Starting out at seven years old, reaching speeds of 55 mph, now at 18 she tops 145 mph within one-eighth of a mile, Maizie Martin has put in over a decade of work into drag racing and doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon.
A recent graduate of Marshall County High School, Martin enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, and of course, racing any chance she gets.
Martin began racing junior dragsters when she was only seven years old. Her older brother was already racing at this time, therefore, Martin was always at the race track observing – wanting her chance to get behind the wheel.
“I always wanted to try it. I got my first car, and after my first few passes, I was hooked,” said Martin. “You are just running around 55 mph in the eight-mile, but at seven years old, that was such a rush.”
Even at seven years old, Martin always had her competitive edge. Starting out in the world of racing, racers face a large learning curve, therefore, turning on the winning lights seems like a rare occasion. Though Martin understands that if you want to be successful at something, you must practice.
“The main struggle I faced was learning everything. It seems like a very simple sport but a lot goes into it. With juniors, I picked it up rather quickly, but now that I am in big cars, I still have a lot to learn,” said Martin. “It was rather complicated transitioning from a junior to a big car. In a junior, you have a gas and a brake. In a big car, you have a burnout button, a starting line enhancer, a delay box, a trans brake, gears, and more.”
However, prepping seems to be easier in big cars. In Juniors, there are many steps to prepping the car between each round. In the big cars, though, all one has to do is fuel up, check the tire pressure, and you are good to go.
While Martin has many things she loves about racing, her favorite part is the adrenaline.
“Every pass is an instant adrenaline rush. You are sitting in a vehicle that weighs 2,000 pounds with a 1,000-horsepower motor, looking down the track, ready to launch. You have multiple things to do in just a few seconds,” said Martin.
The majority of races are either won or lost on the starting line, so the racer’s reaction time taking off plays a huge role in each race. Another one of Martin’s favorite things is the people.
“Being around these people every weekend creates a bond. It didn’t take long for my racing friends to become my racing family,” said Martin. “They are so quick to help if something goes wrong and so quick to lift you up if you are down. Some of our closest friends, the Armers, are always the first ones to jump in and help when something goes wrong. I recently blew my motor and they were the ones who took my car home and rebuilt the motor.”
Martin has made lifelong friends throughout racing all across the Midwest. Martin’s racing group makes sure to get everyone together often, having things like potlucks at the tracks, Christmas parties each year, and traveling to races together.
“We had many meals together and we always parked together at every race. Each year we all traveled together to the Eastern Conference Finals in Bristol, Tennessee. This was a week-long race with sometimes over 600 juniors,” said Martin. “We used to travel an hour and a half minimum to race on the weekends but thanks to a local businessman, Keith Murt, we now live about 10 miles from the track.”
Martin has had much support from all her sponsors since she was in junior dragsters. Some of these sponsors include James Little/ Little Tractor, Bob Ferrel with Schaeffer Oil, Purchase Ford, Keith Murt with Murtco, Kountry Kastle, Preston and Kathy Morgan with Matco Tools, and, of course, her dad, mom, and brother.
With the support Martin has received, she continues to add to her list of accomplishments. Some of the biggest ones include:
● 2013 points champion for SEJRA 12.90 class
● 2013 runner-up for SEJRA 8-9 year old class
● 2012 2nd in points for SEJRA 12.90 index
● 2012 3rd in points for SEJRA age group
● 2015 Wally Win at Beacon Dragway
● 2015 2nd in points for Midwest Junior Super Series
● 2019 Outlaw Street Car Association Winner
● Graduated from Frank Hawley’s drag racing school in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Martin received her super comp license in April of 2021.
● Learned to work on her car, prep it, etc, by herself, getting it ready for the next round.
● Received her IHRA and NHRA license
Even with a list so long, Martin has bigger dreams in the world of racing – like racing Top Fuel.
“I understand that this is a major goal to set, but I also have a good friend that I ran junior dragsters with that is currently racing his dad’s Nitro Funny Car,” said Martin. “I hope to someday be able to teach my kids what my parents have taught me about racing and spend weekends at the track with them.”
Martin knows she will continue to race. It was confirmed to her back in 2017.
“In 2017 I decided to take up competitive cheer. I had to quit racing because I had to compete on weekends in both sports so I couldn’t do both. It didn’t take but a couple of years to realize how much I missed racing,” said Martin. “My dad had already sold my race car, but he found me one to rent for a weekend. On my first weekend back, in a rented car, I won the Outlaw Street Car Association event at Beacon Dragway in Paducah. I knew without a doub,t after my first pass, that this is my passion and what I wanted to be doing.”
Racing has taught Martin a lot, like how it kept her from getting into trouble every weekend. Her parents knew where she was each weekend, because she was at the track with them. Racing has also taught Martin how important friendship is and how valuable all of her relationships truly are. She has friends all across the Midwest. Some of her closest friends were met through racing.
“It is also not as dangerous as cheer. In two and a half years of cheer, I broke my nose three times. I have never been injured in drag racing, even when I ended up in the sand pit,” said Martin.
Her parents, Mark and LaMara Martin, also see many positive influences of Maizie being involved in racing.
“When she is racing, we are together as a family. We are very close and I attribute this to racing. Maizie and her brother, Miles, respect and love one another very much,” they said. “Without a doubt, racing has made them close as well. I think the two of them are the others biggest supporter.”
Mark and LaMara weren’t surprised when Maizie wanted to pick up racing, and it was evident to them that she was a natural.
“When we’re watching her race we’re rooting for her to win, praying for her safety, and hoping she is having fun. Drag racing is such a family sport. As Maizie said, we have made friends from all over the country,” they said. “We are so proud of Maizie. She has always set her mind to something and made it happen. She is such a soft-spoken young lady, but when she gets in a racecar her competitive side comes out.”
Maizie’s parents hope that she continues racing into adulthood, and hopes that when she has children of her own, she can pass on what they’ve taught her, giving her children the opportunity to race as well.
“We have made so many family memories and also made so many great friends we consider family,” they said.
Mark and LaMara want the world to know that Maizie is a kind soul. Someone who is compassionate and makes friends with everyone she meets.
“Maizie is a very loyal and laid-back person that just enjoys life. We are so proud of her!
When Maizie raced junior dragsters, we traveled with about 12 to 14 racers and their families,” they said. “At a Midwest Junior Super Series race in October 2013, we all went in support of a race mom that had cancer. We all wore “Racing for Laurie” shirts. Maizie ended up winning her class that weekend. She wanted to donate her trophy to Laurie and donated her winnings to the American Cancer Society.”
That act of compassion is just a glimpse into the person Martin is and how important racing family bonds truly are.
Maizie has tried different types of racing, such as no-time cars.
“This is a whole different world of racing. It is a completely different style from bracket racing; where in bracket racing you dial your car and try to run as close to that dial on your car every pass,” said Martin. “No-time racing is based on the first person to the finish line. I would have loved to continue no-time racing, but it was generally located in North and South Carolina and that is far.”
No matter how many different cars, classes, and tracks Martin tries out, one thing is obvious, racing is where her heart and soul is. Her reaction to her first pass in big dragster confirmed it all.
“The very first pass I ever made in a big dragster, my dad told me to only go half-track. I was very nervous at first because I had no clue what to expect, but once I took off, it felt amazing and I could not let off,” said Martin.
With Top Fuel in her plans for the future, Martin will continue practicing, learning, and bringing her competitive, compassionate, heart to the track – with her family and friends rooting her on.
