From Quarter Midgets To Miss Mahoning: Zoe Quinn’s Path In Motorsports

Welcome And Show Mission

Melinda Russell 0:02

Welcome to the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast, the show that puts the spotlight on the incredible women who fuel the world of motorsports. From drivers to crew members, engineers to fans, and everyone in between, we're here to celebrate the trailbizers, dreamers, and doers shaping the sport we love. Each episode, we share inspiring stories of females of all ages from every corner of the motorsports universe, past, present, and future. It's a journey through the seasons of life filled with heartfelt moments, laughter, and a whole lot of horsepower. So whether you're a lifelong fan, a racer yourself, or simply curious about the extraordinary women behind the wheel, settle in, relax, and enjoy a fun and uplifting ride with us. This is the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast, connecting and celebrating women in motorsports one story at a time. Let's hit the track.

Meet Driver And Miss Mahoning

Melinda Russell 1:01

Hello everyone. This is Melinda Russell with the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast. And my guest today is Zoe Quinn. And Zoe, I'm so excited to have you on the show today. I want to welcome you first of all. And then would you share a little bit about yourself so my listeners can get to know you a little better?

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Hi, my name is Zoe Quinn. I am 19 years old. I live around Whitehall, and I am currently a race car driver and the 2025 Miss Mahoning.

Melinda Russell 1:34

And can you spell that the Miss, what is it called?

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Mahoning. M-A-H-O-N-I-N-G.

Melinda Russell 1:42

Okay. I want to make sure that I I get that right. And that when the when it transcribes it, that it spells it correctly. So there we go. So that's pretty exciting, Zoe. You've had a fun year. So why don't you tell me a little bit about our do you work? Do you go to school? Do you have siblings?

SPEAKER_00 2:03

So I work full-time in a long-term care pharmacy. It's called New Hard Pharmacy.

Melinda Russell 2:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

I have two amazing little brothers. Their names are Kai and Javian. And I absolutely love my job. I get to work with nursing homes, spend my day helping older people.

Melinda Russell 2:23

That's nice. Because, you know, the older you get, and I can say that because I'm going to be 70 in December. The older you get, there's two things. One, you don't want to have to deal with it. And two, sometimes you don't know how to deal with it, whatever it might be, especially medical stuff, you know, pharmacy with your medications. Can I take this with this? And so we need people like you to help us out. So I love that, Zoe. That's great. And I'm glad that you love the job. You can't, if you love what you do, that's a bonus because a lot of people hate going to work. So I'm happy for you there. And your your family has interesting names. I love that. I love that. Your mom was very creative. So good for her. So, Zoe, how did you get interested in motorsports?

Early Starts And Family Influence

SPEAKER_00 3:16

So I was about a week old, and my mom and grandfather took me to my first race. And my amazing stepdad has been a race car driver my whole life. I met him when I was four. And from the day we met, we've bonded over the races.

Melinda Russell 3:37

Wow. That's that's amazing because sometimes those relationships don't go very well, but yours did. Yeah. So you were four years old and he was racing, and I'm assuming you went to the tract all the time, and you just fell in love with what you saw out there. Yeah. Yeah. So how did you get started then? What was the first thing you ever raced in?

SPEAKER_00 4:04

So I was five years old and I said to my stepdad, I'm like, Dad, I want you to build me a pee-wee, which is a flat cart with kind of just like a lawnmower motor on it. It's a great beginner car, and I just fell in love with it.

Melinda Russell 4:22

Yeah. So he did because you were his little angel.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

Yeah.

Melinda Russell 4:26

Yeah. And so he built you a car. And so when you were five years old, you started racing. Yeah. Okay. And where did you race at the time?

SPEAKER_00 4:37

At the time I was at Orville.

Melinda Russell 4:39

Okay.

From Pee-Wee Kart To Quarter Midgets

Melinda Russell 4:40

All right.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

And then how long did you race those? I was only in the Pee-Wee for about a year before I convinced him to get me a quarter midget.

Melinda Russell 4:52

It wasn't fast enough, was it?

SPEAKER_00 4:55

No.

Melinda Russell 4:56

No. No, you wanted to go faster. Yeah, for sure. So you were basically six years old or so. He got you a quarter midget, and you started racing, I'm sure, red rugby and yeah. So tell me about your quarter midget days. How did you do? Did you win anything? How long did you race quarter midgets?

SPEAKER_00 5:20

So I was in quarter midgets from about six to 16.

unknown 5:24

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

So most of my life. I absolutely loved it. I worked my way through. I was up to two race cars. I was racing at Blue Mountain Quarter Midget Association and also at Keystone. I very quickly fell in love with the World Formula car. And that's just where all my focus went for those 10 years before I graduated.

Melinda Russell 5:48

Okay. And did you have success in the quarter midget?

SPEAKER_00 5:53

I was always a top competitor. I won one race, but I was always top twos, top threes, like audio finishes every week.

Melinda Russell 6:03

Yeah. That and that keeps you interested because as a kid, you can find a lot of things to get your interest, but just the fact that you were very competitive and just kept you going back to the track, didn't it? Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So when you left quarter midgets at 16, what did you do?

SPEAKER_00 6:25

My dad and I built me a rookie hobby stock.

Melinda Russell 6:30

Okay. And you participated in the build, huh? Yes, I did.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

So what were some of the things that you

Ten Years Competing And Progress

SPEAKER_00 6:40

learned how to do building that car? So it was my first time completely stripping a car, turning it into a race car. I think the most useful thing I've learned was just how to completely strip it down to bone stock and build it from the ground up together. Like with that car, I learned how to change tires, swap motors, all the little things that people just take for granted, knowing how to do.

Melinda Russell 7:08

But the basics, those are basics. Yeah. You gotta know how to do that before you can move on to something else.

unknown 7:15

Yeah.

Melinda Russell 7:15

Yeah. So you're still racing in the hobby stock division?

SPEAKER_00 7:20

So I actually hung up the helmet this year to be Miss Mahoning.

Melinda Russell 7:24

Okay. So let's talk about that. What is Miss Mahoney and how did you achieve that honor?

SPEAKER_00 7:31

So the track made a Facebook post like we want to do Miss Mahoning this year. I think there were five competitors total. People voted on Facebook, and I won by one vote. Wow, that was very close. Me and the person who finished second actually became close friends because of it, and she's actually the announcer at Mahoney. Okay. So what does Miss Mahoney do? So I help with all of the kids' events. So like the juice box races, kids' night, and I do victory lane with all of the guys. I help with redraws.

Melinda Russell 8:15

All the fun stuff. Yeah. Yeah. And then do you think you'll go back to racing next year when you're not Miss Mahoney?

SPEAKER_00 8:24

The goal is to go back to racing next year and also start preparing for some of the other motorsports pageants.

Melinda Russell 8:33

Oh, that's interesting. So tell me about, so that's not something I know very much about. So tell me about the motorsports pageants.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Like where are they and what

Building A Hobby Stock

SPEAKER_00 8:45

are they? So one of my best friends, Mallory Kutz, is currently Miss Motorama.

Melinda Russell 8:52

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

I know her. Yeah, she is the one who inspired me to do this. So I want to go to Motorama, which is in Harrisburg. Motorsports is also in PA. And then there's also Racing RX. They're all in, I think, PA. And she's kind of just like slowly been helping me prep, deciding what I want to do, what I want to wear, what I should say.

Melinda Russell 9:22

That's interesting. I love that. You know, like I said, I don't know a lot about that. I know that there's Miss Knoxville at Knoxville in in Iowa. That's a big deal for sure, if you become Miss Knoxville. But I don't hear a lot about that, other than Mallory. I mean, I I follow her and I've interviewed her, and so you know, I was aware of that. But I don't hear too much about that. Is this something that's kind of catching on and maybe more tracks are doing it, or is it still few and far between?

SPEAKER_00 10:00

So a lot of local tracks, like a lot of dirt tracks, have like misses, but like a lot of asphalt tracks have kind of like stepped away from it. So I'm kind of hoping like the attention that me, Mallory, and Michaela, which is Miss Motorsports, hoping we can bring more attention to it and more tracks will do it and welcome people. Yeah.

Melinda Russell 10:22

I think so too. You know, they do it at Eldora. They have those two gals.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Yeah.

Melinda Russell 10:28

And and that's huge because that's on flow and everything, you know. So yeah, I hope so. So you help with the track. Do you do like parades, help promote the track at

Stepping Into Miss Mahoning

Melinda Russell 10:40

all?

SPEAKER_00 10:40

So I help promote the track. I haven't done any parades. Last year I did parades with my race car, my dad's race car. Yeah, mainly I just help promote the racetrack. I go to other tracks too and help promote.

Melinda Russell 10:54

Okay. That's very fun.

unknown 10:57

Yeah.

Melinda Russell 10:58

So when you go to the tracks on a regular race night, do you have to like dress up like you're, you know, the queen or the princess or whatever they call it? Or do you, you know, do you have to kind of have a certain thing how you look and everything?

SPEAKER_00 11:16

So I don't really have to be dressed up really nice until the features. So for like practice in the heat, you'll catch me in like leggings and a t-shirt helping my dad with his race car.

Melinda Russell 11:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

And once an admission comes, I'm curling my hair, putting on makeup, and changing in the trailer so I can do victory lanes.

Melinda Russell 11:34

Okay. I kind of figured you had to be a little more dressed up for that part. Yeah. Because all those photo opportunities, they want they want all that, you know, special for sure. Yeah. So the let's go back to the racing part. You know, you started really young, and you had a good example to look up to as far as your racing mentor. Who else encouraged you or helped you along the way to be the person you are now?

SPEAKER_00 12:09

So, my biggest inspiration when it comes to racing, there's two of them: Corey Edelman, who he has raced with against my dad for years, and also Anthony Cecily, which is more recent.

Melinda Russell 12:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Anthony is a big name, he travels to a bunch of tracks. And then last year he had an unfortunate injury. He broke his back. But he's slowly bouncing back, getting back into cars.

Melinda Russell 12:39

Yeah. Yeah. It, you know, we all have somebody we look up to that's kind of kept us in the game because let's face it, Zoe, at the age that you were racing, you could have been doing a lot of other things. You could have been playing softball or going to the swimming pool or going to the lake on the weekends, whatever it might be. And you were at the racetrack. So what kept you going there?

SPEAKER_00 13:08

I think it was

Pageants, Visibility, And Outreach

SPEAKER_00 13:10

knowing that I'd go there every weekend, I'd see all my favorite people, and I'd get to have fun while watching the sport I love be so alive.

Melinda Russell 13:20

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

And it's our family, isn't it? It's mainly my family and a lot of close friends that kept it interesting.

Melinda Russell 13:32

Yeah. And then when you go to the racetrack every weekend, that adds more people to your family.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Yeah.

Melinda Russell 13:39

Yeah. And if you don't see them for very long, like in the winter, if you don't see some of those people, and when you see them for the first time, it's like family reunion.

SPEAKER_00 13:50

Yeah. Yeah. The racetrack actually is where I met my fiance. So I love that track than I could imagine.

Melinda Russell 13:58

Okay. That's exciting. And so does he race? He does. Okay. So will you race against him or he races a different class?

SPEAKER_00 14:09

So we raced against each other once, but we usually race in different classes.

Melinda Russell 14:15

Okay. All right. That's good. That probably keeps the relationship a little bit more on even keel. If you're not racing against each other, yeah, for sure. Yeah. So is racing something that you can see yourself doing, you know, uh next year you want to get back in it. Is it something that you can see that you and your fiance are going to want to keep doing for a long time?

SPEAKER_00 14:43

I think racing is always going to be a huge part of my life until the day I die. Like I think my like the week I die, I'm probably gonna be at a racetrack somewhere trying to drive a car or watching someone I love drive a car.

Melinda Russell 14:58

Yeah, I kind of feel that way too. I don't drive, but I I love going to the races and being a part of the racing community, and I can't imagine at this point in my life doing anything else because I meet so many amazing women like yourself that just it just makes my day when I get to talk to somebody, especially somebody new. So that's always fun. So, do you think motor sports is a good sport for women to be involved in or start as a little girl, or is it kind of tough?

SPEAKER_00 15:33

It's a good sport, but it's kind of tough because it's very male-dominated.

Melinda Russell 15:39

Yeah. Even still today it is, of course, but we're we're pushing the numbers up as far as women involved, and so that's always a good thing. Are there a lot of women that race against you when you were racing, like in the like last year?

SPEAKER_00 15:56

So last year when I was racing, there was not a lot of women. I'd say there was maybe only other three, four girls in my class, if that okay.

Melinda Russell 16:07

All right. So, what can we do to get more women involved? Do you think?

SPEAKER_00 16:13

I feel like we need to like there needs to be more support, like there needs to be something that draws them in and like feel because it's so male dominated, it kind of defers them. I think we just need more people to show, like, hey, like you can do this, even

Community, Mentors, And Motivation

SPEAKER_00 16:30

like just for your woman doesn't mean you can't.

Melinda Russell 16:32

Right, right. And the the best part is if they see you out there doing that, then they can believe in themselves that they can do it as well. Yeah, yeah. We have to show other women that it's possible, and they have to see too how fun it is, and and I think we have to share with them the whole experience, not just getting in the car and driving. It's the family and friends that you you know you hang out with, it's the new friends you make, it's the traveling if you go to different tracks, it's all those things that make up the whole experience. And unless you're involved with it, you don't see or understand that. And I think we need to try to get that out there as much as possible.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

Yes, I feel like there needs to be more light shed on the behind the scenes, the good, the bad, all of that.

Melinda Russell 17:33

I agree, I agree for sure. So let's just say it's race weekend. Tell me what your race day looks like. How do you prepare for race day, both you know, physically, mentally, you know, food-wise? Tell me what race day looks like.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

So race day looks a little different this year, but I'd wake up in the morning, I make sure I have a nice protein-packed breakfast, some protein waffles, make sure I'm staying hydrated, get up, get ready, pack everything that my dad and I need for the track, head out, get there, prep everything, make up through the day. I usually don't eat much on race days just because I'm going so much. And then after we leave the track, usually my family will stop and we'll grab something small on the way home. Yeah.

Melinda Russell 18:29

Yeah. And as hot as it's been this summer, I don't know about Pennsylvania, but I'm assuming the Michigan weather went right across the country and and you know, it was hot, it was humid. We have to stay hydrated, but food just doesn't sound good when you're hot and you're at the racetrack, especially. So that's that's kind of a common thing. A lot of times we don't eat when we're at the racetrack for sure. Yeah, yeah. Do you have any superstitions or pre-race like rituals that you do before you get in the race car?

SPEAKER_00 19:02

I don't have any superstitions, but before I get in the car or before my dad gets in the car, I always make sure I give my dad a kiss on the cheek. And we always tell each other to be smart and use our heads. Oh, good idea. I refuse to get in my race car, or I refuse to

Race-Day Prep And Rituals

SPEAKER_00 19:20

let him get in his race car until I give him a kiss on the cheek and we tell each other that. So that's kind of my superstition or like good luck charm.

Melinda Russell 19:28

Yeah, yeah, and that's nice. That's that's the thing that you want to always make sure that you do, and that's important for sure. Probably helps him when he's racing, remembering that he got that kiss from his from his daughter, so that's awesome. Yeah, so you know, every day at the racetrack is not a good day, unfortunately. How do you handle adversity or things when they go wrong? What's a what's the best way to handle it? How do you handle it?

SPEAKER_00 19:58

So I've noticed the Best thing at the track is when things go downhill, take a step back, look at it from like an outside perspective. Like, what could you have done better? What could you have done different? How can you improve for next week? Is there something you don't want to do next week? Is there something different you want to do?

Melinda Russell 20:20

Yeah, yeah, that's true. And you don't throw your helmet or start cussing or cry or look at that.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

A few times I've thrown my gloves, I've thrown my neck brace, but okay. I've learned that doesn't really do anything.

Melinda Russell 20:37

No, and you never know who's watching. Yeah. That's the thing. You never know who's watching. Yeah, for sure. So when you race, would you consider yourself a laid back or an aggressive driver?

SPEAKER_00 20:53

I per I prefer to say I'm a lot more laid back, but like I'll be aggressive if I'm provoked.

Melinda Russell 21:01

Okay, all right. Would you prefer to start on the pole or work your way up from the back?

SPEAKER_00 21:10

I like to start kind of like middle of the pack, which a lot of people don't agree with, but like you still have to work, but you're not like fighting everyone. Yeah, true.

Melinda Russell 21:21

Yeah. I think I don't know. I don't think I would want to start on the pole just thinking about that. I don't want all those people behind me acting crazy. I think I'd rather start in the middle, trying to see how things are going and work my way up for sure. Have you ever had an oh no moment when you've been racing?

SPEAKER_00 21:42

Yeah, my oh no moment happened last season.

Melinda Russell 21:45

Okay, and what was that?

SPEAKER_00 21:47

So I got myself ready. I was being super confident, trying to be independent, and it's practice. I'm hammered down, getting feel for the car, and my steering wheel

Mindset, Adversity, And Driving Style

SPEAKER_00 22:00

didn't click in completely. My steering wheel came off. And by the time I went to fix it, I was ready in the wall, and all I could just say was, oh no.

Melinda Russell 22:11

Yeah, I guess so. That's a big oh no for sure.

SPEAKER_00 22:15

Oh dear. Thankfully, I was fine. The car needed a little TLC, but we fixed it and I went back out for my heat and feature.

Melinda Russell 22:23

Okay, so it wasn't terrible. You wasn't like you flipped or rolled or anything, so that's good for sure. Yeah. Oh, that has to be scary holding the steering wheel, and it's not attached to anything. I don't know what happened to me there. It's a crazy day. I don't know what's happening here with the internet deal. So something's going on for sure. So what's one thing that you feel like was the hardest, maybe not more than one thing. What was the hardest thing for you to learn going from maybe like quarter midgets to what we'll call a big car?

SPEAKER_00 23:05

I think the hardest thing was learning how to shift. And also, you know, quarter midget, you just push, you get pushed and you just go. You don't have part, reverse, none of that. Right. I think the hardest thing was remembering what's where, how to shift, and knowing that you're in such a bigger car, and you can't fit in as small of spaces as you could in your quarter midget.

Melinda Russell 23:33

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, that's so so true. Yeah, there's and I the shifting thing, you know, we just don't learn that anymore. Like as a kid, and I, you know, I told you how old I am. Even I didn't learn how to shift a car until I was really an adult. It's just it's just not something that we teach most kids. And a lot of times the girls I talk to, that's how they learn to shift, is the first time they get in their race car. And some of them, their dads just put them right out on the racetrack

The “Oh No” Steering Wheel Moment

Melinda Russell 24:10

and say, have at it, you know. And so it's it's a real learning curve for sure.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

Yeah, that's kind of what my dad did. He we run it off the track, he's like, go out on the track, and he's like, You have to figure it out yourself. There's like there's no easy way to teach you, yeah.

Melinda Russell 24:26

I suppose that's right, for sure. Yeah, so you're you're Zoe Quinn, you love your job, you do what you do. How do you think you would be different if you hadn't got involved in motorsports? What is, in other words, what has motorsports taught you besides how to shift a car that you might not have learned otherwise?

SPEAKER_00 24:53

I think it's taught me to appreciate the people around me and what I have a lot more because one crash could lose your car, you could get injured, you could it could end your career. I think it's learned, like I've learned to appreciate the little things more that a lot of people just overlook.

Melinda Russell 25:15

We're we're so quick to take things for granted, aren't we? Yeah, yeah, yeah, we really are, for sure. So, what's one thing that you take to the racetrack every weekend that you could not be without?

SPEAKER_00 25:31

I the one thing I take and I religiously will continue to take is my emotional support water bottle. Okay, tell me about that. So a lot of people think it's really weird, but whether you're racing, you're a track queen, you're just there to watch, you will always see me with my water bottle in my hand. It's always filled with ice and body armor. That is like the backbone to my existence at the racetrack.

Adapting To Big Cars And Shifting

Melinda Russell 26:00

Okay, that's interesting. How did you get started with that?

SPEAKER_00 26:06

So working in healthcare, going to school, all of that, you learn very quickly you need to stay hydrated. You you can go without eating, but you need to drink. And I was like, I found very quickly Awala was the best one, and I'm like, this is going with me, Ruwa now. And very quickly, to all of my friends, family at the races, they're like, It's your emotional support water bottle.

Melinda Russell 26:33

That's interesting, that's really cute. Does it have an ESA sticker on the side?

SPEAKER_00 26:39

So my water bottle is just covered in like random stickers and stuff. Like there's racing stickers, there's medical stickers, like whenever someone gives me a sticker, it goes on the water bottle.

Melinda Russell 26:52

Okay, all right, that's a good place for it for sure. So to get like kind of hyped up or ready to race, do you have any kind of music or songs that you always listen to?

SPEAKER_00 27:05

I will for always be an MM girl. When I'm getting ready to get in that car, there's MM on repeat.

Melinda Russell 27:12

Okay, all right. That's that's a good one for sure. Yeah. So is the job you're doing now something that you can see yourself doing the rest of your life? Is that something that you're just very passionate about and what you've always wanted to do, or do you have other goals?

SPEAKER_00 27:31

So I actually just finished phlebotomy school the end of last year. And while I'm very passionate about my job, I am looking to pursue a job as a phlebotomist.

Melinda Russell 27:44

Okay, okay. That's a good job to have, right? Yeah, they're not going away anytime soon, that's for sure. So that's that's that's a good job to have. So, Zoe, how do you use social media?

SPEAKER_00 27:59

So I

Life Lessons, Hydration, And Music

SPEAKER_00 28:00

use social media just to kind of share my journey, like my everyday life, racing, advocate for mental health, just like a little bit of everything.

Melinda Russell 28:11

Okay. And how would somebody follow you if they wanted to see what you're doing as far as your miss mahoney or your racing? Is it just your name, or how would they follow you? And is it it's Facebook, not Instagram?

SPEAKER_00 28:26

So I post everything on my Facebook, it's under Zoe Quinn. Okay, um, we're active on most other social medias. Facebook is like the big one.

Melinda Russell 28:37

Okay. All right, sounds good. Is there anything I haven't asked you about that we missed about your story? Um, trying to think. I don't think so. Anything else you'd like to share about it all? About your maybe sponsors or any anything at all? I don't want to leave anything out.

SPEAKER_00 29:02

Actually, one thing is I don't think any of this would have happened without the support of Mallory, my dad, and my fiance. So I just want to give them a huge thank you and a shout out. Yeah, that's that's good.

Melinda Russell 29:18

We can't forget those people that help us get where we are. So yeah, yeah. Well, Zoe, I really appreciate you taking time today to be on the show. I I love your story, it's a little different, and I hope that other tracks kind of see the value of maybe having a Miss Kalamazoo Speedway or whatever it might be. I think that's a great idea. Yeah, thank you. You're welcome. Well, you have a great rest of the season. It's probably about over, I would say now, but a great rest of your year, and we'll be following your racing coming up here next year.

SPEAKER_00 29:59

Thank you.

Career Goals And Social Media

Melinda Russell 30:00

All right, thank you. Hang on.

Outro And Calls To Action

Melinda Russell 30:07

That's it for this episode of the Women's Motorsports Network podcast. We hope you've been inspired by the stories I shared today and feel more connected to the amazing community of women in motorsports. Remember, whether you're behind the wheel, in the pits, or cheering from the stands, your story matters. And together, we're driving change and celebrating every milestone. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with someone who loves motorsports as much as you do. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, behind the scenes content, and more incredible stories. So until next time, stay inspired, stay connected, and keep racing through life. This is the Women's Motorsports Network podcast, where every woman's story is worth celebrating.