I Learn More From Bad Nights Than Trophies with Memarie Ashcraft

Meet Mem And Her Start

Melinda Russell 0:52

This episode is sponsored by Snyder's Lawn Care and Property Maintenance in Kalamazoo, Michigan. If storms leave branches, debris, or damage in your yard, including down trees, their team offers reliable storm damage cleanup services. Reach out to Bob or Andrew at 269-775-1275, or their website is Snyderslawncare.com. That's 269-775-1275. Hello everyone. This is Melinda Russell with the Women's Motorsports Network podcast. And my guest today is someone I've had on before. We call her Mem. She's going to tell us about herself. So, Mem, why don't you start by sharing a little bit about yourself and uh and then tell us how did you get started in racing?

SPEAKER_00 1:49

So I'm memory ashtraft. I'm a 15-year-old micro sprint racer. I've definitely had just a past in racing. Like I feel like that that's just me, is I don't do much outside of racing. And I guess that's just because I grew up five minutes from a track, and I just grew up going to the track ever since I was around like three years old, which also leads into how I started racing. My dad worked on the fire department in my local town, which has the track, and he was working at the track one day, and he was just walking around and he saw a quarter midget for display. And he came home that night. Or I mean, I guess I should say we were at the track, but when he got home, he looked it up on Facebook, and he was like, Are you interested? And we just going to the races. I said, Yeah. And next thing you know, I just got thrown in a car. And ever since then, it's kind of just been a passion from there. But I don't really have much other to me besides racing, because that's that's all I've grown up with.

Melinda Russell 3:02

So let's go back just a minute. So your dad wasn't a racer, he just liked racing.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

He definitely liked it. He tried to race like a little after I started racing. So I was maybe eight when he started racing, and it just he didn't want his racing to take over my racing, so he just kind of stopped, and then we kind of more focused on like the nationals and quarter midgets, and that's when soon enough we were like, Well, we need to get into a bigger car. So that's when I got into the micro.

Melinda Russell 3:36

Yeah, so he hadn't raced before like you were born or anything.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

No, no, not at all.

Melinda Russell 3:43

No, you you just both kind of fell in love with it together.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

Yeah, it's definitely just been like a daughter-dad kind of bonding thing.

Melinda Russell 3:52

Yeah, now do you have any brothers or sisters?

SPEAKER_00 3:55

I have a younger sister.

Melinda Russell 3:58

Okay, and is she like racing or is she too young yet?

SPEAKER_00 4:02

She she used to race and she was good at it too. She was actually crazy good, it was insane. But something happened, she just fell out of it, she just wasn't having a time of her life, so now she's into like horses. She's really into basketball right now, but she's she's basically done a lot of different sports, so that was just a whole thing. But now my sister's kind of like, well, I don't really care for racing.

Teamwork With Peyton And Dads

Melinda Russell 4:32

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think it's good that you get to try a lot of different things because when you're a kid, you don't really know what's gonna be the thing that really like touches your heart, and so yeah, I'm kind of you know, I my kids all played basketball and and I love I love college basketball. So this is my one of my favorite times of year because there's racing on, but there's also the March Madness, and I love the March Madness. So so I spend my time over the weekend. I had racing on the big TV and I had basketball on my computer so that I could listen with my earphones on the computer. So if something like exciting happened or the game was tied, then I I tuned into the computer. Otherwise, I was watching racing. So yeah, it's fun that I can I can watch both at the same time. So you were you your dad's kind of in charge of the team and you have teammates, right? Yeah. So do you want to tell tell how that works? Because a lot of kids, it's just them and their parent. So, but you guys have a team, so how does that work?

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Well, so it's me and Peyton, and me and Peyton, we with us only living 20 minutes apart, you know, they come over and they help get her car ready. They help me with my car. Like over the past weekend at Texas, I was in the B main for non-wing and winged, and for dirt, you have like three B mains. So, of course, my luck, I get put in the third B main for non-wing, and then we had only one restricted B in between us, so I had only like 12 laps to get straight into winged, and since we only have my one car, we had Peyton's dad, Kyle, and then my dad, they were tag teaming my car, so my dad was putting on wings and stuff as Kyle's changing the tires, so it's like my dad runs the team and stuff, but it's like everyone contributes with helping everyone, and you know, me and Peyton will sit there and talk, and she's done the micro quite a bit, but it's not as much as I've been doing it because they're trying to they're trying to focus her on like quarter midgets or were and stuff. So since she's still like focusing on like that quarter midget, and then doing the micro as like a step stone, I should say, I guess. It's like I would I'm trying to help her, but then she gives me advice too, so we kind of like help each other there too when we're out and about, and then Kyle with him coming from basically a racing family, he also helps me and Peyton a lot.

Melinda Russell 7:25

Yeah, it's not it's it's nice that you have each other like all the time, kind of, and that your dad has the helper because it's it's a lot even for one parent and one kid, you know, and the fact that there's two of you, but that the dads can work together and and everything that I think that's a benefit for you. And as far as learning and growing in the sport, you have each other to talk to, you girls, and so that's that's helpful too.

Texas Motor Speedway Weekend

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Yeah, it's definitely a lot of help, especially for like times when my mom can't make it out, like the whole family can't go, such as this weekend. My sister had stuff with basketball, and it's one of those things where it's like my parents aren't going to take away from her just for me. Right. So my mom stayed back, so my dad literally only had either himself or Kyle was there to help. Thankfully, Kyle was there to help this time, but there's probably going to be other races that Peyton won't be able to make it to, so it would just be me and my dad. So it does lead into like we don't know if we'll be able to do two classes at every now 600 we go to. This weekend it was just a perfect timing for them to come down and help.

Melinda Russell 8:34

Yeah. So where in Texas were you at? And then tell me how how did you do?

SPEAKER_00 8:40

We were at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, and how I did night one was a little a little iffy. I was kind of with kind of being newer to A-class, I'm still kind of learning the car and stuff, and that's what basically it was. I in qualifying, I think I qualified sixth in non-wing and last in wing, and then the heat it wasn't too good either. I kind of just stayed where I was, and then the B mains came around, and in non-wing, actually, there was a pile up, and I didn't have time to react, so I kind of hit someone and it made my right rear go flat, so I that ended my night because I couldn't do my winged anymore. And then the second night we qualified last in both. In the heat, I only went up one spot in non-wing and two in winged. In the B for non-wing, I started 14th and went all the way up to eighth. And it was it was like a one-lane track, so there was really no passing and stuff, so I wanted to stay where they were at. So it was kind of just hard to make go up to second because only top two transferred. In the wing though, I was in 11th. I made it all the way up to fourth, and then got involved in a little incident, which made me go back to last in in three laps. I got back up to eight from 14. So I mean it wasn't bad. It wasn't enough to you know make it to the A or anything, but I mean, I definitely feel like we had the car, and I feel like it was there, it's just a one-lane track, and it was hard to pass.

Handling Bad Breaks And Learning

Melinda Russell 10:27

Well, and you know, I've known you for two or three years or whatever, and kind of watched as as you've gone, you know, gotten better. And you know, when you change to a different class or or race maybe at a track you haven't done gone to before, just the fact that you're out there getting seat time, that's important because we know that we're not gonna win every race, and you know, and things happen, don't they? I mean, there's things that are in our control and out of our control for sure. So when you when you have a weekend that maybe you feel like didn't go as well as you had hoped or you thought, how do you handle that? Do you, you know, does somebody talk to you? Do you get upset? Do you kind of let it roll off your shoulders? How do you react to that?

SPEAKER_00 11:17

I guess it kind of it more or less depends on how the weekend went. Like this time in Texas, I didn't have high hopes because it's like I'm in a new class. And last time I raced at Texas, I actually broke the car every time we went out for a B-main. So I guess I kind of took the positive positives from this Texas versus last Texas because we didn't really break the car this time, it was just like we only had that flat right rear, and that only happened just because I couldn't react fast enough. Right. So that just kind of it rolled off my shoulders this time. But like if it's like a race that like I was leading, and then the car breaks or I mess up or something, then I I get a little upset. I don't let it get to me as much as like some other people would think, probably. But like I just feel like you you learn from your mistakes every like every mistake that you do, you learn from it. And I feel like I just get and it's been like this ever since I was younger, but every time that I've been in the lead, I've always messed it up a little bit, and I just feel like throughout you know my 10 years of racing, I feel like I've definitely gotten better at not messing up every time I'm in the lead. Last year, every time I'd be leading, the car would just randomly like break on me. And it last year was just such a bad season for me. But like this year, I feel like A-Class has definitely been a little easier for me. I feel like I've never been good at like momentum games, and that's what restricted is in A-Class. At least if I mess up once, I can recover from it on like restricted. So A-Class has definitely been like a little easier to learn, but it's still got that difficulty that I'm trying to get to.

Micro Sprint Basics And Footwork

Melinda Russell 13:10

Well, and come on, if it was easy, you know what they say, if it was easy, everybody would do it, right? 100%, 100%, and and there's so much to it that a lot of people don't understand, like you know, the setup and and the tires, and our you know, do you have new tires? Do you have old tires and all the different things that you have to know about in order to be a successful racer? And I just think finishing the race a lot of times is successful because oh yeah, yeah. And and so, you know, when my son raced, I always used to say a successful night is when you bring the car home in one piece, right? And so or you're not hurt, or you know, there's a lot of there's a lot of positives, and getting the trophy and winning isn't always the top positive that you can think about, you know. It's getting better and feeling more comfortable with your car and all and all those things. So tell me about your cars, you know, what tell me about the you know, how fast do they go, what are they, what your numbers, just tell me about them.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

Well, so I race a 600cc micro sprint, so it's literally just like an out-of-the-bike street bike motor, and we just kind of throw that into the car, and it's what number are you?

Melinda Russell 14:43

I'm 21A. Okay, and is that for both cars?

SPEAKER_00 14:48

So I'm 21A and Peyton is 21G.

Melinda Russell 14:54

Okay, okay for your last names. Yeah, for our last names. Yeah, yeah, that's cool. And you is it what what's the hardest thing you've had to like learn or that you're still learning as you move up to a different car?

SPEAKER_00 15:13

That's a I think the hardest part was trying to learn how to track changes. Like going from asphalt where it's literally the same line every lap to dirt where you have to change it every lap or almost have to change it every lap is definitely a little like confusing. That that was definitely my hardest point. Going from restricted to A class though, has been a little bit of a challenge because I don't know like my footwork yet, and you can't fully let off in A class or else it'll just go one way. So I'm standing there trying to like not let off, but you also can't use your brakes, so it's a lot of just like footwork and stuff, and even Peyton said it, and I feel like this was my problem when I first started too. But I mean, Peyton in the world formula, she has to let off on entry and then roll back onto it by mid-corner, unlike A class, where you can't let off fully or else they'll throw you one way. So that was like definitely a learning point for her, and I feel like that was like my first learning point too, is because in Restricted, when I first started, I didn't know that you could just floor it and only use your brakes. So when I let off, it threw me one way, and that's when I got out of the car, and my dad was like, Don't let off, like just use your brake. So I was using my brake from there. So I guess the turning point from there was now it's playing with your feet and learning just how your footwork basically rotates the car and like handles the car.

Melinda Russell 16:58

And see, that's something that a lot of people, if they don't know anything about what kind of car you race, micro sprints or what they would have no idea. They're like, Well, you know, I didn't see her turn the car. Why did it do that? Well, they don't realize that it's what's going on on the floor on the pedals, not the steering wheel.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

I feel like we when it comes to dirt, you definitely have a lot more of your footwork into it, more than your wheel, which is really shocking to say because usually when you're like, Oh, I race, like they're thinking, oh, so you just turn the car. Like, I swear the car turns itself sometimes.

Melinda Russell 17:36

Yeah, absolutely. It feels like that because there might be, I don't want to say ruts, but there might be paths on the on the track that are that are getting worn and your wheel gets in there, and there's all kinds of reasons. And I would think that dirt would be really hard to be get accustomed to because, like you said, the asphalt, you can kind of pick your marks and you can run the same lap every time. Yeah, and and in dirt, you know, it might be high, it might be low. So, do you watch the people in front of you so you kind of know where to go, or how do you decide where you should be on the track?

SPEAKER_00 18:15

I get so I watch the the races usually. I tend to do that just to see how the track's changing and stuff, seeing where ruts are being created, because ruts they can either help you or they can be like your worst enemy. So, you know, I kind of watch to see where the ruts are forming, if there are any ruts. Sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't. And then I when I first enter the track, I see how it is, and I see where like little moisture packs are for me to hit. I do a lot on the track that I try to think of. And then once we like actually go, if I see someone get around me on the top, then I'll try the top, and if it doesn't really work, then I try to just stick to like the bottom or the middle. And I kind of I guess I should say I watch my surroundings a lot because it's like if someone is going to the bottom and then shooting high, then I might as well try that. And every car reacts differently because everyone has a different setup, but it's like if my card tends to do that pretty good, then I'm just gonna keep on doing that, and then if I see someone hit a ruck pretty good, then I I'll try to hit that right. But it leads into like if you don't hit the ruck good, then you usually get like a really bad lap. So it's like you kind of have to like pick and choose your battles. And I mean it's the same thing with running the top when there's a cushion. If you don't hit the cushion right, then you go into the marbles, and if you go into the marbles, then it's just not really a fun game from there. But I mean, if you like catch that cushion with your right rear, then it usually can carry you through the corner, and all you have to really do is throttle out, right?

Melinda Russell 19:56

And see, so how how old are you? Did you say you were 14, 15? I'm 15. You're 15. So at 15 years old, for people that are listening to this, you can tell that she's raced a long time, and even though she's in a different class and different kind of cart, how much she knows? I just I'm sitting here listening, thinking, you know, a lot about where to run and why it runs this way and why your car does that, and you're only 15 years old. Think what you're gonna know when you're 20 years old, right? You know, because you're learning and learning and learning. Yeah, yeah. That's pretty impressive, actually, ma'am. I'm pretty you know, for because a lot of people, like I said, they have no clue, they just go and watch, they don't know any about any of that, so it's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

I feel like a lot of it is muscle memory. Like, I I don't know why, but I feel like it's one of those things where it's like once you once you learn how to run the top grid, then any track you go to, you'll be able to figure it out pretty fast because you you've done it before. So it's kind of like how do I put this? I don't I won't say a mind game, but it is a lot of like if you remember how to do it, then it's good. And I guess I won't say I'm a very fast learner, but I feel like I understand things a little quicker. So it's like once I do it once good, then I I'm able to do it every lap as well.

Melinda Russell 21:31

Yeah, and that's a that's gotta be a benefit, you know, to so you obviously learn by doing is probably your learning method. That's kind of my yeah, that's kind of my learning method too. I love to read in that, but if I need to learn how to like do a new program on my computer or something, I just have to mess with it. I really can't like read the book, you know what I'm saying? I just want I just Want to mess with it and learn how to do it.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

Yeah, I definitely definitely doing something is definitely how I learn a lot. Yeah. Every just everything I've done. Yeah.

Melinda Russell 22:12

So you're on spring break. Do you go to a regular school? Or yeah, I assume. Or are you homeschooled, or how does that work?

SPEAKER_00 22:20

I go to a hybrid school. So like Monday, Wednesdays, I go into school, and then Tuesday, Thursdays, and Fridays, I'm at home online.

Melinda Russell 22:32

Okay. And that that sounds like that would work pretty well. I think I I've talked to a couple other people that kids that have done that. And it sounds like, you know, first of all, that's a that's a cool way to go to school that you don't have to be there every day at 7.30, right? And I would think that you can get a a lot more done in like part of a day at home than you can in the whole day at the school. I mean, that's just typically how it goes, right?

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Yeah, I I definitely find it like really nice, especially since like when I'm home, I try to I guess on like Monday and Wednesdays, I stay up a little later and knock out like Tuesday's work. And then I will sit there. I sleep in a little bit on Tuesday because I stayed up late. And then by that time, like I'm able to wash the car, I'm able to work on the car for that day. And it it's nice to have like that flexibility in my schedule because then it does lead into I can do so much on the race car and just get it ready for that weekend.

Melinda Russell 23:41

Yeah. So what are some things that you do on the race car? Sometimes I I have girls that say, Yeah, my dad doesn't want me to touch it, but a lot of other girls do learn how to do certain things. So, what are some things that you do to help with the car?

SPEAKER_00 23:59

I I kind of do almost like everything, unless, like, see, when I blow a motor or something, I my dad does does that. I can't I can't change a motor. Like, it's not the fact that I don't know how to because I know how to, because I mean I've been in there helping him. I just don't have the strength for that. I'm shocked he can lift it up. So it's kind of like he does all that. When we're at the track, I usually don't touch the car. Like you won't see me touch the car at the track. But when I'm home, I basically like there's times when I would text my dad and he's at work, I'm like, hey, how do you do this real quick? And he would tell me, and then I just do it. So like when we're home, I do everything except a little challenging thing. Like, I mean, before shootout, I put the car together. The only thing I didn't do was put the motor in the car. Other than that, I did everything else. And then like once we got to shootout, I didn't touch the car. Like, I would tell my dad what he needs to do, I just don't touch it at the track. And I I really don't know why it's like that. But I mean that that's just kind of been what we've done ever since I was younger, is I'll help at home and stuff, and then once I get to the track, like I just sit there and I watch the races. I give my dad feedback on what to do with the car, and I try to help him a little bit. I definitely like when we didn't wing and non-wing at pull wings off and I helped him change the tires and stuff, but other than that, I don't really touch the car on the track.

Melinda Russell 25:41

Well, and I would think that you need to concentrate more on what the track's doing and what the other racers are doing, and and you know, let your dad think about what needs to be worked on on the car, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:58

Yeah, I definitely I definitely try to help a little more at the track now because it's like there's just so much going on and it yeah, sometimes it can get like really tight. But I mean, other than that, I do go and I watch the races because I I do think that like if I know the track and I see how it's like basically coming together, because I I'm a very visual person, like I can't think about how the track's gonna look. Like I have to literally see it to know. Yeah, which that's why I usually just watch the races and tell my dad what needs to be done instead of like staying at the trailer and stuff.

Tulsa Shootout Pressure And Joy

Melinda Russell 26:41

Yeah, I I think again it goes back to your visual learning that you're a visual person, yeah. Same, same as me for sure. So you went to the Tulsa shootout. Do you want to for somebody who maybe doesn't know anything about that, do you want to share a little bit about that experience?

SPEAKER_00 27:00

Well, the Tulsa Shootout, it it's definitely the most nerve-wracking race I've ever gone to. Like, there's just so many people, especially since it's like the bigger the biggest micro race of the year. It's just like you have I won't say you have all this pressure laid on you, but I mean it is kind of like you really have to like always be on your A game there, and it's just so big and there's so many people. Like, I don't know, it it just is so nerve-wracking to race there sometimes. I mean, it's a very fun experience. Like, I genuinely love shootout, it's like the best time of the the year, and I hate winter, but yeah, like I think I think it's just like being in the building, you get to see friends that you don't see ever. Like, I have friends who I only see at shootout, like it's very rare that I see them anywhere else. So it's like I guess going to shootout, not only do you get a race, but you do see your friends that you don't see there in a while, but you also have like your heart racing like crazy once you get into the car because it's like one one wrong move, and your whole week can just be you sitting watching races because it's like you couldn't get out of the lowest main. And like last year, they had like I think it went all the way down to like a G main for A-class, like it was big, so it definitely does get a little nervous.

Melinda Russell 28:34

It's so so big, it has to be overwhelming. I mean, and you know, and there's every age kid there, adults, all kinds of people there, yeah, famous people, not famous people, just everything, you know. And there's just there's so I haven't ever been there, that's on my bucket list, but I watch it when it's on, you know, on flow, and yeah, just watching just what they show is overwhelming to try to keep track of where I'm supposed to be and when is this and where is that, and you know, all the things, and and so, but it that's part of what makes it fun, I think, is that it's just so so big.

SPEAKER_00 29:21

Yeah, well, it I guess it doesn't help that like you have some people who literally race all week with no stop. So I mean it's just go, go, go all week, and then like like last year I had like two days in between my next race because it's like I raced on Tuesday and then I followed up when it was Friday again. So I mean, like I guess it just kind of depends on like what you race and like all the other things. So like for me it was overwhelming, but it wasn't as overwhelming, yeah, as some other people who you know have been doing did both outlaw classes and both A class classes. Yeah, yeah.

Melinda Russell 30:02

I can't, I don't I don't see how they manage that, honestly, because that would that would be definitely overwhelming and and crazy. It's just some of the stuff, it just looks crazy what's going on there. So, but it's fun, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:15

Oh, yeah, it's definitely like the time of your life there.

Melinda Russell 30:20

Yeah, and like you said, you you know, you've met kids there that then that's the only time you see them, and so that makes it something to look forward to and something to enjoy, even if you're not racing that day, you know, they might be you can hang out with them, and so you know, it's just one of those events that I think even if you don't race, you know, obviously I don't race, but I'd love to go just experience it sometime. I think that would be awesome.

SPEAKER_00 30:48

Yeah, it's definitely something that you should try to get to because it's just like a whole different experience once you go.

Travel Plans And Season Schedule

Melinda Russell 30:56

Yeah, for sure. I I've I've got it on my bucket list, so I'm hopefully I'm gonna I'm gonna get there. So, ma'am, tell me now what what's your plans? Are you traveling a lot this year with your racing or what what are you gonna be doing?

SPEAKER_00 31:11

We have some out of state races. We don't have like it's not like we're traveling every weekend. We're definitely staying home quite a bit. We're trying to knock out our 13 little races here, and then we just have like little races in between there. So like I go to Calhan, I think the fourth I race in Calhan, and then the following weekend I go to Kansas, and then it's just kind of like a lot of back to back. Like, there's one race where I literally race on a Monday, and then I have to leave that Wednesday to go to Washington for a race. So I mean it's it's definitely more of like a crazy schedule this year than it was last year, but we don't I don't think we're going up to Indiana again, which is a bummer. That track was pretty fun.

Melinda Russell 32:02

Now where in Indiana were you at? Were you in an indie at Indy?

SPEAKER_00 32:06

I raced US 24. Okay. Okay. Yeah, yeah. So we kind of we kind of were doing like the KKM last year, and then this year we aren't doing the KKM. But we tried to shoot for like the super series, and then my dad was like, let's not do the super series and let's go to Nebraska Speed Week. So we switched out that, and that's gonna be crazy too, because I mean that's like we start on a Saturday at airport, and then the whole week we're racing, so it's gonna be kind of crazy there, yeah.

Melinda Russell 32:41

But that'll be that'll be fun too, to do events like that, and then you'll look you'll race close to home too. So that's a that's a nice, you know, you can get yourself to where you're traveling so much that you're everybody's exhausted, and and it kind of takes some of the fun out. So if you can spread it out a little bit and race at home some, I think that's that sounds like a really good plan for sure. And then Peyton, will she race pretty much the same schedule as you?

SPEAKER_00 33:09

She's doing the home races for sure. I don't think she's really gonna be traveling with us as much. So I mean she might come like here and there for out of state, but they just like I said, they don't want to take from her quarter midget.

Melinda Russell 33:25

Right.

SPEAKER_00 33:26

They're so like since they're focusing on that, it's like they're all trying to like pile make it all work together overlap, yeah.

Melinda Russell 33:36

Yeah, yeah, for sure. So is there anything that we haven't talked about that that I've just missed that you want to share about your racing or your schedule or anything at all? And then I'm sure on Facebook they can find you to find out where you're gonna be racing.

Where To Follow And Wrap Up

SPEAKER_00 33:56

I I don't think I mean I think we covered it all.

Melinda Russell 34:00

Okay, and then what's your Facebook page or where do you show your schedule?

SPEAKER_00 34:05

Memory Ashcraft Racing should be my schedule, and then if you're looking for like me and Peyton's schedule, it's under Ashcraft Motorsports Racing. Right. Or Ashcraft Motorsports, it's something like that.

Melinda Russell 34:19

Yeah, if you put in Ashcraft, it'll sh it'll come up. It comes up it will probably come up. Yeah, it does. So well, ma'am, I'm glad to talk to you again. I I when I see in your 15, I was trying to think how old you were when I first talked to you. It's been, I want to say, three or four years, and you look more like a grown-up young lady. You were a little girl when I first started talking to you.

SPEAKER_00 34:45

Yeah, I actually saw a video not too long ago that like me, me, Riley, and Emma took the first time you had us that like literally five minutes before the podcast, we took that video, and you can definitely tell, like we've all just kind of grown up throughout just the span of last year. Cause like the first time you talked to us was 25.

Melinda Russell 35:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:10

Or shootout. When you talk to us, uh-huh. You can tell we've all just grown up so much.

Melinda Russell 35:20

Yeah, yeah, that was fun to do that. That got a lot of views, a lot of views, yeah, for sure. That was a cute one. Well, ma'am, I'm gonna let you go, but I want you to tell your dad I said hi and hopefully you have a really good year this year. If you tag Women's Motorsports Network when you post things, then it's easier for me to keep track of where you are. And if if I can ever have you on and share what you're doing during the season, or we could do a live something from one of the tracks, that would be fun to do. Um kind of put that in, put that on your dad's uh write him a sticky note and say, you know, we'll do a do a live show with you, and when you're out racing somewhere, that would be fun.

SPEAKER_00 36:07

Yeah, I'll definitely tell him.

Melinda Russell 36:09

Okay, all right, sounds good. Any anything else? Any last words?

SPEAKER_00 36:16

I I don't got any. Okay, no, I don't have any. I'm out of words.

Melinda Russell 36:22

Yeah, that's okay. We we covered a lot of stuff, so that's good. Yeah, all right. Well, thanks for being on with me today, ma'am. And thank you for having me. You're welcome. Go back to school next week, and then it won't be long. School will be out, and it will be we'll be on the racetrack every weekend. So that sounds like a lot more fun than school.

SPEAKER_00 36:44

A hundred percent.

Melinda Russell 36:45

Yeah, sounds good.