Episodes

Send us Fan Mail A weekly weather report filmed in the rain probably should not be a turning point in racing culture, but that is exactly what happens at River Cities Speedway. We talk with Brina Sang, a Grand Forks, North Dakota native who grew up at the track, took over its social media, and found a bold voice that fans now recognize instantly. From marketing and sponsorship support to viral-style videos, she shares what actually works for grassroots racing promotion when budgets are tight ...

Send us Fan Mail A lot of racing careers start with a “real plan.” Abby Maurer’s starts with a dusty car at her dad’s shop and a deal for gas-station ice cream if she’d sit in it for a photo. Abby is 14 now, a mini wedge racer with big trophies behind her and even bigger confidence on track, and she joins us to tell the full story from that first moment to chasing points championships at places like Owosso and Kalamazoo. We talk about what youth racing really looks like week to week: b...

Send us Fan Mail A lot of people say they love racing. Kate Maurer is 10 years old and proves it by showing up, learning fast, and winning in a mini wedge. I sit down with Kate to hear how she got started after watching her sister race, what it’s like running youth oval track events across Michigan, and why her home tracks at Owosso Speedway and Owosso Motorsports Park mean so much. We talk about what a mini wedge car teaches you early: you can’t stay full throttle everywhere, you have to li...

Send us Fan Mail Race nights look effortless from the grandstands, but the real story is what it takes to keep showing up week after week. I’m joined by Chelsea Martin, a 19-year-old Sport Compact racer from Shepherd, Michigan, and she brings the kind of grounded honesty that makes grassroots motorsports so relatable. We talk about the family thread that pulled her into racing, starting with her grandpa’s time in Street Stock and her earliest memories of being at the track at two years old, c...

Send us Fan Mail A lot of people picture an NHRA Top Fuel driver as someone who grew up with unlimited passes and a polished pipeline to the pros. Our conversation with Jasmine Salinas tells a different story, one built on work boots, family pressure, and a scrap business in San Jose, California that taught her how to grind long before she ever went 334 miles an hour. We talk about what it really feels like to enter drag racing later than most, then have to “fast track” your learning in front...

Send us Fan Mail Dirt racing doesn’t reward the same lap twice, and that’s exactly why this conversation with 15-year-old micro sprint racer Memarie “Mem” Ashcraft is so gripping. She walks us through what it really takes to move up classes, stay calm when the weekend gets messy, and keep learning even when the results don’t show it yet. We talk about how she got started in racing after growing up just minutes from a track, and how her program became a true family effort. Mem shares how thei...

Send us Fan Mail You can love racing and still have no idea how it actually works. That’s why we sat down with Fallon Constantino, an IMSA race control safety dispatcher who lives in the space most fans never see: the radios, the response plan, and the split-second coordination that turns a crash into a safe, controlled reset. We talk through Fallon’s unconventional path into motorsports, from early motorcycle club racing jobs and manual scoring to the moment she finally observed IMSA race c...

Send us Fan Mail A lot of racers retire and finally take it easy. Kenny Head went the other direction and built a youth racing pipeline that’s helping keep short track racing alive in Michigan. Melinda Russell sits down with Kenny to talk about the Kalamazoo Speedway Mini Wedges program, why it matters, and what it takes to turn kids as young as five into confident, safe, competitive racers. We get into how the program has grown from a small, inconsistent group into a steady weekly field, pl...

Send us Fan Mail Horsepower isn’t only built with parts and talent, it’s protected by the choices you make between rebuilds. We’re joined by Jessica Trout of Schaefer Oil to talk about what happens when you treat lubricants like performance equipment instead of an afterthought, and why a “lubrication consultant” mindset beats a hard-sell pitch every time. Jessica shares how she grew into the business alongside her father, and why Schaefer’s made in the USA manufacturing story still matters t...

Send us Fan Mail She got told “nobody really cares about motorsports” and made a decision that changed everything. We’re talking with Kendra Sommer, a former TV news reporter who quits her job, flies to the SEMA Show with no network, and turns that leap into real momentum and a real business in automotive media. If you’ve ever wanted a career in motorsports content, this story hits that exact nerve: fear, hustle, and the moment you decide to bet on yourself. We get into what it actually take...

Send us Fan Mail Air horns, a packed arena, and a mom who never thought she’d wear a swimsuit on stage, then did it anyway. We’re joined by Caitlyn Vogel, a racer from Pennsylvania and a powerhouse in the women in motorsports community, to unpack what the Motorama pageant is actually like and why she keeps coming back for the friendships, the growth, and the chance to set an example for young drivers watching from the stands. Caitlyn shares how losing more than 100 pounds changed her health ...

Send us Fan Mail We trace Mallory Kutz's year from Miss Motorama win to a full-throttle campaign that connected drivers, packed a seminar, funded scholarships, and reframed what a motorsports pageant can be. Along the way, she kept racing, took her first feature wins, and proved that advocacy grows fastest at the track. • redefining Miss Motorama as an ambassador role • 113 events across eight states with sprint and asphalt highlights • fundraising race honoring her sister and two driver sch...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a racer grows up trackside and turns childhood laps into a signature streak that few ever touch? We invited 20-year-old bracket sensation Shelby Thurman to share the real story behind her rise—from a junior dragster at seven to a hard-hitting 1991 S10 tuned by a family that lives and breathes motorsports. Support the show FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/womensmotorsportsnetworkandpodcast INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/womensmotorsportsnetwork/ LINKEDIN...

Send us Fan Mail NASCAR doesn’t just show up with race cars and a schedule, it shows up with road closures, noise fears, neighborhood questions, and a whole lot of logistics. That’s why my conversation with Jacque Herrera is so timely. Jacque grew up in Chicago, built a career in community relations and government relations, and then made a bold leap into motorsports to help bring the Chicago Street Race to life from the community side, the part most fans never see. We get into what it actua...

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Send us Fan Mail Support the show FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/womensmotorsportsnetworkandpodcast INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/womensmotorsportsnetwork/ LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melindarussell/ TIKTOK: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melindarussell/ https://www.patreon.com/posts/womens-network-144773298 X: https://x.com/IWMANation FACEBOOK Personal Page: https://www.facebook.com/melinda.ann.russell

Send us Fan Mail The throttle snaps, the snow flies, and a 21-year-old rider decides to trust herself over the voice of doubt. That’s the heartbeat of our conversation with Mckaylee, a snowcross racer who started at five years old and climbed from 120s to 600s, stacking national starts and hard-won podiums along the way. She brings the kind of clear-eyed honesty that motorsports rarely show on highlight reels: the joy, the costs, and the stubborn choice to keep going. Support the show FACEBOOK: ...

Send a text Dystany Spurlock doesn’t talk like someone waiting to be picked. She talks like a driver who decided to learn the game, earn the seat, and bring other women with her. We sit down with Dystany to trace a journey that starts with childhood power wheels and turns into real-world racing across motorcycle drag racing, NHRA ambitions, and an upcoming ARCA Menards Series debut under the NASCAR umbrella. She explains how reaction time, precision, and confidence built on two wheels can tr...

Send a text Karen Bailey-Chapman, Senior VP of Public & Government Affairs for SEMA and PRI, joins Melinda to talk about the “Right to Race” campaign, protecting local racetracks from nuisance laws, tax policy impacting track operators, and why grassroots motorsports still has a bright future. From Washington D.C. to King of the Hammers, this episode explores the intersection of policy, passion, and racing. Support the show FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/womensmotorsportsnetworkandpodcast IN...

Send a text At just 14 years old, Avery Hemmer is already a six-time champion and currently leading the Pro Women Snowcross points standings. From racing at age six in Minnesota to flying across North America for national competitions, Avery shares what it takes physically, mentally, and financially to compete at the highest level. She talks fitness, family sacrifice, social media branding, racing against boys, and why she encourages girls to get in the gym and chase big dreams. Support the show...

Send a text A single bad clip can turn into a full-blown verdict online, and Taylor Reimer knows that pressure firsthand. From her first ARCA Menards Series DNF at Phoenix to the wave of commentary that followed, she breaks down what fans rarely understand about stock car racing physics, visibility in smoke, and why a 3,000 to 3,500 lb race car cannot “just stop” when chaos erupts ahead. We talk through Taylor’s full racing story, starting in Oklahoma go-karts and dirt racing at Port City Ra...

Send a text Sonya Lloyd is a 23-year-old professional motorcycle racer balancing a full-time engineering career at Siemens with competing in MotoAmerica. From hitting 161 mph at Daytona to racing in six countries in the Women’s World Championship, Sonya shares how confidence, resilience, and saying “yes” changed her life. Support the show FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/womensmotorsportsnetworkandpodcast INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/womensmotorsportsnetwork/ LINKEDIN: https://www.link...

Send a text High school sophomore Rilee Nowaczyk from Holland, Michigan is proving that snowcross racing isn’t just for the boys. Racing a 600 Polaris in the national ISOC series (streamed on International Series of Champions via FloSports), Rilee competes in the Pro Women’s class against racers twice her age. From traveling three hours to her “local” track in Mancelona, Michigan, to missing school for national races in Minnesota, Canada, and New York, Rilee shares what it takes to balance hi...

Send a text Robyn Douthit didn’t grow up in drag racing—until life (and love) brought her into it. In this episode, she shares how reconnecting with her husband in 2009 led to a wild, rewarding motorsports lifestyle: a full-time RV family traveling across the country to put on jet-car exhibition shows. Robyn explains how JetCarsRock books events, why relationship-building with tracks matters, and what fans don’t see behind the scenes—maintenance, logistics, blip sheets, interviews, and consta...