It’s Not Just Racing, It’s A Way Of Life For Miss Bridgeport 2018, Angelica Martz

Column By: DYLAN FRIEBEL / RPW – FLEMINGTON, NJ – No matter where you live in the northeast, most people keep up on what tracks outside your immediate area are doing. With that being said, you sometimes notice those beautiful girls standing with the winners in victory with a sash around them. Have you ever wondered who they are?

Meet Angelica Martz…Miss Bridgeport 2018. Like most trophy girls, Angelica has been in racing her whole life.

“It’s all I’ve ever known,” she said. “My Grandpa, Dad, Uncle, and my brother have all raced. I’ve even raced quarter midgets. I just grew up in it and I love it.”

It’s hard to imagine a time when Angelica wasn’t at a race track.

“I’ve only missed one of my dad’s heats when I was younger,” she said. “That was because I was coming off the track. However, I’ve never missed one of his features and don’t plan to anytime soon. Once I went to college, I hung up the race cars.”

She’s very happy to be Miss Bridgeport 2018.

“Our sport has always had trophy girls,” Angelica commented. “Everyone knows Miss Motorsports. She goes all over and gets her name out there, and I think every track should consider having a trophy girl. It’s another way to promote the track. I’m sure the winners don’t mind getting there picture taken with pretty girls. I mean who doesn’t?”

There’s a lot that goes into being a trophy girl. You can’t forget your sash and sometimes have to brave the elements with not enough layers on for victory lane. But, it’s rewarding at the same time.

“Being a trophy girl gives you a different perspective of this sport,” she said. “I’ve always come to the track as a racer’s daughter, and have only had racing duties like putting tear offs on my dads helmet and getting line-ups. Now that I’m Miss Bridgeport, I see the races from more of a fan’s perspective. I ask myself what can I do to make their experience better?”

Martz isn’t sitting around either. She really wants to make sure she’s doing her part to make this sport better.

” I talk to people who may have never been involved in racing before or even if it’s the first race they’ve attended,” she said. “We want to make them say, ‘I want to come back next week.’ It’s also very rewarding making a young fan’s day.”

There’s a bunch of reasons why we all show up to race track, but for Angelica, it’s pretty simple.

“It’s literally all I’ve ever known,” she said. “My friends usually ask if I want to go to the beach on Saturday’s, and every time, my answer is the same. I can’t. I’m going to the races. It’s a different lifestyle, and unless you’re in it, you don’t understand it.”