Martin to Make History at NH Motor Speedway
16-Year-Old First To Compete In 2 Invitational Events On Same Day
WINDHAM, N.H. — Taylor Martin will make history as part of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this month.
Martin, 16, will compete in both the Bond Auto ACT Invitational on the 1.058-mile speedway and the Gifford’s Ice Cream 25 for the Granite State Legends Car Series on Saturday, September 21, as part of a showcase of short-track racing from around the region. Martin will mark the historic day with three milestones – becoming the first driver to compete in both invitational events on the same day, the youngest driver every to compete in both events and the first female driver to race in a pair of invitation-only events at New Hampshire.
“I don’t even know what to say. I’m so honored just to be invited to race in both of these races,” Martin said. “I’m so excited about it. It’s going to be a blast. I love doing the Cup weekend in the Legends car to begin with, and being part of the ACT Invitational will be a whole new experience.
“I’m really looking forward to it.”
The ACT Late Model Tour officially extended Martin an invitation to part of the 43-car Bond Auto ACT Invitational starting field earlier this week, following an open test session for Late Model teams representing both the ACT Tour and the weekly short tracks competing under the ACT umbrella. Starting spots in the 50-lap race are reserved for ACT Late Model Tour race winners, ACT Castrol Series race winners, track champions from a number of ACT-legal weekly tracks in the northeastern United States and Canada, and a select few at-large invitations.
Martin, who made her Late Model debut at Canaan Fair Speedway in Canaan, N.H., last month, received an at-large invite. She participated in several test sessions with the Late Model at Canaan throughout the first half of the season to get more comfortable in the full-sized stock cars.
“It actually went perfect,” Martin said of the NHMS test last week. “I didn’t really expect it to go as well as it went. Once I got out there, I was comfortable. Even though I’d never been on the whole track – I’ve been on the frontstretch as part of the road course in the Legends – it still felt like I had. I was a little bit shocked I felt so good out there.
“It’s actually pretty opposite from every track ACT runs. In those Legends cars, you can feel the banking (in Turn 1). In the Late Models, you can’t feel it at all. It’s very, very fast, and I loved the speed of it.”
Martin’s familiarity with New Hampshire Motor Speedway has served her well, particularly in the Granite State Legends Car Series. She has nine divisional wins on the quarter-mile “mini-oval,” where the Gifford’s Ice Cream 25 will be contested.
When she makes history on Saturday, September 21, she’ll do so by simply trying not to make headlines – at least not for the wrong reasons.
“To be honest, I just want to finish the race,” Martin said. “Where I finish right now isn’t relevant to me. It’s more important to finish in one piece. I want to make sure we keep the car in one piece, and maybe gain some attention to pick up a sponsor. If we can do that, we’d love to go to the next ACT race at Airborne Speedway (on September 28).”
Sources: Travis Barrett/Taylor Martin PR