may pass him without knowing. Dan loves to see race fans on Fridays making their way to the track. “I enjoy speaking to race fans at Stewarts’s or another stop on Fridays, Dan stated. I love seeing the fans wearing various race shirts and having a conversation about the exciting night ahead.”
Dan’s love of racing was ignited in the 1960s as a child. He is a life long fan from Halfmoon and began attending races as far back as he can remember. The trip to Fonda was a regular Saturday night appointment for Dan, his Dad and other family members. After Dan completed his chores on Saturday, his Dad would tell him to get cleaned up and dressed for the races. The Martin patriarch loved dirt racing and had little interest watching cars race on asphalt. So when the speedway in Malta opened, he remained a Fonda fan. Dan was growing up with families such as the Roncas and the Proctors. The new speedway in Malta was the place these families attended and competed on Fridays. Dan wanted to be with his friends and the prospect of spending another night at the track was, well, awesome. The Moms would do the dropping off and picking up and the kids enjoyed spending the night in the “family business”—racing.
As he grew older Dan raced motorcycles as a teenager and moved to mini-modifieds in 1984. He then moved to the Pro Stock division at Malta and won the track championship in 1987. After experiencing success in these divisions it was time to accept the challenge of the Sportsman Division at Fonda. A mounting number of challenges led to Dan selling the car following the 1989 season.
Dan would no longer be a car owner or driver. But, he wanted to carve out a role for himself in the local racing scene. So what did the self-described introvert who was “naturally a quiet and shy person” decide to pursue? Track announcer of course. Changes in the announcing booth at Lebanon Valley were occurring. Jim King, the lead announcer was leaving and John Stanley was moving to lead announcer. John insisted if Dan was going to join him in the booth they would be co-announcers and 35 years later the two Shen Grads are still going strong. After several years announcing at Lebanon Valley, another opportunity opened for Dan. Jim King was the announcer at Malta, so once again Dan was following Mr. King to another job. Dan announced about half the shows in 1995 and then went full time in 1996. And he’s still going strong today.
I asked Dan the obvious question. After all these years announcing at the two tracks, why does he continue? He explained his love of the sport remains stronger than ever today and its the friends and families he has known over the years. “I am calling races today where I had also watched the competitors’ parent or grandparent compete, explained Dan. I went to kindergarten with Don Ronca, who won last Friday and has won in five decades.”
I also asked why the speedway and the sports remains relevant and important. Dan said its all about the families. “A night at the races is an affordable, open-air night out and an escape for casual and diehard fans, he explained. If the kids get tired at some point during the show, the family can leave and feel fulfilled.” It is clear through our discussion Dan has an immense amount of respect for the competitors, fans and management of the tracks where he works.
When the news broke that the future of the speedway was in peril, he took the prospect of that occurring very hard. He joked, “when the story broke on WNYT, some friends had me on suicide watch.” Joking aside, Dan is looking forward to the future with positivity and sees successful days ahead for the tracks he loves – Lebanon Valley and Albany-Saratoga, as well as the racing industry as a whole.
The next time you hear the announcer at Albany-Saratoga tell a story about a competitor or provide some background information on a racing team, it is simply Dan Martin telling a story of his racing life.
Clifton Park and Beyond 