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A rear tire flies off on the last lap and you still take the win by crossing the finish line backwards. That’s the kind of real-world racing story we love, and teen driver Jillian Cole brings it with honesty, humor, and a clear look at what youth motorsports actually demands.
We sit down with Jillian, a racer from Rio Linda, California, to talk about her path from local track nights and Power Wheels races into seven years of quarter midgets, and now into a 250 outlaw kart. She explains the biggest shock of moving up: the speed jumps, the driving gets more aggressive, and one small mistake can drop you straight to the back. If you’ve ever wondered about quarter midgets vs outlaw karts, Jillian lays out what changes and what skills carry over when the stakes feel higher.
We also get into what happens off the track. Jillian shares what race day looks like with her parents as her pit crew, how mechanical work and prep are part of the sport, and why she’s focused this season on steady improvement instead of instant wins. She talks about being a girl in motorsports, gaining confidence, and learning to speak up after dealing with bullying both at school and at the track. Finally, we touch on building a racing presence on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube as her team keeps growing.
If you care about grassroots racing, youth karting, women in motorsports, and the confidence that comes from doing hard things, you’ll get a lot from this conversation. Subscribe to the podcast, share this with a racing parent or young driver, and leave a review so more listeners can find these stories.
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