Baby Driver: Taylor Martin
15-year-old Taylor Martin will leave you in a cloud of dust
Don’t let her young age fool you. Taylor Martin of Windham may not be old enough to have a NH Driver’s license, but she can leave you in a cloud of dust.
Martin has raced full-time for the past couple of years in “Legends” cars like the one pictured above — a miniature version of a classic Ford or Chevy with few luxuries like power steering. Her current goal is to enter the American Canadian Tour by the end of this year, driving full-size “Late Model” cars. That’s an enormous accomplishment for someone her age (15), but tour managers are thrilled to have her on board. After all, the prospect of helping the next Danica Patrick earn her wheels is pretty exciting.
How’d you get started? When I was younger my dad took me to NASCAR races. When I turned 8 he got me a quarter midget. It’s like a go-cart with a roll cage on it.
You must have had some incidents. I’ve had a few. It’s not always your fault. Accidents come to you. You need to be on your line and hit all your points or something could mess up. It’s a very expensive sport and there’s not that much room for error.
And some victories? I had one big victory in New Jersey Grands in the novice division. They gave me a six-foot-tall trophy. It’s still taller than me. It was a huge stakes race with people from all over. I started out all the way down at the bottom and ended up winning the whole thing.
What do you love about racing? I think I was born to do it. I love the adrenaline rush. I love beating the boys and then getting out and taking off my helmet and seeing their jealous faces. It’s the best feeling in the world.
Your thoughts on Danica? She’s my favorite. She is the female race car driver and she’s my role model. I want to do exactly what she’s done. I haven’t communicated with her, though it would be an honor to meet her one day.
Any Plan B? No, this is it for me, but if I have to do something else, I’d like to go to school for something like crime scene investigation. I’m really interested in that kind of thing.
You are just getting your learner’s permit. What’s it like to get driven around in the family car? When riding with my dad, it’s not always fun. He drives real slow. But with my mom, it’s not that bad.
