Founder Melinda Russell reads the stories of women that have been featured in the WMN News online magazine.

Katie Hettinger, a third-generation driver from Michigan, has made a name for herself in the world of motorsports while simultaneously pursuing her education. From a young age, Katie has been deeply involved in racing, earning numerous awards and making history as a female driver. Her perspective on balancing education and a successful racing career is rooted in her desire to be remembered as a champion in the racing world, and she is determined to show that females can compete and succeed in motorsports. Despite facing challenges, Katie believes in the power of hard work, perseverance, and teamwork. Join Melinda Russell and Katie Hettinger on this episode of the Women's Motorsports Network podcast as they delve deeper into Katie's journey and her unique perspective on balancing education and a successful racing career.

Tara Scribner, a 22-year-old phlebotomist at a hospital, has a passion for boat racing that runs in her family. Alongside her sister Tanya, Tara has been involved in boat racing for the past six years, joining their parents, aunt, uncle, and cousins in this thrilling motorsport. Their interest in racing was sparked by their grandfather, a pro stock car racer, and nurtured by their father. As some of the few women in dragport racing, Tara and Tanya have made a significant impact on the motorsports community, inspiring more women to participate and helping to create a more inclusive environment. Their father manages their social media presence, and they can be followed on Instagram and Facebook. When not racing, Tara enjoys celebrating wins and indulging in her favorite holiday, Halloween.

#boatracing #motorsports #womeninracing #familyinvolvement #racingcommunity #femaleathletes #racinggoals #boatracingchampionships #socialmediapromotion #inspiringwomen

Kennedy Tracey is a young woman who has broken barriers and inspired others in the world of motorsports. Starting her racing career at a young age, Kennedy quickly made a name for herself in the Junior division with the Lo 206 engine. With the guidance of her coach, Annie Rhule, Kennedy transitioned to the more competitive Ka 100 division, showcasing her talent on a national level. Throughout her journey, Kennedy has participated in numerous club races and even competed in the Buckeye Carding Championship race at the prestigious Motorsports Country Club of Cincinnati. Kennedy credits Annie Rhule for her rapid progression and believes that without her guidance, she would not have been able to compete in the Nationals or handle the challenges of the Ka 100 division. Kennedy Tracey's determination and skill have not only broken barriers but also inspired others in the motorsports community.

Melinda Russell iwmanation@gmail.com

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Melinda Russell iwmanation@gmail.com

Kelly Franko kelly.franko@aol.com

https://seraphinasafety.com

800-946-0897

Melinda Russell

womensmotorsportsnetwork@gmail.com

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Facebook: Women's Motorsports Network

Kelli Kugler will explain what she does at Daytona International Speedway to share what CUP drivers do on a normal day. She has a story that you need to hear.

Summary

In this Women's Motorsports Network podcast episode, Melinda Russell interviews Bear and Kristen Sharbarth, founders of Go Fast Girls, a brand that provides products for women in various motorsports. They discuss their daughters' racing ventures, challenges of running a small business, commitment to promoting women racers, and recently launched brand promoter program.

Key Points

• They face the challenge of fitting different styles and preferences of customers from different regions while also maintaining the brand's message and identity.

• Go Fast Girls aims to support female racers and promote inclusivity and diversity in motorsports.

• The company offers a platform for people to sell second-hand items via gfgclassifieds.com.

• In addition to racing merchandise, the company also has blogs for girls to read and be inspired by.

• The community is centered around a private forum for members to communicate and share their accomplishments

• Go Fast Girls also has a live show where they announce and celebrate the achievements of their members

Despite being busy, the speakers are dedicated to helping promote and support other companies in the industry.

Get ready for a thrilling episode of the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast, hosted by the talented Melinda Russell. This week, Melinda interviews an impressive guest, 11-year-old superstar racer Riley Stowers. Riley has been racing since the age of five and currently races the 250 outlaw kart with success. She talks about her journey in racing and shares her personal life, including her family and pets. Riley's parents surprised her with a 250 on her 10th birthday, which they help her prepare for races. They race at different tracks for different series throughout the year.

The fun and exciting show is filled with many conversations about Riley's passion for racing with the host, including her sponsors, dealing with a bad day at the track, and future goals in racing. Also, Riley shares about promoting herself and gaining sponsors via social media. In addition, Riley talks about her favorite race-track food and their favorite sports team, movie, and music. Riley has recently won her first A main event win, and the young driver shares her experience and the details of the race with the host. Through the engaging conversation, Riley Stowers quickly becomes an essential part of the Women's Motorsports Network family. Don't miss this chance to listen in on the remarkable interview with Riley Stowers, a young and determined female racer.

“My favorite part has to be when I rip the lip. The wind is in my face. I am going sixty plus miles. I'm shaking around everywhere. I can barely see and I'm just flying through the corners.”

Rev up your engines and tune in to Women's Motorsports Network for a captivating conversation between host Melinda Russell and guest Lori Warren, the trailblazing track president at Richmond. Lori shares her journey to becoming the first female track president in 76 years for NASCAR and emphasizes the importance of networking and staying connected throughout her career. Listen in as she discusses her personal connection to racing and her passion for seeing it continue to thrive for years to come. Lori also reveals how she is working to grow audiences and keep NASCAR relevant with the help of a talented team and forward-thinking leadership. Join Melinda and Lori as they discuss ways to make motorsports more accessible and appealing to new audiences, including outreach efforts to women and families. You won't want to miss this dynamic conversation as they wrap up their discussion with exciting plans for the future and a potential collaboration. So, start your engines and buckle up for a wild ride with Women's Motorsports Network.

Are you a fan of motorsports? Then the Women's Motorsports Network BONUS EPISODE with Drag-N-Drive's Michael Narx is just what you're looking for! Host Melinda Russell interviews Michael Narx, who runs Drag-N-Drive.com. The platform covers a community of racers and their co-pilots who load up their race cars and everything they need for 3 to 7 days. Melinda and Michael discuss how Drag-N-Drive has grown from four events three years ago to over 30 across the world, and how that growth has a positive impact on not just the event, but the industry. The episode also covers the Drag-N-Drive World Champion point series, eligibility and winning criteria, and more. You'll be blown away by the intensity and competitiveness of the racing class. The show wraps up with Melinda thanking Michael for joining and promoting her magazine, Women's Motorsports Network News. Michael's podcast is airing on Facebook and YouTube, Wednesdays at 8 PM and Saturdays at 9 AM. Don't miss out on the latest updates from the world of motorsports – check out the Women's Motorsports Network BONUS EPISODE now!

Get ready to rev your engines with the Women’s Motorsports Network Podcast! Hosted by Founder Melinda Russell, each episode provides you with all the latest news and excitement in the world of motorsports. In this episode, Michelle shares stories of her upbringing in Northern California and growing up with a father who was involved in racing. She explains how their foundation is working to empower young girls interested in motorsports by creating opportunities for exposure and education. From scholarships to advisory councils, their efforts are making a real impact. You won't want to miss the insight, inspiration, and fun that this episode has in store. Tune in now to hear more about their mission and how you can get involved.

Summary

Looking for a podcast that celebrates diversity and inclusivity in the world of motorsports? Look no further than the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast hosted by the amazing Melinda Russell. In a recent episode, Melinda welcomes her guest Michelle Della Penna, founder of the Della Penna Foundation, to discuss their joint mission of empowering and inspiring young women to pursue their dreams in motorsports. Michelle, who was born into a motorsports family with experience in team ownership and racing in the Indy 500, shares her passion for helping girls discover the excitement and opportunities in the sport.

One of their upcoming events that both Melinda and Michelle will be attending and encouraging others to join is Women with Drive 2 in Phoenix. Michelle also discusses her foundation, which focuses on providing exposure opportunities for girls and women in motorsports and recently organized a program for high school girls with a STEM component. They believe that getting young girls involved will lead to a better representation of the world we live in and aim to create a network of people who can offer advice and support.

Throughout their conversation, they emphasize the importance of exposure to motorsports and the unique experience it provides. They also discuss the benefits of children participating in motorsports, such as character development and learning how to handle disappointment. Melinda and Michelle's passion for the sport is infectious as they discuss inclusivity, family, and the importance of recognizing sacrifices made by those who love the sport.

Overall, the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast is a must-listen for anyone looking to celebrate diversity in motorsports and get inspired by the passion of Melinda Russell and Michelle Della Penna. Check out their website for more information and get involved in empowering young girls through motorsports. Make sure to mark your calendars for their upcoming fundraiser event in May and connect with them on social media for regular updates.

Lex raced dragsters in Europe, winning at every track he raced at and won a Championship.

Their dream was to come to the US to live and race.

In 2003 them loaded the dragster and as many personal belongings as would fit in a 40 foot container and moved to Indianapolis.

They love living in the United States and racing here. They do not have any large sponsors, so their day jobs pay for their racing.

Her story will make you appreciate growing up in the United States! This is one you need to hear.

Guest Taylor Hagler

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:0e51a477-c544-3fa7-8313-8c35f119967b

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:9b23f777-5515-3e6f-9019-7c339b623a70

See show transcript.

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:3029a305-7d10-378f-947f-6a6cefcc7daa

See show notes in Blog.

January 17, 2022

Elana Scherr, Senior Editor for Car and Driver Magazine

See Blog at www.iwmanation.com for Show Notes.

December 4, 2021

Hello, everyone.

This is Melinda Russell with Racing Girls Rock podcast. And it's my honor today to have Judy Dominic as my guest. I met Judy two or maybe three years ago. Now time flies, doesn't it, Judy? I met her at PRI in Indianapolis, and I reached out to her to see if we could have her as a guest on the podcast, because I know she's been involved in motorsports, and I want her to tell us how she got involved. But first we're going to learn a little bit about Judy, so please tell us a little bit about yourself. Whatever you're comfortable sharing, where you live, your family, pets, whatever you're comfortable with. And then we'll go from there.

JUDY: I currently live in Winston Salem, North Carolina. But I was born in Colorado and lived on a cattle ranch out in Eastern Colorado when I grew up. Then I've lived all over the country ever since. Indianapolis, Kansas City. I can't even remember where else? New Mexico, whatever. And the reason truthfully, my grandfather was a rodeo rider, and my dad was a race car driver. And so I grew up in the boys locker room no matter what I did. And I decided that I liked cars better than bulls.  Bulls think they're smart cars don't.

So I started being with my dad and his racing, and then it just evolved. I took a few stops along the way to be a banker and to be a lobbyist. Then I owned a motorcycle dealership, and the racing started for real at that point when I bought the motorcycle dealership.

MELINDA: You've had a lot of fun over the years then I can tell.

JUDY: Probably too much, but that's okay.

MELINDA: And you can never have too much fun, I don't think…that's important. So, Judy, you started a little bit of your story, how you got involved in motorsports. So you owned a motorcycle dealership. So how did that lead then to you getting involved. I know you've been very involved in motorsports for a number of years. How does that go from owning a motorcycle dealership to getting involved in motorsports?

JUDY: Well, my motorcycle dealership allowed me access to some various kinds of motorsports in Colorado, world racing, sidetrack, motocross. And then I had some friends who owned a midget and a sprint car that I sponsored. And then a friend of mine named John Harmsen owned Jolly Rancher Candy. And I grew up with the Vandermere family because my dad raced against Johnny Vandermere up Pikes Peak and in different what they called big cars then, which are now champ cars. Well, champ dirt cars. And John Harmsen called me one day and he said, I have a driver I want you to meet and see if you think I should sponsor him. And I said, Why me? And he said, because you have good instincts. And I said, okay, so I drove down to Jolly Rancher. I was in Boulder, my dealership was in Boulder and Jolly Rancher was in Westminster, Colorado, and I walked in John's office, and there sat John Force… John Force, 1983; John Force, who hadn't washed his hair or put on a clean T-shirt or owned a decent pair of tennis shoes.

       From there, I ended up being John's very first PR person. I'm very glad that it worked out well for Jolly Rancher. He won the Mile High Nationals that year, and they went on to sponsor him on the Western Tour. And he won two out of the four because that's when they went from Denver to Seattle to Portland to Sonoma. And then Mr. Harmsen was so impressed with that, he said, Well, what else can we do? And I said, USAC Midgets needs a title sponsor. So Jolly Rancher Candy became the title sponsor of USAC Midgets and my friends from Fort Collins with their midget, we all went to Turkey Night at Ascot and finished second. But I was the representative for Jolly Rancher and got to give away a ton of candy and found out that I really liked that. That was a lot of fun. I had a motorcycle road race team. So John sponsored my motorcycle road race team in the AMA, and we did pretty well for a privateer team. And along the way, I met this kid named, Well, I did some work in the truck series with Carelli’s because they were from Denver.

Rick Carelli and Kathy Carelli and Marshall Chesrown

owned the truck when he left us at what was then the Winston West Tour, and they started in the NASCAR truck series at that point and went to winter heat out in Tucson for four races with them and Remax. And through them, I met some other people. I met Jeff Gordon's stepdad, and he introduced me to some people. And eventually I met this guy named Tony Stewart. And we were on the track just before the start of a race at IRP.

       I was introduced to Tony, and he looked at me. And he was that skinny little kid with all that black curly hair. And he and Kenny Irwin started on the front row. So Kenny Irwin saundered over and Tony said to me, he said, You're going to want to know me someday. And Irwin says, no, you don't want to know him. You want to know me. And I ended up working basically with the both of them for quite some time until Kenny went to NASCAR as well. And then he had his own PR.

But then I was with Tony, and I was a business manager and his PR person. And chief babysitter for seven years. So that's kind of what started the whole thing. And then I went from Tony, did some contract work for Weld Wheels and for some different entities and different kinds of racing World of Outlaws, USAC Silver Crown, different places that I really loved. And Chevrolet called and said do you want a job? And I said, really? And they said we are going to start a factory truck program in the NASCAR truck series.

And one of our drivers, Jack Sprague, really wants you to be a PR person. And we want you to manage the program, which is where I met my business partner. And we want the two of you to manage it. And the rest is history. Sam and I hit it off. We became business partners. We did that program, and then it has grown. Our involvement then has grown from four factory Chevrolet trucks to covering NASCAR, Indy Car, IMSA and NHRA for Chevrolet and for Shell. And that's where we are today at trackside. And we have six employees. And we do all of the track side PR for those two companies in those four series.

MELINDA: And there's no downtime. Is there really?

JUDY: No, but it's okay. I don't know what else I would do. I really don't. I'm very blessed to have a great family in Minnesota, two brothers and lots of nieces and nephews, tons of friends. But I don't have children or grandchildren or any of that. So my family is at racetracks everywhere. So I've been lucky enough to help my family when I can and then have been lucky enough to work with some amazing, amazing drivers and all of those series throughout the years. And I feel unbelievably blessed because every year, I think, can it get any better? And somehow it does. Most of my focus now is on sports cars and Indy Car, but I still have my fingers NASCAR and NHRA.

MELINDA: And when you say about family, I hear this over and over from people. It's just such a family. And it's funny how you think that racing is huge. But when you really start to meet people like I met someone in Phoenix this weekend after the race, we went somewhere to get a bite to eat. A guy and his son had NASCAR shirts on. Daniel Hemrick had just won the race. And what a great race.

JUDY: It was an amazing race.

MELINDA: And what a great finish. And so I struck up a conversation like I always do. And we start to talk. And the young man and I have a lot in common because we're both media people. And then the dad says, do you know so and so and I looked at him… I said, yes.

And then we start talking and we know several people the same. And it's amazing and surprising and wonderful all at once that you can just strike up a conversation because it said NASCAR on his shirt, and then find out you have mutual friends. And now the son goes to school here in Arizona, which is where I am for the winter. And we're going to get together. So now I have more friends and family, and I love it. I absolutely love it.

JUDY: Well, that's how we grow the sport.  My goal has always been since I started in this because when I started in this with Tony and was really thrust into the middle of the NASCAR garage at the height of it, because I took Tony from USAC from winning his Triple Crown in USAC. To Indy cars, winning the pole for the Indy 500, coming within 29 laps of winning the Indy 500 before he blew an engine to what was Busch Series then and probably the prettiest race car I've ever seen anybody drive, which is that number 44, Shell Pontiac, the black and white and red and yellow one, and then to Cup with Home Depot and Joe Gibbs Racing.

And when I came in there, there were very few women. There were not even a lot of women in the media.

And you had to prove yourself every minute of every day, and you had to stay above the fray to make sure that you were respected for why you're there and what you're doing and the job you do. My goal has always been to make it better than it was when I got there and make it easier for young women, not only young drivers, young women to come in and be accepted and have the opportunities.

But not every woman can be a driver. They can be a person. They can be an engineer, they can be in marketing, they can be in public relations, and they all need to have the opportunity to excel at it because they have a passion for the sport, no matter what series it is, whether it's the dirt track at Houston or Knoxville or Daytona or Indy. It's the same game.

MELINDA: When I talk to gals, of course, a lot of them, especially if they're younger, what is it you want to do? What's your goal? They want to be the next World of Outlaws champ or the NASCAR, this or that. And I always talk to them, especially if they're younger, still in high school or whatever, and I'm like, I love your passion. But what else do you enjoy? Because everybody can't be the driver? We need engineers. We need tire specialists. We need PR and bookkeeping and travel and all the things for those teams. And to be realistic, we have to think, what else can I do? What's my plan B if I can't be the driver and that's something that I try to encourage and talk to women about. It takes so many people to put that driver on the track. And if you're not the guy or the gal driving the car, how can you stay involved in motorsports? For me, I never had the desire to be the driver. My son was a race car driver, my granddaughter's drive race cars. I never had that desire. But I love the marketing and the PR and the people I meet. It takes all of us, doesn't it?

JUDY: Yeah, it does take the village and what I always tell these young ladies and young men, for that matter, the young boys, who they go, I want to be the next Tony Stewart or I want to be the next now Kyle Larson or the next Elio Castroneves or the next Scott Dixon or John Force pick a sport, and I always tell them, why don't you be the first authentic you?

MELINDA: I love that.

JUDY: The most important thing is to be authentic, to be yourself. The way people will connect with you is if you're real, if you aren't real, if you put on a facade that you can't maintain. And unfortunately, you and I both we've been here a day or two. We've seen drivers that flame out because they can't keep up the image that they think they should be or who they think they should be. Then you look at somebody like Elio Castroneves, who has done this for the better part of 30 years.

He wouldn't want anybody to know that, but you look at his age and realistically, and he does it at the same level he's always done it. And he is because the Elio that you watch on TV, that exuberance, that passion, that fire, that everything is the same Elio that you'll have a cup of iced coffee or a cup of iced tea with in the paddock during the quiet time on the track. They're the exact same guy. That's why everybody connects with him and so on and so on and so on.

So the young kids need to be authentic. They need to also know if this road doesn't work, try another one. Okay. If you're not meant to be Steve Kinzer or Donny Schatz who I've had the pleasure and the honor of knowing Donnie Schatz since he was 14 years old and watched him race his very first race and was fairly convinced he wasn't going to live long enough to do what he's done. But somehow he figured it all out. And he had the great support of his family, his parents and his family.

But not every kid that climbs in a sprint car is going to be Steve or Sammy or Donnie or Logan Schuchart or whatever. So. Okay, that doesn't work. What about a dirt late model? What about a pavement midget in the Midwest or a non-wing sprint car where there's 360s running everywhere, where they have 30 to 50 cars in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin on a Saturday night of kids who are just trying to learn how to do it, and they do well,

MELINDA: Absolutely. And I love what you say about being authentic, because that doesn't just apply to race car drivers. That applies to everyone. The people that you know and you like and you connect with it's typically because they're real. I say that they're real. They're who they are. Day-- night, Christmas Day, July 4. Whenever it might be, they're the same person and know when you talk to them who you're getting. You never know sometimes with a NASCAR driver which one you're going to get on a certain day…

JUDY: There's a couple of them that come to mind.

MELINDA: I know. I probably have some KB stuff somewhere here. I mean, I have several favorite drivers. He just happens to be one of them. But you never know which one you're going to get. Which one you're going to get. And yet there are other drivers. Chase Elliott. He's pretty much the same guy every day unless you ruffle his feathers.

JUDY: Yeah. Martin Truex is the same thing. Martin Truex is the most true to himself human being I've ever met. He is. And he has a heart bigger than is measurable because he stayed with Sherry. He's been with her by her side as she goes through all of that. He's a big supporter of Sherry Strong and helping raise the money for the charity. And yet he is the same guy. One of the Corvette drivers that I've had the pleasure to work with is a young man named Antonio Garcia, and he drives the number 3 Corvette. And Antonio is the most soft-spoken, quiet, he's a Spaniard, but he's very soft spoken, very quiet young man. He gets in that car and he's like a transformer. He pushed that shield down and locks it, and a whole, another human being comes out behind the wheel. I mean, not bad, just unbelievable talent, aggression when he needs to have it controlled aggression. He's a winner. He's a champion. He takes the helmet off, pulls the shield up, takes the helmet off, and he's back to the really quiet, soft-spoken guy.

There are those who do that very very well. They do what they need to do in the car. But on the outside of the car, they're people. They're real people.

MELINDA: They are real people. And that's the thing that NASCAR fans and people that watch the sport put people on a pedestal. And that's not fair, either, because they are real people and they have real lives. And they have ups and downs just like you and I do. And we say, oh, well, don't take your work home and don't take your personal life to your job. That's a lot of times impossible. And so we don't always know what's happening in their personal lives behind the scenes. And I always try to think where they might be coming from because everybody has bad days, right?

Whether it's driving the car or working with the fans or whatever. But we forget that they are real people with real lives, with real problems, and we shouldn't put them on a pedestal and expect them to be perfect or so much better than, yes, they set an example for thousands of other young men and women.

JUDY: Yeah, they do.

MELINDA: I get that. But we also have to remember that they're human beings

JUDY: And they deserve the room to be human.

You don't know if someone's grandma is ill, right? You don't know these things about them. They are subject to the same things we are. We're 4000 miles from home and the neighbor calls and says your burglar alarm just went off. Well, they probably have the same thing happening. They're just lucky enough to maybe have caretaker who can go over or a good friend. But they are. And the person who has shown us that more. I mean, a lot of drivers are really good at that. But I tell you, one person this year that I've had the absolute honor to work around and get to know is Roman Grosjean.

And here is a man who looked like the Phoenix rising out of the fire by all intents and purposes, he probably should have died in that F1 crash last year, the last race, but he didn't, for the reasons that none of us know and probably will never know. He has come to America. He has turned into an incredible Indy car driver. The fans love him. He is gracious to them. He is adorable to be around. The media love him. And last year he was an F1 driver, and we all would have said, oh, he's an F1 driver, don't pay any attention to him. Not true. He is an amazing human being. And when he started telling us all stories about buying the motor home and putting his wife and kids in the motorhome, once they got done with school in France and going all over the country in the motorhome so they could decide where they wanted to live in America. And it was adorable. It was all the things that we forget. It’s like Scotty McLaughlin does America. It's like he's in awe of Bed, bath and beyond.

I'm like, I go into Bed, Bath and beyond and go, oh, my, I got to go. But Scotty McLaughlin says, Judy, we don't have this where I come from. And Roman Grosjean talked about going to Mount Rushmore and how staggeringly beautiful that was for him. And he'd never seen anything like that. And I'm thinking to myself, you have the Eiffel Tower in the arc de triumphe and a few, million other things, not to mention Longlaw, but he was absolutely mesmerized by Mt. Rushmore. So it's been really fun because we all got to get back, brought back to the reason we do this.

And then you see somebody like Pato and Rinus who win with such joy...such joy! And you went, oh, yeah, that's why we do this. Oh, yeah. That's why we do this.

MELINDA: One of the reasons that he might find joy in the motorhome and all that is because he did survive. And he has a different outlook on things and the fact that the people drove in the motorhome looking for where they want to live, what a smart thing to do.

JUDY: I know I would have never thought of that.

MELINDA: I would have never thought of that. And then, like Mount Rushmore, how many people that live in the United States and maybe even live within 3 hours let's say of there have never been there. Because you tend to take for granted the things that are close by.

JUDY: Or that they'll always be there.

MELINDA: It'll always be there. I live less than an hour from Lake Michigan. And do you know, it's been three summers since I've even been there.

JUDY: And it's such a beautiful, but we all do that. So it's really fun to watch in all of these series. We get a Indy car and sports car, but it's happening in every NASCAR. It's happening a little bit in NHRA. These people coming in from I wanted to try this. I don't know if I can do it or not. And the people they remind you that there is a reason why we are all still so passionate about it. So it makes me want to work even harder to make sure there is a place for this to go on. After I've finished running around to 30 race tracks a year, I'm proud of what I've accomplished, and I'm proud of the people that I've worked with. Some of them, I put my face in my hands and went, oh, my gosh, it's been a great ride. And I'm very very grateful to a lot of people who gave me a chance when they didn't have to.

MELINDA: Well, especially, like you say, when you started a woman doing what you did or anything in motorsports was pretty much unheard of. And you broke that. You broke through and you showed them that it doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman doing that job. It's about credibility. It's about knowledge. It's about being capable of doing what you need to do. And that's the same as a racecar driver. I talked to so many girls. I'm like the car doesn't know if you're a girl or a boy. Just get in and drive.

JUDY: Yeah. And do your best. And if it doesn't measure up to where you think it should take a step back and go, is it me? Is it the car? Do I just not know enough and keep in mind that there are some of these guys that have been at it of 20 years. Yeah. Donnie Schatz has ten Championships and ten Knoxville National wins because he worked hard at it. Same with Sam and Steve and all those guys. But I do have one story that's really funny.

I think it's funny. When Tony was in the Busch series, we were running Indy car because he had to fulfill his contract to John Menard. And finish out his Indy car contract, which was actually IRL then, but he had to honor his contract to John Menard and then also run the Busch series for Joe Gibbs. So we were getting toward the end of the season. We were done with IRL, and he was going to run the last, like, ten, eight races of the NASCAR Busch Series.

So I went to the NASCAR trailer, and I knocked on the door, and Mike Helton came to the door and he looked at me. And he said, who are you? And I introduced myself, and I had the Shell shirt on then because he was in the Shell in the Busch Series. And I said, I was just wondering if I could speak to you and Mr. Hunter about Tony Stewart, because he's going to come to Cup next year. And he's not Jeff Gordon. He's Tony Stewart. But he has an incredible amount of talent. And I just want everybody to give me a chance. And I'm going to make sure that he is worthy of it and he earns what I can control. But I'd like for you guys to know that. And Mike Helton, who is giant. He is such a big man. He towers over me, almost twice as tall as I am. And he looked at me and he said, wow, I said, what? He said, I don't think I've ever had anybody ask to come into the red trailer. I said well, Dale Senior comes here all the time.

That's Dale Senior. That's a whole different thing, he said. I don't think I've ever had anybody else ask to come in. So I went in. I sat down with Mr. Helton, Mr. Hunter and Bill Jr. He was still alive. And I told him I asked him to give him a chance. And I told him that he might not be the easiest to work with because he was very passionate about what he did. And I would work on that as best I could, but to give him a chance because I thought he would be good for NASCAR and that he would do something.

Of course, he and Robbie Gordon get in a fist fight the first day of practice at Daytona. And I'm like and Helton says to me He's going to be good huh. And I went, oh, but we survived. And he did. And when I was at his Hall of Fame dinner, I was invited. I was honored to be invited there. And Mr. Helton was there. And he was with a group of people. And I was walking by, and he said, you aren't going to say, Hi. You were talking to all these nice people.

And he said come here and he put his arm around and he said, I want you to meet Judy Dominic. He said, She's the one we have to blame for Tony Stewart. If she hadn't brought him here, we wouldn't have to put up with all that. I looked up at him. Really? He went, no, he said, thank you. He was everything you said he would be. And then some, sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and just hope that you have to believe enough in yourself to know that you can do it.

You have to be authentic. And I was me. I went in there with, like, oh boy this could go whatever way and I could be in big trouble. But if you don't take that leap, you don't ever know what might happen.

MELINDA: Oh, that's so true. And one of my husband's favorite things is, what's the worst that could happen? They could say, no, we don't want to talk. There's 100 things they could have said. And look at the fun and the joy and the excitement and the drama that Tony Stewart brought to NASCAR. Yeah. There's never going to be another Tony Stewart.

JUDY: No. And people say to me, Well, Kyle Larson is as good as Tony. And I said in some aspects, he might be a better driver. But what he doesn't have.. his fire is just channeled way differently. And while he's going to win a lot of races and a lot of Championships, but he will never bring the fireworks with it. He will just be that guy who puts his helmet on and goes and does it better than anybody else. One of these days, I was just like, we never thought Jeff Gordon had a temper. And we never thought Jeff Gordon got mad. And all of a sudden, we're looking at Jeff Gordon running over the hoods of three cars to get to Kevin Harvick, at Bristol and try to beat the tar out of him… and get in a fight with Jeff Burton on the back stretch at Charlotte. And you go, so maybe in Kyle somewhere, there's just a teeny bit of fire. But there's a ton of talent, talent that we haven't even tapped yet.

MELINDA: We haven't even seen the scope of the talent in that young man. And I followed him when he was in NASCAR before, and I always just thought he's so versatile. And I like that about him that he drove a lot of different kinds of cars and everything. But the thing about Tony Stewart, when he sat down to press conference, we never knew what he was going to say.

JUDY: And I would just be standing in the back of the room like this, and the media would turn around and they go, Way to Go Judy! So they would goad him and they did it on purpose. And he would take the bait sometimes. And it was like, we'd walk in and I'd go now, don't let them. No, I won't. I got this. I got this. But it was okay. It was fun. I would not trade one minute of the seven years with that man for anything.

No, or any of the other drivers I've worked with, and now it's a whole new crop. Indy car is so fun now because we have all these kids that are just crazy fast. And they don't know what it feels like to show the wall at 240 miles an hour yet. Hopefully they don't find out. But, I mean, we have ten kids under the age 25 that are rock stars. And the old guys are going hmmmm where did they come from? But ten years ago, they were those kids.

What's going on in racing right now is awesome. Chevrolet has the youngest average age of drivers in NASCAR. So between all of our teams, we have the youngest group of drivers, which is exciting, because that means long term. We can do something, and hopefully they'll do something.

MELINDA: Didn't Chevrolet let's plug them a little bit. Didn't they just win the manufacturer's Championship, correct?

JUDY: Yes. Drivers and owners in cup. They won the manufacturers in Xfinity as well. And we're about to win manufacturers, drivers and team and IMSA with Corvette Racing, and they'll finish one, two. And then Cadillac, we've won the manufacturers. But it's going to be a heck of a battle down to see whether we can get the driver's title and the owner's title. The 31 Wheeling Cadillac is going to have to beat that Acura of Michael Shank Racing with Ricky Taylor in it. And so it will be a great race at Motul Petit this weekend.

Yes. And Brittany Force is second in the points going into top fuel for going into the final. And then Greg Anderson and Erica Enders are 38 points apart, and both of them going for their fifth title. Greg is already the winningest pro stock driver ever. So he broke all Warren Johnson's records except titles, but he broke all the rest of them. But he has more wins than Warren. Nobody else has more wins than Greg in pro Stock. So even Bob Flynn, I thought maybe Bob Flynn would have more wins, but he didn't.

But they didn't run as many races back then either, when Glenn was racing. So we have a lot that can happen this weekend, too.

MELINDA: I listen to Sirius radio and I'm pretty sure it was there that I heard a gentleman from Chevrolet.

JUDY: That was Mr. Campbell. He's my boss. Big boss.

MELINDA: Okay. All right. That was telling about their success and everything. He said that our goal every year is to win the manufacturer's Championship and everything. I loved hearing from that side of it. It's not just the racers, it's the people like him, and it means a lot to the whole team, everybody involved. And I can't say enough about motorsports and how much I love it.

JUDY: Well, you do a great job with this. And I know the women in racing appreciate everything you do. And thank you so much for doing this. And don't give it up. It has such value. You just don't know how much value it would have.

MELINDA: I appreciate that, especially coming from you, because that's a huge compliment, Judy. That really makes my day.

JUDY: Well, thank you for having me.

MELINDA: Absolutely. So is there anything I haven't asked you about that you'd like to share. I just don't want to leave anything out. You're so fun to talk to.

JUDY: Well, when you go back when I had the motorcycle dealership, I had an AMA race team, and I had 2-750 super bikes, and I had a 1000 CC endurance bike, 2-600 super sports and a TZ 250. And we went and ran the AMA circuit as a privateer team, which would be like being Furniture Row Racing in Cup. And against all the factory Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, you know. And then when I was in the motorcycle business, I had Yamaha, BMW and Ducati in my dealership, and I was fortunate enough to have been voted the President of the US Dealer Board for each one of those brands because I was the only female that owned a dealership.

And Yamaha, the Japanese were a little like what?... the Italians loved it, which was sometimes problematic, but we worked our way through it. And the Germans were like, seriously?... but when I sold a lot of motorcycles for them, then they got over the fact that I was female and I loved motorcycle racing. I still to this day, I sit and watch Moto GP, or I tape it if I'm not home because that's such a skill set that if you're not around it, you don't understand the skills that go into that.

And those not that to take anything away from anybody that races on four wheels. But they have two wheels in road racing or flat track. They have a one inch patch of tire on the track surface, and they have two wheels, and they are the roll cage. There is no roll cage around them. So when it goes wrong, it usually goes really wrong. But on the other hand, when it doesn't, it's the most amazing thing to watch. And so I've stayed attached to that. I was really lucky back in the day to have been the only importer in the United States for Maverick wheels, Marc Senior Wheels and Brembo Brakes for motorcycles.

And I sponsored Team Roberts in what was then called 500 CC Motor GP for Wayne Rainey and Eddie Lawson and John Krasinski and Kenny Roberts Jr. And to this day, I get to call Wayne Rainey, a friend, and I'm really proud of that. He and I had a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun together, as well as all the kids that road for me. And I don't know, I love midgets. I love Sprint cars. It's hard to do when you do the job I do.

You have to make sure that you don't walk over the fan line. But when I go to a motorcycle race or I go to a dirt track or I hopefully get to go someday to an F1 race. But if I don't, I'm watching on my television. I geek out. And I am the biggest race fan on the planet. When I do my job, you can't do that. You have to maintain that distance of professionalism, and sometimes things go awry that you have to respond to. So you have to be a professional. But I am still a huge fan of racing. And the day I don't work on a pit road or a pit lane or whatever. I will go, and I will cheer my brains out. Just like all the rest of the grandstands.

MELINDA: I have an interesting story to share with you. So I met my second husband, and he was a big motorcycle fan. He had ridden motorcycles since he was little. He has a Yamaha FZ1 still to this day, it has, I don't know, 77,000 miles on it.

JUDY: Wow.

MELINDA: And it's as good today as it was when he bought it. It's a great bike. But anyway, so when I met him, he said, the fun is not on the back. And so one day on my lunch hour I went to the Secretary of State's office, and I took the written test, and I passed it. I had my little card so I could ride with a seasoned driver. So I took it home and showed it to him. And he was blown away. And I was 50 years old. And we went and bought a little Honda 250 or something little to learn how, so I could learn how to ride, then I had a Honda Shadow. And then I had Honda VTX 1300R. And I rode it and I had that until I had back surgery. And I just couldn't drive the bike anymore. But we used to go to Mid Ohio to the motorcycle races. Year after year, best track. I bet, ten years in a row we went there. It was like the thing we looked forward to the most the whole summer. Nikki Hayden, the Bostrom Boys, Miguel Duhamel.

JUDY: Yeah. Miguel,

MELINDA: We absolutely loved those guys and going there.And fast. Oh, my goodness. It was just I had to go at 06:00 a.m. To put your thing up. So you'd have shade. It was just our favorite thing to do. And now we're into all kinds of racing. But that still is where our hearts are.

JUDY: It's hard to shake it. Those things… you sit there and listen to them go through the gears and that thing screaming at 14, 5, 15 thousand RPMs. It's really hard to beat that.

MELINDA: And Michael Jordan had a team. Yes, he did at the time. And then when he became involved in NASCAR, I had people say, wow, he's interested in racing. I said, oh, he's been in racing a long time. You just didn't know it because you didn't follow motorcycle racing. And I really never had a lot of fear. And so the one time at Mid Ohio, they were offering you could pay to ride on the back, and they would take you around the track. Right. And how many fast? I don't know. But it was fast.

And so I kept saying to my husband, I want to do it. I want to do it. He said, go do it. As I start to walk over to where you go to pay your money, it starts to rain. I never got to do it. And I said, God was telling me I was too old. I shouldn't be doing it. So it caused the rain to come. I would have loved it. I would have loved to do that to ride on this.

JUDY: Yeah, I was writing a piece because I did a lot of writing also during the motorcycle days, the truck series days. Then it became I couldn't do any. I didn't have time. I did a radio show for a while out of Denver, Colorado, and I loved that. But I was doing a piece for Yamaha’s International magazine. And it was when the whole Moto GP was at Laguna Seca. And so they asked me, do you want to ride around the track? And I said, with who? And they said, With Johnny K?

And I said, yeah, I will. And they looked at me and I said, how am I supposed to write a story about what they do if I don't? I've watched them for years and years and years. I buy all the stuff that makes them do what they do for my guys and other guys. But I don't know how they do what they do.

MELINDA: I know.

JUDY: So they put me on. It was a super bike. It wasn't his GP bike because they weren't that dumb. And it was a world Superbike, and it was a Yamaha, but I'm on the back because they only have the one little saddle. So he said, okay, squish down in here as far as you can behind me. And so then back then, we have the quickfills on the tank where the quickfill dropped into the tank. So I pushed it in and I held on with my fingers like that and have my arms around him.

And I had full leathers on my helmet, my boots, my gloves, the whole thing knee pads and everything. And he said, okay, just move with me. I said, no problem. So we take off out of the pits, head up that Hill at Laguna Seca,and I'm thinking to myself, Who's going to call my mother and tell her I died on a motorcycle? No, I did the right thing. So we went the first lap and came down through the corkscrew and I'm screaming at the top of my lungs because it is the coolest thing I've ever done.

Oh, my God. We pulled down Pill Lane, and he said, he turns around. He goes, Are you okay? I said, do another one. He looked at them all and they went, you want to do it? And he said, She's perfect. She knows exactly what to do. He said she leaned when I leaned, she did everything. And he said sometimes they get people on there that go all around and they'll just back it off and wick it down and just coast around. And so we took another lap.

And I will never forget that that was the most incredible ride. The second best ride I probably ever had was in a stock car with Dale Earnhardt, Sr. at Daytona. We were giving some customer rides, and he looked at me and he went, hey, I said, yes. You want to go for a ride? Yeah. And he looked at my boss and boss said, if she's dumb enough to go ride with you, go ahead. And I got in. And he did everything he possibly could to try to scare me because I'm watching the third turn wall coming at him.

And we're only like this far from the back stretch wall, I swear. And it was a hoot. And then the other best ride I ever had was in a Corvette with Juan Pablo at Indy. And that was just crazy. He is so crazy. good, it's unbelievable. Really.

MELINDA: I'm so jealous of your experiences because I would have gotten in all three of those rides without thinking, because I just don't have the fear. I mean, when you get on and you're going that's a different story.

But I just would not have hesitated because it's just, oh, my gosh. I can't even imagine.

JUDY: I've been very, very blessed. I've been very lucky. I worked hard, but I'm grateful for every opportunity I've had. And I'm not done yet. I'm not done yet.

MELINDA: Oh, I know you're not. I still see the fire in your eyes.

JUDY: It’s there… Yeah. I'm sad that this coming weekend is the last weekend. Jeez. But then January will be here before we know it and we'll be scrambling to get to Rolex, right?

MELINDA: It just goes so quick. 36 races of NASCAR went by in a flash, and we had two weeks off for the Indy race, Judy, in Nashville this year.

JUDY: Awesome. So awesome. Amazing.

MELINDA: It was amazing. And I've got my tickets for my first Indy.

JUDY: Good.

MELINDA: So I'm so excited about that. You know what? I'm not sure because I reached out to somebody that I know, but I'll let you know where they are. They're good seats because I had a connection that I met with this.

JUDY: Well, we do. Yeah. There's one thing about the Indy 500. All of the other races, the big races in any series are amazing. But there is just something about the start of the INDY 500 that you don't see any place else. You don't feel it when that place is full of 300,000 plus people, the drivers feel it. Everybody feels it. It's just crazy how fun it is.

MELINDA: Well, I'm told that the pre-race, the whole pre-race thing is worth everything to go. I can't wait.

JUDY: Kleenex in your pocket, though, because some of them make you cry. It's just so touching. Some of the things they do. I'm so good about honoring the history and honoring those who came before us. They're very good about that.

MELINDA: Well, Judy, I could talk to you for hours, but I know that you probably need to go have dinner and we will definitely see each other again.

JUDY: I hope so.

MELINDA: I'm so honored and pleased that you agreed to be on my podcast. I love the stories you've told and your passion and what you’ve shared, and we're going to have to do this again because we didn't get through near the stories I'm sure.

JUDY: No, we didn't. But I'd love to. Maybe we can talk again before the season starts next year, and we can see what we got in front of us with the new cars.

All right. Well, thank you so much.

MELINDA: Thank you, Judy.

You have a good evening.

JUDY: You, too.

This is Melinda Russell with Racing Girls Rock podcast. And my guests today are sisters Marie and Kayla Curtis. They were referred to me by another person that I've met through social media. That's how I meet most of these gals. And so I heard that these two girls had a really good summer, and I wanted to have them on because I love sharing the stories of young women in racing, and it's not just because they've been successful. They could have not been successful. I still just love telling their stories.

So we're going to start. We'll start with you. Marie, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself your age, what you like to do besides racing and that kind of thing. And then, Kayla, when she's done, you can take your turn.

MARIE: Well, first off, my name is Marie Curtis. My parents Rose and Brian, and they helped me out a lot in my racing career. I used to rodeo before I did this, I competed on horses, and then I decided I wanted to go faster. So I got into the stock car racing. I actually had a boyfriend at the time when I was 18, that raced, and he let me race his car in the Pure Stock Division, which was three years ago and then ended up just kept going.

But I'm a fulltime college student. This is my last semester before I get a criminal law degree through Great Basin College, and I'm just about to turn 21 next week.

So that's the big birthday, isn't it? 21? Yeah.

MARIE: I'll be in Vegas, coincidentally, because I'll be racing the duel in the desert.

Oh, what a terrible place to turn 21.

MARIE: I don't see the big thing with Vegas because I've lived here in Nevada, so I've been there.

I've been to Vegas a few times, and honestly, I don't see the big thing either. I'm not a gambler, really. And there's a lot of other places I'd go before I went back to Vegas. But anyway, so, Kayla, let's hear about you.

KAYLA: My name is Kayla Curtis. I'm 18 years old. I just got tired of watching my sister race and decided to do a car of my own. But before doing that, I used to do competitive shooting and rodeo as well as my sister went to Nationals a few times a few times for that. And since I stopped doing that just been rodeoing here and there and just racing when I'm not rodeoing.

Are you still in high school?

KAYLA: No, I'm graduated. I’m taking a gap year to learn more about diesel mechanics, which is the career I want to go into.

Well, that's a great career for a woman, honestly, because you'll be in the minority, and a lot of teams are going to want to hire you when you're ready. So good choice in the career. And as well, Marie, criminal justice sounds a little scary to me right now, but hopefully not.

MARIE: Well, that's just a fallback. I'm actually trying to build engines for race cars, so I'm getting going with that right now, but I just wanted a degree to have to fall back to, and that was a good degree. And I'm into the forensics side of things.

Okay, I think that would be the interesting side. The forensic side. Good plan for the future that you went to school and you have something to fall back on. Good job. So, girls, how did you get interested and involved in racing? So, Marie, we'll start with you. You're the oldest. We're going to start with her Kayla. Sorry. So how did you get interested in racing and then tell us about your summer? I know you've had a really good summer.

MARIE: So my dad used to tough truck and then my mom to demolition Derby. So I've always had the motorsports side of things. But I ended up getting into racing dirt track oval track because of a boyfriend and their family. They let me use their Chevele pure stock card. I raced that class for one year, and then I decided that I wanted to go into a bigger class, and that relationship ended. So I got my Camaro, that's Northern Nevada Hobby Stock, which is a little bit like the IMCA hobby stocks, I guess, but a little bit you can do a little bit more to ours.

And then for the third year, this was my third year, I raced that Hobby stock and this IMCA stock car. How I got into the stock cars. I went to the Duo in the Desert last fall with my boyfriend, Chas Baka. So I've seen those cars race, and I just was like, well, I know everybody likes the modified, but I really like these stock cars, so I ended up going all the way to Iowa to pick this one up, and it's been good for me. It's needed a lot of TLC because it's an older car, but it's been great.

I won all three Northern Nevada track Championships. I won Summit Raceway in Oakland, Nevada. I won Bottom Mountains track Championship, and then I won my hometown Winnemucca’s track Championship. And then with that, I won the state Championship here. And then I traveled for the Wild West Tour and that tour, I was sitting second in points until the last day, and I fell back due to some motor issues and ended up fourth in that tour, which is still not bad for rookie, I don't think. Then we went I was racing Cocopah for most of the stock car race that they had there and coincidentally, ended up second in points behind my sponsor, Leslie Gil, with Stealth Oil Services. And he's helped me a lot with the set ups and getting me some decent equipment and wrap make the car look good. So, yeah, it's been my summer this year, and then the Camaro. I've won quite a few main events in that car as well this year. I think probably like, eight or nine. I'm not 100% sure around there, though.

Yeah. So they see you pulling up, and the guys are like, oh, no…She's back…Because you've been beating everybody.

MARIE: I haven't been the fastest trial out there. I've just been really consistent and consistently getting faster. So learning.

That's amazing. I love seeing you do all those different kinds of races and all those different kinds of series, but to be able to win the Championships and all those all those tracks and then finish second and finish fourth, that's pretty impressive. So what is it about your driving or some people It's kind of like I'm thinking of Kyle Larson. Kyle Larson just kind of can get in any car and go. Some people have a natural ability. Some people have to work a little harder. Do you feel like you kind of have a natural ability?

Some things come easy, or is it just that you have such a passion for it that you just work hard at it?

MARIE: I think it's a combination of both because each class that I've been in, I have been consistently a smooth driver. I have really smooth movements, and I think that that helps a lot, but it also helps a lot that I have a great passion for it. And I'm constantly every night in this shop working on my car, trying to make it better. For example, I just built a 360 for my stock car that's going to make its debut in Yuma, Arizona Cocopah Speedway this weekend and then go to Vegas.

So we'll see how that motor compares to these big name brands that have been coming up.

Now I would love to come and watch you this weekend, but you know what else is going on this weekend, right?

MARIE: I'm not sure…

The NASCAR Championship right here in Phoenix, and it's only about 20 miles away from where I'm at.

So I'm going to be in Phoenix at the racetrack Friday, Saturday, Sunday. But at some point, I would love to come and watch you race, because that would be a lot of fun.

MARIE: I go down to Arizona quite often due to I like racing Cocopah. I really like

ET, but unfortunately, they're going to be closing down.

You've been awfully quiet back there Kayla. Let's hear about you, Kayla. How did you get started? I know you said you saw your sister racing, and so that's what made you want to race. But where do you race? What have you been doing? I'm sure you've been helping her throughout the season, too, but I know you race as well, so tell me a little bit about yourself.

KAYLA: Well, like Marie said, our dad was into tough trucking, and I originally wanted to go into that, but they stopped doing that up here around where we live, and I didn't really want to spend lots of money traveling to go places with the tough truck. So I spent time with Marie behind the scenes in the pits a little bit, and I was just tired of sitting there watching. I kind of got bored. So I was like, I'm going to buy a smaller car for myself because I don't really like the full body cars.

I think I like the big go fast cars. Yeah, take it easy. So I got a car of my own. And then during the summer, I blew that transmission up in my car. So I switched cars mid year, which is hard because I had car troubles with the new car and seeing that it wasn't fully running, right? I didn't want to go back to my old car. I just decided to stick to this new car and get it figured out and actually ended up burning the tranny out of that one, too.

You're hard on your cars.

KAYLA: I am. I'm very hard.

So where did you race this summer, though? I know you did race.

KAYLA: I mostly race in Winnemucca. I made a few races in Battle Mountain. I did the Northern Nevada Shootout tour with Marie with the new car. Yeah, I think I won a couple of races and that. And then I won two races at Winnemucca.

And how many years have you been racing?

KAYLA: This is my second year.

And you've already had some wins. I don't know if you follow a lot of racing or not, but starting out in the first year or two and then having some wins under your belt is pretty impressive because some people race a long time and they never get to the winner’s circle. So kudos to you girls for all that you've done and how successful you've been. So who helps you with your car? I assume your dad.

MARIE: Well, I do a lot of the work on my car myself. He's there if I have questions, but my cars are really up to me. I take pride in that. I want to be the one to do my cars, to set them up, to fix the motors, to build motors, to fix whatever. But there is some things that I still have to ask him and ask my grandpa about because my grandpa has machining equipment over there. So there's a lot of things that I can fix that most people can't.

And he helps me a lot with that sort of stuff. But as far as Kayla's car goes, I have no idea, because it's the computer stuff. I'm good with the old small box. Yeah, not so much her car.

So Kayla, who helps you with your car?

KAYLA: Mostly my dad and Mike Scott, the Winnemucca track promoter. He helps me a lot because he understands the computer side of the car. A lot more than me or my dad does. But I will admit my dad and him do most of the work on my car because I'm at work most of the time, so I just kind of step back, and I'm like, okay, I'll help you guys tear it down, but I won't be able to help you be there and work on it.

Yeah, well, that's okay. It's not like you're laying inside of the couch watching TV. You're actually working. So you're doing something productive while they're doing that. So that's okay. That's a good thing. So, Kayla, what is your favorite thing about being a race car driver?

KAYLA: Probably the adrenaline rush, I will say, because I have hit the wall and rolled. It wasn't my fault. I didn't do anything. Harper pushed me into the wall, and I flipped.

But you were okay.

KAYLA: Yes, I was. Okay. Good. I did get the car back up and running now.

And Marie, what about you? What's your favorite part?

MARIE: Well, like she said, the adrenaline rush. I think that's a big part of it. But I also like being someone that younger girls can look up to. I like being a role model for those younger girls. And that's why I take so much pride in doing my own stuff, because they should know that they're more than capable of doing whatever the men do, right?

Because they can do anything they put their minds to. Can't they?

MARIE: Yes.

Billy Venturini, who has I think, some ARCA cars, but I believe he also has some cars in the truck series. I don't know if he still does, but he said to me one time, once you get in the car, it doesn't know if you're a male or a female. So it doesn't really matter, because he used to employ a lot of female drivers and crew people. And somebody had asked him why. And he said the car doesn't know the difference. I hire the people that are the best;

MARIE: Yeah. And that's what I want is I want to show these younger females they can do it if they want to go work in oil fields, they are more than capable of going and doing it. They want to race the car. They're more than capable. I have so many young female driver, not drivers, female kids, even the boys, the kids. They love seeing somebody like me, the car, they have the time in it get the experience of it. And that's what I really like about it.

Yeah. And that's something that just makes great memories. It's great to have a successful season and all those wins. That's wonderful. But you don't really know, and you may never know, what kind of influence you had on some of those kids because they may be racing somewhere way far away from you. And it's all because they saw you do it. And you may never know that. But to be able to influence those kids and set a good example, both of you I know do that. That's really a lifelong thing that you can carry with you in the future as you grow older. Being a good example on and off the track is really important. So what about social media? You guys are young. Do you use Twitter? Tiktok, Facebook. I'm sure you're on social media. Tell me about that.

MARIE: We both have personal accounts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, but we have a racing page that we C4 racing, which is our team, because Curtis, four. There's four of us in our family. So then our last name is Curtis, but it could also be used for, like, Dynamite C4Racing, right. We have a page on Facebook and Instagram for that. And then on my TikTok account, I post a lot of my car building like me working on the car, working on the engines, and then my racing videos, clips from racing inside the car and outside the car. That's about all the platforms we use.

So how do you feel about social media? It gets a good rap, and it gets a bad rap sometimes. Talk to me a little bit about how you feel it helps you. What do you do to make sure that you're staying positive on there? Just tell me a little bit about how you feel about the whole social media thing and the controversy and the Facebook, and they're having a big deal now about how Facebook is detrimental to young girls, which you guys are. Talk to me about that a little bit.

MARIE: Well, I think that Facebook can be used for good, and it can be used for bad, just like anything. But it is a good way for us to get our names out there more than just the tracks that we visited or the states that we visited. And it's also a good way for us to support our sponsors that help us getting their names out there. But personally, I haven't ever been had any issues with social media, but I'm also a very conservative person. I keep my personal life to myself, and I don't spread it on social media. So some people, they do spread their personal information all over there. But I don't know. It depends on how you feel and how you let people affect you. I feel like that's the main reason for that bad stuff.

Kayla, do you have anything to add to that?

KAYLA: No. Pretty much that at all. Like she said, we haven't had many issues with it. We keep our personal life personal in our public life public.

I think that's the biggest problem, isn't it is that people share way too much, and then they wonder why people comment or all that. And it's kind of like you have to be smart about what you do, whether it's social media, whether it's driving down the road, whatever it is, you have to kind of use your head and be smart about what you're doing. I'm glad to hear that you're conservative because that'll do well for you down the road, for sure. So young women in racing. I already heard you say that you want to be a good role model. What do you want your legacy to be? I know you're pretty young, but someday down the road when somebody says, Marie Curtis. Kayla Curtis, what do you want people to remember about you?

MARIE: Never thought about that.

I know you're young.

MARIE: I like people to just know that no matter what life threw at me, I kept going, kept trying, kept pushing through it and achieved what I wanted to achieve. Pushed for those wins, pushed for those achievements off the track. Like, for example, the mechanical work that goes into it as far as racing. That's what I want people to remember me by is my drive to accomplish my goals.

Okay, Kayla,

KAYLA: Pretty much the same thing. Just like the hard work and effort that we put into our cars and put into perfecting how we drive it, how it runs, and just all that.

Because like I said earlier, for no longer than you've been racing, you've been pretty successful. So that doesn't just come easy. That takes a lot of hard work and time in the garage and time watching races and knowing where to pass and when to pass and all those things. So you don't achieve what you've done without having some long hours and some hard work put into it, that's for sure. So your dad raced, your mom was in demolition. Your parents probably more than some were not concerned about you getting into racing. How did they feel about it? Did they encourage you? Did they discourage you?

MARIE: Well, my parents, they got used to us doing crazy things with the rodeo, like the rodeo. You can get hurt pretty bad with that. They had good practice with some of our accidents that happened in that. But our parents, they were way more supportive I think of the motor sports side of things because it's something that they had done. But then again, they don't know anything about the circle track part of it. So all of us are learning everything from zero. We didn't know anything when we got in this, they've been really supportive, both emotionally and financially. I try to pay for most of my stuff, like both the cars that I've bought I've bought. But then there's some tough situations I get into where I need a part at the racetrack, and they don't hesitate to go get it. And they're always there. Whether I do good or bad, whether I hit the wall, whether I win the checkered, it doesn't matter. They're there.

That's awesome. So, Kayla, tell me about the rodeo thing. What's the worst thing that happened to you when you girls were doing rodeo? Did you get hurt? Did you break a body part? What happened?

KAYLA: So my freshman year of high school, so about five years ago, I got into a breakaway roping accident, and I had a burn across my neck from the neck rope on the calf that was attached to the shute which the cow comes out of the rope, broke off and wrapped around her neck with the horse coming out of it.

Oh, my goodness.

MARIE: Hit the horse's head first, which is what saved her life.

KAYLA: Yeah. If it wouldn’t of hit the horse's head, I probably wouldn't be here today.

Oh, my goodness. And you have really no protection, do you not, like in a car, you've got a helmet and a Hans device and seat belts, right? Oh, my goodness.

MARIE: Yeah. For me, I had a couple. I was riding bare back one day with some friends, and these dogs came at our horses and mine freaked out. It was my team roping horse, and he flung me up in the air so high, and I landed on my head and neck, and my head was bleeding, and it was just a bad deal that I still have neck issues from which is why I have a neck Gen, because I really don't need to get my neck hurt again. And then I've gotten thrown into the fence and they thought I was paralyzed like that's the kind of stuff horses bring, why we are so safe in that car compared to what we have been through.

The thing that's good about this, and I hope some people listen to it that are thinking about getting their kids into racing. I mean, yes. Can you get hurt racing? Of course you can. You can get hurt riding your bicycle down the street. There's nothing 100% safe. But when you compare rodeo to car racing, there's really no comparison is there?

MARIE: No. You're so much safer in the car than on a horse.

You really are. And I love the rodeo. And I love watching all that. But gosh to think about what's happened to you two girls. I would never want my kid to be involved in that ever.

MARIE: I would have never taken back riding horses. I love those horses, and I put everything into them. They're an animal. They have a mind of their own. Sometimes things go wrong. Things scare them. I don't ever blame them. But you are trying to tame a 1200 LB animal. They can hurt you. But there's also a lot of good that comes with it.

Yeah, especially pleasure riding and owning a horse. And that's one thing. But like, what happened to you with the rope and that's pretty scary stuff. I think you girls are a little bit daredevilish. Would you say that you are?

MARIE: Yes. 100%

And it's just you two girls. You don't have any brothers?

MARIE: No.

So you're a little bit tomboy in some ways because you like all those kinds of things like your dad did in that, which is kind of cool.

MARIE: Well, our mom is not girly at all. I think because both we grew up around a tomboyish mom, and then our dad, we just ended up into that scene.

Yeah, but it's fun that you're both doing. It. The best part about it is it's a family thing. You're doing it with your family. There's lots of memories you're making. You're just having fun as a family. And I know you've met tons of people who now are your race family, which is the best part, isn't it?

MARIE: I have a race family here in Nevada, and then I have one down in Arizona now. So all of Chad's race family down there has taken me in, and I really like racing in Arizona just as much as I like racing here because it's the same family feel.

Yeah. And how far is it for you to go to Yuma from where you live?

MARIE: 12 hours. 13. I guess with the trailer, it's like 14 hours total, like with stops and everything, but it's worth it.

So you go, like, for the whole weekend?

MARIE: Yeah. Like this weekend, I'll head down early Thursday morning to get there for practice, and I'll practice that night. And then we'll race Friday, Saturday, and then Sunday, we'll drive to Vegas and then race Vegas.

Yeah. So it's going to be a busy weekend for sure. So the best way to keep track of you girls and where you are and what you're doing would be.

MARIE: Our racing page. C4 Racing.

C4 racing. And do you put on there, like, where you're going to be and then you put on the results so people can really keep track?

MARIE: We try to there's occasions that we get busy and don't get to posting it, but we try to keep it updated.

Okay. Awesome. And is Cocopah the only place in Arizona that you race then since the other place is closing?

MARIE: Other than that, it's just been Cocopah but next year, I'm planning on hitting more tracks over there.

Okay.

MARIE: So if there's a tour down there like that I think they have an Arizona tour that they hit, like four or five tracks there. I'll try to go to that because I'm not going to race the Wild West Tour for this year, but I want to change it up.

That's good. Do something different, meet some other new people, right?

MARIE: And I'm trying to get her to go to Cocopah with me because she can race the IMCA sport car over there.

Kayla, you've got to get busy now and get that car all set up and going so that you can go down with your sister. Yeah. That would be a lot of fun. So I've enjoyed meeting and talking to you girls, and I definitely want to come and watch you race. Is there anything that I haven't asked you about or that you'd like to share about yourselves, your family, your racing, anything at all?

MARIE: I don't think so. No, you basically covered it.

We pretty much covered it. That's great. Well, I appreciate the time. I know you girls are busy and that, but I sure appreciate that Heather reached out and shared with me about you because it's hard for me to keep up with everybody. And I'm always meeting new people. And so I like having people out there who say, hey, you should talk to so and so and so. I appreciate that she did that so we could talk. And I'm definitely going to be following you. And I'm going to try to find when you're going to be in Arizona when it's not the NASCAR Championship so I can come and watch a race. I appreciate the time, girls. Thank you so much.

MARIE and KAYLA: Thank you.

RACING GIRLS ROCK: Melinda Russell

GUEST: Pauline Dougald

Hello, everyone.

This is Melinda Russell with Racing Girls Rock podcast, and I am excited to have as my guest today, Pauline Dougald, we met, of course, through social media as I've met 99% of the ladies that have been on my podcast, but I'm excited to have her here today. We did a story about her in one of our recent magazines, so I do know a little bit about her story, but I'm still going to let her tell us in her own words. So, Pauline, first, I'd like you to just share a little bit about yourself where you live, what you do, just some things so we can get to know who you are and then we'll go from there.

Yeah, sure. Melinda sounds great. And it's great to be on this podcast where I am right now. I'm in Canada. I'm in Canada, Ontario, and I have been living here for a while. I originally moved from Russia back in 98, and I have been in Canada ever since. Right now, I live in a rural area and have a dog and a bunch of cats. So the racing background goes back 2007, and how I got to that was like a story in its own, because I was at that time still learning to drive on the streets of Toronto.

I was in a big city and it was so nerve wracking. And one day my work took us to a go car track as a corporate event. And that has changed everything for me. That is how my story begins. I discovered the way to learn how to drive, better to go carts. And then I discovered the racing track, which was used to be called Mossport here in Ontario. And I spent the whole summer there at the Bridgestone Racing Academy, and I was racing rain art at that time, and it was so much fun and it was experienced like no other.

If you are part of racing, you would know that it is. Once you got bitten by that bug, it doesn't go away. And so for me, I completely just quit. My job, went to the track, and I spent the whole summer there racing, hanging out with guys and just wrenching on cars. They learn mechanics. And as a result of that, I was able to be part of the racing teams at some point. And after that, I remained within racing. I didn't race myself, but I was working with a premiere for a number of series after that.

And then I took a break to raise a family. And I just recently kind of been coming back to the sport because I was missing it so much. It is something that is part of me, and I love it so much. And no matter how much time passes between the time, I'm always drawn back to that community.

So when you say you're going back to it, what is it that you're going to do now in the future.

Down the road here? Yes. So this past year, I was actually being able to go back to again supporting the drivers in our local racing series here. And that was great fun, because I love being within the community of the like-minded people. When you don't really need to be told what is going on, everybody knows what is happening the moment they show up at the track. And that is the thing I love the most. So this summer I have been a number of race tracks and materials supporting racing series, and in the future, it depends.

I will likely continue participating in that regard. And I'm discovering and exploring the ways in which I can still go back racing. That is still unclear for me, but somehow in the future, I tried to figure out a way to get back into that.

Yeah. Absolutely. Because once it's in your blood, it never leaves, does it?

Yeah. And I can share a little bit more of my discovery why it is such a way, because as I have been discovering the last couple of years, what we experience on the racetrack and race is actually being in the zone, and I can go into more deeply. But essentially, it's that state where you feel your best, you perform your best and everything is just so much better because of that. So that is why I am drawn to it. And that is why I see that other people who are in part of that world as well are also drawn to that because of that being in the zone aspect.

Absolutely.

Now, Pauline, are there a lot of other women that are at the racetracks that are actually racing or are involved with racing in Canada?

Yes. In Canada, it's not very many. In my mechanics training program, there was one other woman beside me, and usually in past years they only have been just one woman for all the other guys who have been interested in that. And the same applies to the racing Sears as well. There is usually a couple of women who are racing at the track itself, but for the majority of part, it's rare occurrence, even though it seems to be growing slowly, very slowly. But for now, it's less popular among women than among guys.

And why do you think that is that they just haven't been exposed to it? They haven't tried it themselves. They're not encouraged, maybe to do it. What do you think?

There's multiple reasons for that that I perceive is the one is just not in general, because the way that the groups of people work, the guys would usually share that amongst themselves. And the father does usually bring their sons to the track. And it kind of passed on like that. And I've heard many stories of where guys are racing because their dads were so much into the car. And for women, there's not as much awareness that their sports it exists, and you can actually go there. And so it becomes rare when something happens and somehow a woman gets introduced to that environment. And I also think that even if they go, sometimes if the conditions are not right and they get too intimidated by the sport, they won't come back because one of the things that I believe is kind of biological propensity for self-preservation, a lot higher in women, and they need to over generalization. But I think in certain respect, women always take it a lot more cautiously on the track, and that's actually been mentioned by a number of people.

There's a lot more caution, and they always afraid to get in the way because of that aspect. And so that works as slight as a deterrent for women to come back. And this is just a different approach. And it doesn't mean that women can be great. It's just the learning curve is a lot longer for women versus it is for guys. And so I think that is one of the two main reasons why there are less women in racing rather than the guys.

I agree with you. And sometimes it takes a woman who has maybe a little more stronger of a personality or stronger where they're not afraid of getting in the way or whatever to show other women that it's possible. And women by nature, I think, are more cautious about some of those kinds of things, especially if they're moms and they have kids or whatever. So I totally agree with you that that's probably a lot of why it takes longer here in the United States. The women are starting to get even with the men in a lot of ways.

And so I'm a little surprised that it's not as much that way in Canada, but I don't honestly know a lot of women who race from Canada. I have a lot of Australian women that race, and, of course, a lot of the United States, but it's interesting that we need to get the word out or get the women to the track. So they understand that even if it's maybe a series just for women or it's a learning series or it's like a starter class to get women out there because you and I know once they get there and if they tried it and didn't feel like they were not as good or couldn't compete if they were in a class with other people that they were a little more even with, then I think it would really start to take off.

Yeah. And I actually have two minds about that. Personally, I've always stayed away from women only events, and I like participating in general events for me personally, I just like being in the normal scenario and just doing nothing, not trying to be something else or not trying to bring attention to the fact that I was a woman that was never really a plain effect in my mind. And the way I approach things, I've been going back to that thought many times in the past. And for me, racing itself didn't actually have anything to do with me being there.

And what I mean by that is that I was at the track for connection with people, for that group environment, for that tribal kind of connection, being in a team with people up to like mine. So racing itself was great. It was great fun, but it was almost like a reason to be connected to others and stay within that atmosphere. And I think that is kind of the emphasis that needs to be put and those things have been changing. They have been changing on many levels, and women are getting a lot more confidence in entering those levels.

But I think one of the things is the interruption that family has made in my life. When I had a child, I had to step back because simply I couldn't do it all. I couldn't spend every weekend with the track and be a mom at the same time. It was just a precedent. And I think that needs to be brought to the attention that there will be older women who maybe have older kids who can participate more fully because they have more time, or they will be younger women who have time before they start the family. And so that is kind of the point where we are involved in that regard.

Yeah, absolutely. And the other side of that is women don't necessarily even have to be the driver. There's so many other things they can do to help. And I know a lot of women who take their kids to the track, and they set them in the hauler with coloring books and whatever. And it's just a way of life. The whole family knows that on a certain night on Friday night, Saturday night that we're going to the track and you take your backpack with your coloring books and your whatever and the little boys with their cars or whatever.

And that's just what the family does. And so I think it's something that you learn to manage as a woman if you have little kids. And there's always people I think around that are always willing to jump in and help if somebody is really passionate and wants to be a part of the racing community. So what's your favorite thing about going to the race track?

Yes. That's a great question, because as I think about the tracks, the favorite thing is going there, and everybody knows exactly what's going to happen. It's that there is no need to break the ice even when the new person kind of shows up in their first season. Everybody from that gate knows the schedule. They know exactly what's going to happen. They have the schedule of the events, races, qualifying sessions and whatnot and everybody knows their role. There is so much clarity in that if you wear as a mechanic, there's your role.

If you there as a pit crew member, that is novel. If you're there as a driver, it's just all so clear. And because of that connection between people happens a lot more effortlessly. And that is my most favorite part, because when we know the rules and when we have clarity of the roles, the communication flows much easier. People talk about things they love. People talk about how fun it is to be there. And at the end of the weekend, they recount the stories. And so that is community without needing to set up the community.

The only other comparison I have to that of the paddock is the Burning Man events. I haven't been to one. But from what I have seen, it's the same kind of community where people come for fun and they know exactly what's going to happen and that unites them in such deep, profound ways that it makes almost like a second family.

Well, and I hear that over and over from men and women that the racing family sometimes is more of a family than their real family even. In good and bad times, the racing family might be very competitive on the track or as the races are happening. But if anything, when the good happens, we're all there to support and say Congratulations. When the bad happens, people are there to line up to say, what can I do to help? And so for me, it's all about the people that I've met. I love racing. I love to watch racing, but it's the people. For me, that is just my favorite part of the whole racing community. So I think that sounds like that's kind of where you're at as well.

Exactly.

So, Pauline, tell me a little bit about the tracks that you go to. I'm not as familiar with some of the Canadian tracks. So why don't you tell me a little bit about where you go and what kind of tracks are they? They dirt. They're asphalt. Is it motorcycle racing? Is it car racing? Tell me a little bit more about that.

Yeah. My most favorite track is Mooresport, which is now called Canadian Tire Motor Sport Park. And that is the road racing course. Pretty famous since 1916. And that is where my story starts. And it's kind of the home track. I love that. And ever since they have renovated that track, it is day and night, what it used to be and what it is now. It has so much potential. The races, the original races, sometimes the US, even there a couple of times we have Superbikes that have been racing. So there's just a lot happening. And there is a go kart track, I decided, and the Bridge Stone Racing Academy. So that is one of the tracks. Another great track we have here in Ontario is Calabogie and it is close to Ottawa. And that is another road racing tracks. So for me, the tracks that I have been to are the road racing, asphalt paved tracks that host touring cars, NASCAR, motorcycle racing, Superbikes, et cetera. And there's another track in close to Montreal. Well, Quebec has a number of tracks. There's a Montreal beautiful track. I haven't been there myself, but from what I heard and see, it's just amazing. There is an ICAR, which is the track built on the old airport. And that is fascinating because of flat. And that is a very different type of environment. And then another one is in Montreal, where the F1 Grand Prix has hosted a number of times. And beyond that, I haven't been to any other tracks. We have a few more that are warm, but I haven't been to that. So my specialty is the road racing courses.

Yeah, that sounds so fun. So tell me a little bit more. You went to the Bridgestone Academy. Then what exactly have you done when you've gone to the track? Have you raced? What have you raced? What have you done to help other teams? Just give me a little more detail about that.

Yes. So in 2007, I joined Bridgestone Racing Academy, and at that time they were still racing Reynard at 2000, which is the four two liter engine. And it was awesome. It was great fun. Cars were a little bit older, but there is still so much fun to race. So we were in the mechanics training program, so we learned to fix those cars. And then we raced those cars amongst ourselves in that program. So we had ten races in that summer, and it was the most fun because it was just within ourselves within our little team on the smaller training driver development track.

And it was just amazing summer, amazing experience. And after that during that year, I also worked with a Formula BMW series at that time while they were still running. And I went with them to Montreal Grand Prix that summer as well as crewing on a number of teams for ALMS series in 2007 and 2008. So it was just assisting the teams with any mechanical type of work that needed to be done during the weekend. And that also was so much fun back then. And then I was part of that touring car series where I was doing engineering for the next four years.

And that was the support for the drivers in that series to make sure that everybody was equal, that all the rules and regulations were being followed as well as providing support in the pit lane. So whatever support that was needed and that was the funniest experience, most fun because we got to travel number of tracks here around Ontario and Quebec. And another one of the tracks they didn't mention is the Three Rivers, which is the road course built within the city of Triveri here in Quebec, which is also great fun as well as Toronto Grand Prix, which is also a track set up within the city.

And that went back to that kind of same scrutiny support for the drivers to make sure that. And I was working with a radical series this year, providing them support. Also, rules and regulations were followed. And that is the time when you do the check ins for the car weigh in at the end of the races, all the standard things that happen to make sure that everybody is equal.

So you've really done a wide variety of jobs in the racing. So what's your favorite thing to do if you could just pick one?

Besides the racing itself now the newest thing that I'm doing is coaching people on how to get in the zone. And that is my most favorite thing, because in racing, it's imperative that people race in the zone in that complete concentration state. And so I have been working with people on helping them because there is science of closed state that we know, which explains why we do certain things in order to get more focus and what prevents us getting into focus. And so that work has been so rewarding for me because not only do I get in a very focused state when I'm talking to another person, but I'm also helping them, and by extension, by somebody understanding why they or how they can be more focused and race, it makes them a safer driver.

And meanwhile, even though safety is kind of promoted and it's very important factor, people don't generally go to racing because it's safe. They go to racing because they want to go into that complete concentration. It's important for everybody else. We want to do that. So it definitely works on many levels. I get excited when I talk about it because there's so much going on, and I know, and I can see how much is part of that aspect of getting in the zone and knowing how to improve it and knowing why certain things work and some things don't. And so that has been total explosion of ideas in my mind lately in the last two years. So when it comes to motor sports, that's my number one fun factor.

That's awesome. So what do you see yourself doing down the road? What's 2022 look like for you? What do you think you might be doing?

Yes. So for 2022, I'm working diligently towards exploring the potential of how much can I help people understand how much people do really want to understand about this being in the zone factor, because if you look at Red Bull athletes, for example, and the kind of things that they do, it is absolutely insane. But the reason they can do it is because of that in the zone factor. So I'm trying to understand where do I need to go in order to help people get better at it?

So I'm growing that part at the same time, I'm considering to which extent I can continue participating in those races here in Ontario as a scrutineer. Also, another thing for me is that I'm an artist and I paint cars and I paint bikes. So I'm trying to get that more into my daily life or just implement more art, because as an artist, I have given up art for many years because I didn't have time, and it was just something that kind of got put away. And now I'm trying to bring it back because I see so much potential in creativity.

And so for me, it's twofold. I'm trying to help people understand how creativity helps them become more wholesome person and also trying to add more creativity to myself. So I can think better, perform better and just have a greater life satisfaction overall, because if somebody knows that their creativity is what is the source of all their happiness in a sense. So it has to be maintained.

That's a well-rounded life, you can't just have one thing in your life. There has to be some other things as well. I don't know if you know this. But I'm a big scrapbooker, so I enjoyed scrapbooking for a long time. And I make journals and little cookbooks and all kinds of fun things. And that's my time where I don't have to really think I can just relax. I love paper. I have a paper Journal. I still keep appointments in my planner other than just always in my phone.

I love paper. I love colored pens and all that stuff. It's just crazy. And I actually didn't do much crafting over the summer, but now I have my whole crafting area set up here, and I'm going to get back to getting some time where I can just have the TV on to a sporting event or HGTV, and I can just craft away and just relax and enjoy it. And so that's kind of how I spend my downtime other than my husband and I like to go to the swimming pool. We like to go out to eat, but you have to have more than just racing. I love racing. I love the people I've met. I love writing stories about women. I love interviewing women, but I can't do it 24/7 because it's a lot of work and it can be exhausting. So being well rounded is very important.

Yeah. And it also brings into the point that people's hobbies are their essence. It's what brings them joy. So my biggest message right now is that people need to get their hobbies and start doing them more because it improves all areas. Hobbies is where our creativity lies. It might be anything doesn't matter what it is. Whatever you call a hobby needs to be brought back into life in order to start having better ideas. And totally I understand you're scrapbooking thing because it's with working with hands. So it's like some people say, Well, I don't have a hobby. I don't believe that… if you have hands, you have a hobby.

And there's so many things nowadays more than ever that you can do to pass the time and share and enjoy what you're doing and share with other people. So I think people who say that probably haven't really thought about it very much. And the first question I would say, well, what are you passionate about? And if they say going to the movies or whatever, maybe that's your hobby and seeing all the new movies, it could be whatever. But anyway, that's fun.

What do you think? I typically ask this question, what is your legacy going to be when you're kind of at the end of the road where you're not able to work on cars or work at their track? What do you want your legacy to be?

Yeah. That's a great question. And I want to make sure that the message that I have about creativity, about hobbies, about expressing ourselves fully lives on in a sense that people realize that they have potential within them to create, not just consume things, but to create as well. And that creation aspect works in all other areas, and it affects them in all other areas. The reason I think one of the reasons why people have troubles with daily life, they might have mental health issues to some extent, maybe minor, maybe whatever.

But it's because they're not connected to that which is creative. I think creativity is so important. And as I learned it by myself for myself, when I put it away and I stopped being creative, everything became so much worse. And the moment I got my paints out, the moment I started thinking back again and start considering, how can I integrate art back into my life when it's so busy, when it's so full of other things? It's imperative that we bring those joyous moments back into our lives.

And that is what I want my legacy to be is for people to have a better understanding why they should even bother trying to bring their creativity out and how to do it the most easiest way possible, not like they have to do it, but how do they get themselves to feel that they get to do that? And that is the biggest fun factor in life. Otherwise the life ceases to have meaning. So for me, as an artist and somebody who loves cars and who have other things. For me, the meaning of life is to experience that those joyous moments which completely absorb us, where we lose track of time. When we stop thinking about the worries of the day, how can the person experience them the most? And most often because out of that, everything else will re-vibrate. It will be like ripples on a pond from that one experience, all other areas of life improve and all connections also improve because of that. So if each person already focusing on the individual hobbies their individual passion, then collectively, I think we would be in much better place.

And I feel like too, when you take the time to do something that you enjoy for no other reason than the enjoyment of it, you just get kind of a renewed sense of energy, and then you're ready to go back to doing whatever it is that maybe you do for a living or your job per se after you've had that break and you kind of can clear your mind. And sometimes when I'm scrapbooking, I'm thinking about, oh, I should call so-and-so, and interview them, or I should do this. Or maybe I should do a podcast on that. And because I'm relaxed and I'm not focused on it, it just the ideas come. And I think that's a blessing to be able to just relax and have your little pen and paper right here where I can write down my ideas when I'm not expecting to have any ideas.

Exactly. And there's actually neurobiological reasons why things like that happen. So if people were to start having more fun with their hobbies, they would actually be better at their job.

One thing I want you to tell us is how can people follow you if they want to talk to you, more about what we're doing here? What's the best way for people to get in touch with you?

Absolutely. My favorite platform is Instagram. I'm there my first and last name. I also have a website, which is also my first name and last name Pauligedougald.com. And those are my main ways of how I put the art out and how I communicate with the world through my creativity. And so it's very easy to find me. I am on Facebook, but I'm a little less prominent there now, as I have switched all my efforts to Instagram because I just like the feel of that platform. It's a bit more aligned with my artistic perception.

So find her on Instagram and check out what she's up to. Pauline, is there anything that I haven't asked you about or that we haven't talked about that you'd like to share?

I would say we talked about the major aspects of my life that are most prominent. Most important for me, the racing, the art, the coaching within the parameters of being in the zone. That's my biggest passion. And other than that, it's almost like the three drivers that are prominent within my life that in addition to family and all other types of living, is what continues my progression forward. So, yeah, that's mostly what is right now and who knows what happens next in the future. But for now, that is.

Well, it's been a pleasure. And like I said, I wrote your story for the magazine, but it's not the same as talking face to face with someone and getting to know them. And I've really enjoyed talking to you. And I bet you hear this a lot, but I do love your accent. I could listen to you talk. You probably hear that quite often. But thank you for being my guest today. I really appreciate that you took the time to do it to be on the recording and any last words that you would like to share.

It was great fun. I love speaking to people about racing and about the passion. And the only thing that I want to emphasize the most is everybody get your hobbies out, start doing the things that you did as a child and forgot about it because that's where your satisfaction was, but that's it.

That's absolutely true. So thank you, Pauline, for being on the show and here's to a good 2022 for all of us. Hopefully everything will open back up and we can all go to the track and be part of racing like we used to be.

Exactly. All right. Well, thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you for listening to Racing Girls Rock podcast. Follow us on Facebook at International Women's Motor Sports Association or on Instagram and Twitter at the IWMA Nation. And if you know someone who should be on our show, drop us an email at iwmanation@gmail.com

Social Media Contact Info- Maine’s Lost Speedways https://www.facebook.com/Maines-Lost-Speedways-1492379141030722

Personal FB page https://www.facebook.com/paige.verney/

Kelly Crandall

            Kelly has been on the NASCAR beat full-time since 2013 and joined RACER as chief NASCAR writer in 2017. Her work has also appeared in NASCAR.com, the NASCAR Illustrated magazine, and NBC Sports. A corporate communications graduate from Central Penn College, Crandall is a two-time George Cunningham Writer of the Year recipient from the National Motorsports Press Association.

Kelly is the host of The Racing Writers Podcast, which can be found on all major podcast platforms. She has interviewed current drivers, crew members, and past members of NASCAR among others.

She grew up in central New Jersey and moved to the Charlotte area in 2014. She loves sports, especially racing, and reading. She has two dogs. She became interested in racing, watching with her father.

FIND Kelly Crandall:

FACEBOOK: Kelly Crandall                   INSTAGRAM: Kelly Crandall                  TWITTER: @KellyCrandall

www.RACER.com

RACING GIRLS ROCK PODCAST SHOW SPONSORS 

SendOutCards   *   My Race Pass   *   IllianaStock Car Radio   *   iRacing   *   JS Coaching   *   Smyle Media    

Motorsport.TV   *   My Car My Rules   *   Racechick   *   Torq"d Clothing

INSPIRATION from Kelly: “You must experience the entire race; the sights, sounds and smells! You can only do that in person at a race.”

CHALLENGES: “Asking the tough questions.”

SHARE THE INSPIRATION

If you enjoyed this show, please go to Podbean and leave me a five-star review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and help others to be inspired by Racing Girls Rock podcast!

WHERE TO FIND MELINDA & THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S

MOTORSPORTS ASSOCIATION

Cindy Lucchese

Cindy Lucchese is the Chief Strategy Officer for Penske Entertainment. Her life’s path has taken her full circle from growing up in Indianapolis and watching the Indy cars practice as a little girl, to now being involved daily as the Chief Strategy Officer for Penske Entertainment, working alongside Roger Penske and many other Penske devoted employees.

Cindy has a great story and shares her passion for motorsports, and the people involved.

RACING GIRLS ROCK PODCAST SHOW SPONSORS 

SendOutCards   *   My Race Pass   *   IllianaStock Car Radio   *   iRacing   *   JS Coaching   *   Smyle Media  

Motorsport.TV   *   My Car My Rules   *   Racechick   *   Torq"d Clothing

If you enjoyed this show, please go to Podbean and leave me a five-star review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and help others to be inspired by Racing Girls Rock podcast!

WHERE TO FIND MELINDA & THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S

MOTORSPORTS ASSOCIATION

Kay-dub Myers Brewer Hydroplane Racer & Announcer

            Kay-Dub started racing at 9 years old in the sport of Hydro-racing in the junior class.  She has gone from 45-70mph in various outboard hydroplane boats. Her dad retired and began announcing at the boat races.  After he passed in 2014, Kay-Dub was asked to start announcing. It has evolved from there and her announcing career has grown to many different series of boat racing.

            Her career has taken her all around the United States and to several other countries.

            Announcing is a lot of work, between learning the history of different events, the driver’s names, their sponsors and the cities they hale from.

            Women make up about 1/3 or less of the total races.

            Listen in to hear more about Kay-dub.

FIND Kay-dub

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/kaydub.myersbrewer

RACING GIRLS ROCK PODCAST SHOW SPONSORS 

SendOutCards   *   My Race Pass   *   IllianaStock Car Radio   *   iRacing   *   JS Coaching   *   Smyle Media    Motorsport.TV   *   My Car My Rules   *   Racechick   *   Torq"d Clothing

SHARE THE INSPIRATION

If you enjoyed this show, please go to Podbean and leave me a five-star review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and help others to be inspired by Racing Girls Rock podcast!

WHERE TO FIND MELINDA & THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S

MOTORSPORTS ASSOCIATION

Christi Schimpke with Crash Jewelry

            Christi Schimpke, founder & designer of Crash Jewelry lives in Culver City, CA. She has an art history background, with prior careers at UCLA and The Getty Museum. However she was never that happy in her career. She met her husband Dan and they were married 8 years ago. Dan is the owner of a body shop that works on high end foreign and American cars. He works long hours but is always excited to get up every day to go to work.  He suggested Christi take some time off to see where her passion might take her.

            She took some metalsmith classes and got pretty good at it, She began making traditional types of jewelry. Dan offered her some space in a garage next to the body shop. She was taking a break one day and the beautiful cars and colors caught her eye. She asked Dan what happened to the damaged pieces of the cars and he said they were recycled. She got the idea to try and make jewelry out of some of those metals.

Christi is in her 8th year of making Crash Jewelry. She had to develop her own production techniques and every piece is hand crafted and a little or maybe even a lot different than the others. Her goal is to maintain the original factory paint and integrity of the metal.

Listen in to hear more about Crash Jewelry!

FIND CHRISTI and CRASH JEWELRY

www.crashjewelry.com

FACEBOOK: @CRASHjewelry

RACING GIRLS ROCK PODCAST SHOW SPONSORS 

SendOutCards   *   My Race Pass   *   IllianaStock Car Radio   *   iRacing   *   JS Coaching   *   Smyle Media  

Motorsport.TV   *   My Car My Rules   *   Racechick   *   Torq"d Clothing

INSPIRATION

Christi’s husband Dan encouraged her to find her passion, and it was right there in front of her!

CHALLENGE

Finding a career that made her excited to go to work every day! 

SHARE THE INSPIRATION

If you enjoyed this show, please go to Podbean and leave me a five-star review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and help others to be inspired by Racing Girls Rock podcast!

WHERE TO FIND MELINDA & THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S

MOTORSPORTS ASSOCIATION

Sasha Carter Instagram @Thesashabrooke

Big Machine Music City Grand Prix

The Women’s Motorsports Network, produces this podcast, Racing Girls Rock, which features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion. She also publishes a digital magazine featuring stories about women in all walks of the motorsports life, IWMA Nation News Magazine.

Show Notes 9-4-2021

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver Carson Hocevar

Playoff Qualifier and Rookie of the Year Candidate

I sat down with Carson and his mom Amy from Portage, MI to learn more about how Carson became interested in racing, where his career has been and where he is headed.

Carson is the winningest driver in Quarter Midget racing and transitioned to late models when he was just 12 years old. His story is one of a young man who has worked hard to get where he is and knows what he wants to do in the future.

FACEBOOK: Carson Hocevar Racing        

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof14 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

The Women’s Motorsports Network, produces this podcast, Racing Girls Rock, which features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion. She also publishes a digital magazine featuring stories about women in all walks of the motorsports life, IWMA Nation News Magazine.

Show Notes 9-2-2021

NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Racer Angie McBride Smith

            Angie McBride Smith married into the family of racing. She started out as an Outlaw Pro Street racer with no wheelie bar and in 7 seconds went nearly 200 mph. She is the only girl to win a championship in this series.

As of this recording (August 31, 2021) she is 6th in points and one round out of 3rd or 4th. Points are tight but making the top 10 will allow her to compete for the championship when the points all get reset.

            Her family loves what she does…NOW…but at first they were nervous. He dad is behind her 150%. He texts her every day at the track to race fast and be safe.

            The next 3 races are in Indy, and the season ends in Ponoma and then the PRI show. When she is not racing she is very into fitness and works out every day. They also go snowmobiling in Eagle River in Michigan or a few spots in WI; she like to snowboard; she runs a very active schedule. She gets up at 4am every day to get her day going.

            She hopes that a little girl will hear or see this interview and be inspired that they can do this too!

Angie Smith:

            Facebook: Angie Smith Racing or Matt-Angie Smith

            Instagram: angiesmith77

       Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen #motorsports #racing

#women’smotorsportsnetwork #NASCAR #NHRA #latemodel #sprintcars #asphalt #dirttracks

The Women’s Motorsports Network, produces this podcast, Racing Girls Rock, which features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion. She also publishes a digital magazine featuring stories about women in all walks of the motorsports life, IWMA Nation News Magazine.

Show Notes 8-24-2021 Kolby Garrison

Blind since birth, Kolby Garrison has not let her visual challenge stop her from enjoying her favorite things…NASCAR, hockey, and bluegrass music. She is a singer, using her voice in a band and sharing her love of NASCAR with anyone who will listen.

Her ability to understand what she calls a “complex sport” is due to her keen listening ability. Her appreciation for Sirius XM Radio that hosts the NASCAR channel, is undeniable at the top of her Gratitude List, as well as the head of Sirius Daniel Norwood, and all the radio announces for MRN and PRN. Her favorite memory from being at the tracks is meeting the MRN staff in their hauler during a rain delay.

Some of the things she enjoys about being at the race are the sounds of the cars and the air gun hitting the lug nuts. She can tell just by listening if they missed one or not…some team needs to hire her to monitor that! She can smell the gas, and the glue they use for the lug nuts. She feels the texture of the tires, and the shape of the trophy. And the entire race day atmosphere is one that is hard to describe, but she recalls it vividly from a day during a rain delay when she was in the garage.

Her wish list includes meeting TJ Majors, Brett Griffin, and Freddie Kraft, as well as Casey Boat from Door Bumper Clear podcast which is one of her favorites, as well as Dale Jr. Download. She called the spotters “the guide dogs” for the drivers and I loved that analogy! She has her 4th guide dog River, who will make her first trip to a NASCAR race at Martinsville this fall.

Another wish is to get to sing the National Anthem again (she did it in 2013) and to be on the Fan Council for NASCAR. And her biggest wish is to work for a NASCAR team, in PR, or marketing, by sharing how motorsports includes and welcomes people from all walks of life, with a variety of differences and challenges. I hope she gets this opportunity.

This is a podcast you won’t want to miss, and share it with others.

The Women’s Motorsports Network produces this podcast, Racing Girls Rock, which features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion. She also publishes a digital magazine featuring stories about women in all walks of the motorsports life, IWMA Nation News Magazine.

Show Notes 7-17-2021

Tami Powers, Founder of PowerDrive Motorsport Futures

With over 20 years experience being involved in the motorsports industry, Tami Powers felt the need to help young drivers with huge potential for their futures by matching corporate sponsors with them. Her enthusiasm and passion are infectious as you listen to her share about PowerDrive Motorsport Futures!

Resources:

Tami Powers

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof14 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

The Women’s Motorsports Network, produces this podcast, Racing Girls Rock, which features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion. She also publishes a digital magazine featuring stories about women in all walks of the motorsports life, IWMA Nation News Magazine.

Show Notes 7-14-2021

Madeline Schultz, otherwise known as Chatty Madi

       At the age of 16, Madi had an opportunity to interview and become an announcer at her local track in WI.

Since that time she has become the announcer for a racing series, and is interviewing drivers, crew and fans.

Madi’s passion for motorsports began when her parents took her and her brothers to watch racing. It has continue to grow and she has a bright future ahead.

Resources:

Chatty Madi

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof14 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

The Women’s Motorsports Network, produces this podcast, Racing Girls Rock, which features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion. She also publishes a digital magazine featuring stories about women in all walks of the motorsports life, IWMA Nation News Magazine.

Show Notes 7-12-2021

Cindy Sisson

 A renowned business, sales and marketing executive who has enjoyed a distinguished career that has encompassed the world of Fortune 500 companies, professional sports, nonprofits, entrepreneurship, global events as well as successful public-private partnerships. From creating award-winning strategic marketing initiatives to teaching organizations how to raise important funds for their various causes to sharing passion in helping people live safer, healthier, more active lives, Cindy continues to make a difference in the lives of people and the success of businesses.

You will hear more about upcoming events, including the Big City Machines Race in Nashville, and the Women with Drive Summit on August 5-8, 2021.

Resources:

Cindy Sisson

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof14 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

The Women’s Motorsports Network, produces this podcast, Racing Girls Rock, which features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion. She also publishes a digital magazine featuring stories about women in all walks of the motorsports life, IWMA Nation News Magazine.

Show Notes 7-7-2021

Holly Martin

       Freelance photographer, artist, film location consultant and land speed race car driver. Media Coordinator at Maxwell Industries- Home of the SPEED DEMON- World’s Fastest Piston Engine- Wheel Driven Race Car. DP for the SCTA land speed racing events at El Mirage Dry Lake and the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Holly specializes in automotive and mechanical photography as well as the unique culture of auto racing. The images she captures of classic automobiles, dragsters, hot rods, customs, and motorcycles are transformed into timeless works of art by her lens. Her distinctive images of land speed racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats and El Mirage dry lake are a reflection of her passion for innovative metalwork and the “artists” who build them.

“For me, car building is a unique arena in which art and invention morph and combine into functional masterpieces. Ideas are transformed into moving machines expressly designed to push the limits of what is possible. Sometimes, they are fabricated just for Sunday drives. Sometimes, they break world land speed records. I admire the unusual souls that love hot rods, land racing, and brass era culture. I am proud to count myself a member of their community. It is my pleasure to bring some of that world to others through my work.”

Her work has been featured world-wide editorially and on numerous television and video productions, and most recently with the newly released book “One More Than 10 – Singer and the Porsche 911”. A short list of media includes: •AT&T UVERSE Sports •CNN •HOT ROD Magazine •FORBES •Robb Report •Orange County/Los Angeles Register •WIRED •Fox Sports/ News •Discovery Channel •RACER Magazine •Speed TV •Mav TV •HISTORY CHANNEL

Resources:

Holly Martin

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof14 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

The Women’s Motorsports Network, produces this podcast, Racing Girls Rock, which features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion. She also publishes a digital magazine featuring stories about women in all walks of the motorsports life, IWMA Nation News Magazine.

Show Notes 7-1-2021

Theresa Gilpatrick

       Theresa has a long career in the world of cars and is now the Membership Program Director for Skip Barber Racing School. Her excitement for the future, coordinating and connecting the 350,000 members, will entice you to check out what they are doing at Skip Barber!

Episode Highlights:

Resources:

Theresa Gilpatrick

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof14 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

The Women’s Motorsports Network, produces this podcast, Racing Girls Rock, which features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion. She also publishes a digital magazine featuring stories about women in all walks of the motorsports life, IWMA Nation News Magazine.

Show Notes 6-30-2021

Jamie Sullivan

       Jamie shares how she got interested in motorsports and her dream of joining the Monster Jam series.

Episode Highlights:

Resources:

Jamie Sullivan

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof14 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen #jamiesullivanracing

She writes a blog called " Living The Dirt Life With Amanda on Facebook.

Check out NOSAsprints.com for their schedule.

She grew up attending races and now enjoys sharing the racing life with her daughter.

Residence:  Scottsdale, Arizona Born:  Tacoma, Washington

​

Valerie is the “World’s Fastest Female Motorcycle Racer” and an eight-time land speed record holder with membership in the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame, seven 200 MPH Clubs and one 300 MPH Club. In 2018, she piloted the famed BUB 7 Streamliner to a record speed of 328.467 mph (528.616 km/h) and is the only female rider featured on the “World’s Top 10 Fastest Motorcycle Riders” list. She was recently included on the Dealernews “Top 100 Leaders in Powersports” list.

​

In addition to pursuing the fastest motorcycle title of 376.363 mph, Valerie assumed driving duties of the Treit and Davenport Target 550 Streamliner in 2019 for her first land speed record attempt on 4-wheels. Marlo Treit and Les Davenport have four decades of land speed racing experience in a variety of record-setting vehicles. The team’s goal is to break the current conventional wheel-driven, piston-powered automobile class speed record of 415.867 mph.

​

Valerie is the first woman in the seat of the Target 550 Streamliner as a result, she could become the first woman over 400 mph both in a car and motorcycle. While other women have reached fabulous speeds in a car and others in a motorcycle streamliner, NO woman has done both. She has the opportunity to be the first driver over 500 mph in a piston engine car, and over 400 mph in a motorcycle. Something that NOBODY – man or woman has accomplished.

​

Valerie’s quest to become the world’s fastest motorcycle racer is the subject of P-51 Pictures and MN8 upcoming film documentary, “Rockets and Titans.”

​

​

For racing updates, endorsement, photos, and celebrity appearances, please email: valerie@valeriethompsonracing.com

The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

Show Notes June 7, 2021

Ashley Zimmerman

Episode Highlights:

https://linktr.ee/snappybee55

www.outsidegroove.com

www.dirtempiremagazine.com

www.hoseheads.com/ashley.html

Ashley Zimmerman:

            Facebook: Ashley Zimmerman

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof14 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common---their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

Show Notes June 4, 2021

Rachel Meyer

Episode Highlights:

Resources:

Rachel Meyer

June 25-27

National

Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals

Norwalk, OH

Rachel Meyer Julie Nataas

FS1 and FS2

July 2-4

Regional

Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series

Norwalk, OH

Julie Nataas

NHRA.tv

July 16-18

Regional

Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series

Columbus, OH

Julie Nataas

NHRA.tv

July 23-25

Regional

Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series

Topeka, KS

Rachel Meyer

NHRA.tv

July 30 - Aug 1

National

Lucas Oil NHRA WinterNationals

Pomona, CA

Julie Nataas

FS1 and FS2

August 6-8

Regional

Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series

Great Bend, KS & Indianapolis, IN

Rachel Meyer Julie Nataas

NHRA.tv

August 13-15

National

Menards NHRA Nationals

Topeka, KS

Rachel Meyer

FS1 and FS2

August 20-22

National

Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals

Brainerd, MN

Rachel Meyer

FS1 and FS2

August 27-29

Regional

Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series

Bowling Green, KY

Julie Nataas

NHRA.tv

September 1-5

National

Chevrolet Performance U.S Nationals + JEGS AllStars

Indianapolis, IN

Rachel Meyer Julie Nataas

FS1 and FS2

September 4

All Stars

JEGS All Stars

Indianapolis, IN

Julie Nataas

NHRA.tv

September 10-12

Regional

Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series

Earlville, IA

Rachel Meyer Julie Nataas

NHRA.tv

September 17-19

National

NTK Sensors NHRA Carolina Nationals

Charlotte, NC

Rachel Meyer Julie Nataas

FS1 and FS2

October 1-3

Regional

Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series

St. Louis, MO

Rachel Meyer Julie Nataas

NHRA.tv

October 8-10

National

AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals

Dallas, TX

Rachel Meyer Julie Nataas

FS1 and FS2

October 29-31

National

NHRA Nevada Nationals

Las Vegas, NV

Julie Nataas

FS1 and FS2

November 12-14

National

Auto Club NHRA Finals

Pomona, CA

Julie Nataas

FS1 and FS2

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof14 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

Show Notes May 31, 2021

Deb Broadwater

Co-Host of Fast Lap with Chrissie and Deb Podcast

Episode Highlights:

Deb Broadwater:

            Facebook: Deb Broadwater

            Instagram: #fastlapwithchrissianddeb

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof14 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing #leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

Show Notes May 30, 2021

Reno Air Racer, Announcer and Realtor

Marilyn Dash

Episode Highlights:

About Marilyn

Favorite Quotes

Resources:

Marilyn Dash provided these resources.

http://pylonplace.blogspot.com/2009/04/pylon-racing-seminar-aka-rookie-school.html

https://airrace.org/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/456497677706610

https://www.facebook.com/groups/517690201579551

https://www.facebook.com/groups/13949458301

1970's air race

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUvQfSM5o70

Videos

Marilyn flying

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDZ-9ZyTNfY&t=386s

IF1 with Marilyn announcing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yba6XOpZoM

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof13 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

Podcast Description

The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

Show Notes May 26, 2021 Leah Bauer Snowmobile and Vintage Car Driver

Leah is the Marketing Manager for an alkaline bottled water company. She owns a graphic design business on the side so will continue that along with growing in her current job at Northern Chill.

Her Facebook is Leah Bauer #07 and her Instagram is Leahbauer07

leah@leahbauerdesigns.com

Marketing Partners:  Fly Racing, Polaris/Polaris Engineered Lubricants, C & A Pro Skis, Woody’s Traction, Caliber Products, Racer Coffee Company, Surface Sunscreen, J. Bauer Trucking (aka Dad haha), Ride Brand (Ride Wisconsin), Fuel Clothing, Bikeman Performance

FAVORITES:

Food: Tacos

Vacation destination: Australia

Lucky number: 2

Dessert: Ice Cream

Racetrack: Road America

Movie: Anchorman

Musician: Tim Montana

Sports team: Green Bay Packers by default haha I don’t watch much ball sports

Race car driver: Lewis Hamilton (SWOOOON *Insert heart eyes) Oh, and my Dad of course haha

When she was younger, she used to collect things. Her collections

include Hot Wheels cars, Beanie Babies, Baseball cards, Coins and, believe it or not, Stamps!

Episode Highlights:

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof13 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

Co-Host of Fast Lap with Chrissi and Deb Podcast X-Ray Tech, Chiropractic Assistant at 

Injury Treatment Solutions

Studied Radiologic Technology at Keiser University Lives in 

Melbourne, Florida

From 

Copiague, New York

Married to 

Joseph Luttrell

Her story of how she got to this position, and what it entails, is very interesting!

Natalie will be driving in 5 Xfinity races, with more possible, in 2021.

Melinda Russell

iwmanation@gmail.com

www.iwmanation.com

www.iwmanation.com

IWMA: www.iwmanation.com

Melinda Russell

They also publish a series of books and much more.

Listen to the podcast to learn more.

Find them on FB: Steve Sherri Kukla

https://www.facebook.com/JamieonTV

Instagram: Jamietv

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heather.taylor.35325

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/racingheather/

Her teaching:

https://www.teachoutside.org/

https://www.teachoutside.org/outside-school

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teachoutside

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outside_school/

Team Faruk:

https://www.teamfaruk.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamFaruk53/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faruk.kugay/

Formula Drift:

https://www.formulad.com/

  Sonoma Drift:

https://www.sonomaraceway.com/events/sonoma-drift/

I highly recommend these two videos as introductions to Faruk's drifting!!!

1 minute:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B19UDUgnTSl/

13.5 minutes (start at 11.5 if you have limited time):

https://youtu.be/vsBwLQLMxQU

Here are our partners!

SGK Performance (Faruk’s a partner at this shop at Sonoma Raceway)

Nuke Performance

BorgWarner

Brian Crower

CIC Powerbox

Competition Clutch

CP-Carrillo

DeatschWerks

ENEOS

Fortune Auto

HPS Performance Products

King Engine Bearings

König Wheels

Link ECUs

Nexen

Nitrogen Express

Sync Wraps

Thunderbolt Racing Fuel

TiAL

Wisefab

Listen to her story of how she ended up at Hendrick, and her advice for you to follow your dreams...because you never know where they will take you.

Melinda Russell, Founder and CEO of the International Women's Motorsports Association

www.iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

269-760-1111

You can follow Gayle on:

Facebook: Referrals for a Living-Inspiring Possibilities

Facebook:REALTORS Business by Referral with SendOutCards

Melinda Russell, Founder and CEO of the International Women's Motorsports Association

www.iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

www.iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

www.iwmanation.com

Melinda Russell

International Women's Motorsports Association

www.iwmanation.com

International Women's Motorsports Association

Melinda Russell, founder and CEO

www.iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

During this period of quarantine due to the COVID-19, she shares some good advice for staying healthy mentally and emotionally.

Julia graduated from Stanford University in 2014, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Science, Technology, and Society. Julia has since purposefully built her brand where technology, community and racing intersect and fuse. During college Julia was a contestant on season 26 of CBS’ reality TV show SURVIVOR. It was also in college that Julia started her motivational speaking career with a TEDx talk and she is now a sought-after speaker for corporations, universities, and conferences, including Fortune’s Most Powerful Women. Julia also served as an external advisor to Hyundai Motor Corporation’s Center for Robotic-Augmented Design in Living Experience. As she climbs the NASCAR ladder Julia uses her racing platform to continue advocating for STEM education and women’s empowerment. She supports The One Love Foundation, which educates about healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, as well as The TechForce Foundation, which helps students find technical vocations.

Zoom webinar where we discussed why it's important for us to stay connected to not only our family, but friends, race family, our track owners, promoters, and more!

I had a conversation with someone who was remarking how some people think they are entitled (or the World owes them everything). The world does not owe you ANYTHING! But YOU owe it to yourself to give the world any the people in it to share the BEST YOU that you can.

So during this time of quarantine, find out WHO you are, and give yourself away! Do for OTHERS!

In your life, your business, and your racing world, people buy into YOU! They make a CONNECTION with YOU. They ESTABLISH a RELATIONSHIP with YOU. They build an ATTACHMENT with YOU. And finally they BUY INTO your personal BRAND. They will become a fan for life.

HOW to stay connected: Zoom, Facebook, IG, Twitter, Phone calls, text messages, Face time, Skype, webinars, LinkedIn, Organize a "train" of cars to drive by a friends house, race track, etc; send a card or letter; write a blog and post it on social media; tell stories - what have you been doing, something funny, etc; Facebook Live.

WHO should you stay connected to: Family, friends, race family, track owners and promoters, kids in your life, teachers, hairstylist, coaches, mailman, owners of businesses you frequent, former classmates, dentist, church family, neighbors, members of groups you belong to, pizza delivery guy, - YOU GET THE IDEA!

WHY you should stay connected: Thank you's; people you appreciate; Thinking of You; Life events like birthdays, anniversaries, new babies, new pets; holidays; keep in touch for no reason at all.

Memberships available on the website, and the Ambassador program is offered to our members.

For more information contact:

Melinda Russell

iwmanation@gmail.com

www.iwmanation.com

racinboysscoop.com 

Twitter: @racinboys

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

269-760-1111

iwmanation.com

email: iwmanation@gmail.com

Listen in as Julie shares her racing story.

Julie is on Facebook at Julie Coates.

Melinda Russell, Founder and CEO of the International Women's Motorsports Association

www.iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

It's a great story of keeping family traditions in place, and looking forward to racing in one of the most beautiful of our 50 states.

She has been racing nearly 10 years, and currently races a Legend car.

Women are rare as drivers in Legends racing.

Listen in to Heather's story.

https://www.facebook.com/HeatherTheHeatHadley/

www.iwmanation.com

Melinda Russell 269-760-1111 Founder and CEO of International Women's Motorsports Association

Contact Melinda at:

The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

 Show Notes 2-14-2020

 Mud Bogger Karissa Schisler

       Karissa was first exposed to Mud Bogging by her mother, and then later, she, her father, and brother got back into it. Listen in to hear what mud bog racing is all about.

 Episode Highlights:

 Three Key Points:

Resources:

Karissa Schisler

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#karissaschisler #mudblogging #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

#melindarussell #iwma #podcaster #iwmanation

NHRA FOX Pit Reporter Amanda Busick

       Amanda enjoys reporting for FOX with the NHRA series, as well as other freelance work such as Mecum Auto Auctions and ESPN. She began working for the NHRA in 2016 and was the Formula E pit lane reporter at the New York City ePrix in 2018 and 2019.

 Episode Highlights:

 Three Key Points:

 Resources:

Amanda Busick

Melinda Russell:

 Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#amandabusick #NHRA #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #podcastsforwomen

#melindarussell #Mamawof14 #iwmanation #founder #womaanentrepreneur

Pardon the background noise as it was a busy and fun time, meeting many of the women who are part of our IWMA Nation Community!

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

This is a great interview.

Melinda Russell, Founder/CEO of the International Women's Motorsports Association

www.iwmanation.com

The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

 Show Notes 12-4-2019

 5150 Diecast Owners Chad and Kelly Schmidt

       Chad and Kelly explain how they make diecast cars authentic and personal for their customers.

 Episode Highlights:

 Three Key Points:

 Resources:

5150 Diecast – Chad and Kelly Schmidt, owners

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#5150diecast #diecast #diecastracecars #custommemorabilia

#iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

 The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

Show Notes 11-27-2019

Episode 18: Kasey Steele(s) The Show!

       Custom truck builder shares how building trucks gave her back her confidence.

Episode Highlights:

Three Key Points:

Resources:

Kasey Steele

Company Partnerships

Croftgate USA                                                                     

@croftgateusa

Discount Code:8lugcircus  

Tamco Paint

@tamcopaint

 GuniWheel

@guniwheel

Walkabout Platforms

@walkaboutplatforms

GenY Hitch

@genyhitches

Discount Code :instadiscount2019

Rightline Gear

@rightlinegear

@mokidoorstep

Discount Code: Mokination

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

#IWMAnation #RacingGirlsRock #MaddieMalone #dragracing #leadingtheway

The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

 Show Notes 11-13-2019

 Kendra Sommer, Owner of CWK Media

       Kendra shares her journey from employee to owner of CWK Media!

 Episode Highlight:

Key Point:

Resources:

Kendra Sommer

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#kendrasommer #cwkmedia 

#melindarussell #Mamawof13 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

 Show Notes 11-5-2019

 Jamie Little, Fox Reporter, Wife, and Mom, Living Her Passion

       Jamie shares her journey to becoming a popular Fox NASCAR Reporter

 Episode Highlights:

 Three Key Points:

 Resources:

Jamie Little

Melinda Russell:

 Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

@jamielittletv @foxreporter @nascaronfox

#melindarussell #Mamawof13 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

Show Notes 10-30-2019

 Episode 14: It Takes Teamwork to Run Millbridge Speedway

       Wife and Husband team join forces to make track successful for 10 years.

Episode Highlights:

• Husband and Wife team make the track successful
• Big Race coming November 4-6
• Promoter Ashly Burnett keeps kids in the limelight

Three Key Points:

• Ashly and Jeremy jumped in with both feet
• Wednesday night is their niche
• Ashly takes pride in their success

Resources:

Millbridge Speedway-Ashly Burnett

• Facebook: Millbridge Speedway
• Twitter: @millbridgespeedway

• Millbridge Speedway 6670 Mooresville Road Salisbury, NC 28147

Melinda Russell:

• iwmanation.com
• Facebook: International Women’s Motorsports Association
• Instagram: RacingGirlsRock@iwmanation
• Twitter: @iwmanation
• Linked In: Melinda Russell

 Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

 #millbridgespeedway #millbridgeracin #ashlyburnett

 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

 The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

 Show Notes 10-23-2019

 First Woman Top Alcohol Dragster World Champion: Megan Meyer

       Melinda shares how she got involved in motorsports and founded the International Women’s Motorsports Association. She also shares Deanna Jackson’s story, written by Linda Spangler.

Episode Highlights:

Key Points:

 Resources:

Megan Meyer

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#meganmeyer #topalcoholdragster #meyersisters #randymeyerracing

#melindarussell #Mamawof13 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

 The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common---their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

 Show Notes 10-16-2019

 Episode 12: A Conversation with Speed Shift TV’s Haley Shanley

       Haley shares about how Speed Shift TV got started and how she became involved.

 Episode Highlights:

 Three Key Points:

 Resources:

Haley Shanley

Melinda Russell

 #speedshifttv #haleyshanley #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing #leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

Show Notes 10-9-2019

Amber Balcaen, “Racing

       Amber is a race car driver from Canada, who now lives in NC, and is working hard to get to the next level in her career. She was just a part of the “Racing Wives” show that aired on CMT.

Episode Highlights:

Three Key Points:

Resources:

Deanna Jackson

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#amberbalcaen #racingwives  #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

#melindarussell #Mamawof13 #iwmanation

 The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

 Show Notes 10-2-2019

Melinda Russell shares Deanna Jackson Story

       Melinda shares how she got involved in motorsports and founded the International Women’s Motorsports Association. She also shares Deanna Jackson’s story, written by Linda Spangler.

Episode Highlights:

Three Key Points:

Resources:

Deanna Jackson

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell #Mamawof13 #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

 The International Women’s Motorsports Association Podcast, Racing Girls Rock, features females that have one thing in common; their passion for motorsports! Your host, Melinda Russell, shares the stories of women from all walks of life who find the resources to pursue their passion.

Show Notes

Chloe Lynch

Bullring Bandolero Champ” with Chloe Lynch

Chloe Lynch may have only been racing for two years, but at the age of 15, she has grasped many of the basics of her sport and brought home the Championship at the Bull Ring this year. Listen as Chloe shares her story.

 Episode Highlights:

• Excellent season led to Championship
• Chloe focused on racing at the Bull Ring instead of traveling
• Chloe is excited about what the future holds for her in racing

 Three Key Points:

• The friendships are the best part of going to many different tracks.
• Being a girl isn’t always easy in the sport of racing.
• Family support is all important

 Resources:

Chloe Lynch:

• Facebook and Instagram: Chloe Lynch Racing

 Melinda Russell:

• iwmanation.com
• Facebook: International Women’s Motorsports Association
• Instagram: Racing Girls Rock@iwmanation
• Twitter: @iwmanation
• Linked In: Melinda Russell

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#chloelynchracing #bullring #bandolero

#iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk  #podcastsforwomen

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

Get your marketing partners for 2020 on board NOW! 

Melinda shares some ideas about why and how NOW is the time to get marketing partners lined up for 2020. 

Episode Highlights:

Three Key Points:

Resources:

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing #leadingtheway #racetracktalk  #podcastsforwomen

Melinda founded the IWMA in August of 2017 and has seen the association grow tremendously over the past two years. She publishes a digital magazine all about women in motorsports as well as a weekly podcast. This podcast was flipped as she was interviewed by Trail Chasers.

Episode Highlights:

Three Key Points:

Resources Mentioned:

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell, #Mamawof13, #iwmanation, #racinggirlsrock, #womeninmotorsports, #passionforracing, #leadingtheway, #racetracktalk, #podcastsforwomen

Monica has a theater degree and was Miss Sprint Cup for 4 years. She is now a reporter for ISM Vision/MRN, interviewing drivers, crew members and fans, both in the infield, the campgrounds, and in the stands. She works about 18 races a year. She is married and a mother to two boys, 5 and 3 years old.

Episode Highlights:

Three Key Points:

Resources Mentioned:

Monica Palumbo:

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#MRN #jumbotron #monicapalumbo #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing

#leadingtheway #racetracktalk  #podcastsforwomen

Episode Highlights:

Three Key Points:

Resources Mentioned:

Maddie Malone:

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

Episode Highlights:

Three Key Points:

Resources Mentioned:

Lacey Caroline:

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#laceycaroline, #NASCARonNBC, #NBCSNkidreporter, #lindseyharrisstogdill, #hallmarkmovies, #iwmanation, #racinggirlsrock, #womeninmotorsports, #passionforracing, #leadingtheway, #racetracktalk, #podcastsforwomen

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

Melinda Russell

Michelle Abbate and McKenna Haase

Episode Highlights:

Three Key Points:

Resources Mentioned:

Ashley Sanford:

Erica Enders:

Kelly Clontz:

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#NHRA, #iwmanation, #racinggirlsrock, #womeninmotorsports, #passionforracing,

#leadingtheway, #racetracktalk,  #podcastsforwomen

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

Melinda Russell

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

Melinda Russell

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

IWMA First Masterclass Series

 Lauren Fix, shares her story of how she got involved in motorsports, by helping her father in the shop. Lauren was Oprah’s automotive expert, and is a racer, entrepreneur, and confident women leading the way for others.

Lauren is an automotive expert and analyst. She has written three books on automobiles. She has appeared on CNN, Fox News, Newsmax TV, CNBC and USA Radio's Daybreak USA show.

Episode Highlights:

Three Key Points:

Resources Mentioned:

Lauren Fix:

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#melindarussell, #Mamawof13, #iwmanation, #racinggirlsrock, #womeninmotorsports, #passionforracing, #leadingtheway, #racetracktalk, #podcastsforwomen #thecarcoach #laurenfix

Listen in as we learn more about the Carolina Corvette Club, and how they give back to the community.

Carolina Corvettes has been THE Upstate Corvette Club since 1965. They enjoy all sorts of activities: low-speed autocross, high-speed racing, car shows, rallies, fun runs, club breakfasts, mystery dinners..., anything they can do with their Vettes!

Their members are from all over the Upstate and Western NC: Spartanburg, Duncan, Greer, Greenville, Hendersonville, NC, Simpsonville, Anderson, Easley, and more.

Episode Highlights:

Three Key Points:

Resources:

Carolina Corvette Club website: carolina-corvettes.com

Melinda Russell:

Send your questions to: iwmanation@gmail.com

#carolinacorvetteclub #karenwatersthomas #iwmanation #racinggirlsrock #womeninmotorsports #passionforracing#leadingtheway #racetracktalk #podcastsforwomen

Follow Racing Girls Rock on Podbean, Spotify, iTunes or Google

www.iwmanation.com

FB: International Women's Motorsports Association

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

Wendy Dickson, AZ, Trophy Girl Clothing

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda russell

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

FB: International Women's Motorsports Association

Melinda Russell

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

FB: International Women's Motorsports Association

Melinda Russell

Motorcyclist Kayla Yaakov

iwmanation.com

iwmanation@gmail.com

FB: International Women's Motorsports Association

Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

Alyssa Steele races at Quincy (IL) Raceways

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Melinda Russell

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She shares so much information about the behind-the-scenes work it takes to get all those tire sets ready for a race.

She also has a clothing company specifically made for women in motorsports.

Torq'd Clothing

TK Boyd

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Melinda Russell

Remembering our friend and fellow race car driver Ben Raber, who passed away on June 5, 2018.

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

iwmanation@gmail.com

Melinda Russell, Founder & CEO

International Women's Motorsports Association

Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Melinda Russell

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Facebook: International Women's Motorsports Association

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Facebook: International Women's Motorsports Association

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Facebook: International Women's Motorsports Association

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Facebook: International Women's Motorsports Association

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Facebook: International Women's Motorsports Association

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Facebook: International Women's Motorsports Association

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Facebook: International Women's Motorsports Association

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