That perennial revolving door opened for International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) president Leah Martin on Sunday, May 17. While IHRA’s Thunder on the Beach off-shore racing was going on in Cocoa Beach, Florida, and with Martin and her husband, Justin, on site, IHRA contacted her via text and told her she had been replaced.
“The International Hot Rod Association and Leah Martin have parted ways effective immediately,” said the text message from Tommy Thomassie, who is the latest IHRA president. “The organization appreciates her efforts and contributions over the past several months (she was hired in December) and looks forward to continuing to build on its momentum across all disciplines.”
Martin is the first woman to lead a major U.S. motorsports sanctioning organization. During her short tenure, IHRA has seen participation numbers increase in all of its activities, whether on tracks or on water. At the Cocoa Beach race meeting, there were a record 89 registered entries for the off-shore event. She had previous experience in boating circles and that was a plus IHRA was enjoying. IHRA also released Martin’s husband, Justin, who was the series’ safety director.
Leadership turnover has become a very big part of the new IHRA, as it rebuilds under owner Darryl Cuttell’s leadership. In early March, Scott Woodruff, former COO of drag racing was fired by text; marketing maven Brett Underwood was dismissed during the same time period. These two firings followed earlier restructuring that resulted in the door being shown to Erich Schaefer, Christian Byrd, Alan Reinhart and Josh Peake. The turnover in personnel has become part and parcel of the new IHRA.
Martin was genuinely surprised to receive the text: “Yesterday I was informed that my time with the IHRA has come to an end. The conversation and circumstances surrounding it were unexpected, especially after meeting personally with Darryl just a couple of hours earlier – with no indication that a change was coming. I was later informed that a meeting had taken place the night before at a hotel room regarding the decision,” she stated.
“As difficult as today has been, I remain incredibly proud of everything we worked to build. I poured my heart, time, energy and countless hours into this sport and this organization, because I truly believed in the vision and the future of racing. Like many in this industry, those commitments often come at the expense of personal and family time, but I believed the mission was worth it.
“I am grateful for the racers, teams, sponsors, volunteers, fans and industry partners who supported me along the way, and who continue to work every day to grow the sport we all love. While this chapter did not end the way I anticipated,” Martin concluded, “I am excited to refocus my efforts on the projects, organizations and opportunities where I know I can continue making a positive impact. I genuinely wish everyone involved nothing but success moving forward.”
Martin’s removal brings up the question of who’s in charge of what and why? Cuttell might consider having a president for each of IHRA’s disciplines, whether straight-line, water-bound, in the dirt or at a road or oval circuit. There are too many moving targets, perhaps, for one person to oversee?
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