Drag racing teen focused on her top speed

By Sean Ammerman

Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 | midnight

Henderson resident Courtney Martin hates losing to anybody on the drag strip at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

However, being outraced by a boy makes a loss even worse.

The decal stuck to the rear of her dragster sums up her feelings — "You have just been passed by a girl."

"If I had to chose I would rather lose to a girl," she said. "I think the girls are starting to do as well as the guys. The No. 1 thing is you have to believe in yourself."

So far Martin, a freshman at Foothill, has done a good job of standing out in the male-dominated sport. She is ranked sixth in her 18 and younger Lightning Division after seven races, leading the division's eight other girls and most of the boys.

The season has been her best since she started racing five years ago.

"It's all about experience," she said. "I want to know the sport so well that everything I have to do is like second nature. Everything you do on the track requires a split-second decision. It's only nine seconds to the finish line. If you think too much it might be too late."

Martin developed an interest in racing by watching her grandfather compete at the speedway.

She never had aspirations to race, but when her grandfather built her a dragster she decided to give it a try.

That first season at the speedway was filled with trial and error as Martin blacked-out after a crash in her first race.

"That first year was a disaster," her mother Nicole Martin said. "She had so many accidents at the motor speedway that her nickname was Crash. She got to know the safety crew pretty well up there."

Nicole Martin makes up her daughter's entire race crew. Together they are the only mother-daughter team in the youth classes.

The two aren't the most knowledgeable mechanics on the track, but they are proud to add a feminine edge to the sport.

"Sometimes I almost feel like she is at a disadvantage because I am her crew," Nicole Martin said. "A lot of these kids at the track have parents who really know about the engine, the clutch and the chassis — how things work. I don't know much about the mechanic end of it but I am learning. The people at the track have been really helpful."

Courtney Martin has yet to crash during a race since her first year.

She is studying the nuances of racing and has begun competing in more competitive California tournaments.

"I feel more comfortable behind the wheel," Courtney Martin said. "This season I really made a commitment. I have been focused on my racing and it shows. I've never been this high in the points standings."

Sean Ammerman is a reporter for the Home News. He can be reached at 990-2661 or [email protected].