March 28, 2026

Mallory Kutz Shares How Advocacy, Grit, And Community Turned A Pageant Title Into Real Trackside Change

Mallory Kutz Shares How Advocacy, Grit, And Community Turned A Pageant Title Into Real Trackside Change

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

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Season 10

Send us Fan Mail

We trace Mallory Kutz's year from Miss Motorama win to a full-throttle campaign that connected drivers, packed a seminar, funded scholarships, and reframed what a motorsports pageant can be. Along the way, she kept racing, took her first feature wins, and proved that advocacy grows fastest at the track.

• redefining Miss Motorama as an ambassador role
• 113 events across eight states with sprint and asphalt highlights
• fundraising race honoring her sister and two driver scholarships
• why personal stories change participation and belief
• building panels, booths, and a standing-room seminar
• connecting young drivers to peers and mentors
• how pageant judging now favors purpose and voice
• social media as a track growth engine
• race season recap with rookie honors and feature wins
• partnering with tracks to elevate women’s programs

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

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00:00 - Welcome And Show Mission

01:02 - Meet Mallory Coots

02:07 - Pageant Season Highlights

03:41 - Inside Motorama And The Win

06:54 - A Year On The Road: 113 Events

10:24 - Fundraisers And Scholarships For Women

14:16 - Why These Stories Matter

17:44 - Building A Support Network

20:31 - Redefining Motorsports Pageants

25:07 - Inclusivity, Age Ranges, And Growth

28:50 - Miss Motorama’s Evolving Role

33:38 - The Unglamorous Track Reality

37:04 - Expectations And Judging Explained

42:09 - More Women, More Stages

46:20 - Packing Halls: Seminar Momentum

52:02 - From Trade Show To Motorama Booths

56:24 - Expanding The Movement Across Shows

WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast, the show that puts the spotlight on the incredible women who fuel the world of motorsports.

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From drivers to crew members, engineers to fans, and everyone in between, we're here to celebrate the trailvisers, dreamers, and doers shaping the sport we love.

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Each episode, we share inspiring stories of females of all ages from every corner of the motorsports universe, past, present, and future.

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It's a journey through the seasons of life filled with heartfelt moments, laughter, and a whole lot of horsepower.

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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.

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This is the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast, connecting and celebrating women in motorsports one story at a time.

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Let's hit the track.

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Hello everyone.

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This is Melinda Russell with the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast.

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And I have a friend with me today.

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Mallory's back.

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We did a show a while ago, probably about a year ago, maybe, Mallory.

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It was before pageant season, as you mentioned to me.

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And so I want you to just share a little bit about yourself for those who haven't heard.

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And then tell me what have you been doing this last year?

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Because I know you've been busy.

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Yes.

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Thank you, Melinda.

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So for those of you that don't know, my name is Mallory Cootz.

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I am an asphalt street stock driver from Pennsylvania, uh, currently racing at Evergreen Raceway.

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And I've had quite the journey in life to get to where we're at right now, which was actually a big focus of my first interview.

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Just my background, my family, how we got here.

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But in the past 12 months, I have done some absolutely amazing things in the motorsports world.

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And I am so excited to talk about all of them with you.

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All right.

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Well, let's just go back, start wherever you think we may have left off and take me on your journey.

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Yeah, of course.

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So last we talked, it was actually right before motorsports 2025.

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Last year, and I was getting ready to compete, and I was telling you all about all of the advocating that I've been doing and you know why I was competing.

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And pageant season last year was incredible.

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I won Best Interview at Motorsports, which was a really, really great accomplishment there.

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And then I went to RX and I ended up coming there first runner up.

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So I finished second at RX and I came off of RX just on an absolute high note, and then went into the final pageant of the year, which is Motorama, held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex.

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Now, Motorama is massive.

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So it is, I think, over 1 million square feet of motorsports of all types car shows, race cars.

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They have uh motocross events that are happening.

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They have quarter midget racing, cart racing, RC racing.

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Like when I say this show is massive, it's unlike anything I have ever seen.

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Uh so that one, very, very prestigious title there for Motorama.

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But I went in there super confident and just super passionate about racing and what I had to offer.

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And we ended up coming out winning that Miss Motorama 2025 last year.

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So that was kind of where we left off, just uh gauging into pageant season.

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And let me tell you, the year that I have had has been absolutely incredible.

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Okay, so I know that you were Miss Motorama, but I don't really know what all that entails.

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So tell me, where all have you gone?

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What all have you done?

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Because I know you're a huge advocate for women in motorsports.

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So that's a given.

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We already know that.

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Yes.

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What did you do this year?

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Where did you go and how did you promote women more so than ever?

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We went everywhere that I could possibly go.

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So I am again local to Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania is pretty much sprint car like capital of the United States when it comes to sprint car racing.

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But in total with Motorama, I attended 113 events, which came out to like one event every three days.

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Uh, there were stretches of time, specifically in the summer, where there may have been 10 or 12 days straight that I was doing events.

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Like I went to every race of Pennsylvania Speed Week except for one because I raced that day.

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And so from an event standpoint, we hit eight different states, like I said, 113 different events, and the events varied so much.

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And that was what was so cool about this particular title is motorsports and RX are amazing, but they are focused on racing, which of course is my home, right?

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My home is in racing, circle track racing.

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But when it comes to Motorama, Motorama is everything motorsports, right?

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You you're gonna find bicycles, you're gonna or Harleys and motorcycles and car shows, and they they have a huge presence in fundraising at the show.

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Like all of the pageant contestants go around and they fundraise for different organizations while we're there.

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So they are super diverse.

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And that was something that was incredibly important to me while I was representing them to ensure that although I was a lot focused on racing because that's what I was promoting, I really branched out and did everything.

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So we hit dirt track races of all varieties.

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I was at quarter midget tracks, I was at smaller tracks that were running slingshots and you know, things like that.

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And then I was at massive tracks like Port Royal and Lincoln Speedway, where they had these prestigious 410 sprint races.

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I got my photo in Victory Lane with Kyle Larson during Speed Week, Danny Dietrich, Anthony Macri, who ended up a few weeks later going on and winning uh the Kings Royale at Eldura.

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So some really, really cool names.

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On the asphalt side, though, we definitely saw a lot of asphalt tracks, and those are fewer and far between, especially in my area.

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But we traveled to Ohio, traveled to the other side of Pennsylvania, to New York multiple times just to try to hit all the local-ish asphalt tracks that we could do.

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And so still had some victory lanes with really prestigious drivers there, like Matt Hirschman, Polly Hartwig.

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If anybody knows Polly Hartwig, this kid, he is 14 or 15 right now.

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He actually stems from Evergreen and Mahoning.

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Like I raced with him in four cylinders a few years ago when he was 11.

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And I've watched him just continue to see so much success.

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So he was a really cool one.

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And he was super supportive of me the entire year, which was so fun.

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Like he won the first race that he won that I was there.

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I couldn't do victory lane because I was racing.

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I was in the staging area in my car.

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And afterwards he came out.

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He's like, Where were you?

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It's like, I know you were here taking pictures and you weren't in mind.

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So it was super sweet.

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And every time I see him now, you know, we always chit-chat and I see his success online, and that's so much fun.

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Um, but yeah, we did fundraising, car shows, parades.

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Um, I actually did a few fundraising events of my own.

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I promoted my own race in honor of my sister at Evergreen, which was super successful.

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We pulled in one of the highest attended street stock races in a couple of years at Evergreen.

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During that race, I promoted it so hard for like a month before I was reaching out to everybody.

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I was posting.

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But what was really cool at that one, of course, it was in honor of my sister, so it was really special.

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But we did a lot of fundraising at that event, and I ended up fundraising just over about$1,000.

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And so I came home with that and I ended up splitting it up and I awarded two$500 scholarships for female drivers, one local, so they had to be within 100 miles of where I live, and then one that was national.

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Both of them ended up being semi-close.

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One was Shannon Slaughter, who in our area just won a really, really cool race at it, it was Grandview Speedway.

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She was actually the first female to ever win a Sportman modified race there.

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So that was really cool.

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So she was coming off of a really great high, but she had such an incredible and inspiring story.

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So I was really excited to be able to award that to her.

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Um, and then the second one went to another dirt modified driver.

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I believe she was up in New York.

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So it was really cool to be able to not only award them, but also to see all of the stories that we had coming in.

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I think we had 64 applications.

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And so just to read through them and get to sit there and be like, wow, one, I reached that many people.

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Like I was able to get the word out that I was doing this to that many drivers, which was incredible, uh, which showed me just how powerful social media and just posting and doing what I'm doing has done.

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But then to read their stories, I was in tears on so many of them.

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And it was one of the hardest things that we ever did trying to, you know, decide who was going to get those scholarships.

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And and Mallory, when you think, okay, you had 64 stories, there's thousands more that they didn't see your post.

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And, you know, of course, we tell stories on here.

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That's what I do, but but these are stories that need to be told, don't they?

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Yeah, 100%.

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And some of them are some of them were so personal, like they were willing to really open up and talk about what motorsports meant to them.

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Some of them I had such a strong connection with.

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Like I was reading it and I was like, this is my story, this is so much of me.

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So, like I said, just incredible.

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And they were coming from everywhere.

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I had girls that were in quarter midges all the way up to you know, women that were in their 50s that were like, I just love racing so much, I want to continue doing it.

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And it was just so diverse.

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And like I said, asphalt drivers, dirt drivers, big cars, small cars.

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It didn't matter.

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Everybody was coming out, and so it just really validated all of the work that I've been doing and trying to, again, I'm not out there trying to say, oh, look, you know, look at me, look what I'm doing.

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But I'm going, look at racing as a community.

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Look at what all of these incredible female race car drivers are doing, their successes, all of that.

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There was one young lady, actually, very specifically, and we'll we'll get into what I did at motorsports this year in a few minutes, but um, I've gotten to start following a lot of their journeys because we become friends on Facebook.

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And so, I mean, you understand.

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Now you're watching them and you're like, wow, like I'm I I can't wait to see what you do.

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And she ended up winning the poll at Tulsa.

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And I was like, oh my God, she's like in this calendar that I just did.

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And and I've been support and again, my support is is just keep doing what you're doing, like giving kind words, putting them in something physical that they can show to somebody, but just seeing her succeed shows all of the other females out there, like, hey, you guys can truly go anywhere you want to, and you can do a really great job.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, it just kind of gives me shivers because it's so much what I like to do as well.

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And I don't have I don't have a motorsports story per se.

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You know, yes, my son raced, and and you know, a lot of people know that story.

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My granddaughters raced.

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But these these are stories, like you said, from the heart, and and they open up and they don't even realize like if if we read one of those stories on a podcast, they would not that person that wrote that would not realize how many people they touch.

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Because hundreds of other women out there have stories, and you know, I had somebody ask me one time about the people I interviewed.

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Well, aren't they all kind of the same?

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And I said, no, everybody, everybody's story is different.

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Now, some are similar, you know.

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My dad raised, my grandpa raised, blah blah, how I got in racing, but they're not the same.

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Yeah.

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And and there's just so many of them.

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We could we could spend days, weeks, Mallory, telling these stories.

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So you could do it not, you could have like a non-stop feed going on about them.

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And they would just, and but the thing is it would never stop because then they would continue to come in as the more people see what you're doing, the more stories that they're able to share.

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So yeah, I'm really excited to kind of figure out now, now that life is calming down a bit, what is next, right?

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What is going to be my next chapter in terms of what can I do to continue putting these girls' names out there, supporting them, giving them recognition, right?

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The stuff that I can do.

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So I'm excited to kind of think and brainstorm a couple of ideas.

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And I have some in my mind already that hopefully we can some ideas that maybe I had last year and was able to start, but wasn't able to commit enough time to just because life was crazy.

00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:18.480
So I'm definitely excited to refocus.

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Not that I ever really lost focus on it, but I was spread very thin last year.

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So really to be able to highlight and bring all of that back and continue to grow, grow that community.

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Because what I've done is I've created a community where someone will reach out to me and be like, hey, this is something that I'm struggling with or something.

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And then I'll be like, you know what?

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I know the perfect person for you to talk to.

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Let me put you in touch with this, or even at shows, like at RX last year, I it was introducing girls to each other.

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I'm like, hey, I'm gonna take you over right now to this driver who is a similar age than you, and I think you guys could have a really great conversation.

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Uh, and then I'm seeing them commenting on each other's stuff on Facebook and things like that.

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So I'm able to even help curate some like really nice friendships that I've seen blossom just through events that I've been doing or through people that I've said, hey, you know, you guys really should talk to each other.

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I think that you have a lot in common.

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And so that's been really rewarding as well, because although it's it's not necessarily directly impacting their racing, it's impacting their lives, and that's just as important.

00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:21.840
So, Mallory, you're a connector.

00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:24.960
Yes, people, absolutely.

00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:46.399
I I do that as well, and we have so many similarities, but yes, doesn't it make you feel good when when you hear a story or somebody reaches out to you and says, Oh, I how do I do this, or who do and I'll be like, I know just the person, I'll connect you through email or text or whatever, and then you just let it go and let them figure it out.

00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:54.000
But there's just so many ways that you can connect these women, and it's not always connecting them maybe with a woman.

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Sometimes we connect them with a man who and and all of that, but it's it's the knowledge that you have and the network that you have that helps you connect these women to people that can help or encourage them or even just become a friend.

00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:16.559
Yeah, I completely agree.

00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:21.279
And like I said, that's been super, super rewarding to get to watch those relationships happen.

00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:22.159
Yeah.

00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:33.200
What's if you had one thing that last year taught you, or that you feel like you really gained from your experience, or maybe there's more than one.

00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:37.200
What are what are some things that you feel like you really gained?

00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:41.679
Because okay, well, I'm gonna I'm gonna go back here for a minute.

00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:50.080
So being involved in a pageant, you don't necessarily equate a pageant and motorsports, right?

00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:50.799
Correct.

00:14:50.960 --> 00:15:04.720
Most people would not, and then the other side of that is some people's idea of a pageant or somebody who's in a pageant is one thing when it's really totally not or it's different.

00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:05.600
Yes.

00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:10.799
So why don't we straighten those people out and tell them?

00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:13.919
Yes, let's absolutely.

00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:16.720
So we're we'll stick to Motorama specifically.

00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:29.120
Okay, um, so when when it comes to the motorsports pageants, what they are looking for is a really good mix of someone that is involved in motorsports.

00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:31.840
That is one of the most important factors, right?

00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:42.080
They are not looking for necessarily your average beauty queen that you would see on television or you know what you would in that what you would envision in your mind.

00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:46.399
They are really looking for an ambassador within motorsports that's going to go out.

00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:48.879
And of course, we want to promote the show, right?

00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:50.000
We want to get more people in.

00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:51.440
We want people to know that the show's there.

00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:52.399
That's what we're there for.

00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:56.000
But what they really want to do is they want to help encourage people in the sport.

00:15:56.240 --> 00:16:00.080
When we go to the tracks, I'm not sitting there selling posters, right?

00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:01.600
That that's not what the thing.

00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:03.600
Now, granted, are there posters to be had?

00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:05.279
Yeah, did I sell a single one last year?

00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:06.639
No, I handed them all away, right?

00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:11.039
I was like, here, I don't, this is not take a poster if you'd like one.

00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:13.759
But we were handing out, you know, things to kids.

00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:16.639
We were interacting with the kids when they were coming in, which was amazing.

00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:19.519
I was going through the pits taking pictures of drivers.

00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:24.879
Um, so that's kind of what they're looking for when they are deciding who is the best person.

00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:30.399
Most of the scores, specifically for Motorama, is happening in the interview room.

00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:32.240
The interview room is private, right?

00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:33.600
Nobody knows what's happening in there.

00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:42.399
And you will get girls to really open up and share like their inner, this is what motorsports means to me, that they might not necessarily want public, right?

00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:44.240
But they're willing to share that with us.

00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:52.879
And so you get to really feel what is their involvement, what is their background, how does motorsports really involve, you know, how does it intertwine into their lives?

00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:54.159
Then we have stage.

00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:59.200
And of course, on stage is important because every time we go to a racetrack, we're essentially on stage, right?

00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:02.320
People are looking at us, we are a role model to people.

00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:07.279
So that's where that becomes important is how well can you carry yourself on a stage?

00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:08.640
Are you confident?

00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:12.880
Confidence does not mean, you know, do you have the best walk out there?

00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:14.799
Confidence is are you shining through?

00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:16.720
Is your personality coming through on stage?

00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:18.960
And are people, are you resonating with people?

00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:20.240
Are you making eye contact?

00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:21.039
Are you smiling?

00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:23.440
Are you just enjoying life out there?

00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:25.920
So that's obviously one of the really important things.

00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:29.599
And then of course, how well put together you are, because still that goes back to the racetrack.

00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:36.400
If I'm going to be in victory lane with Kyle Larson or Kyle Bush, who I was in twice with this year, I need to look presentable, right?

00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:42.480
They want to make sure that even on days when we're in bikinis, and there were lots of them in the summer, are we covered?

00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:43.599
Are we respectable?

00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:48.880
Do I have a bikini that, you know, if there's a little girl standing next to me, that's okay.

00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:55.279
And so all of those things are really what comes into play when they are judging who is going to win the pageant.

00:17:55.440 --> 00:18:02.880
So it's not just who is the prettiest girl out there, which is what a lot of beauty pageants go into or like swimsuit competitions and stuff.

00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:05.599
It is they're looking for someone with that total package.

00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:10.799
And I'll be honest, the way that you look is probably the least important part of the.

00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:13.839
They are not looking going, well, that one's skinnier, that one's not.

00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.839
They're looking going, are they put together?

00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:20.000
Did they put effort into their hair and their makeup and do their shoes match their outfit?

00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:26.480
They're just looking at that and not necessarily, you know, your size or your facial features and things like that.

00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:41.920
So I think that is one of the hugest differences is that they are truly, we have transitioned into an era where they are looking for the best spokesperson in motorsports, not necessarily a promotional model that's going to go out there and look great in photos.

00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:56.240
Well, and and the thing I think about it, you know, if if you had 10 women on the stage, it's not like you said, it's not about who's the prettiest, who's the this, who's the that.

00:18:56.400 --> 00:19:03.759
It's the the entire package as far as you're the ambassador for motorsports.

00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:22.079
And and so I look at it more in that direction than I do your a motorsport or you're a pageant queen or a pageant winner, because what they're look, you know, really giving it the name pageant is kind of a disservice to them.

00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:35.599
If it was the ambassador selection, you know, I think one, maybe more women would be ready to be involved because I'm not gonna get in a swimsuit in the summer.

00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:37.039
You know what I'm saying?

00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:38.079
Yeah, absolutely.

00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:50.160
And yet, if I was an ambassador, it'd be it'd be different, and so really that's what you are, but this is how it's labeled, this is how it's promoted, and and so Mallory.

00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:54.400
I know I I followed you very closely this year.

00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:56.880
I know you spent a lot of time.

00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:01.839
It was hot, it was dirty, it was all those things.

00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:07.440
It's not what you think about, where there might be a pageant winner, right?

00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:08.799
Absolutely not.

00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:11.920
It is it is a very non-glamorous job.

00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:22.319
There were uh, you know, there were days where I was in the restrooms at the racetracks, you know, spritz, you know, scrunching my hair with water because the humidity had made it just huge.

00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:28.319
There were days where I was jumping out of my fire suit, ripping my helmet off, and I'm like, this is what they're getting, right?

00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:34.240
This is the face because I'm running to Victory Lane right now because you know, I want to be there with my competitors.

00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:36.559
I want to be celebrating their successes as well.

00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:37.920
So it is dirt.

00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:41.119
The dirt was the number one seasoning I used on my food this year.

00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:42.079
It was great.

00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:43.599
I was like, you know what?

00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:46.000
Minerals, vitamin, it's all in here.

00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:46.880
We're getting everything.

00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:49.519
My immune system is probably fantastic right now.

00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:55.920
Probably, yeah, it is everything, it's just everything, constant, like the scrubbing of your scalp when you're done.

00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:57.759
But that that's what it is.

00:20:57.920 --> 00:20:59.359
It is the hot days.

00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:02.640
I was out there in 100 degree weather where I was dripping sweat.

00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:08.880
I was out there in 30 degree weather where I was wrapped in blankets, and it was literally freezing.

00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:11.680
And it it was it was all the same, right?

00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:12.880
It didn't matter.

00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:25.759
No, and and you know, I I think about yesterday, just like so the NASCAR race yesterday was at Atlanta, Echo Park, but I call it Atlanta, and it was cold there.

00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:33.519
And they interviewed Michael Jordan, and he said, I don't even know what the temperature is, I'm just glad to be at the racetrack.

00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:35.599
Yeah, and that's kind of how you were.

00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:40.079
You didn't, yeah, it was hot, it was cold, but you really didn't focus on that.

00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:46.480
You were glad to be meeting new people, sharing about motorsports and and all those things.

00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:47.759
Yeah, 100%.

00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:51.440
I never ever looked at an event and went, might be really hot.

00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:53.680
I don't think I'm gonna go, or it might be really cold.

00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:56.240
Like Turkey Derby this year was freezing.

00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:59.519
It's freezing every year, it's the weekend after Thanksgiving, and it's such a huge event.

00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:01.200
Was just like no brainer.

00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:03.440
I'm going and I'm going to layer up.

00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:07.039
And I had, I think, three pairs of pants on and multiple sweatshirts.

00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:07.759
And that's what it was.

00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:12.319
And I remember walking down to Victory Lane in a skirt because this was one of the biggest events I was doing.

00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:13.200
I was going to look nice.

00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:14.400
And people were like, aren't you cold?

00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:15.279
Yes, I'm cold.

00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:16.400
I'm freezing.

00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:17.200
But it's worth it.

00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:22.000
The second you cross over and you step on that track, you're not cold anymore because you've got the adrenaline going and all of that.

00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:25.839
But yeah, it's it's a privilege to be in that position.

00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:31.119
So I was okay with being uncomfortable at times because that's that's just that's what racing is.

00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:33.119
If you're comfortable in the race car, you're not doing it right.

00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:36.079
So I kind of took the same, same theory to that.

00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:38.880
Like I need to put myself in uncomfortable situations.

00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:46.160
I need to talk to people that maybe I wouldn't talk to or be okay interacting with very high profile people like Kyle Larson, Kyle Bush.

00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:52.960
Like I had to put in my mind frame that I am equal with you in this this arena right now, right?

00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:59.119
You are here and I saw it as like it's a privilege for both of us to be sharing this space right now.

00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:00.000
Yeah.

00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:10.960
So tell me, like, if if I wanted to know what does is it Miss Motorama, is that what they call you, or what was your official title?

00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:15.359
Yeah, so it was 2025 Miss Motor Motorama, Motorama.

00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:16.319
I've heard it said both ways.

00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:17.279
Okay.

00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:18.480
Miss Motorama.

00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:27.440
So if I if I wanted to know what are the what are the things, the expectations, I guess, of Miss Motorama during the year.

00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:28.960
Do they smell this out?

00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:32.400
Do they say you have to attend this many events, you have to do this?

00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:37.519
There's probably some things you have to agree to in order to be eligible.

00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:39.519
So what are some of those things?

00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:51.039
So honestly, with Motorama, there wasn't that much in terms of they don't have clear written expectations of you need to do this many events, you need to do this.

00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:59.680
But we are we've seen a huge shift in this particular pageant really in the past two, three years.

00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:04.480
Not only the shift in the competitors that we're getting, but a shift in the winners.

00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:05.680
And that's been really important.

00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:07.759
And it was actually a big conversation this year.

00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:12.559
Motorama, when it started, was literally it was a pageant for amateur models.

00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:13.359
That's what it was.

00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:19.519
So what you got were amateur, beautiful, amazing swimsuit models that were coming in.

00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:20.880
Like it was prestigious.

00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:23.680
It was not a motorsports event at all, right?

00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:26.880
It that they were not getting race car drivers or anything like that.

00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:32.880
And then it slowly shifted to where some girls started to come in because they were like, oh, the other two pageants were great.

00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:34.000
They wanted to do this one too.

00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:35.440
It was completely different.

00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:38.000
And they would come, but they just they wouldn't do well.

00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:40.640
They weren't scoring in the top five or anything like that.

00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:46.799
But last year, through the past 12 months, that's when they really started to shift and go, you know what?

00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:53.680
We we want to start to look at it as an ambassador program because it used to be looked at as a spokesmodel program.

00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:58.400
And listen, that was amazing, the most gorgeous girls you will ever see in your life.

00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:02.319
Like I look at them and I'm just like, you guys are beautiful.

00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:09.680
But in terms of motorsports as a whole, there were some amazing girls, even before me, they were doing amazing things.

00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:14.000
They were fundraising, they were really, really involved in car shows and things like that.

00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:17.039
Like the girls that came before were incredible.

00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:18.640
But they've seen that shift.

00:25:18.720 --> 00:25:24.720
And now what they did is they said, okay, over the past couple of years, we've had some really, really incredible girls that have done a lot.

00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:27.039
How do we keep that momentum going?

00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:27.759
Right.

00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:41.440
And so that's where we saw a shift in less scores between, you know, bikini and sportswear and more scores into interview to make sure that that girl that was super passionate about motorsports as a whole was the one that was getting a higher chance.

00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:43.440
And that's what we really did.

00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:49.680
You know, when I won, I think it was really shocking for a lot of people because I wasn't that bikini model or anything.

00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:54.160
But was I the best spokesperson they were gonna get to go out for racing for that year?

00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:56.559
I mean, I think I did a great job.

00:25:56.720 --> 00:26:00.960
I'm never gonna sit here and say I was better than any other girl that was on that stage because I don't know what they would have done.

00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:07.359
But I know that for me, I had such big plans and I had so much that I wanted to do for that.

00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:22.079
And this year, when they started talking about, you know, what they were looking for in a Miss Motorama, they specifically had posted and said, we want someone that is going to be passionate about motorsports and is going to help encourage women in the sport.

00:26:22.160 --> 00:27:03.599
And that was when I saw that come out, I kind of knew at that moment I went, We did something huge this year because we are now putting more eyes on the women in the sport, and and so the other side of that is I love that it's it's gotten more towards what you say is more important than how you look, and not to say that you can't be put together because I never once saw you not a hundred percent from head to toe put together because that's part that's the first impression that people get.

00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:05.920
So that's important.

00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:08.319
You gotta you've gotta do that first.

00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:13.839
You know, you can't have a purple and green polka dot dress and red shoes and an orange hat, right?

00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:24.240
You know, you gotta be you gotta be put together, but absolutely you can have women who look great, but they can't speak worth a darn.

00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:44.480
And so that's where I feel like I'm glad to see that their interview portion is now becoming one of the most important pieces because you know it's it's great if you look pretty, but it's if you open your mouth and you're embarrassing yourself and the sport, then that's not a good thing.

00:27:44.799 --> 00:27:50.799
Yeah, and I will tell you, none of even even the past few years I've competed, we have really haven't had any contestants like that.

00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:56.000
Like the contestant pool this year alone was incredible.

00:27:56.160 --> 00:28:02.480
Like these girls, every one of them brought a hundred and ten percent to this show.

00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:05.920
So I was blown away by all of the women.

00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:08.960
And it was it was one of the highest numbers they've seen.

00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:18.480
I think they said in 10 years we had 30 girls and we had more that were signed up, but there was a big snowstorm that was coming, and you know, some had to think, but on stage there were 30 girls, which is huge.

00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:21.279
That and again, the largest pageant in the area.

00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:33.440
But to hear every single one of them talk about what motorsports meant to them and how many of them were drivers in some capacity, whether it was go-karts, uh, we had a drag racer that was there who's again incredible.

00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:39.119
We had several different race car drivers, some asphalt, some dirt, like such a diverse mix.

00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:49.519
What I'm loving to see is that the girls are really realizing that I think even a couple years ago, if you were a race car driver, you had to kind of be like, well, I'm not feminine.

00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:56.319
I am I am a driver and I need to act, you know, like that feminine side of me isn't really there.

00:28:56.480 --> 00:29:05.200
And we're seeing more and more of them come over and be like, wait, but I can be feminine and beautiful, and I can also be fierce and fast and be in a race car.

00:29:05.359 --> 00:29:07.519
And that's one of the things that I'm loving to see.

00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:11.039
And it's happening obviously with the adults, but there's so many younger girls.

00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:18.400
Like at my banquet for Evergreen, there were several of younger four-cylinder girls who came up and they were like, How old do I have to be to compete?

00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:20.400
Because I want to do what you just did.

00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:23.200
Like, we saw you do it and we saw you do it all.

00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:30.079
You, you raced, you won races, you went out there and you were representing at all of these different places.

00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:38.799
And like you really showed everyone that you can do both of them equally as well, and you can gain so much respect from the people that you are around by doing that.

00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:43.680
So I think we're we're opening their eyes to be like, you don't have to sacrifice your feminine side.

00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:45.920
You can get in that race car with a face full of makeup.

00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:50.079
It's not gonna look good when it when you get out, but you can do it, and that's okay.

00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:50.799
Yeah.

00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:53.440
So tell me then, how old do you have to be?

00:29:53.599 --> 00:29:59.279
Is there an age range and it do they limit how many compete?

00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:02.079
And then how how would they go about that?

00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:06.960
I'm sure there's a website that tells all that, but yeah, so the short version.

00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:14.400
Yeah, so the age range for motor army, you have to be 18 because of course if they're putting you up on stage and and they're recording you and taking photos and stuff.

00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:15.920
So 18 is the minimum age.

00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:17.519
They do cap it at 45.

00:30:17.680 --> 00:30:20.720
So it's it's pretty good age range on there.

00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:24.559
I I don't some pageants cap, some don't.

00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:27.839
Some of them used to, I know motorsports used to cap at 36.

00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:29.680
So they were actually or 35, sorry.

00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:35.119
They were they capped at 35 because the first year I wanted to compete, I was 36 and I was like, oh no, like I wouldn't be able to.

00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:42.240
But we've been seeing that age range go up because a lot of them are saying, hey, you could still be a really great ambassador, even if you're a little bit older.

00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:48.559
And that was a great example for me because technically I wouldn't have even have been able to compete for motorsports a couple of years ago because I would have been too old.

00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:50.319
So we're seeing that age range.

00:30:50.400 --> 00:30:51.839
Some of them are completely getting rid of them.

00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:54.720
Some of like Motorama still kind of has it at 45.

00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:56.480
Again, you still have to think, right?

00:30:56.799 --> 00:30:58.799
You're getting up there in a bikini, things like that.

00:30:58.880 --> 00:31:00.960
So I think they're, you know, it's still trying to keep.

00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:04.160
I don't, I hate to say the word integrity because listen, you know, I get it.

00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:11.119
But you know, it's it's still a little bit more exclusive in terms of what they're looking for on there.

00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:13.119
But yeah, that's kind of the age range.

00:31:13.359 --> 00:31:15.519
And they were really close.

00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:28.160
I am, I don't know for sure if there's a number that they cap at, but we had at one point we were up the 36 girls registered, and they were like, we are cutting it soon because what happens is it it becomes too long.

00:31:28.400 --> 00:31:30.960
Interviews already two and a half hours.

00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:37.039
It the the session last or yesterday where they did sportswear and all the crowning, that was almost two hours long.

00:31:37.119 --> 00:31:41.359
So it it would become just like this is not meant to be a full weekend thing.

00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:43.039
The girls have a lot of responsibilities.

00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:45.359
Many of them are doing other things in the show.

00:31:45.519 --> 00:31:51.279
I had several girls that had cars in the show in a booth that I had put together, so they're trying to maintain that.

00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:55.440
So yeah, that's a little bit of the the background of what the expectations were.

00:31:55.680 --> 00:31:56.319
Yeah.

00:31:56.799 --> 00:31:58.720
It's just so interesting.

00:31:59.039 --> 00:32:04.640
And I know that a lot of people don't even realize that this goes on.

00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:13.759
Are there, do you think there are other are there other pageants and other things, anything similar to this anywhere else in the country, or is this pretty much it?

00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:14.640
I don't know.

00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:18.079
I have searched like to see if there were other motorsports pageants.

00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:19.200
I haven't found any.

00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:20.960
That doesn't mean that they don't exist.

00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:23.359
I would love to see more of them.

00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:28.240
When I was younger, there was a there was actually an organization that went to several places and they did just that.

00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:33.440
Like they would do pageants and then take the girls to motorsport to motorsports events and do victory lanes.

00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:36.160
I would love to see more shows hosting them.

00:32:36.240 --> 00:32:37.839
There used to be more in our area.

00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:47.119
And what happens is as the shows are getting smaller, which is unfortunate because you know, vendors are getting less, things like that, they end up not having the space to do it anymore.

00:32:47.200 --> 00:32:53.039
And that's really sad because I think as an ambassador for the show, you put so many eyes on it.

00:32:53.119 --> 00:33:01.200
Like just on Facebook this year, I think we had we had not I think we had met multi-million views on the Miss Motorama Facebook page.

00:33:01.359 --> 00:33:05.039
There was one post that I put out that got 600,000 views on it.

00:33:05.279 --> 00:33:07.039
I 600,000 views.

00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:08.480
I was like, what on one post?

00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:10.240
One it just takes that one picture.

00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:12.880
And now all of a sudden people are like, what is Miss Motorama?

00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:15.279
Like you got people following it and people questioning.

00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:18.799
But then the more events you go to, you're able to explain to them what the show is.

00:33:18.880 --> 00:33:22.000
And they're like, Well, I didn't, I had no idea that's what it was.

00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:27.359
And I think what you're gonna see next year, no, I I've got still a lot of plans with Motorama.

00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:29.680
I we're bringing in a lot more race cars, right?

00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:33.359
It it's very small in terms of the amount of race cars that we get there.

00:33:33.519 --> 00:33:40.720
And I would love to see, they have a speed haul which is specifically geared towards custom-built stuff, right?

00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:50.400
There's some are motorcycles, but there's a lot of race cars that are in there, but I'd like to see more because even from a race car perspective, maybe there were 50.

00:33:50.559 --> 00:33:52.559
We can get more than 50 race cars in here.

00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:57.839
Like for sure, we can get more than 50 race cars, especially in the area where you live.

00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:02.960
I know it's lit, we're in Harrisburg, we're in the middle of sprint car, you know, sprint car country.

00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:05.680
So I'd love to see, I'd love to fill that hall next year.

00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:19.599
And I I I know that I'm already in talks with Motorama on how I can become really partner with them on the back end side of things, like outside of the pageant two on way, because they they saw, they're like, wow, one person made such an impact there.

00:34:19.840 --> 00:34:25.199
So, and again, the more the more cars you get, the more people you get that are like, wow, what are these race cars?

00:34:25.280 --> 00:34:30.960
Like, I had people there were of the entire show, we hundreds, if not thousands, of different cars that were there.

00:34:31.119 --> 00:34:35.679
There were three asphalt race cars, three, and they were all from my racetrack.

00:34:35.840 --> 00:34:38.960
My racetrack had their four cylinder there in their booth.

00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:42.719
It was my car, and there was a sport modified from Sarah Beth Mesco.

00:34:42.960 --> 00:34:43.360
That was it.

00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:44.559
And I'm like, what is what is?

00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:52.480
I know that asphalt is there's no asphalt tracks around there, but we're not going to get more asphalt opportunities if we don't start showing up.

00:34:52.559 --> 00:34:54.960
So that's definitely something I want to take a look at too.

00:34:55.119 --> 00:35:06.559
But what was really cool at Motorama, and this ties back to all of the advocating, is they at motorsports this year, I held a seminar and I did it last year for the first time, and I remember us talking about that.

00:35:06.719 --> 00:35:09.440
But this year I was way more confident and I was like, we're doing it again.

00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:10.239
I can't wait.

00:35:10.400 --> 00:35:12.239
We had the display booth there.

00:35:12.320 --> 00:35:13.840
We had double the amount of cars.

00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:18.239
There were 13 cars in the display booth, which was pretty much all the space at that time that we had.

00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:19.840
We're gonna have more next year.

00:35:20.079 --> 00:35:21.280
But it was really great.

00:35:21.360 --> 00:35:25.039
All the girls got their own posters with their names on them, so they got to display.

00:35:25.280 --> 00:35:30.400
Many of the girls came and sat at their cars the entire show, handed out candy, handed out hero cards.

00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:34.559
We did an autograph session in front of their cars, which was great.

00:35:34.639 --> 00:35:35.760
They were just lined.

00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:38.639
People were just lining up, they were getting all the photos.

00:35:38.880 --> 00:35:39.679
It was really cool.

00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:41.039
But then we did a seminar.

00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:45.599
And last year, when we did the seminar, we maybe had like 35 people in it.

00:35:45.679 --> 00:35:46.880
It was the first time, right?

00:35:47.039 --> 00:35:50.639
We most of it was our people, our friends and families.

00:35:50.800 --> 00:35:51.440
So it was fine.

00:35:51.519 --> 00:35:54.239
And I was like, I would like to see more this year.

00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:56.400
Both keynote speakers canceled.

00:35:56.559 --> 00:36:00.559
We had a huge snow, actually, the biggest snowstorm we've had in years ended up happening that week.

00:36:00.719 --> 00:36:07.599
One was coming up from North Carolina and she was driving, and she's like, There's just no way because the storm was actually coming up like from the south.

00:36:07.679 --> 00:36:09.599
So she was hitting it even before us.

00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:11.119
So she ended up canceling.

00:36:11.199 --> 00:36:15.199
And then the main speaker ended up having a family emergency.

00:36:15.360 --> 00:36:18.159
And I found all this out maybe two or three days before.

00:36:18.320 --> 00:36:21.360
And I was like, Well, you know, the snow's coming.

00:36:21.440 --> 00:36:22.880
I don't know how attendance is gonna be.

00:36:22.960 --> 00:36:26.239
We could have canceled, I could have reached out and said, Hey, both keynote speakers are gone.

00:36:26.320 --> 00:36:27.199
We're gonna have to cancel it.

00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:28.559
But I was like, that's not an option.

00:36:28.719 --> 00:36:30.000
And I'm like, okay, guess what?

00:36:30.079 --> 00:36:31.119
I'm gonna keynote speak.

00:36:31.199 --> 00:36:33.119
I love speaking in front of people, I have no problem.

00:36:33.280 --> 00:36:34.320
So I was like, great.

00:36:34.400 --> 00:36:38.960
Uh, when I had messaged the, you know, the guy that runs the whole show, I'm like, uh, you know, this one canceled too.

00:36:39.039 --> 00:36:40.159
I'm like, don't worry, it's gonna be great.

00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:41.039
I'm gonna take care of it.

00:36:41.119 --> 00:36:42.559
I had to fill an hour and a half space.

00:36:42.639 --> 00:36:43.760
It was a long seminar.

00:36:43.920 --> 00:36:45.840
So I collected all of the girls.

00:36:45.920 --> 00:36:49.039
Like, I already had a panel of six ladies that were coming in to talk.

00:36:49.199 --> 00:36:50.559
I went to that autograph session.

00:36:50.639 --> 00:36:52.320
I said, every one of you are coming in this room with me.

00:36:52.400 --> 00:36:53.519
They were like, What of caught?

00:36:53.599 --> 00:36:56.960
I was like, You're all coming in, you're all here, you're all here with your race cars, you're not doing anything.

00:36:57.039 --> 00:36:57.360
Come on.

00:36:57.519 --> 00:37:00.800
So I pulled them all in and we ended up splitting it up into two sessions.

00:37:01.039 --> 00:37:02.719
I spoke a little bit at the beginning.

00:37:02.880 --> 00:37:10.800
We had a session for the girls that were under 18, and then we had a session for the girls that were over because it was just easier to split it up and kind of talk about what they wanted.

00:37:11.039 --> 00:37:20.320
And I think we ended up having 15 drivers that were there, and we spoke with every single one of them, got got them to introduce themselves, talk a little bit about what they were doing.

00:37:20.480 --> 00:37:23.440
We had Brianna Snyder, who was that pulsa toll sitter there.

00:37:23.519 --> 00:37:24.480
That was amazing, right?

00:37:24.559 --> 00:37:28.320
And she was one of my favorite stories because beforehand, she's like, I'm so nervous.

00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:29.760
I've never spoken in front of people.

00:37:29.920 --> 00:37:31.280
Like, nobody knows who I am.

00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:32.320
I don't have any friends.

00:37:32.400 --> 00:37:33.119
And I'm like, You do.

00:37:33.360 --> 00:37:34.400
I was like, you know me, right?

00:37:34.480 --> 00:37:34.960
She's like, Yeah.

00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:36.800
And I'm like, oh, well, what about the girl sitting next to you?

00:37:36.880 --> 00:37:37.760
She's like, Well, yeah, I know her too.

00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:39.199
I'm like, great, you have friends, you're fine.

00:37:39.440 --> 00:37:43.039
And I told, I assured them, I said, I will not let you fail up there.

00:37:43.199 --> 00:37:44.159
You are gonna do great.

00:37:44.320 --> 00:37:47.840
I will make sure that if I need to step in and lead that conversation with you, I will.

00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:49.199
You're gonna do awesome.

00:37:49.440 --> 00:37:53.440
And so when she got up to speak and we were introducing her, I kind of looked out of the crowd.

00:37:53.599 --> 00:37:56.079
She went super viral in this area when she won the poll.

00:37:56.159 --> 00:37:57.280
That was a huge deal.

00:37:57.679 --> 00:38:00.960
Not just, not just because she was a local driver, but she was a female driver.

00:38:01.039 --> 00:38:03.119
And so we were like, wow, this is amazing.

00:38:03.360 --> 00:38:09.440
Before she even spoke, I asked, you know, she introduced herself and I asked everyone, I was like, hey, raise your hand if you know who this is.

00:38:09.599 --> 00:38:10.960
Like, have you seen anything?

00:38:11.199 --> 00:38:13.360
Almost every person's hand in that room went up.

00:38:13.440 --> 00:38:16.719
And I like looked at her, I was like, you have a whole room full of friends here.

00:38:16.880 --> 00:38:18.320
They all know who you are.

00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:21.519
And if they know who you are, they are impressed with what you just did.

00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:30.800
And so I just was able to show her kind of instantly like, you may think that you don't have any friends here, but you were wrong because when you're in this community, it doesn't matter who it is, they're willing to be your friend.

00:38:31.039 --> 00:38:35.760
But yeah, we ended up, we ended up having to add chairs because we filled them.

00:38:35.840 --> 00:38:38.159
And then we ended up with standing room only.

00:38:38.320 --> 00:38:48.000
Towards the middle of it, when I had a chance to actually look out at the crowd, it was in the paper later that week that we had the highest attended seminar of the entire weekend.

00:38:48.079 --> 00:38:49.599
It was standing room only.

00:38:49.760 --> 00:38:55.599
And they said that by the looks of things, that the momentum of women in racing is not going to slow down anytime soon.

00:38:55.760 --> 00:39:11.039
And I was so incredibly proud of that that we went from, you know, maybe 35 people to, I think, I think I tried to count, it was around like 80 or 90, that was it, but I counted halfway through and people just they just kept coming in, like more and more people.

00:39:11.280 --> 00:39:18.960
And it was amazing to see what we did there just throughout the entire week and the growth that we had from year one to year two.

00:39:19.039 --> 00:39:21.119
And I'm like, imagine what we can do next year.

00:39:21.280 --> 00:39:27.599
Like every time we do something, it the word gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and more people are like, wow, they're doing really great things.

00:39:27.760 --> 00:39:29.119
I want to be involved in it too.

00:39:29.199 --> 00:39:32.559
I already have a whole list of people that are like, Can can we be part of it next year?

00:39:32.800 --> 00:39:34.320
Yeah, yeah.

00:39:34.480 --> 00:39:49.119
It's that's interesting, you know, because those girls that you roped into coming up uh and being on stage with you, maybe had never spoken in front of anyone or whatever.

00:39:49.360 --> 00:39:55.280
And what an opportunity for them to do that and and to get their name out there.

00:39:55.599 --> 00:40:03.440
Absolutely, and even if it's in this group, there's 80 people in this room that now know who you are, and the girls they're seeing each other now at multiple shows.

00:40:03.519 --> 00:40:09.280
Like some of them came to Motorama because what happened with Motorama is Motorama had a booth at motorsport, right?

00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:13.039
And so when I was at motorsports doing all this, I was not Miss Motorama.

00:40:13.119 --> 00:40:17.440
I was doing this as Mallory Coots, the race car driver, who loves racing and loves women in the sport.

00:40:17.519 --> 00:40:18.559
And so that's what I was doing.

00:40:18.639 --> 00:40:23.760
So I was like, no, that's being put to side right now, and this is my focus, is is this.

00:40:24.079 --> 00:40:30.000
And so the the owner, not the owner, I'm so sorry, the guy that like manages Motorama, his name is Andy.

00:40:30.159 --> 00:40:34.320
He happened to walk past the area I was in while the autograph session was going on.

00:40:34.480 --> 00:40:37.519
So he saw all of these female drivers and saw all those cars.

00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:39.760
And I was like teasing him, I was like, Hey, and did you see what I did here?

00:40:39.840 --> 00:40:40.719
I was like, this is so cool.

00:40:40.800 --> 00:40:43.599
And he like looked at me, he's like, Why don't you do this at Motorama?

00:40:43.679 --> 00:40:46.639
And I was like, You never asked me to.

00:40:46.719 --> 00:40:51.119
Like, I didn't know it was even an option because again, it's not really a race car show.

00:40:51.360 --> 00:40:53.360
And he was like, Can can we do this there?

00:40:53.440 --> 00:40:55.920
And I was like, Yeah, I can put something really great together for next year.

00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:57.440
And he's like, Can you do it this year?

00:40:57.519 --> 00:41:00.000
And I was like, That's in three weeks.

00:41:00.320 --> 00:41:11.599
So I was like, I can't do this because I've been doing this since October, but I can do something to get us started, and then next year we can do something amazing as well.

00:41:11.840 --> 00:41:19.679
And so we did, and I just, you know, I was able to collect 10 cars that we took to Motorama, which again, is that a is that an outstanding number of cars?

00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:27.119
No, is that amazing in two, three weeks that I was able to get 10 people to commit to coming and towing their car up and doing all of that?

00:41:27.280 --> 00:41:28.880
Yeah, they were super happy with it.

00:41:29.039 --> 00:41:39.599
So again, just we started there, even at RX, we had there was a a girl, actually Shannon Slaughter, who won the oh my gosh, my brain just failed me.

00:41:39.679 --> 00:41:44.480
The scholarship that I got, she has been super passionate about advocating as well.

00:41:44.559 --> 00:41:48.559
So she did a panel at RX on their stage and she actually asked me to be part of that.

00:41:48.800 --> 00:41:59.199
So all three shows that I was involved with or competing at are now really like going in on the value of wow, we need to continue this women in motorsports.

00:41:59.440 --> 00:42:08.000
And a lot of it started last year at the motorsports trade show when I said I want to bring more recognition and started to do that, and they're seeing it grow and grow and grow.

00:42:08.079 --> 00:42:11.039
And so I and I was I was a part of it at each show.

00:42:11.199 --> 00:42:21.280
So I'm really finding that space for me that is like I can bring so much to these shows and continue to grow them and continue to give all of these females a safe space to come and be celebrated.

00:42:21.760 --> 00:42:30.000
So, Mallory, would would someone from Kalamazoo where I live be welcome to come and be a part of things?

00:42:30.239 --> 00:42:31.199
Oh my god, 100%.

00:42:31.840 --> 00:42:33.119
Yeah, 100%.

00:42:33.920 --> 00:42:46.320
So next year, you know, the more we get the word out about what this is and what you're doing, next year, you know, you could have cars from Florida and Texas and Colorado and who knows where, right?

00:42:46.559 --> 00:42:49.679
Yeah, if if we could get them out, even looking at the cars we had this year.

00:42:49.760 --> 00:42:56.320
There was a girl that drove from Virginia, there was a girl from Maryland, there was a girl from Delaware that came in, obviously a couple cars from Pennsylvania.

00:42:56.480 --> 00:42:59.519
So when I was like listening to them, the one girl, she's like, Oh, we drove from Virginia.

00:42:59.599 --> 00:43:01.679
I'm like, you drove from Virginia to come here?

00:43:01.840 --> 00:43:04.880
She's like, Yeah, I was like, that is amazing.

00:43:05.199 --> 00:43:11.199
That we had uh out of the 10 cars, they were from four or five different states that were like right here.

00:43:11.280 --> 00:43:13.039
And and that was just really cool.

00:43:13.199 --> 00:43:19.920
Again, just the reach that I was able to get, but to see the representation just up and down the east coast.

00:43:21.760 --> 00:43:22.400
Yeah.

00:43:22.880 --> 00:43:27.679
Oh wow, that's so exciting! I think you have a lot of projects ahead of you, Mallory.

00:43:28.159 --> 00:43:31.360
I I do, and I'm really excited to kind of see where they are.

00:43:31.519 --> 00:43:34.159
I've told everyone I'm taking a week off.

00:43:34.639 --> 00:43:37.119
I said I'm taking a week off from everything motorsports.

00:43:37.199 --> 00:43:40.079
And then I looked at my husband, I was like, oh, wait, I actually have a podcast to do tomorrow.

00:43:40.159 --> 00:43:41.679
And he's like, I'm not surprised.

00:43:41.840 --> 00:43:49.199
I said I'm taking a week to myself to really just relax, regroup, rest, mourn a little bit, right?

00:43:49.360 --> 00:43:52.400
Really, really sad about handing, you know, the title off yesterday.

00:43:52.480 --> 00:43:54.000
Although I'm less sad than I thought.

00:43:54.159 --> 00:43:57.920
I thought it was gonna be a lot more emotional in terms of me being sad.

00:43:58.400 --> 00:43:59.760
But what happened is.

00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:11.519
Is I realized that the respect I earned throughout the past 12 months in that community was far more than I ever imagined.

00:44:11.760 --> 00:44:16.960
And it was, it was the competitors that were sad that it was coming to an end.

00:44:17.119 --> 00:44:22.559
Like the girls that I competed with from day one when I got there, they did nothing but praise me.

00:44:22.719 --> 00:44:33.119
The new girls that did not compete with me last year were talking about how seeing me do stuff online and seeing everything that I did, you know, encouraged and empowered them to come and compete this year.

00:44:33.679 --> 00:44:41.920
I had a standing ovation from every lady on that stage when I did my final walk last year, which is something I have never seen in any of the pageants.

00:44:42.159 --> 00:44:45.280
Even some of the judges like stood up, and that was really cool.

00:44:45.519 --> 00:44:47.840
The girls had tissues when I was doing my speech.

00:44:47.920 --> 00:45:04.320
Like I could see in the video, I was seeing, like they were emotional, they were crying because they know that what I did was so much more about what I did for myself, but about the path that I just laid for all of them now coming into these roles and being recognized as what they're able to do.

00:45:04.400 --> 00:45:17.360
And I was so proud of everything that we did, so much so that I actually, um, after the pageant was over, they do car show awards, like and this is traditional, like classic cars and things like that, up in the car show hall.

00:45:17.679 --> 00:45:19.840
And they had me go up and help with awards.

00:45:19.920 --> 00:45:36.239
And after I got there, a few minutes later, they did an ambassador award at Motorama, which they give every year to someone within just the community or whatever it may be that they feel really embodied Motorama and like encouraged people to come and push it out.

00:45:36.480 --> 00:45:42.880
And when the when Andy, who again helped me get those cars and asked me to do that, he starts talking about the award.

00:45:43.039 --> 00:45:47.920
And I think he got about one sentence in and I realized that he was talking about me on the stage.

00:45:48.079 --> 00:46:03.280
I started crying harder when I realized that I had made such an impact at Motorama that they were giving me an award for doing everything I did outside of Miss, you know, not at the Miss Motorama stage, but at their car show stage in front of everybody.

00:46:03.519 --> 00:46:14.079
I it was so emotional because I realized that it wasn't even racing that I made the impact, is it was just the community as a whole of motorsports, and I was so proud of that.

00:46:14.719 --> 00:46:37.280
And you have to be because that's so much bigger, yeah, than the I you know, Miss Miss Motorama's big, but but what you just said about being the ambassador for that show or for motorsports in regards to that show is so much bigger than than you would have ever thought could happen.

00:46:37.440 --> 00:46:43.760
But Mallory, part of that is your personality, you know, I don't think you know a stranger.

00:46:44.239 --> 00:46:58.159
Your your ability to convey what you want to, you know, you to say what you want to say, and and people get excited because you never stop smiling when you talk about motorsport.

00:46:59.039 --> 00:47:04.480
And they can feel the energy and the passion that excuse me, that you bring.

00:47:05.360 --> 00:47:06.880
Yeah, it's amazing.

00:47:07.039 --> 00:47:09.039
It's just amazing the things you've done.

00:47:09.199 --> 00:47:11.280
I can't wait to see what's coming.

00:47:11.599 --> 00:47:12.480
Oh, me too.

00:47:12.639 --> 00:47:13.119
Me too.

00:47:13.199 --> 00:47:26.159
I one of the things I said in my speech yesterday, in my fair farewell speech, was that the whole time that I was competing, I thought that the end game was to win, like the end of all of this, and the end of my my journey was winning.

00:47:26.320 --> 00:47:29.599
And now I realize that that was truly just like that.

00:47:31.280 --> 00:47:38.960
That was here, but we're gonna get here because what I did this past year was just the foundation of what I'm going to do.

00:47:39.119 --> 00:47:42.320
And so it gave me the confidence that I needed.

00:47:42.400 --> 00:47:44.239
It gave me the connections that I needed.

00:47:44.320 --> 00:47:53.920
I mean, the connections I have right now, some of the names in my phone that I have, I'm like, this is insane that I have these people's phone numbers or, you know, I'm friends with them now on Facebook and I've communicated with them.

00:47:54.159 --> 00:47:55.360
It's it's really, really cool.

00:47:55.440 --> 00:47:59.679
And they're all so supportive of everything that I'm doing within the sport.

00:47:59.760 --> 00:48:03.039
And it's so much bigger than I think what I even imagine.

00:48:03.360 --> 00:48:10.960
Even Melinda, listening to your podcast in the past 12 months, there are several podcasts where I've heard people talk about me and I'm like, what?

00:48:11.360 --> 00:48:17.519
I'm like, whether, you know, Zoe talked about how, you know, I was one of the biggest inspirations she had.

00:48:17.679 --> 00:48:22.719
I know there were some of the girls from the ladies' acceleration tour that talked about what I was doing with the coloring books.

00:48:22.880 --> 00:48:28.559
I haven't heard it yet, but I know Brielle's dad, Brielle Stern, who was at both of my shows, and she was one of those ladies.

00:48:28.719 --> 00:48:32.480
Her dad messaged me and he's like, she talked about you somewhere on the pod.

00:48:32.559 --> 00:48:34.400
I don't know what she said, but I know she talked about you.

00:48:34.480 --> 00:48:37.280
I was like, like knowing that yesterday.

00:48:37.519 --> 00:48:40.960
I just oh I yesterday was a pretty busy day for me.

00:48:41.039 --> 00:48:42.400
So I'm gonna be able to listen.

00:48:42.480 --> 00:48:44.639
So it just went live yesterday.

00:48:44.960 --> 00:49:02.079
I will go give it a listen, but and and it's organically, I'm like, I'm making such an impact that these people are on podcasts talking about the impact that I'm making in their lives, and it's it's just so much bigger than what I imagined, but it's also just me being me.

00:49:02.239 --> 00:49:05.760
Like, I want to support all of you, I want to help you.

00:49:06.000 --> 00:49:07.679
And uh Brielle's amazing.

00:49:07.760 --> 00:49:17.440
She actually gave my son a pet talk yesterday, and they've become friends through the things that I've done, which is so funny because she's an amazing young lady, and I can't wait to see what she does in this sport.

00:49:17.679 --> 00:49:25.119
But to know that like I've got her on my side and she's got me on hers, I mean, she's gonna be unstoppable with all of the support that she has.

00:49:25.280 --> 00:49:32.320
But then to know that my son now has someone a little bit older than him that he can look up to and he's got all the respect in the world for a female driver.

00:49:32.400 --> 00:49:33.360
He's watching it all.

00:49:33.519 --> 00:49:41.119
So, you know, when she talks to him, it's like he's gonna listen and really take serious what she says because he also sees the impact that she's making.

00:49:41.280 --> 00:49:45.599
So it's everything is just it's working out so beautifully right now.

00:49:46.000 --> 00:49:50.719
I think having you on today was the best day we could schedule this.

00:49:50.960 --> 00:49:51.119
Yeah.

00:49:51.360 --> 00:49:53.760
And you get you scheduled it, so you knew.

00:49:54.159 --> 00:49:54.559
I knew.

00:49:54.719 --> 00:49:57.599
I knew that I was gonna have a lot to talk about after Motorama.

00:49:57.840 --> 00:50:04.800
I also knew that I was there was a lot of emotions that were still there and that I was gonna be able to really, you know, portray them raw and honestly.

00:50:04.960 --> 00:50:12.880
And that that was exactly why I was like, today is the day that I need to tell someone about everything I've done, but also about everything that's to come.

00:50:13.199 --> 00:50:13.840
Right.

00:50:14.400 --> 00:50:16.639
Oh Mallory, we could talk forever.

00:50:16.960 --> 00:50:17.360
We could.

00:50:18.000 --> 00:50:19.039
So many things going on.

00:50:19.199 --> 00:50:22.880
We have to, you have to come on more often, not just once a year.

00:50:23.039 --> 00:50:23.440
Yeah.

00:50:23.920 --> 00:50:37.599
Kind of up to date on what's happening because it's a good way to get the word out, you know, to people that maybe don't live in your area or don't know yet about you or what you're doing and can follow you.

00:50:37.679 --> 00:50:42.960
And and the more that we get the word out, the bigger that is gonna be.

00:50:43.199 --> 00:50:46.159
And the more projects you're gonna get involved in.

00:50:46.239 --> 00:50:47.039
I can see it already.

00:50:47.280 --> 00:50:48.800
I love oh, I love the projects.

00:50:48.960 --> 00:50:52.719
I still, when I look at my schedule right now, everyone's like, oh, you know, you get to relax.

00:50:52.800 --> 00:50:54.239
I was like, no, mm-mm.

00:50:54.400 --> 00:51:01.119
Like I haven't, I I just bought a uh so that I can start to mark down, of course, like my races and the TQ races and stuff like that.

00:51:01.280 --> 00:51:03.760
But I've already got so many events that people are reaching out.

00:51:03.840 --> 00:51:10.320
They're like, hey, and here's the really cool thing is the tracks are now starting to do like women appreciation days.

00:51:10.400 --> 00:51:10.559
Yeah.

00:51:10.719 --> 00:51:13.920
And they're reaching out going, hey, we'd love you to be a part of it.

00:51:14.079 --> 00:51:17.360
And some of them I can, some of them I can't because I'm racing on those days.

00:51:17.440 --> 00:51:21.760
But still, I'm like, even if I can't be there, I am so happy to help you promote it and do what I can with it.

00:51:21.920 --> 00:51:27.920
So we're really getting the tracks to realize how important and how impactful the women can be.

00:51:28.079 --> 00:51:33.440
Cause let's when you're thinking social media, it's the girls that are out there posting all the time, right?

00:51:33.519 --> 00:51:36.079
You want someone to be a good ambassador for your racetrack.

00:51:36.159 --> 00:51:41.440
Get get a 15-year-old girl who's on TikTok and Instagram and all of that stuff to start posting about it.

00:51:41.519 --> 00:51:44.480
That's where the recognition is going to come in.

00:51:44.639 --> 00:51:49.840
So the quicker they realize how much of an asset we are to the track, the more successful they're going to be.

00:51:50.159 --> 00:51:52.320
And you know, Mallory, that's a huge point.

00:51:52.400 --> 00:52:03.039
And we could spend a whole podcast talking about that because I have some local tracks here in the Kalamazoo, Michigan area that really don't get it.

00:52:03.360 --> 00:52:14.480
They do promote things, but they could do such a better job of promoting not just their track, but you know, like different things they could do.

00:52:14.639 --> 00:52:21.119
I've suggested it to a couple of them and they think it's a good idea, but they don't want us hire somebody.

00:52:21.199 --> 00:52:24.000
They don't want it, they just they just don't.

00:52:24.239 --> 00:52:27.039
And it's their loss, yeah.

00:52:27.440 --> 00:52:34.719
Because it does attract more people, you know, and but you know, it in all in due time, right?

00:52:34.880 --> 00:52:36.559
It takes it takes time.

00:52:36.880 --> 00:52:38.079
It it does, it does.

00:52:38.239 --> 00:52:40.719
And that's with my track this year with Evergreen.

00:52:40.800 --> 00:52:46.159
I'm super thankful that the the promoter Jason, me and him have gotten incredibly close this year.

00:52:46.239 --> 00:52:48.079
He's been so supportive of everything.

00:52:48.239 --> 00:52:51.519
And I have brought so many eyes to his racetrack that never would have seen it.

00:52:51.599 --> 00:52:53.039
I've brought photographers in.

00:52:53.199 --> 00:52:57.599
We uh live streamed my sister's race, which was the first time they ever had a live stream going.

00:52:57.760 --> 00:53:06.559
So we opened a lot of eyes to Evergreen, and he's very open to like, hey, what can we do to try to attract more people?

00:53:06.719 --> 00:53:15.440
So I'm excited to brainstorm and start to think with him like, what can we do in terms of Evergreen Raceway and getting you guys because I want to continue to have a place to race.

00:53:15.599 --> 00:53:16.000
Sure.

00:53:16.159 --> 00:53:17.519
Like that at the end of the day.

00:53:17.599 --> 00:53:21.920
So your success and my success in getting that literally is impacting my life.

00:53:22.000 --> 00:53:24.000
And I want to make sure that that is successful.

00:53:24.079 --> 00:53:26.719
So, but super thankful that he is so open and willing.

00:53:26.880 --> 00:53:27.599
And you know what?

00:53:27.760 --> 00:53:29.599
He has the daughter, Caitlin, that races.

00:53:29.840 --> 00:53:38.000
So he knows, like, I'm it's not just I'm out there, but I'm out there supporting his daughter and I'm having her do like she was part of my seminar.

00:53:38.079 --> 00:53:42.880
And so I'm he's seeing full circle like this girl's driving at my track, she's doing this.

00:53:42.960 --> 00:53:53.280
Like, I really should listen to what she has to say and take some of these suggestions because she's going to continue to just help not only my daughter's career, but my racetrack as well.

00:53:53.440 --> 00:53:54.079
Yeah.

00:53:54.480 --> 00:53:58.159
Oh, Mallory, you've got you've gotten me excited on a Monday.

00:53:58.480 --> 00:54:04.960
You know, sometimes Monday comes and you're like, oh gosh, you know, the week ahead is this, this, and this.

00:54:05.119 --> 00:54:09.679
And sometimes Monday is the day that you have to really kick yourself in the butt to get going.

00:54:09.920 --> 00:54:12.000
Well, you've kicked me in the butt today.

00:54:12.639 --> 00:54:14.800
And uh the rest of the week's gonna be great.

00:54:14.880 --> 00:54:18.719
And I appreciate, gosh, I appreciate everything you've done.

00:54:18.800 --> 00:54:21.519
And and I know you're just gonna keep at it.

00:54:21.679 --> 00:54:25.519
And and you and I are kind of on that same track, aren't we?

00:54:25.760 --> 00:54:29.920
Uh I see the stuff you're posting, and I'm like, I can't wait to see what she's doing.

00:54:30.079 --> 00:54:34.000
And some people are like, Don't you get like, don't you get upset when you see all these people do?

00:54:34.239 --> 00:54:35.840
No, the more people, the better.

00:54:36.000 --> 00:54:40.239
Every time I see a new girl that's like, I'm creating this Facebook page or this platform or this.

00:54:40.320 --> 00:54:44.000
I'm like, yes, yes, keep it going, keep it going.

00:54:44.159 --> 00:54:50.079
Get that clothing line out there, get that Facebook group going because the more and and I'm part of all of them.

00:54:50.159 --> 00:54:57.599
I'm like, let me be a part of this, let me be a part of this, let me be like, let me buy your clothes, let me because that's it, it's all the more we have.

00:54:57.679 --> 00:55:01.280
This is one of those things that it's saturation is better.

00:55:01.599 --> 00:55:09.119
Saturate the people because the more groups that we have and the more posts that we have is the more support that these girls have behind them.

00:55:09.280 --> 00:55:15.679
So I love seeing everybody coming up with these new, just these new initiatives and seeing it grow.

00:55:15.840 --> 00:55:17.599
And it's it's incredible.

00:55:17.840 --> 00:55:20.079
Well, you're gonna love what I've got cooked cooking.

00:55:20.559 --> 00:55:21.199
I can't wait.

00:55:21.280 --> 00:55:24.320
I saw the email and I'm like, oh, what is she doing?

00:55:24.639 --> 00:55:27.039
I'll have to, I'll have to include you in a little bit.

00:55:27.119 --> 00:55:28.960
So yes, you know what, Mallory.

00:55:29.280 --> 00:55:32.239
I appreciate you so much and everything you're doing.

00:55:32.480 --> 00:55:35.679
And I know we're gonna stay in touch because we help each other.

00:55:36.159 --> 00:55:41.440
But um, this has been a great, great show, and I know people are gonna get excited.

00:55:41.679 --> 00:55:42.960
Race season's coming up.

00:55:43.119 --> 00:55:48.320
I mean, you know, NASCAR's already started, but in Michigan, the snow's almost gone.

00:55:48.400 --> 00:55:50.320
It was gone, and we had more.

00:55:50.960 --> 00:56:09.119
It's yeah, I need to see some snow in the grass, and we may have some more yet before winter's over, but hopefully it won't be long, and we'll be ready to get to the racetrack another six weeks or a month, a couple months, and and so that's when things really get get live and take off.

00:56:09.280 --> 00:56:23.039
And so I hope you have a great season with your race, your race car, especially with all the things that I know you've got you that you're thinking about that you want to do, and and I know they're gonna come to fruition for sure.

00:56:23.280 --> 00:56:24.800
Yeah, it's it's gonna be a great year.

00:56:24.880 --> 00:56:31.599
Oh, I know I never even did mention my racing season though, because sometimes I even forget that we had it because we did we did race a full season.

00:56:31.679 --> 00:56:33.760
So I raced my full street stock season.

00:56:33.840 --> 00:56:37.039
It was quite the journey going from four cylinder to street stock.

00:56:37.280 --> 00:56:40.480
First couple weeks were rough, but we we we got better.

00:56:40.559 --> 00:56:41.199
We got a lot better.

00:56:41.360 --> 00:56:44.639
I ended up at the end of the year uh coming out third in points in rookie of the year.

00:56:44.719 --> 00:56:46.239
So super proud of that.

00:56:46.480 --> 00:56:53.360
I did even lead a couple of laps in a heat race, which for me that was huge because it was such a learning experience.

00:56:53.519 --> 00:56:56.320
And Evergreen doesn't run a ton of races.

00:56:56.480 --> 00:56:58.800
Like our initial schedule, I think was 14 races.

00:56:58.880 --> 00:57:00.079
A couple of them got canceled.

00:57:00.159 --> 00:57:02.079
So I think we ended up running about 11.

00:57:02.239 --> 00:57:10.960
If you think about 11 races over the course of the year, like so many of them, every week it was still learning, learning the car, learning how to run it, learning the power that was underneath.

00:57:11.199 --> 00:57:14.239
But I showed up every single week, continued to race.

00:57:14.320 --> 00:57:16.480
And so I was super proud of that third in points.

00:57:16.639 --> 00:57:18.880
I mean, it was consistency key.

00:57:19.119 --> 00:57:21.199
Yeah, that was really, really impressive.

00:57:21.360 --> 00:57:26.559
But in the classic TQ that I race as well, that one I was dominant in.

00:57:26.639 --> 00:57:29.199
I actually won my first feature race, which was super cool.

00:57:29.360 --> 00:57:32.320
So it kind of I was like, I'm not a bad race car driver.

00:57:32.400 --> 00:57:35.199
I just really needed a car that I felt super confident in.

00:57:35.440 --> 00:57:38.880
And so I that adventure has been really, really cool to see.

00:57:38.960 --> 00:57:44.480
So winning a race, I even ran a I got to run a powder puff race on a in a dirt champ car this year.

00:57:44.559 --> 00:57:46.719
I won that too, which was my first time on dirt.

00:57:46.880 --> 00:57:52.719
So in 2025, I was like, hey, I ran a I raced on asphalt and dirt and won on both of them.

00:57:52.800 --> 00:57:53.840
So that was cool.

00:57:54.079 --> 00:58:03.840
And then I also got an opportunity to run a micro stock, I believe is what it was called, at a charity race that somebody was holding.

00:58:03.920 --> 00:58:06.800
And the guy running it, he's like, Hey, a lot of people have talked about you.

00:58:06.880 --> 00:58:09.920
I'd love for you to come, you know, drive my car and race in that.

00:58:10.079 --> 00:58:16.639
So I had a lot of opportunities open up that allowed me to try different types of racing, which was really cool.

00:58:16.880 --> 00:58:23.119
Yeah, and it also gets your name and what you're doing out there more and more and more, and that's important.

00:58:23.360 --> 00:58:27.679
Yeah, so yeah, it was a from the racing aspect, it was a great year as well.

00:58:27.920 --> 00:58:30.159
Boy, I'm really excited for this year, though.

00:58:30.480 --> 00:58:32.719
Really, really, really, really great year.

00:58:32.960 --> 00:58:34.079
Awesome, Mallory.

00:58:34.559 --> 00:58:36.719
Well, you have a good rest of your week.

00:58:37.119 --> 00:58:37.599
Thank you.

00:58:38.000 --> 00:58:39.679
Thank you again for being on.

00:58:39.840 --> 00:58:41.039
I really appreciate it.

00:58:41.119 --> 00:58:49.280
And I know that you're on a high, and oh, you got to take some breasts and take care of Mallory the rest of the week or whatever.

00:58:49.519 --> 00:58:53.360
And yeah, we we appreciate everything you're doing.

00:58:53.599 --> 00:58:54.559
Yeah, thank you so much.

00:58:54.639 --> 00:58:55.360
And you too.

00:58:55.519 --> 00:58:59.599
I mean, you are you were you were advocating for women well before I was.

00:58:59.679 --> 00:59:06.719
So you are a great role model for those of us that are like, hey, I want to keep this going, and I really want to bring new recognition to my area to it.

00:59:06.800 --> 00:59:08.719
So you're doing amazing things, Melinda.

00:59:08.960 --> 00:59:09.920
I appreciate that.

00:59:10.079 --> 00:59:13.119
You hang on here and we'll I'll be right back with you.

00:59:13.440 --> 00:59:13.760
Okay.

00:59:16.400 --> 00:59:20.880
That's it for this episode of the Women's Motorsports Network podcast.

00:59:21.119 --> 00:59:28.559
We hope you've been inspired by the stories I shared today and feel more connected to the amazing community of women in motorsports.

00:59:28.719 --> 00:59:35.440
Remember, whether you're behind the wheel, in the pits, or cheering from the stands, your story matters.

00:59:35.599 --> 00:59:40.079
And together we're driving change and celebrating every milestone.

00:59:40.400 --> 00:59:49.199
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.

00:59:49.440 --> 00:59:58.079
And don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, behind the scenes content, and more incredible stories.

00:59:58.239 --> 01:00:03.840
So until next time, stay inspired, stay connected, and keep racing through life.

01:00:04.000 --> 01:00:10.480
This is the Women's Motorsports Network podcast where every woman's story is worth celebrating.