Kelly Coss: What If Confidence Is The Real Finish Line

Sponsors And Local Racing Support

Melinda Russell 0:49

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SPEAKER_00 2:26

Yeah, hi, I'm Kelly Coss. You know, thank you for having me. I'm 20 years old. I drive an A-class micro sprint. I am married to my wonderful husband who also happens to be in racing. I love racing. It's definitely one of my passions. And I'm so happy to be here to share a little bit about myself.

Melinda Russell 2:46

And Kelly, do you have any pets or anything like that that you have to take care of?

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Yeah, I have two wonderful dogs. I have an Australian Shepherd who is six months old. So he's very energetic and definitely keeps us on our toes. And I have a three-year-old great peer niece.

Melinda Russell 3:03

Okay, so bigger dogs.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Yes, yep. And they love coming to the racetrack. That's definitely one of their favorites.

Melinda Russell 3:10

Oh, do they? Because some dogs don't like all that noise.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Yes, ours love it. They love seeing all the people and all the other dogs that are there, absolutely love it. And we love having them. It's like our you know pit crew.

Melinda Russell 3:22

Right, right, exactly. Now, if you could just teach them to change a tire, you'd be in good shape.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

Yes, if we had those extra, you know, paws or hands and hot pit, that would be wonderful.

Melinda Russell 3:32

Isn't that the truth? Well, if you learn how to do that, you will you'll be famous and you'll be oh yes. Oh, yes. Hopefully one day, maybe. My dog, I have a little shihtzu, and and he likes to drink he wants to drink out of my cup. Oh, yep. And so I told my husband, if I could just teach him how to drink out of a straw, right, but that's not gonna happen either.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

So well, if you figure that one out, let me know.

From Fan To Micro Sprint

Melinda Russell 4:00

Right, exactly. So, Kelly, tell me, how did you get interested in motorsports?

SPEAKER_00 4:06

Yeah, so I, you know, as a little girl, you know, three, four, my dad actually raced snowmobiles. So I would go along with him and watch his racing. And it was so fun to me, you know, playing the snowbanks and on the ice and everything. And I've always had a passion for going fast and turning left, apparently. And I, you know, I my dad brought me to dirt track racing and I absolutely loved it my first time. And we have a local track, Red Cedar Speedway, right by me. So every Friday night we would go there and we'd watch, you know, late models, modified, street stocks, super stocks, you know, all of that. And I finally, you know, I want to go every Friday, and I kept asking to go. And I was this huge fan of racing. I had to get all the racing t-shirts and all the hero cards. And, you know, I got my license. I started going even more. You know, I could drive myself. And I always, I always wanted to be in racing. I my biggest dream was to be a race car driver, whether it was a Hornet or superstock, late model, modified, you know, I wanted to be in it. I wanted to be driving it, and that was my dream. You know, obviously it wasn't really in the budget at the time, and you know, I didn't really have any of those connections as racing is very expensive, as I'm sure you know. And so I, you know, was just everyone's biggest fan. I loved it. I would go, I'd talk to all of them, I'd get pictures. You know, Sammy Mars, you know, he's from Menominee, Wisconsin. You know, he was super good. You know, he stood out to me because he's local and I always get a picture. And, you know, our family also knows him. So that helped a lot, you know, to build those connections. And I was on Snapchat one day and I had gained a boyfriend at the time who is now my husband, and I didn't know he raced, but turns out that he raced micro sprints at the time at Thunder Hill Speedway. So he had asked me one Wednesday night to come to his race, and I went there and I actually fell in love with it. I had never been to Thunder Hill Speedway before, and I had never, you know, watched any carts or micro sprints before that. So I did not know what I was getting myself into at the time. But then, you know, we started talking more and more. And his dream was always to be a sprint car driver. He wanted to be a full-size, you know, sprint car, all of it. And so he, you know, we were about, you know, seven months into our relationship. And, you know, I said, why don't you, you know, follow your dream and go get a sprint car? So we picked up an older sprint car, you know, we started building it from the ground up, you know, motor and all that. And so he then had an extra micro sprint. And he goes, Why don't you hop in it and drive it? So they have a little home track at his parents'. Um, it's an eighth mile that we can go out and practice on. So I jumped in his micro sprint and I actually fell in love with it. Looking back at the videos now, I was going very slow. And I definitely didn't know what I was doing. But I it was my car for a year. I drove that for a year and I decided I wanted to keep racing. So we went and got a new micro sprint, which is what I have now. So every um last year it was Wednesday nights at Thunder Hill. I would race there in the micro sprint, and then this year it's Thursday nights now. So I'll be there basically every Thursday night racing my A-class micro sprint. And he now has a full-size sprint car still. And we actually made an LLC, um, K and K Racing. Um, we decided that we wanted to become our own team. And so we started that probably three years ago, right around the time that we both started full-time racing. And, you know, it was really fun, you know, to have our own, you know, K and K racing and you know, have an LLC like that, and you know, kind of just do our own thing and you know, post on our social medias. You know, we act like we're in the world of outlaws. That's his dream, is he wants to be in the world of outlaws. So we try to, you know, be on that professional level and make sure that you know we can get there hopefully someday. So we just keep trucking along and you know, keep racing. And we actually gained his sister on our team this year. So we have two sprint cars and one micro sprint. So that's that's gonna be really fun. It's definitely challenging having three cars in the shop now. But thankfully, you know, we have a heated shop and makes it much easier to work on them when it's cold. But so I think it'll be a really fun year and I'm really looking forward to it. But it just it really shows like follow your dream. Like I never ever thought that I would be an actual race car driver. I always thought I would just be one of the biggest fans. And it turns out now I'm a driver and I'm also still a big, big fan of racing. And it really, you know, I love going to Thunder Hill because it really brings out, you know, like the inner child in me, it feels like. And I love seeing, you know, all the little kids looking up to me because you know, I'm a I'm a race car driver. I want to be her someday. And, you know, it really shows that you don't have to start out in carts when you're a little kid. You know, my husband started out racing when he was seven years old. So he definitely has a lot of experience. And I just started out at 18 years old in a micro sprint, so I didn't have any of that, you know, driving experience before, but it really shows that even if you don't have the driving experience or you know, you're younger, older, you can still get in it, you can still follow your dreams and race, which is really cool because there's a lot of older people driving micro sprints. You know, I raced with 60-year-olds, 50-year-olds, you know, people my age, 20-year-olds, but I also race with like 13-year-olds. So, you know, micro sprints really have a variety, which is super cool to see. So yeah.

Melinda Russell 9:46

Wow, that's a great, that's a great story. And what I love, Kelly, is that you didn't start when you were seven. Because uh a lot of people think, well, if you don't start when you're young and you know, you wait till you're 18 or 20, it's just too late. Right. It's but it's not too late, it's not too late at all. Uh no, and uh get out there and have some fun, right? You know, yeah, absolutely. I love it.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

I mean, it's definitely you know a benefit if you're starting younger, you know, having that karting experience, but it's still never too late. You can gain that experience and racing family is huge. I mean, no matter what age you start, there's always people to help you out in the pits, people to talk to. So that's really cool too, because racing, you know, we've definitely gained a family. And, you know, we obviously could not do it without them. You know, they're our biggest supporters, we support them. So we know even with my husband, you know, racing for 18 years, he still needs help sometimes, you know, he still has questions. So starting really young is a benefit, but it's really not gonna, you know, it's not a big deal if you don't start young.

Melinda Russell 10:56

No, and it it's not something that blocks you from from being a race car driver for sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

Exactly. You can still be as good as a roll of outlaws driver, NASCAR driver. You know, it if you want it to happen, you can make it happen, you know, and just follow it. It's a big follow your dreams and you know, take that stride. You know, you you gotta take that step and bite the bullet and just jump in it and do it. You know, that's what I did, and I I wouldn't change it, you know, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Melinda Russell 11:26

I have a friend that lives in Menominee. Okay, isn't that funny? And for the longest time we always made fun of him, not didn't make fun of him, but we always like slaughtered the name of the town, you know. Yep, Menomie, all these things, yeah. So now I know how to say that right.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

That's really funny that you say that because I think still to this day, when I type out monomine, I say it me no money. So, and just to help me spell it out and make sure I spell it right. So I think that's really cool that you bring that up because I know a lot of people do that.

Melinda Russell 12:01

Yeah, that's funny. Me no money. I had never thought of that, but I'm gonna remember that for sure.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Yes, yep.

First Lessons Behind The Wheel

Melinda Russell 12:07

That's funny. So, you know, uh racing, racing was in your blood somehow, yeah, just from your dad taking you to the track, and then you got a chance now to be, you know, involved and race and everything. So what's something that was the hardest thing for you to learn when you first started driving?

SPEAKER_00 12:30

I, you know, I really think all of it was hard. I mean, when you're watching from the stands, you know, some people you don't think it's super easy, it's definitely not easy at all. And I think the hardest part for me was confidence. You know, all of the drivers that I'm racing with have so much experience, and there's a lot of good drivers that they're they're very good, like extremely good, and they have a lot of potential. So being out there in my first race, you know, I was in the back of the pack, like I was going, you know, turtle mode. And it was definitely confidence. You know, I would get off the track, and my husband, you know, you did a good job, you know. You know, he would tell me, you know, always, you know, what can I do better, what I did really good on, what I improved on. You know, we always have these personal goals, but no matter what, and still to this day, confidence is a struggle. You see a lot of these other drivers that are winning all the time and making moves and throwing sliders, and it's really hard to accomplish that. That's definitely a skill that's really hard to really hard to do. I mean, I I'm not like extremely good. You know, I'm not world of outlaws good right now. I would say I'm always improving. And I feel like that's definitely something that every racer would say is I'm not good, I'm improving. Because every year, every race, you're gonna improve on something. So this year, you know, our main goal is confidence and have fun. We go to the racetrack, and as long as we have fun, we had a good night. And no matter if our cars and pieces or if we're in victory lane, as long as we had fun, that's what matters. And that really helps make your nights easier and gain friendships. Because if you're just down on yourself all the time, it's not gonna be any fun and you can't improve. So, really just working on that confidence and realizing that I was still new to this, and so I'm not gonna be as good as them. I don't have as much experience as them. And, you know, just taking that in that I can be there someday if I really want to. And if I, you know, strive for that dream and really work, you know, put all my dedication in, I can be there. So I think really working on that confidence and you know, building that up really helps me a lot. It helps me be a smoother driver and all of that. So I think, and I think most racers can say that confidence is one of the struggles. I know I'm sure every racer has that you've talked to even has had confidence, you know, issues. And I wouldn't necessarily it's an issue, it's just it's hard, you know, seeing drivers that are better than you, and you know, it's really hard to take that in because you're gonna get down on yourself. You know, you want to be on that level, but you want it now, but it takes time, it really does.

Melinda Russell 15:11

Yeah, and you know, you don't want to compare yourself to other people either, Kelly, because everybody's different. And I love what you said about is you know, if you go home and you've had fun that night, it's been a successful night. Uh you know every everybody that I talk to, pretty much everybody I talk to, wants to be a NASCAR driver or world of outlaw driver or whatever the series is NHRA. And and we know that's just not possible. Right. Because there's you know way more of way more of you than there are spots to do all those things. Right. But there's nothing nobody can take away what you do on the weekends and the family you've made, like you said. I always say there's nothing better than the race family. Right and and so don't get down on yourself, you know. As long as you are having fun and it's something you and your husband enjoy doing together, you've already won.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

Right.

Melinda Russell 16:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

Yeah, we we definitely, you know, we have a whiteboard in our trailer, and you know, our number one goal, we you know, before the seasoning starts, you know, we sit down and we ask each other, what are our goals for this year? And our number one goal is to always have fun. I think that's a really big thing in racing. And it's a it's a goal that it seems you can always achieve every night. And I think having fun means a lot, it helps you build relationships. So yeah, that's as long as we're having fun, we we're golden.

Building Confidence And Having Fun

Melinda Russell 16:48

Yeah, absolutely for sure. Have you had uh I'm sure you have had a proudest moment. What's what's been your proudest moment?

SPEAKER_00 16:58

You know, I we would rent out Thunder Hill, I think it was two years ago we rented it out a couple times, might have been last year. I'm not really for sure. The years go by so fast. I, you know, I really wanted to work on you know speed. And so when we rented out Thunder Hill, it was just me, you know, it was just me and my husband. No one was watching us, and I think that was really good because you when you get on the track and you see all those people watching you, it gets nerve-wracking. Like the adrenaline is huge, and it's so much different when you have no one watching you because I'm not afraid to make mistakes. And we are human, we're all gonna make mistakes no matter if there's people in the stands or not. But I, you know, I went out there and I just told my husband, I'm gonna try some things. And so I did, and I was actually, you know, running the top. I had my car dialed in, and you know, we washed it over on GoPro, and you know, I was right up on the berm, and I was super proud of myself because for the longest time I had been scared to be up there. I was super scared to be up by the wall. I couldn't do it. You know, I wanted to be on the bottom. And at Thunder Hill, the top is always fast, you know. Most of the time you want to be on the top. So just being there and you know, excelling like the speed, you know, getting that down, but also getting, you know, your awareness down, like how close to the wall actually am I? And I definitely improved that day on that. You know, I'm not as scared of the wall anymore. I can be up there, I can race up there. So now that I went out there, I I'm very proud of that moment because I, you know, conquered some of my fears of being close to the wall, which racing comes with a lot of fears. So I'm really glad I could, you know, accomplish that. And you know, I can be up by the wall now. So yeah.

Melinda Russell 18:41

Well, and you know, you're not Kyle Larson, Kelly. I hate to tell you, but who is, right? Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_00 18:50

And you know and we we go to a lot of you know bigger races, you know, like my husband's been to Knoxville, you know, the High Limit series actually comes to Menomine. This will be the second year. So watching, you know, all of those drivers, they all have a different way of driving. Like none of them drive the same, none of them have the car set up the same. So it's really cool to you know go in the pits and see what they have set up, what's different from each of their cars, because looking at that is you know, it helps you a lot. You know, they have a lot bigger motors, a lot way more expensive cars, but just seeing, you know, what's different between theirs, you know, can definitely help us too. Just looking at that and you know, thinking, you know, brainstorming what we could do to help us.

Melinda Russell 19:33

So so when high limit comes to Menominee, I want you to go, and I want you to go find Lori Cutter. Okay, and I'll send you her information. She works for uh Racers for Christ, I think it's called. Anyway, she's like the chaplain person, okay, and her husband works on the safety crew, and so they travel with high limit. Okay, that's awesome. Really cool. I just she's living well, they both are. He's a retired Delta pilot. Okay, and but uh she especially is living her best life because she uh she's a racer through and through as far as like loving racing. And I want you to I want you to find her. She'll be easy to find because there's not a lot of women in the pits. Right. She'll have her racers. I'm pretty sure it's racers for Christ. I don't have my thing in front of me, but uh but anyway, she'll do the prayer and everything so you'll know and tell her that that you were on the show because she's a wonderful person, and you'll love getting to know her and talk to her.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

So yeah, yeah, I'll definitely be on the lookout for her. You know, I'm at Red Cedar a lot, and we're definitely gonna be there when High Limit's there, but it's so cool how you know the world is so small, it's so big, yet it's so small because you know, you know someone in Monomine, like that's super cool, and I love that you know, we have those connections as super nice, yeah.

Handling Bad Nights And Wrecks

Melinda Russell 21:02

We really do. So, you know, we've already discussed that having a perfect night is rare, things happen. We have a we have bad nights.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

How do you handle that when you know it's it can be really hard, um, depending on how bad the night is. You know, did we, you know, we raced at Red Cedar for the first time ever that UMSS has ever been there last year. And my husband was leading pretty much all of the laps. He was in the lead, and he had lost the lead on like the last lap. So, and that was at his home track, you know, we're from Menominee, Wisconsin. So that would have been really cool to be in Victory Lane in front of all of our hometown people. You know, that would have meant the world to us, but it just it wasn't meant to be that night, you know. And looking back, it was really hard. You know, he got really down on himself. And we just, you know, we went to the trailer, we went home that night, and you know, what could we have done? Better. And we're always watching GoPro videos. What could we have done better in this moment? And that really helps us improve. I mean, bad nights can mean extremely bad. Like, you know, cars tipped over, like cars wrecked. Obviously, we go step by step in that situation. You know, we look over the car, what's fixable, what's not. And we just hope that we don't have a race the next day, depending on how bad it is. Most of the time we have a more than one race in a weekend. So really hoping that it's not too bad and we can fix it before the next day. But I think, you know, helping those in those bad moments, just being confident, you know, we're gonna get through it and we're gonna fix it, and we're gonna be back, you know, better than ever. Like really just, you know, staying confident and you know, keeping that, you know, happy moment. Hey, did we have fun? You know, yeah, we had fun, so it wasn't a bad night. Like really just, you know, taking it all in and we're gonna fix it. It's gonna be fine. And you know, not dwelling on it because things do happen, you know, they happen in micro sprints, they happen in carts, you know, they happen, you know, in every series, they happen in NASCAR too. So it's things happen and you get through it, you just gotta stay, you know, upbeat about it and not dwell on it.

How Racing Changes You

Melinda Russell 23:19

Well, and everybody has issues, even in life, even if you're not in racing. So that's just that's just how life goes. Yes, how has racing changed you as a person? Actually, um, going and being a fan is one thing, but now actually being involved, how has it changed you?

SPEAKER_00 23:41

I I think it's changed me a lot. It's definitely changed my perspective of racing. I think it's you know, I don't really think there's a word for it. I from being a fan, I didn't realize what all goes on. You know, I would go in the pits, but it doesn't mean I knew what everything was happening, like what was going on, what they were doing. It definitely changed my perspective on it. I would say that it changed that's what it changed most. You know, being in the pits, actually having a car is a lot different than just being in the pits walking around and looking at other cars and waiting for them to go out. It's a lot different. And I think if I could bring everyone to my pit and take them to a night of racing and show them what it's like to be in the pits with a car, working on the car, and having someone out there that you know that you're cheering for, I think they would be blown away. It's so different, and it's changed me for the better as a person. I mean, I've I feel like I've gotten a lot more open with people, you know. I'm definitely I try to be like I'm being nicer, you know, being more understanding, you know, you don't know what's going on inside, you know, that person right now, like what just happened in that car. Like you really don't know. And trying to, you know, walk around, you wave, you smile, you say hi, like you would it's just it's changed me all around. You know, I I wouldn't necessarily say I was like a bad person before, you know, I began racing, but it's just changed me altogether. You know, it's made me realize a lot of things, and definitely my work ethic too. You know, you gotta work, you don't win races at the track, you win races in the shop. That's where you win races because we are always doing something in the shop. There's never a time that we're not, and that's that's where you win races, right there. So it the changing the work ethic and knowing how things actually work has changed everything for me.

Being A Woman In Sprint Racing

Melinda Russell 25:36

Yeah, for sure. So sprint car racing uh base typically doesn't have near as many women involved. So you look at World of Outlaws High Limits, we don't see any women driving, do we? No, but uh we know that there's more way more little girls getting started and women like you getting started. So uh how have you been? Of course, it helps that your husband raced. Have you been accepted uh like where you race? Like they're not looking at you like you know, women don't belong in sprint car racing. Uh what's what's been your experience?

SPEAKER_00 26:14

Uh yeah, so it's been actually really easy for me because I actually race with a woman in Micros. There's uh two other girls that race, I'm I think one just quit. You know, she's got college and you know, life and all that, so totally understandable. But it was actually really nice to have another girl racing right next to me. And it was she was actually pitted right there. So, you know, conversing with her and that really helped me, it I was definitely accepted. Now, if I were to go, you know, and hop in a sprint car, I don't think I would feel as accepted just because there's not many women that drive. I mean, just in general, too. I think that goes for you know, NASCAR, anything. But having that, having Landry there right next to me and racing at the same level as me helped me a lot because I could ask her questions and I didn't feel like I was the only one out there. And that I think that also really helped other people, you know, like the guys not judge as much because there was already another girl there. So, and and more and more girls are getting into racing, it's becoming more and more popular, which is good. You know, we want more racers. So I definitely think that judging, you know, girls that are in motorsports and being in a male dominant sport, I think that's definitely starting to go away. I know it used to be really male dominant, you know, years ago, but more and more girls are coming into it, which is super good. So it doesn't really, I don't really call it a male-dominant field anymore. I mean, yeah, there's a lot of guys, but there's also a lot of girls coming into it, and they have a lot of talent, you know. And I think it's realizing that even though we're a girl and we're in a male-dominant sport, we have a lot of talent as well. Almost, you know, maybe we even have more talent than them, you know. Women are always right.

Melinda Russell 27:59

So women are always right. Excuse me. So I was gonna ask you what message did you want young girls to hear, but I think you just said it. Women are always right.

SPEAKER_00 28:15

Yes, you know, and definitely a heartfelt message, you know, for all the girls is you know, strive for that dream. If you want to become a race car driver, do it. And, you know, I would help anyone out any day. If, you know, if we have parts in the trailer that they need, like, you know, we we want more racers. So we would help them out, you know. Any girl driver can reach out to me. I would love to let them know, you know, my experience and my story. And even though they're a girl, do it. I don't think they're gonna regret it. Racing is super fun. Go to adrenaline rush, and it's definitely an awesome sport. Racing family is unbelievable, and you will have that family forever. We've met some really amazing people racing that we wouldn't have met if we weren't racing. Like it's astronomical, it's amazing to see, you know, other people's stories, and you know, and it's it's really cool being in this pits sprint car racing with my husband because you know, the tatnells, Garrett Tatnell, Brooke Tatnell, you know, they come in our pit a lot. And I love hearing Brooke's story, you know, how he started out and his family story. I absolutely love it because he has a big story and his story is very cool, and their family is also super cool. And I think racing is also a super last name sport, you know. So really understanding that even though their last name is Tatnell and you know, Brooke is from Australia and he raced there, you know, that does not mean anything. His last name doesn't define him. You know, they're super amazing people, and a lot of people think different, you know. So getting to know people actually will, you know, it benefits everything. Getting to learn deep down and not just, you know, passing by them and saying hi, you know, actually knowing their story and knowing who they are helps everything. And that's what that's what gains family. And that's what's amazing because everyone has so many different stories and so many different perspectives that you know it really takes, you know, you take it all in, you know, it really takes a toll on you and you you really realize a lot of things. So I really don't think I could be who I am today without the racing family.

Sponsors That Keep KK Racing Running

Melinda Russell 30:25

Yeah, I 100% I'm there, I'm there with you for sure. So, Kelly, do you have marketing partners that help you along the way? Because it is an expensive sport.

SPEAKER_00 30:38

It it really is. We have quite a few sponsors, actually, and you know, I would love to shout them out. You know, we could not do what we do without them. They, whether it's little or big, they help us out tremendously. And having those sponsors and having those partners, it's amazing. You know, they love racing, they come watch us, you know, they they always check up on us, you know, they comment on our social medias and you know, they always come on the pits to say hi. And it's super amazing to see, you know, how many people actually like racing, you know, and I've never met anyone that goes to a race and says, I didn't like it. So it's definitely, you know, cool to see and having all these partners get on board with us every year. And you know, we they most of our sponsors have been with us since we started KK Racing, which is super cool to see that they follow us that far. Yeah, yeah.

Melinda Russell 31:29

Do you have do you want to share some of them or are you forget?

SPEAKER_00 31:34

I might forget a few, but just know that if you are with us, you know, you're definitely you're not actually forgotten. You know, we appreciate everything that they do for us. You know, Cedar Creek or Iron Creek Concrete, Creekside Custom Egg, King Services, Maintain Painting, Cedar Falls Heating and Cooling, Wild Badger. I might have to take a look at one of my cars here. Okay. CR shreds, Reeks Black Angus, TL Sins Plumbing, More To Do Farms. We have a really nice fuel sponsor. Um, his name's Bulldog. Um, that helps us out a lot. You know, methanol is not cheap at all. Lynstrom equipment, I think that's the majority of them. If I did miss any, you know, I I sincerely apologize. But we have a lot, you know, and it's super good to have that problem that you have so many that you need to look back and see who you all have. And we definitely, you know, don't forget them. Oh, I forgot, you know, quality construction, quality out of body. They've done a lot, you know, painting for us, powder plus, you know, they pop, you know, done a lot for our body panels, and that's super nice. You know, they not only, you know, give us money, but you know, parts, you know, painting, that's all super expensive too. And it really means a lot to have all these sponsors on board with us.

Melinda Russell 32:55

Yeah. Now, one of your sponsors, I think, was who introduced us.

SPEAKER_00 33:00

Yes, Freedom Racelifts. Oh my gosh, I completely forgot. You know, I'm trying to look at my cars and you know, see, but my cars are all behind me and they're all positioned in a you know different ways that I can't see all of them. Freedom Racelifts, super big help for us, astronomical. They keep us safe in the shop, at the track. It's amazing. And it's super cool to see that they were at the Red Cedar car show, you know, three years ago when we were first starting out, and we were their first sprint car on one of their lifts. And that's really amazing. And I'm glad that we got to start that. You know, that they've helped us out a lot and they have a lot of safety features on their lift that not many others do. And I think they're doing great. It's it's really amazing to see someone that loves racing that much. And they not only do, you know, dirt car racing, they side by sides and you know, full vehicle lifts. So they're they do a lot. And, you know, seeing, you know, we went to car shows with them, and you know, Josh is just super an amazing person. He really does a lot, he helps us out a lot. He's always willing, you know, if something's wrong, he's willing to make it right. And, you know, we've I mean, we haven't had a lot wrong, but some things do go wrong, you know, when they're first coming out, you know, they got to make tweaks here and there. And he's been super amazing through all of that. And so I'm super glad to have them and have a lift that's safe because you know, I've heard a lot of horror stories, you know, of people being under lifts, and it hasn't turned out so good for them. And so I'm really happy to, you know, expose them and you know, get them out more. And we've had a lot of people come up to the track and see our lift, and we got to tell them all about it. And, you know, I really think that's helped them as well. More people buying from them. And I really, you know, I tell everyone when they are talking about it because you know, they ask the price, and the price is, you know, it's an eye popper. Like obviously, there's a lot of expensive things, and some things are just like, wow. But I tell them you get what you pay for, and their price may be high, but you're gonna get this one of the safest lifts in the country. And I would rather pay way more for my lift and be super safe than pay, you know, get a cheaper one and have a freak accident and you know, something really bad happens. And so I always tell everyone, you know, you get what you pay for. And I really think that opens it up, opens them up about it. They're not so, you know, scared of the price. You know, they really they think about that like, oh yeah, you are right, you know, you really do get what you pay for. And it's super cool that Freedom Racelifts is, you know, they're they're in Wisconsin's most of the time, you know, Lake City, Minnesota. So they're not far, which is super nice, you know, being local, you know, they're only an hour and a half from us. So that's super cool. And you know, seeing all the jacks that they get, you know, the jack is super cool. Um, we can't wait to get one of those. But it's super amazing to go there and see what all he has in production and how he does everything. Like that was an eye-opener for me because yeah, I have a lift in my shop here, but I want to know like how built, you know, how did you build this? Like, how did you come up with this? And I think, you know, if anyone gets a chance to see Josh, you know, definitely ask about a story because his story is super cool and how he got to start out, and he's doing amazing and it's really taking off. And I love to see that because we need safety. That's you know, our number one priority is safety, and we really, really preach that, you know, to anyone. So having that lift available to us is just amazing.

Melinda Russell 36:39

Yeah, and you know, I I agree, you get what you pay for, but the other side of that is you can go to a tool store, and I'm not gonna name the famous tool store that everybody goes to to get cheap tools, but do they last? And would do you want to put your car up on something from there? No, because there's nothing better than knowing when you put your sprint car or your full-size car or whatever you're gonna put on one of his lifts, there's no better reassurance to know that it's made differently because safety is what started that company. And so, yeah, I I've talked to Josh a couple of times, and the one of the first things he talks about is how safe they are. And so, you know, like you said, in racing, there's never too much safety. So yeah, that's that's cool, and it's it's it's important to spend your money there instead of some other some other places, and it's gonna last a long time.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

Yes, you know, we've had ours since the beginning, you know, when they first came to Red Cedar, and we love it. We still use it, it's still good as new, and you know, there's a lot of you know safety pins and all of that. So, you know, you can definitely prove that it's super safe, and we love it. You know, it helps us in the shop, it helps us not break our back by bending down, and you know, because you know, racing is also really physically demanding, yes. A lot of people don't realize that either, but it's very physically demanding, so you know, not bending down and you know making it easier for us is it's huge, right?

Melinda Russell 38:21

So, Kelly, as we wrap up, I want you to share how we can follow you. Are you on social media? What is it? And do you put your race schedule on there? How do you use social media?

SPEAKER_00 38:32

Yeah, so you can follow K and K Racing on Facebook. It's a K and then the and sign and then a K and then racing. We post almost every day on there, you know, what we're doing in the shop, what our schedule is, you know, cancellations. You know, we were supposed to be racing today at Cedar Lake, but unfortunately, Mother Nature hates racing. So we didn't get to go racing today, but we're in the shop, you know, gonna be in the shop all day. And so we post a lot of updates on there, and we love to shout out our you know sponsors on there as well. So if anyone's looking to get on board with racing as well, you know, let us know. But we also have a TikTok, which is KK Racing, and we do post a lot on there. And then on our KK page, we do have our phone numbers and emails on there. So if anyone has any inquiries or any questions, um, they can reach out to us personally and we can definitely talk to them. Um, I'd also like to shout out Jim Gerecki. He is a huge help to us. He has helped us get sponsors this year, and he has been our number one fan. But he has been amazing to us, and you know, it's always nice to have that individual that sticks with you and supports you through the long run and actually helps you, you know, reach out to businesses and get you sponsors. Not a lot of people have that, and it's super nice to have that. We could not do it without him. So a special thanks to him and you know, our family, you know, mom, dad, grandma, we couldn't do without our family either. You know, our personal family is better than racing family, even though it's really hard to beat racing family. So, you know, having all of our support means a lot.

Melinda Russell 40:05

Yeah, that's awesome. So everybody out there follow K racing. Kelly, you've been a joy this morning to speak with the smile on your face, your eyes are lit up, and you were supposed to be racing and you're not, and you're still smiling. So there you go. And you know, sometimes we do feel like Mother Nature hates racing, but I'll just tell you that I think you must have had sunshine yesterday. Yep, we did. You sent it to me today, and so that's good. That's good. I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and so it's a beautiful sunny day, and the temperatures are gonna be in the mid-60s, and we're looking at 70 in a day or two, and so oh, I can't wait for that to happen. So thanks for sending the sunshine today. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 40:53

Yeah, yeah, no problem. Any time. Thank you so much for having me. I truly appreciate it, and we'll talk to you soon.

Melinda Russell 41:01

Yeah, Kelly, please stay in touch.

SPEAKER_00 41:03

Yeah, yeah, definitely. You know, we appreciate you and you know all the things that you do for women in motorsports. Um it's super nice to have someone like you that you know talks to us and you know recognizes us. That's that's amazing.

Melinda Russell 41:15

Well, I appreciate you said that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 41:17

You have a good weekend. Thank you, you two.

SPEAKER_04 41:22

Start your engines. This is the Women's Motor Fund Network.