The business of motorsport has always been one where, if you aren’t successful, cash flows at the same speed as fuel. It’s no different with NASCAR. 

Tommy Joe Martins, who raced in the Xfinity (now O'Reilly) Series for 15 years and is co-founder of the team that is now Alpha Prime Racing in the Truck series had made a film several years back that only appeared at independent film festivals. 

That film, ‘Underfunded,’ is now on YouTube, and Martins put a lot of his own struggles into the film. The 24-minute-long independent film holds a deeper truth to how the business of motorsports works, from racers with no money and heaps of talent to those with talent and generational backing. 

Motorsport did an article about the film and even got Tommy Joe Martins’ thoughts. Martins said, “I like to imagine our whole racing industry as the critics for this. Underfunded is very much my racing story, and I tried to tell it in a compelling way, and I really want to know what people that live it everyday think of it. It needs to feel true to the sport.”

The highlights and difficulties faced by owners and drivers can be seen in the film, which is now available on YouTube on Omeleto’s channel. The unfiltered perspective provided by Martins is now getting the recognition it deserves, and various folks in the racing world are going gaga over it. 

Mark Martin, a legend of the No.6 Ford car for Roush Racing, watched the film and left his recommendation for the fans. The 40-time Cup race winner and 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee wrote on X:

“Woah 😳 everyone should watch this. @TommyJoeMartins this is a masterpiece.”

Martin wasn’t the only one. Several others heaped praise for what many are considering an eye-opener into the business of motorsport. 

Martins' Underfunded gets much-deserved applause

It’s not just racing drivers; even some teams and fans have watched the film by now, and everybody is moved by Tommy Joe Martins’ film. At the time of writing, the YouTube video already had around 6000 views in just about 24 hours. 

On X, the praise is real. KR Motorsports, whose talented 16-year-old driver Kaden Rogers has a racing dream, wrote, “Great watch for sure. Sad part is it’s true. $ is more important than talent. It’s the only problem with the sport today.”

Spotter and race fan Brian Devereaux wrote, “Watched this. All race fans need to watch this is they don’t understand the ‘business’ of racing…”

A racing fan, Joel Buys, wrote, “Sad way to run a ‘professional sport’... fans deserve to watch the best drivers compete… not a rich kids play date.”

Another fan wrote, “time to update my IMDB page.” 

As the comments poured in, a stark reality came into the spotlight: the questions on what it takes to be a racer and whether talent alone is enough to guarantee a top seat. 

Have you watched the film yet? Let us know your thoughts on the film. 

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason