The Best Plumber 604 Racing Series modified Greg Martin’s suspension and will allow him to return to racing with the series at the end of August.
The Series announced in a post to Facebook, “The Best Plumber 604 Crate Racing Series has modified Greg Martin’s suspension and will place him on probation from August 29, 2026 through May 9, 2027.”
“Starting August 29th Greg Martin may participate in Best Plumber 604 Crate Racing Series events; however, any unsportsmanlike conduct on or off the track will result in a permanent ban from the series,” the Series added.
As for the reasoning behind its decision to modify the suspension, the Series explained, “As part basis for this decision, Best Plumber 604 Crate Racing Series officials note no prior incidents, positive character references, completion of an anger-management course and the satisfactory resolution of the legal matter involving the incident with the state of Tennessee and all parties involved.”
Martin was initially issued a two year suspension after he used his car to ram Matt Henderson’s vehicle in the infield at I-75 Raceway back in May. The series shared at the time, “Following a review of the events that took place during last night’s feature race, the Best Plumber 604 Racing Series has made the decision to suspend Greg Martin from all Best Plumber 604 Racing Series events for a minimum of 2 years.”
“Driver and crew safety is of the utmost importance to the Best Plumber 604 Racing Series. All participants are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that protects the safety of competitors, crews, officials, fans, and partner tracks,” it added. “The Best Plumber 604 Racing Series will continue to uphold the standards of conduct expected at all series events.”
When it was announced that the Series was going to hear an appeal from Martin, Matt Henderson shared his thoughts to Facebook, “I couldn’t care less if Greg Martin gets his suspension lifted with Ellison’s race series. Which is sponsored by Longhorn. Which Greg Martin is a dealer for. Which Ellison races. Couldn’t care less. Greg and I raced for 20 years together without incident and I slid and junked him on me. Completely my fault. He ran over the race car in the infield completely his decision & completely his fault.”
“What I do care about is people acting like those guys didn’t get hurt. And acting like I should have turned into the infield and put the guys in a bad spot like I knew a car was gonna come cause them to be injured,” he continued. “The car wouldn’t turn. RF was broke that’s why it had to be towed after the race. (If you are not intelligent enough to understand what you’re talking about, it’s best to not show the world your lack of intelligence.) also, everyone acts like there was a contained hot pit. They literally said infield. Again… there’s no line or perimeter (more ignorance many have shown).”
“Greg going racing again will be fine. He’s a good dude, good racer, races clean. Couldn’t care less this isn’t about Greg. The same people that he injured told the state they need to ease off him and drop his felonies. Matter fact, ask Greg who orchestrated everyone together to get the charges dropped. Ask his attorney who started that for him. You might be surprised,” Henderson added. “Let’s quit acting like these guys got their stories blown out of proportion or that they were in any way at fault. They were there and deserved the opportunity to go home uninjured just like you people that peck the keys do. Quit making light of it. Quit trying anyway you can to justify it. The people affected by it has put it behind them and they had reasons not to. Why don’t you do the same?”
“Thank you TJ and DJ for trying to do your best that night and trying to fix the car not knowing the tie rods bent and hung in the frame,” he wrote. ” You weren’t at fault at all for your injuries. It was Greg’s misjudgement only. I know you, myself, & Greg have put it behind us. I wish the keyboard 
could do the same.”
“I’ve never downed skinny in any of my post or anyone that actually cared to speak with me about any of this. Skinny and I have communicated multiple times. Again you guys don’t know anything. All the while skinny has been working on his program and getting better and me & the Hedgecock’s been working on ours. And everyone else has their same every day stuff because they worry about what everyone else is doing instead of their own stuff.”
Henderson concluded, “Here is the fake injury. Don’t have to make light of what happened cause you don’t like me or you don’t like the Hedgecock’s. You don’t have to think Skinny’s ban has to be upheld cause you like me, the Hedgecock’s, or the guys that got hurt. Everyone on both sides is fine with skinny racing. Just need to quit being so ignorant on facts you don’t know.”
Video of the incident was shared to Facebook by Cory Hedgecock that shows crew members working on Henderson’s car in the infield as Martin’s car approaches. Martin then drives into the side of Henderson’s car. The force of the impact throws the two crew members who were working on the opposite side of the vehicle to the ground.
Based on Hedgecock’s post, his dad “shut the main power down so [Martin] didn’t hurt anyone else.”
Drone footage from the incident was also shared with StockCarReport.com.
Martin’s actions came after Henderson slid up the track coming out of turn 2 and slammed into him sending him spinning around.
Henderson initially addressed everything in a post to Facebook, “I bottomed out and hit Greg getting into turn one 3 laps after a restart. We had ran door to door for 3 laps so if my intention was to wreck him I wouldn’t have waited to do it for 3 laps. We hit as I bounced through the holes and it wrecked us. I hate that. Would rather have just got me.”
“If Greg wanted to fight me or tell me how unhappy he was or anything to that degree I’d have understood it. No one wants that. So I get it. When he chose to use his race car to hit mine in a crowded pit area and injured people, that I can’t understand. That is not something that should ever happen,” he added.
“I apologize to my team for everything that happened. I hate mine and Greg’s car was torn up in the on track stuff and then further once he rammed them together in the pit area,” he continued. “I am not asking for support of the on track incident or anyone to think that I blame him for that. I bottomed out and caused that accident. The running through the pits speeding to hit a car and assaulting guys with race cars has to be a hard line in the sand that we don’t allow to get crossed. Thankfully no one was injured far worse. Stuff like that can head a completely different direction rather we mean for it to or not.”
Michelle Jones Holt, the mother of TJ, one of Henderson’s crew member who was struck by Martin, shared the extent of his injuries. She wrote in a post to Facebook, “At 12:17am this morning I got the phone call…”Mom, I’m ok, but we are heading to Park West Hospital.” My son TJ and a close friend DJ were the two guys working on the 17 car when the 24 car rammed it. I jumped out of bed and got straight to the hospital.
“Luckily, TJ is ok, after CT of head and chest everything internally checked out ok. He has bruised ribs and 8 staples in his head but it could have been much worse. As far as I know DJ is ok too,” she added.
“I know racing but to ram a car with crew members working on it proves you are not emotionally mature enough for the sport. This could have been much worse! Thank you Jesus for watching over them,” she concluded.
The Best Plumber 604 Series will be back in action at Wartburg Speedway this Saturday, August 22nd. The first race that Martin will be eligible to compete at will be held at Volunteer Speedway on August 29th. The Series will then return to I-75 Speedway on September 5th. The last two races of the season will take place at Tazewell Speedway on September 19th and then at Thunder Mountain Speedway on October 17th.
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