3/26/2014
Cottage Grove Speedway
Getting Up To Speed With…Raquel Ivie
Getting Up To Speed With…Raquel Ivie
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Hull Family Photography)
Raquel Ivie has been racing ever since she was sixteen-years-old and last season she would capture her first career championship at the Cottage Grove Speedway in the Northwest Extreme Sprint Cars. Ivie, originally from Klamath Falls but now residing in Eugene, is a second generation driver following in the footsteps of her father Jim.
Ivie got her start eight years ago in the Kart ranks and eventually moved up to Sprint Cars a few years ago. Since then she has been a force to be reckon with. Last year she and Kady Adelman dominated the Northwest Extreme Sprint win column with six of the nine races being won by both of them. Ivie would win three of those six victories on her route to her championship.
However the title she achieved last year wasn’t her first career championship as in 2008 she was triumphant in the 250cc division at River Arena Speedway in Roseburg. She also was the recipient of the most improved driver award in 2012 at Cottage Grove.
We got a chance to chat with Raquel just a few weeks after her successful trip to her first few races of the season. She was in action at the Silver Dollar Speedway’s annual Silver Cup event in Chico, California for two nights of racing. She would finish thirteenth in the first night of action on Friday March 7th. Now let’s get up to speed with Raquel Ivie.
Driver: Raquel Ivie
Hometrack: Cottage Grove Speedway
Hometown: Eugene, Oregon
Occupation: Pharmacy Assistant
Age: 24
Years Racing: 8
Classification: 360 Sprint
Team: Raquel Ivie Racing
Car: 70
Chassis: Maxim
Sponsors: Three Rivers Casino & Hotel, Bi-Mart, Brook’s Cut Rate Auto Parts, More of Everything Racing Collectables, Hooker Harness
Special Thanks: Jim Ivie (Father)
BD: Last season when you captured the championship at Cottage Grove how awesome was that feeling?
RI: It was super awesome. I worked really hard to get that achieved. We just ran so close in points all season made it great to finally win one of those.
BD: How did you get your start in racing?
RI: My dad ran a Late Model in late 1980’s and early 1990’s. So when I was old enough I got a chance to get into Karts and I got my start there.
BD: What are some of your plans in 2014?
RI: Well I think we’re going to run a bit of everything that we can. We’ll be primarily racing at Cottage Grove with the 360’s and even run some Limited Sprint races. We’ll also run a few Non-Wing races and run when ASCS is in town.
Ever since got in into a Sprint Car I’ve always wanted to do the whole Speedweek. That is our main goal this year. We won’t do a whole lot of traveling but I would like to travel to some close races like at Willamette.
BD: Why did you chose the #70?
RI: Actually it was my dad’s old number. I ran #1 for my whole career up until 2012. My boyfriend Randy Martin ran his dad’s old number one year so I thought it was cool thing to do and ran my dad’s old number.
BD: What are some of your goals that you have set for yourself either long or short term?
RI: I think it would be great to get a win in either the 360’s or Non-Wing Sprints. We don’t plan to run in points with the Limiteds this year so our biggest focus is on the 360 stuff. Long term though I would eventually like to travel around a lot more.
The Cottage Grove Speedway is set to host a test and tune play day on Saturday April 5th while the first race of the year is planned for the following Saturday on the 12th. Log on to www.cottagegrovespeedway.com for news stories and articles related to the upcoming 2014 campaign.
Submitted By: Ben Deatherage