Considered as one of the hottest Junior drivers in the country, Raquel Martinez is paving her way to becoming a professional race car driver. Her aspirations center in open-wheel racing with Formula 1 as her ultimate achievement. Sounds like a huge goal for a 13-year old, but who’s to judge the depth of a child’s dreams? Without dreams and those who believe in them, imagine what Michael Schumacher, Cal Ripkin, Jr., Mia Ham or Scott Speed would be doing today.

Rocky, as nicknamed by her racing peers, doesn’t focus too much on being a female in a male-dominated sport. “I just try to think about how I’m going to pass the person in front of me or how I’m going to find that extra tenth of a second,” she said. Those thought patterns are what help her succeed and shine as a bleep on the talent radar. There’s nothing Rocky would rather do than go racing. Contesting in 55 races during the 2006 season, Rocky took home 11 poles and 18 feature race wins in both International Kart Federation (IKF) and World Karting Association (WKA) competition. Crowned with four grand national and six regional championship titles, she’s already accomplished what many aspire to do in a lifetime. Closing out the 2006 season, she was prestigiously awarded the WKA Triple Crown, an achievement reserved for the best of the best in karting circles.  Now in 2010 Rocky is paving her way through the Junior ranks and will be competing Internationally for the first time in her career.  She will compete in the WSK North America Series, WSK World Series, WKA Manufacturer's Cup, and the Gatorz Challenge of Americas.

Starting at age five in kid karts, the Top Kart driver has stormed through her developmental years with success and is currently in her final year of cadet competition which is considered by many to be among the most competitive classes on the karting circuits with full fields. 

“This past year was a turning point for Raquel and I saw my daughter turn the corner with her aspirations,” said father Raul Martinez, Jr. She’s always loved to race, but this year, I’ve seen her mature a great deal and she’s proven to me that she’s serious with her goals,” he explained. Mr. Martinez, who first simply enjoyed having fun with his daughter at the racetrack, has now found himself in a huge support role behind her dreams with the help of Glenn Araki of PKS Kart Supplies in Fresno, Calif., and Chris Wehrheim.

Not only is Raquel focused on driving, she takes interest in being involved in the mechanical process. “Raquel has sensational feel for what the kart wants and needs to perform its best,” said top tuner Chris Wehrheim who has worked with many champions in his profession and is one of the top North American kart drivers himself. “Her work ethic is second to none never setteling for anything but being the fastest every session on track,” Wehrheim added. 

Her pay-off this past season has brought in a great deal of attention from both media and industry professionals. Although most serious media attention doesn’t arrive until the late teenage years for the talented behind the wheel, Raquel was recently featured in the November, 2006 issue of Racer magazine, a publication typically reserved for the upper echelon: most notably, the Tony Stewart’s, Dale, Jr.’s and Danica’s of the racing world.

She’s opening numerous eyes of industry professionals as well. One of them was five-time national karting champion and former managing editor of Ekartingnews.com, Rhonda Mims-Brown. “What caught my eye about Raquel is that she’s smart and calculating on-track, she’s years beyond her age. She plays her cards right and carefully chooses her attack mode. It’s not just talent as so many of the kids have, it’s a whole package and I truly believe she’s got what it takes. With training and determination, she could be the next Danica Patrick or Melanie Troxel, not to mention a huge role-model for the Hispanic population,” said Mims-Brown.

She was also invited to contest in the junior British karting championship by kart manufacturer Top Kart for 2007, but the team found it necessary to decline due to scheduling conflicts. In mid-2007, she was also invited by Lyn St. James to her Women in the Winner’s Circle charity event benefiting the Lyn St. James Foundation and celebrating the top female achievers in motor sports.

In the Racer magazine article, Lyn St. James said reaching the top in motorsport is not about being really good, it’s about being exceptional. It’s also about off-track competition. “It’s a business,” St. James said. “The sooner young drivers figure that out, the better. They can’t expect to win and be hired. They have to find sponsors.”

Business it is for Raquel who graduates into the ninth grade as an honor roll student with her favorite subjects being math and science. Not only is she working hard to achieve on-track, she’s focused on what it takes to stay up front mentally and physically. Over the past season, Rocky has transformed into a lean and physically fit machine who works out regularly at an athlete’s sports gym called Velocity Sports Performance in Irvine, Calif. Her regiment there has produced positive results with endurance and strength.

Rocky personally thanks you for visiting her website and invites you to browse around, take a look at her development in the photo gallery, check out her sponsors and learn more about her aspirations and goals.