June 10, 2025 • 37 mins
On this episode of Throttle Therapy, Executive Director of Race Tire Engineering and Production for Bridgestone, Cara Krstolic, joins Katherine to share how she got involved with tire engineering, how drivers treated her as a female engineer, and her thoughts on leadership. They discuss what motivates her and Bridgestone’s current focus on sustainability and innovation.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Throttle Therapy with Catherine Legg is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hello, lovely people. So I have been busy.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I have been climbing up a mountain in a accurate
Integra at Pike's Peak, doing some testing ready for the
hill climb there, and I am getting ready to head
to North Carolina again and to do some more Mexico prep. Obviously,
we've got the Mexico Cup race coming up and I
need to log as many laps as possible on the simulator.
(00:46):
We're going to go to Hendrix and do some pit
stop practice because I need to do that too, And
I am very much looking forward to getting back on
a road course, which is obviously where I spent the
last two decades.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
I'm hoping that a cup car feels.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
More normal when I'm turning left and right and I'm breaking.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
So we shall see.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
But we go to North Carolina and then we all
charter down with NASCAR to Mexico City.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Now Mexico City. The last time I was there.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
I think it was twenty eighteen, racing in Formulae for
Rayhor's team in a Jaguar Eyepace. We won that race,
so started on the pole, led the entire thing with
my teammate Brian Cellars on my tail playing Reagana.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
So I have fond memories of Mexico.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
I've raised there twice, both different configurations of tracks, and
this will be the third configuration that I've raced.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
On, but obviously love it.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
It's also having just come back from the mountains and
heading to the mountains straight after Mexico. It's going to
be good to keep at an altitude because I will
be all fit and ready and trained to prepare myself
for the lack of oxygen that I'm going to face
heading up the mountain at Pipes. However, this week we
(02:03):
have a very special guest, one of my best friends
in the entire universe and a general badass and this
check okay. So people say that you turn into the
people you surround yourself with. I really hope that that's true,
because I have some awesome, awesome friends and Carra, as
I lovingly referred to her as her name's actually Cara,
(02:25):
but I've always called her Carra and as she will
tell you, I don't think that's going to change. Is
the head of Bridgestone Firestone for the Motorsports Engineering department,
and she has designed and had raced car tires made
for the past two decades and we both kind of
came up a very similar path. We met in champ
(02:48):
Car Days and then she designed the tires for the
Delta Wing that I raced on, and then I race
on her IndyCar tires, and so she has been one
of the only females in racing. She's very well respected,
she's incredibly intelligent, and she's just a general badass. And
so welcome to the show. To Kara Crystalic joining me today.
(03:15):
Is one of my very best friends in the whole
entire universe. And yes, I get to decide who comes
on the podcast, so I get to invite my friends. However,
she wow, I signed it so American. Then she is
very worthy of the time and listening to you. She's
one of the most intelligent people that I know. She's
probably one of the most intelligent people that you know.
(03:38):
And she's done amazing things in life and I'm very
very proud of her. I do, though, have an argument
to make with her about how she pronounces her name,
because in my opinion it should be Kara Chrystallic, and
in her opinion it's Kara.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
So welcome Kara to Throttle Therapy.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
So glad to be here. Thanks for having me on,
kat Am.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
I the only person who can get away with calling
you the wrong name.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yeah, there are a couple of people. I think Ellio
castron of Us is one that he can't get my
name right either. For ten years he called me Carrie,
and then one day he was so embarrassed to find
out he had been calling me that. Why didn't you
correct me? Because I did a few times. But then
you know, Carrie's fine, But Carra is still closer than Carry.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
So I think it's just the English version. I just
you know, but actually your name's Catherine. So when when
we hang out to Katherine and Catherine, so we have
to differentiate somehow.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Yes, and then we have another friend, Catherine. So we
went skiing and it was Catherine and Catherine. Catherine.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
I'm so excited. We just booked our ski passes for
next year. Yes, and so super excited about that. Kara
and I have been friends for a very long time,
and I am going to hijack the conversation for a
second and I am going to explain who you are
and how we met, because I think it's a really
cool story how we became friends.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
It's really neat.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
So Kara Karra is the big boss of Firestone Bridgestone
on the racing development engineering side. I don't actually know
what your job title is. You probably want to insert here, get.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
To paragraph on I'm she can hear of Bridgeto on
America's Motorsports and my title is Executive Director of Race Hire,
Engineering and Production.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
So anyway, it's fancy because she's super smart and she
has worked her way through the engineering department over there
and developed.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
A ton of tires. And we're going to get into this.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
But Cara, I know, first of met in Canada, actually
many moons ago. So I was driving in CHAMPCI and
at the time the boss of Bridgestone we used Bridgestone
was Alspire and al Spire is a wonderful man who
I became very close with and he helped me throughout
(05:51):
my career and he asked me to do an event
in Mosport, Canada, and he said, we're going to bring
female journalists and some female staff in and you can
give them a speech about how to drive and be
there and be interviewed and you know, just generally help out.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
And I thought, oh, how exciting. So we get there
and we had a lot of fun. There was a
very very vast range of talent. It was very vast.
And then there was this one.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Bright, shining star who was driving around faster than everybody else.
And I turned to I can't remember who it was.
It wasn't Al, it was somebody else and I was like,
who is that and they're like, oh, that's Carra Kara,
and she is one of our engineers and she's literally
just started bristo.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I'm like cool.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
So then I get talking to Kara and I'm going
to get your name run on this. Otherwise people will
come up to you and be like hi, Kara, and
you'll be.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Like, no, well I heard that, so it must be
Kara is a car.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Car. So we got talking and we became friends, and
then ever since then we have planned trips together, we've
seen each other through breakups, We've like literally been besties.
So it's been really cool. Another really cool thing is
we keep getting to work together, so Carara designed the
Delta Wing tires. Designer made the Delta Wing tires. She
(07:18):
also did the wet weather tires that we ran back
in the champ Calar days that I raced on, and
then fast forward to coming back to Indica. Obviously I'm
on her tires. So her and I have done a
bunch of things together. But she I'm going to let
her talk for a minute now because I'm sure that
her rendition of our first meeting is probably way more
(07:39):
accurate than mine is.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Having hit the walls so many times since.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Well hard to have. Their brains are sticky after we've
hit the wall a couple times, but we have a
great time. And so my version of that was I
got invited to speak at a event where there were
going to be a lot of women journalists. That was
the Bridgetown Racing Academy at the time, at at Most
Sport and then we were going to have a lot
of women journalists there and there's going to be a
driver there. I don't think I knew who it was
(08:04):
at the time, who it was going to be. How
long ago was the oh like fifteen years, maybe twelve
to It was a while. Yeah, it was a while back,
and I was asked to go speak and I said, oh,
that's great, and they said you're going to come this
time and this when you speak, and then you can leave.
And I said, well, wait a minute. And it's great
because E. Lewis, who was the manager of brands at
the time, has now gone on to do amazing things
(08:25):
within Bridgetone and so passionate about the Firestone brand. I said, no,
if I'm going to speak, I need to be able
to get into one of the cars, like I have
to be able to drive. And I'm glad to go
and speak, but if there's any way you can get
me in one of the cars, I'm going to take
a few extra days. I would love to be able
to do this. And she's like, oh, sure, yeah, we
can do that. So we got in the car and
(08:45):
then it was really great to meet you and to
chat with you there. We had all sorts of journalists
there and I was talking about all things tires, and
you were the celebrity driver and everybody wanted to get
pictures with you. So it was just a fun It's
a fun event. And yeah, I think I was having
a crisis in a work situation at one point, I
hit you up with a hey, I need some advice
(09:07):
on this. So I've got this thing going on and
I need an outside perspective of a female embracing And
I'm sure we'll talk about the power of female friendships
in a bit, because it's so important part of our
story to have somebody that just advocates for you and
is not judgmental and just as there fem no matter what.
So we'll talk about that in a bit, I'm sure.
But just to be able to get through this, and
(09:27):
I had got some advice from you, it was really great.
And then we were just haat one day and I
think you said something about, oh, I would love to
be able to go to Whistler, and I was like,
oh my gosh, I've been thinking about going to Whistler.
So we were like, let's have less plan a skiing bak.
So we did that, and I think we've been great
friends ever since.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
There are not many people who I would go to
for advice. There are not many people who work in
a male dominated environment.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
That is also very high octane.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
For one of another phrase, and excuse the pun, I
love it, but it is important because you don't know
who you can trust. In this business, You've always got
to watch your back. We're very lucky to be friends
with Christina as well.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
She's great. She does that time in the month with me.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
But there aren't that many women in racing that you
can cool up and be authentically you, like I can
call you and I could cry or something, and I
know that I wouldn't be judged, and I know that
you would help me through whatever it is and you
would understand. So when you were little car Cara, did
you always want to be an engineer?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
So it's a fun story because I don't. I don't
know what I wanted to be. In fact, I was
even into my first year of college before I was
sure the engineering was the thing. I loved toys. I
was a lego kid. I would steal my brother's legos.
I like my barbies, but they usually ended up with
their head off in a pile somewhere. Yeah, but I
would steal my brother's legos and my mom would be like, well,
(10:54):
that's my that's your brother's thing. But I loved taking
things apart. My mom's a science teacher, and you know,
we both have wonderful parents, and you know, some of
our early role models in our parents. My mom had
neighborhood science camps, and we do so such cool things
that people today probably think are weird or they're so
TikTok worthy that everybody's doing them now, like making slime
(11:14):
and silly putty. Like before it was cool. My mom
went to the butcher. She didn't have a lot of money,
or we didn't. We both teachers, didn't have a lot
of money growing up, and she would get leftover pieces
parts And I remember one thing I thought was so
gross at the time and now as an adult, like,
it's so cool. She got cow eyeballs and we will
actually had a piece of styrofoam and we pinned them
(11:35):
and understood all the parts of it. And I will
forever understand how the eye works because that happened. My
grandfather was an engineer for NASA, and we talked about
how he was on the Space Shuttle and the Apollo teams,
and he was actually one of those engineers that you
would put in a room and throw a box of
stuff on the table and tell them to solve a
problem because it was happening in space right now. So
some amazing stuff from there. But I walked into our
(11:57):
machine shop where they were designing and building and open
wheeled car formula SAE as a program or formula student
if you're from when you were in college. Yes, when
I was in college. So that was my first ever
experience with anything mechanical or motorsports. And I just did
not know my plus screwdriver from my mind as screwdriver.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
It was.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
That's exactly the plus is in the mindfits. So I
learned how to use machine tools and a mill and
a lathe, and I think I learned more in that
student design project than I actually did in the rest
of my classes University of Backer in great college, but
being able to do something super hands on. And then
at one point my first year, I went to get
in the car, but the seat was so narrow. It
was not designed for college girl hits. It was designed
(12:40):
for college boy hits. So my first year, of course
it was, because of course it was. But my second
year I got in it and I was like, oh, man,
if I can find a job and I think can
actually pay me to do racing and motor sports like
that would be so cool.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Just so happens.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
The bridge NAE Fastone is literally just down the road,
so they obviously avatar in the paper for your entry
level engineering that you started in and then you can
walk us through all the steps. But literally, you guys,
she started off as an entry level engineer. I want
to say, I'm going to guess it car and you
can tell me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Eighteen years ago.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Twenty two Yes, So I just celebrated twenty two years
this month at Redstone. I started out in our vehicle
dynamics group. I interviewed and the manager at the time,
you just love the interview. I actually got a thank
you note for him from interviewing. I'm like, no, I'm
supposed to be the one that sends a thank you note.
(13:37):
And I got a call the next day and they
said there are these three openings. Which one do you want?
And I said, oh, I want the vehicle dynamics one
because that's actually working on the car. So I got
to start in this group and do just anything. And
it's funny some of the stuff that I did in
that very first job is things that I did this
past month at Indianapolis. So looking at mechanical vibration problems.
(13:58):
So if there is an issue with the car and
something's vibrating or a tire is wearing out. These are
all programs I did in my very first job that
had nothing to do with motorsports. And then I started out.
I talked to Page Meter, who was an engineering manager
at the time, and I said, hey, really want to
work in your team. Would love to know what kind
of skills and trade to perfect engineer has He said, no,
(14:19):
nobody's ever asking me that. And you talked to Dale Herrigel,
who was the manager after him, and he said, what
are we looking for? So they gave me a list
of a few things, programming, vehicle dynamics and tired modeling.
And I was like, well, I took up vehicle dynamics
some class in college, but I'll learn more. I'll study more.
And so I went out a textbook and I studied,
and then there were a couple other things that like
force and moment behavior understanding that. So what I did
(14:42):
in my current role, I said, Hey, is there anything
that we do in our vehicle dnamics team for passenger
that might help me to do this tire force moment
It's like this gigantic black box. It's a whole bunch
of set of equations that you plugs do some testing books,
some numbers in and you get tire behavior out. So
if I'm a simulation engineer or I an engineer for
a race team, I want to plug this model into
(15:02):
my car and then get lap times and simulations and
help set out my car. So volunteered for stuff, and
then finally a few years later the engineer at the
time that was in that role had moved on to
another role. There was an opening and it was like
I had the answer keep going in there. So it
started out that and then I started out with street
course and rain tires, and then I did Yes, I
(15:24):
got to work on the Delta Wing program, which was
so fun. I did the rain tires. So Brett Chilling
and Dale Harrigel and some other people did the dry tires,
but I get to do got to do the rain tires.
And I love it because the first race that I
actually worked with you, I believe it was Watkins Glenn
because it rained Watkins Glenn. I was like, yes, I'm
so everyone hates rain tires, but when they're when the
(15:45):
rain tires are up there, those are mine. So I
was so excited to see that my car Addiction did
pretty farm good and the rain.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah, I did.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
So, now you oversee all of your engineers who design
the ties for you, and so you ascended through the
ranks over there pretty fast. Like you just kept on,
kept on keeping on, and like literally it seemed like
to me every year we would discuss, Oh, I'm doing
this now, I got a promotion, I'm doing this now,
and now you are, You're at the top of the
(16:22):
ladder over there in racing. Do you like it?
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Is it too much responsibility?
Speaker 1 (16:28):
I mean, I know you and I have talked about
it from a personal standpoint, but is there anything you're
willing to share with our listeners as too? Like did
you like getting your hands dirty designing the ties more
than yeah?
Speaker 3 (16:41):
So when I started as an engineer, everybody who asks you,
what do you want to be? Do you want to
be a manager? Do you want to stay on the
technical ladder? And if you would have talked to my
twenty something year old self, I would have said, no,
I don't want to be a leader. I don't want
to be a manager. I just like they don't get
to do anything cool. I want to stay and I
want to design the tires and do all the cool things.
So I was very much working on the tires and
(17:03):
loving that from working with the compounders to understand their
compound magic. Would like to call it science, and it
is science, but at some point you look at it
and you're like, ah, man, this is just magic. To
see tires.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
It's like a sprinkle exactly.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Throw some carbon adams in here and some sulfur over there,
and some crosslinking happens, and then there's vulcanization, and all
of a sudden you have a tire. So lots of
really cool stuff and things that I've learned, and I
loved doing that tire force and moment behavior that I
was talking about before. I was just really good at
it and I love doing it. And then at one
point Dale Herrigel, who I talked about as kids were
(17:37):
getting in the middle school high school range, and he
was missing out on a lot of the practices and
the games and everything like that. So he decided he
was going to move on and he's a chief engineer
right now and another area of Bridgetone, we love you, Dale. Yes,
the opening floor manager came up and I thought, well,
I had a really serious conversation with one of my friends, Bob,
(17:58):
and I said Bob, like I don't want to do
the manager thing. I don't mind the chief engineer thing.
But we had a really long conversation and you talked
about how you can affect so much more change as
a leader. So at that time I was thinking manager
and like the person that's in charge of the person
that's in the rank, and that's their job is to.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Do all that stuff with all the responsibility.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yes, the shift from the manager to the leader and
actually thinking about people's development and trying to help people out.
And there's a Harvey S. Firestone quote that hangs in
our garage at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it's there
and it's been there for years and it's the growth
and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.
So I don't always live up to that. We as
(18:39):
leaders try our best, but there are times where we struggle.
But I think that's a pretty inspiring quote. And I
think in my career I've made the mistake of standing
up and saying I'm jokingly saying mistake, but by standing
up and saying, hey, we should do this or this
needs to happen. And I think every single one of
my leadership roles has happened because I said, Hey, if
(18:59):
we do this like this, we're going to be more effective.
We're going to be more cohesive as a team, to
be able to bring engineering and production together and make
sure our teams are all working together and there's no
finger pointing, there's no blame. We have one goal and
that's to provide a superior product on track that people
are going to trust.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Do you think that being part of the racing team
has better enabled you to lead and be flexible in
your change of approach and everything else, because it seems
like with your experience you can pivot and you can
make decisions and you can move faster because of it.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Yeah, you have to be so dynamic in the world
of motorsports. Because I was talking to this with one
of my engineers, Dan Bishops, this month, and we have
a problem that we have to solve, and it's not
like we can take a whole bunch of time and
go back and look at every single possible piece of
data that we have and make everything one hundred percent.
We have to make the absolute best choice we can
(19:56):
within the time we have. And then it's still being
able to step back and say, you know what, I
don't have all the information. I don't have all the data,
but I'm going to make the best choice I have
with the limited data set that we have. So in engineering,
as far as learning how to lead and learning how
to be a leader, being able to be dynamic and
yet still give your team space to make the mistakes
(20:17):
that are okay to make, but not let them fail.
So we talk about you need to learn, you need
to make mistakes, and you need to fail in order
to learn. So how do you fail in the right
ways or the small ways, but make sure your team
is supported and doesn't fail in the big ways.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
It seems like so much responsibility because I would want
to do it for them all the time, I think
if it were me, But luckily it's not me. I
just get to drive fast and tense the left and
you get to do all the hardwork.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
That's what makes it stressful though, I think, and it
for people that go from being a very good engineer
to them being a manager to understand that you need
to step back and it is not always your way
and you can't do the things. You have to trust
your team do things because even though you think that
it might be the best way your way is the
best way. You might step back, and that they might
do something and you're like, oh, I never thought about
(21:04):
that before. Thank you for challenging me. Thank you for
doing this differently than I would have done it.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
I think it's different though with different people too, Like
I'm very happy to let you take the reins because
I know that you think of things very logically in
a similar way that I do. Like we probably whenever
we've been doing anything, really we come to the same
conclusions about most of the things that we're doing because
we're both very efficiency based. Like even going through an airport, Okay,
(21:32):
you walk extremely ridiculously, ridiculously fast. My little legs so
car is taller than me, do not keep up with it.
But we have the same like mentality. We're ready when
that bin hits the thing, you know, they're like the
bags in it. We're ready to go. We know that
it fits in the overhead. We're all like super super efficient,
(21:52):
super organized. So I have no worries handing that over
to you because I know you've got it. Like I
can say, hey, I really busy, can you do this
for me? And I don't even have to think about it.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
But then I have other friends, as we all do.
Can you do this for me? But can you do
it like this? This is this having to explain it.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Let me tell you exactly how you're going to do this.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yes, with all your engineers, I imagine it's like, Okay,
I know that so and so has got it, but
I know that I'm going to have to spell it
out very clearly for what's his face. Yeah, and you
have to only manage the engineers, which I'm guessing you
can relate to because you were one and you went
on through the ranks. But you also have the manufacturing
plant and all of the stress that comes with having
(22:36):
to actually make the tires too.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Yeah, it's been a challenge, but it's also been an
amazing blessing to be able to work with our manufacturing team,
these men and women that are making the tires. A
lot of times engineers think that we know everything. We
know best. I went to school and studied. I don't.
We don't. I've learned so much from your over right career.
(23:00):
Have to learn from the people around you. We work
on many different programs and we're looking at something that
is a line that we use a fancy word here
that extrudes the tread or puts the tread into a
shape before it actually goes on the tire. There are
so many things that I just learned by going on
on the floor and talking to Chip or one of
the other tire builders that he's been doing this forever. So, Hey,
did you think about this, this, and this? Oh? No,
(23:21):
you know, I had no idea that's how that works.
So you have to be open to learning, and you
can't ever think that you got the answers because we don't.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
I actually hate to ask you this and I hate
to touch on it because I hate that it's an
issue and I feel like it's really not with you,
and it's definitely not with you and I. But do
you think, because we're both one of very few females
in racing in it, let's say, technical role, do you
think that being a female has influenced your career progression
(24:04):
in any way, shape or form or the way that
people have worked with you in terms of the series,
the teams, the drivers, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
Be honest, Yeah, this is this is one that is
always difficult to be honest with. But it's you, and
it's just you and me.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
We don't have there's nobody listening, we don't have hundreds
of people's yes, So we're good.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
It's been different. So one of the things that I
always try to focus on, especially when I'm talking to
young engineers that don't know what the real world is like,
is Okay, we're going to be different, We're going to
stick out. But how do I use the things that
are to my advantage because I stick out. Let me
give you an example. When I started my first manager page,
(24:48):
she was really good about going around to the teams
and saying, hey, this is Kara, she's new, she's our
street course, pay attention to her. And he got it
wrong too. So when I started out as an engineer,
I was not that's high guy. I was not the
firestone guy. I was Kara. And because they remembered that
I looked different than the others, they remembered I was
the engineer. So of course we all start out and
(25:09):
even you going through your career, are you PR? Are
you are you marketing? Which now I'm like, I know
so many amazing PR and marketing people, but just to
be able to say no, I'm an engineer. And when
I went out to drivers At the beginning, I was like, Hey,
can you tell me a little bit about the performance
of your tires on the track today? The Firestone tires
were amazing today. Everything was good, it was great. We
(25:33):
love Firestone, and I'd be like, why am I? Yes, exactly, Catherine.
So what we ended up doing is I realized I
had to cue the questions in such a manner that
people knew that I was looking for a technical answer.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
So do you have any degradation?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
How was it was?
Speaker 3 (25:49):
The yes? I was the mid to exit oversteer, like
did you have mid exit understeer? What was the handling
of your high speed? Things like that, And then there
are definitely things that were are negative and definitely things
that we've all experienced as females that are just super frustrating.
But as far as my career, I just we're not
all fortunate enough to work for a company that just
(26:11):
sees great performance and promotes that. So with my company,
it was never ever a oh, she's female, we either
should or shouldn't promote her because she's female. It was
always at Bridgetown, you put the best person in the role.
It's interesting to see the number of females grow and
I do want to touch on the Indie five hundred
(26:32):
this year, and a couple thoughts I had about not
having the race this year, but we're seeing that grow
on the technical side, on the engineering side, you know, Kat,
One of my favorite pictures is the women engineers and
the technical professionals on the grid. We take this picture
every year and the group grows and grows and grows,
And just this year, there was somebody that couldn't get
(26:53):
the radio right, so I have a picture of like
three people going in and trying to help her with
her radio, which is so great. So I just have
to use those things to just the fact that you're different,
the fact that you stand out. How do you take
advantage of those things. So I think it's really good.
I think it's really positive. One thing that I really
(27:13):
I mean, I love having you at the five hundred
and like the last two years of having you there,
which is so wonderful. It's very stressful at the same
time too, because I have some residual level of stress
when I'm at the Indianapolis five hundred because my team
and I are responsible for the safety of thirty three
drivers and managing many things in the background. Teams running
(27:34):
too much camber, too low pressure, all the things that
you're constantly chasing as somebody who's trying to make sure
the product is good. So residual level of stress. Even
when I'm sitting down my garment which we're watched twinsies,
my garment says my baseline heart rate during the eighty
five hundred is one hundred beats per minute just sitting down,
So there's a bit of stress there. And then conversely,
(27:55):
when I'm at one of your races that has nothing
to do with my tires, I'm not in charge of
anything except for being friend, my stress level is very high.
So for the past two years, having you there at
the anty five hundred, it was like, oh my goodness,
I love this and I hate this all at the
same time, because the combined weight of everything is always
a challenge. But that being said, I love having you
(28:15):
at the five hundred the last couple of years, and
I love seeing all the girls getting so excited and
winning autographs everywhere. And for this past year, this month,
I kept seeing Catherine jerseys and elf jerseys and all
of these residual things from last year, and I know
those girls would have loved to have you there because
you're such a great ambassador for the sport. One of
(28:37):
the things that I was so proud of you for
doing last year and the year before this partnership with
ELF was amazing. And then being able to see the
activation of ELF, and one of my favorite things that
you did was say, hey, yes, I can be feminine
and I can be very talented at the same time.
So it's not just you have to take me seriously
because I'm in the role I am in. It's no,
(28:59):
I can be myself. I can express who I am
and then I can also be an amazing race car driver.
And I think that message that you and ELF put
together was so empowering for the girls that were out there,
the kids that were out there. The activation at the speedway,
and I saw that at Charlotte, you guys had a
similar activation, which was it was so amazing. But just
to have girls come in, have a makeover station and
(29:21):
all that, it was just it was so nice. As
a female who maybe early in my career I tried
to play down all the aspects of being female. I
would wear my hair in a tight ponytail and a
hat on just to make sure I blend in, and
just that message you had of being able to be
yourself and be feminine and be doing amazing things is awesome.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Thank you, lovely.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
I actually just had this conversation with somebody and it
was about being authentically you. And now when I get
asked advice for young girls coming up through, one of
the things I say is be authentically you.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Don't be somebody who.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Other people tell you should be, because it's taken me
until now to realize that's exactly what I was doing too.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
I wanted to blend in.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
I wanted to do everything that the boys did, so
I definitely played down who I was or being authentically
me or feminine or wearing makeup or whatever. And I
think it's such a thin line that, you know, I
was told my whole career, you have to be seen
to be girly but not too girly, right.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
You have to be seen to be sporty but like
not too butch.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
You have to be seen to do this, that and
the other, and so it's like painted this picture that
you're chasing, and you never really get there because it's
not who you are.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
And so I think it's really important.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
And also nowadays, especially with social media, which you have
to use because everybody else is using it.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
You know, there are girls who play that.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
Up as well because they think that they need to
get the followers to be able to afford to go raising,
to get the partners, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
So's it's the way that we did it.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
But then it's also the other end of the spectrum,
and it's like, no, just be who you are, Like
when did we all become the same? Why are we
all trying to be this other person? And you know,
you see it all on social media, everybody looks the same, Like,
let's just be authentically us and let the driving or
the engineering or whatever it may be takes center stage here.
(31:20):
And so I feel very passionately about that, and I
am beyond grateful that ELF came on board and we're like,
we got your girl, like you do.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
It's so awesome.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
But actually, when you were saying autographs and stuff like that,
it brought up another thing which since the beginning, Kara
and I we kind of looked like sisters. Yes we do,
and she has an actual sister, and we were actually
skiing once and somebody thought that I was your sister
and was like, who's the other chick.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
Yes, he's the other one in the picture. I'm like,
well that's my sister. No, not that one, but no, okay,
And my sister looks a lot like me too, so.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
That's like me too.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Yeah, that's strange enough, but so anyway, we look the
same kind of She's total than I. And I can't
tell you how many times somebody has asked car fors
Para for her autograph thinking that she's me because she's
wearing a race suit at the at the racetrack.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
And it never happened more than during Delta wing days
because your car was bridge Stone branded and so you
were wearing bridget One firesuit rather and I was wearing
a Bridgeton firesuit. So it was like, oh, can I
have your autograph? Can I have your autograph? And then yeah,
standing around your car at some impse of events, it's
always pretty funny.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Did you ever sign it?
Speaker 1 (32:34):
No?
Speaker 2 (32:34):
I did not, I would have whatever.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
So you've been doing this for a long time now, obviously,
do you still like get your kicks from making developments
in the tire and like finding new things and like
it still motivates you so I.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Think Bridge John Fireston. One of the things that we're
doing right now is focusing a lot on sustainability. So
many companies across the motorsports industry are really focused on
how do we keep our product and honestly, our racing
series sustainable so it stays around for a long period
of time. We've been doing some really cool things on
the chemistry side and the renewable materials, so that's always
(33:19):
fascinating and interesting and seeing the new materials that come
out the new ways of doing sustainability is very cool
and it's always a challenge. As long as there are
drivers and there are engineers, you're never going to have
the same car. Even if you have the same car
from last year this year, which my goodness with the
new hybrid, and I mean feel like we had almost
(33:39):
every year, it's been something we're changing something. The new
innovations of the aeroscreen we're quite a bit engineering wise
to handle, and then we have a new hybrid, and
we're always working towards things. On the Indy car side.
We've got the new car coming out in a couple
of years, so working on development with that, so there's
always a new engineering challenge. And as an engineer, I
(34:00):
I love the engineering challenge. So sometimes it's frustrating, why
are we changing things? Why are they repaving tracks? But
there's always something that we're going to learn, and that
engineering challenge is always something that motivates both me and
my team. And the other thing that we talked about
me as a younger engineer, I didn't want to be
a manager. I didn't want to be a leader. But
seeing my team do well, seeing them succeed, that's something
(34:21):
that is highly motivating for me. To be able to
see somebody say, oh, yeah, that new engineer Rick, what
he's doing with any next is phenomenal. And just like
listening to all of the feedback that my team gets.
I never thought that that was going to be important
to me, but it's become super important to me.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
That's amazing. Oh your little duck things going off into
the world and doing well.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
Yes, a little duck things I can imagine like little
graduation hats.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Yes, exactly.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
So I really appreciate you coming on the podcast to
talk about all things friendship, girly and also work related,
because I find it fascinating. You were the first one
who explained to me how i'd tire at what and
I still go to you with my entire related questions
when I don't understand something and I don't want to
(35:07):
sound stupid to whatever tire engineer there might be at
the race track.
Speaker 3 (35:10):
And no judgment ever.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Well you, I think with your work with the schools
and kids and science experiments and schools has enabled you
to better work with people like me and probably most
of the other race car drivers who are really good
at turning left and right and breaking but not so
much on the technical side.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
As an engineer, you got to be able to do that.
And Kat, just thanks for having me on here. The
power of having such an amazing female friend is just
it's just so incredible. There's nothing like having a female
friend that it's going to be there for you, that's
not going to judge you, that's going to support you
no matter what, let you listen and cry and all
of the things, and to your listeners. I really hopefully
(35:50):
you can find a friend that's an amazing as Catherine
is to me, and I am to Catherine, So that's
a hope for me have those those positive friendships of
somebody that's similar to you. So just an amazing amazing blessing.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
It is a really really cool dynamic. I have to say,
and I love you heaps, and I know the next
time I have a problem at three o'clock in the
morning that I need solved, I have you on speed dial.
Speaker 3 (36:12):
Absolutely You're on my favorites and you go.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Righting exactly same girl saying well, I love you heaps.
Thanks for coming on and we will chat very soon.
Speaker 3 (36:21):
Love you too.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
Okay, thanks for listening to Throttle Therapy. We'll be back
next week with more updates and more overtakes.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
We want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
Leave us a review in Apple Podcasts and tell us
what you want to talk about. It might just be
the topic for our next show. Throttle Therapy is hosted
by Katherine Legg. Our executive producer is Jesse Katz, and
our supervising producer is Grace Fuse. Listen to Throttle Therapy
on America's number one podcast network, I Heart, open your
(36:52):
free iHeart app and search throttle Therapy with Catherine Legg
and start listening.
Throttle Therapy with Catherine Legg is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hello, lovely people. So I have been busy.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I have been climbing up a mountain in a accurate
Integra at Pike's Peak, doing some testing ready for the
hill climb there, and I am getting ready to head
to North Carolina again and to do some more Mexico prep. Obviously,
we've got the Mexico Cup race coming up and I
need to log as many laps as possible on the simulator.
(00:46):
We're going to go to Hendrix and do some pit
stop practice because I need to do that too, And
I am very much looking forward to getting back on
a road course, which is obviously where I spent the
last two decades.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
I'm hoping that a cup car feels.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
More normal when I'm turning left and right and I'm breaking.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
So we shall see.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
But we go to North Carolina and then we all
charter down with NASCAR to Mexico City.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Now Mexico City. The last time I was there.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
I think it was twenty eighteen, racing in Formulae for
Rayhor's team in a Jaguar Eyepace. We won that race,
so started on the pole, led the entire thing with
my teammate Brian Cellars on my tail playing Reagana.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
So I have fond memories of Mexico.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
I've raised there twice, both different configurations of tracks, and
this will be the third configuration that I've raced.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
On, but obviously love it.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
It's also having just come back from the mountains and
heading to the mountains straight after Mexico. It's going to
be good to keep at an altitude because I will
be all fit and ready and trained to prepare myself
for the lack of oxygen that I'm going to face
heading up the mountain at Pipes. However, this week we
(02:03):
have a very special guest, one of my best friends
in the entire universe and a general badass and this
check okay. So people say that you turn into the
people you surround yourself with. I really hope that that's true,
because I have some awesome, awesome friends and Carra, as
I lovingly referred to her as her name's actually Cara,
(02:25):
but I've always called her Carra and as she will
tell you, I don't think that's going to change. Is
the head of Bridgestone Firestone for the Motorsports Engineering department,
and she has designed and had raced car tires made
for the past two decades and we both kind of
came up a very similar path. We met in champ
(02:48):
Car Days and then she designed the tires for the
Delta Wing that I raced on, and then I race
on her IndyCar tires, and so she has been one
of the only females in racing. She's very well respected,
she's incredibly intelligent, and she's just a general badass. And
so welcome to the show. To Kara Crystalic joining me today.
(03:15):
Is one of my very best friends in the whole
entire universe. And yes, I get to decide who comes
on the podcast, so I get to invite my friends. However,
she wow, I signed it so American. Then she is
very worthy of the time and listening to you. She's
one of the most intelligent people that I know. She's
probably one of the most intelligent people that you know.
(03:38):
And she's done amazing things in life and I'm very
very proud of her. I do, though, have an argument
to make with her about how she pronounces her name,
because in my opinion it should be Kara Chrystallic, and
in her opinion it's Kara.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
So welcome Kara to Throttle Therapy.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
So glad to be here. Thanks for having me on,
kat Am.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
I the only person who can get away with calling
you the wrong name.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yeah, there are a couple of people. I think Ellio
castron of Us is one that he can't get my
name right either. For ten years he called me Carrie,
and then one day he was so embarrassed to find
out he had been calling me that. Why didn't you
correct me? Because I did a few times. But then
you know, Carrie's fine, But Carra is still closer than Carry.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
So I think it's just the English version. I just
you know, but actually your name's Catherine. So when when
we hang out to Katherine and Catherine, so we have
to differentiate somehow.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Yes, and then we have another friend, Catherine. So we
went skiing and it was Catherine and Catherine. Catherine.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
I'm so excited. We just booked our ski passes for
next year. Yes, and so super excited about that. Kara
and I have been friends for a very long time,
and I am going to hijack the conversation for a
second and I am going to explain who you are
and how we met, because I think it's a really
cool story how we became friends.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
It's really neat.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
So Kara Karra is the big boss of Firestone Bridgestone
on the racing development engineering side. I don't actually know
what your job title is. You probably want to insert here, get.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
To paragraph on I'm she can hear of Bridgeto on
America's Motorsports and my title is Executive Director of Race Hire,
Engineering and Production.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
So anyway, it's fancy because she's super smart and she
has worked her way through the engineering department over there
and developed.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
A ton of tires. And we're going to get into this.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
But Cara, I know, first of met in Canada, actually
many moons ago. So I was driving in CHAMPCI and
at the time the boss of Bridgestone we used Bridgestone
was Alspire and al Spire is a wonderful man who
I became very close with and he helped me throughout
(05:51):
my career and he asked me to do an event
in Mosport, Canada, and he said, we're going to bring
female journalists and some female staff in and you can
give them a speech about how to drive and be
there and be interviewed and you know, just generally help out.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
And I thought, oh, how exciting. So we get there
and we had a lot of fun. There was a
very very vast range of talent. It was very vast.
And then there was this one.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Bright, shining star who was driving around faster than everybody else.
And I turned to I can't remember who it was.
It wasn't Al, it was somebody else and I was like,
who is that and they're like, oh, that's Carra Kara,
and she is one of our engineers and she's literally
just started bristo.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I'm like cool.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
So then I get talking to Kara and I'm going
to get your name run on this. Otherwise people will
come up to you and be like hi, Kara, and
you'll be.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Like, no, well I heard that, so it must be
Kara is a car.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Car. So we got talking and we became friends, and
then ever since then we have planned trips together, we've
seen each other through breakups, We've like literally been besties.
So it's been really cool. Another really cool thing is
we keep getting to work together, so Carara designed the
Delta Wing tires. Designer made the Delta Wing tires. She
(07:18):
also did the wet weather tires that we ran back
in the champ Calar days that I raced on, and
then fast forward to coming back to Indica. Obviously I'm
on her tires. So her and I have done a
bunch of things together. But she I'm going to let
her talk for a minute now because I'm sure that
her rendition of our first meeting is probably way more
(07:39):
accurate than mine is.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Having hit the walls so many times since.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Well hard to have. Their brains are sticky after we've
hit the wall a couple times, but we have a
great time. And so my version of that was I
got invited to speak at a event where there were
going to be a lot of women journalists. That was
the Bridgetown Racing Academy at the time, at at Most
Sport and then we were going to have a lot
of women journalists there and there's going to be a
driver there. I don't think I knew who it was
(08:04):
at the time, who it was going to be. How
long ago was the oh like fifteen years, maybe twelve
to It was a while. Yeah, it was a while back,
and I was asked to go speak and I said, oh,
that's great, and they said you're going to come this
time and this when you speak, and then you can leave.
And I said, well, wait a minute. And it's great
because E. Lewis, who was the manager of brands at
the time, has now gone on to do amazing things
(08:25):
within Bridgetone and so passionate about the Firestone brand. I said, no,
if I'm going to speak, I need to be able
to get into one of the cars, like I have
to be able to drive. And I'm glad to go
and speak, but if there's any way you can get
me in one of the cars, I'm going to take
a few extra days. I would love to be able
to do this. And she's like, oh, sure, yeah, we
can do that. So we got in the car and
(08:45):
then it was really great to meet you and to
chat with you there. We had all sorts of journalists
there and I was talking about all things tires, and
you were the celebrity driver and everybody wanted to get
pictures with you. So it was just a fun It's
a fun event. And yeah, I think I was having
a crisis in a work situation at one point, I
hit you up with a hey, I need some advice
(09:07):
on this. So I've got this thing going on and
I need an outside perspective of a female embracing And
I'm sure we'll talk about the power of female friendships
in a bit, because it's so important part of our
story to have somebody that just advocates for you and
is not judgmental and just as there fem no matter what.
So we'll talk about that in a bit, I'm sure.
But just to be able to get through this, and
(09:27):
I had got some advice from you, it was really great.
And then we were just haat one day and I
think you said something about, oh, I would love to
be able to go to Whistler, and I was like,
oh my gosh, I've been thinking about going to Whistler.
So we were like, let's have less plan a skiing bak.
So we did that, and I think we've been great
friends ever since.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
There are not many people who I would go to
for advice. There are not many people who work in
a male dominated environment.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
That is also very high octane.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
For one of another phrase, and excuse the pun, I
love it, but it is important because you don't know
who you can trust. In this business, You've always got
to watch your back. We're very lucky to be friends
with Christina as well.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
She's great. She does that time in the month with me.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
But there aren't that many women in racing that you
can cool up and be authentically you, like I can
call you and I could cry or something, and I
know that I wouldn't be judged, and I know that
you would help me through whatever it is and you
would understand. So when you were little car Cara, did
you always want to be an engineer?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
So it's a fun story because I don't. I don't
know what I wanted to be. In fact, I was
even into my first year of college before I was
sure the engineering was the thing. I loved toys. I
was a lego kid. I would steal my brother's legos.
I like my barbies, but they usually ended up with
their head off in a pile somewhere. Yeah, but I
would steal my brother's legos and my mom would be like, well,
(10:54):
that's my that's your brother's thing. But I loved taking
things apart. My mom's a science teacher, and you know,
we both have wonderful parents, and you know, some of
our early role models in our parents. My mom had
neighborhood science camps, and we do so such cool things
that people today probably think are weird or they're so
TikTok worthy that everybody's doing them now, like making slime
(11:14):
and silly putty. Like before it was cool. My mom
went to the butcher. She didn't have a lot of money,
or we didn't. We both teachers, didn't have a lot
of money growing up, and she would get leftover pieces
parts And I remember one thing I thought was so
gross at the time and now as an adult, like,
it's so cool. She got cow eyeballs and we will
actually had a piece of styrofoam and we pinned them
(11:35):
and understood all the parts of it. And I will
forever understand how the eye works because that happened. My
grandfather was an engineer for NASA, and we talked about
how he was on the Space Shuttle and the Apollo teams,
and he was actually one of those engineers that you
would put in a room and throw a box of
stuff on the table and tell them to solve a
problem because it was happening in space right now. So
some amazing stuff from there. But I walked into our
(11:57):
machine shop where they were designing and building and open
wheeled car formula SAE as a program or formula student
if you're from when you were in college. Yes, when
I was in college. So that was my first ever
experience with anything mechanical or motorsports. And I just did
not know my plus screwdriver from my mind as screwdriver.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
It was.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
That's exactly the plus is in the mindfits. So I
learned how to use machine tools and a mill and
a lathe, and I think I learned more in that
student design project than I actually did in the rest
of my classes University of Backer in great college, but
being able to do something super hands on. And then
at one point my first year, I went to get
in the car, but the seat was so narrow. It
was not designed for college girl hits. It was designed
(12:40):
for college boy hits. So my first year, of course
it was, because of course it was. But my second
year I got in it and I was like, oh, man,
if I can find a job and I think can
actually pay me to do racing and motor sports like
that would be so cool.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Just so happens.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
The bridge NAE Fastone is literally just down the road,
so they obviously avatar in the paper for your entry
level engineering that you started in and then you can
walk us through all the steps. But literally, you guys,
she started off as an entry level engineer. I want
to say, I'm going to guess it car and you
can tell me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Eighteen years ago.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Twenty two Yes, So I just celebrated twenty two years
this month at Redstone. I started out in our vehicle
dynamics group. I interviewed and the manager at the time,
you just love the interview. I actually got a thank
you note for him from interviewing. I'm like, no, I'm
supposed to be the one that sends a thank you note.
(13:37):
And I got a call the next day and they
said there are these three openings. Which one do you want?
And I said, oh, I want the vehicle dynamics one
because that's actually working on the car. So I got
to start in this group and do just anything. And
it's funny some of the stuff that I did in
that very first job is things that I did this
past month at Indianapolis. So looking at mechanical vibration problems.
(13:58):
So if there is an issue with the car and
something's vibrating or a tire is wearing out. These are
all programs I did in my very first job that
had nothing to do with motorsports. And then I started out.
I talked to Page Meter, who was an engineering manager
at the time, and I said, hey, really want to
work in your team. Would love to know what kind
of skills and trade to perfect engineer has He said, no,
(14:19):
nobody's ever asking me that. And you talked to Dale Herrigel,
who was the manager after him, and he said, what
are we looking for? So they gave me a list
of a few things, programming, vehicle dynamics and tired modeling.
And I was like, well, I took up vehicle dynamics
some class in college, but I'll learn more. I'll study more.
And so I went out a textbook and I studied,
and then there were a couple other things that like
force and moment behavior understanding that. So what I did
(14:42):
in my current role, I said, Hey, is there anything
that we do in our vehicle dnamics team for passenger
that might help me to do this tire force moment
It's like this gigantic black box. It's a whole bunch
of set of equations that you plugs do some testing books,
some numbers in and you get tire behavior out. So
if I'm a simulation engineer or I an engineer for
a race team, I want to plug this model into
(15:02):
my car and then get lap times and simulations and
help set out my car. So volunteered for stuff, and
then finally a few years later the engineer at the
time that was in that role had moved on to
another role. There was an opening and it was like
I had the answer keep going in there. So it
started out that and then I started out with street
course and rain tires, and then I did Yes, I
(15:24):
got to work on the Delta Wing program, which was
so fun. I did the rain tires. So Brett Chilling
and Dale Harrigel and some other people did the dry tires,
but I get to do got to do the rain tires.
And I love it because the first race that I
actually worked with you, I believe it was Watkins Glenn
because it rained Watkins Glenn. I was like, yes, I'm
so everyone hates rain tires, but when they're when the
(15:45):
rain tires are up there, those are mine. So I
was so excited to see that my car Addiction did
pretty farm good and the rain.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah, I did.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
So, now you oversee all of your engineers who design
the ties for you, and so you ascended through the
ranks over there pretty fast. Like you just kept on,
kept on keeping on, and like literally it seemed like
to me every year we would discuss, Oh, I'm doing
this now, I got a promotion, I'm doing this now,
and now you are, You're at the top of the
(16:22):
ladder over there in racing. Do you like it?
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Is it too much responsibility?
Speaker 1 (16:28):
I mean, I know you and I have talked about
it from a personal standpoint, but is there anything you're
willing to share with our listeners as too? Like did
you like getting your hands dirty designing the ties more
than yeah?
Speaker 3 (16:41):
So when I started as an engineer, everybody who asks you,
what do you want to be? Do you want to
be a manager? Do you want to stay on the
technical ladder? And if you would have talked to my
twenty something year old self, I would have said, no,
I don't want to be a leader. I don't want
to be a manager. I just like they don't get
to do anything cool. I want to stay and I
want to design the tires and do all the cool things.
So I was very much working on the tires and
(17:03):
loving that from working with the compounders to understand their
compound magic. Would like to call it science, and it
is science, but at some point you look at it
and you're like, ah, man, this is just magic. To
see tires.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
It's like a sprinkle exactly.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Throw some carbon adams in here and some sulfur over there,
and some crosslinking happens, and then there's vulcanization, and all
of a sudden you have a tire. So lots of
really cool stuff and things that I've learned, and I
loved doing that tire force and moment behavior that I
was talking about before. I was just really good at
it and I love doing it. And then at one
point Dale Herrigel, who I talked about as kids were
(17:37):
getting in the middle school high school range, and he
was missing out on a lot of the practices and
the games and everything like that. So he decided he
was going to move on and he's a chief engineer
right now and another area of Bridgetone, we love you, Dale. Yes,
the opening floor manager came up and I thought, well,
I had a really serious conversation with one of my friends, Bob,
(17:58):
and I said Bob, like I don't want to do
the manager thing. I don't mind the chief engineer thing.
But we had a really long conversation and you talked
about how you can affect so much more change as
a leader. So at that time I was thinking manager
and like the person that's in charge of the person
that's in the rank, and that's their job is to.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Do all that stuff with all the responsibility.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Yes, the shift from the manager to the leader and
actually thinking about people's development and trying to help people out.
And there's a Harvey S. Firestone quote that hangs in
our garage at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it's there
and it's been there for years and it's the growth
and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.
So I don't always live up to that. We as
(18:39):
leaders try our best, but there are times where we struggle.
But I think that's a pretty inspiring quote. And I
think in my career I've made the mistake of standing
up and saying I'm jokingly saying mistake, but by standing
up and saying, hey, we should do this or this
needs to happen. And I think every single one of
my leadership roles has happened because I said, Hey, if
(18:59):
we do this like this, we're going to be more effective.
We're going to be more cohesive as a team, to
be able to bring engineering and production together and make
sure our teams are all working together and there's no
finger pointing, there's no blame. We have one goal and
that's to provide a superior product on track that people
are going to trust.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Do you think that being part of the racing team
has better enabled you to lead and be flexible in
your change of approach and everything else, because it seems
like with your experience you can pivot and you can
make decisions and you can move faster because of it.
Speaker 3 (19:33):
Yeah, you have to be so dynamic in the world
of motorsports. Because I was talking to this with one
of my engineers, Dan Bishops, this month, and we have
a problem that we have to solve, and it's not
like we can take a whole bunch of time and
go back and look at every single possible piece of
data that we have and make everything one hundred percent.
We have to make the absolute best choice we can
(19:56):
within the time we have. And then it's still being
able to step back and say, you know what, I
don't have all the information. I don't have all the data,
but I'm going to make the best choice I have
with the limited data set that we have. So in engineering,
as far as learning how to lead and learning how
to be a leader, being able to be dynamic and
yet still give your team space to make the mistakes
(20:17):
that are okay to make, but not let them fail.
So we talk about you need to learn, you need
to make mistakes, and you need to fail in order
to learn. So how do you fail in the right
ways or the small ways, but make sure your team
is supported and doesn't fail in the big ways.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
It seems like so much responsibility because I would want
to do it for them all the time, I think
if it were me, But luckily it's not me. I
just get to drive fast and tense the left and
you get to do all the hardwork.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
That's what makes it stressful though, I think, and it
for people that go from being a very good engineer
to them being a manager to understand that you need
to step back and it is not always your way
and you can't do the things. You have to trust
your team do things because even though you think that
it might be the best way your way is the
best way. You might step back, and that they might
do something and you're like, oh, I never thought about
(21:04):
that before. Thank you for challenging me. Thank you for
doing this differently than I would have done it.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
I think it's different though with different people too, Like
I'm very happy to let you take the reins because
I know that you think of things very logically in
a similar way that I do. Like we probably whenever
we've been doing anything, really we come to the same
conclusions about most of the things that we're doing because
we're both very efficiency based. Like even going through an airport, Okay,
(21:32):
you walk extremely ridiculously, ridiculously fast. My little legs so
car is taller than me, do not keep up with it.
But we have the same like mentality. We're ready when
that bin hits the thing, you know, they're like the
bags in it. We're ready to go. We know that
it fits in the overhead. We're all like super super efficient,
(21:52):
super organized. So I have no worries handing that over
to you because I know you've got it. Like I
can say, hey, I really busy, can you do this
for me? And I don't even have to think about it.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
But then I have other friends, as we all do.
Can you do this for me? But can you do
it like this? This is this having to explain it.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Let me tell you exactly how you're going to do this.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yes, with all your engineers, I imagine it's like, Okay,
I know that so and so has got it, but
I know that I'm going to have to spell it
out very clearly for what's his face. Yeah, and you
have to only manage the engineers, which I'm guessing you
can relate to because you were one and you went
on through the ranks. But you also have the manufacturing
plant and all of the stress that comes with having
(22:36):
to actually make the tires too.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Yeah, it's been a challenge, but it's also been an
amazing blessing to be able to work with our manufacturing team,
these men and women that are making the tires. A
lot of times engineers think that we know everything. We
know best. I went to school and studied. I don't.
We don't. I've learned so much from your over right career.
(23:00):
Have to learn from the people around you. We work
on many different programs and we're looking at something that
is a line that we use a fancy word here
that extrudes the tread or puts the tread into a
shape before it actually goes on the tire. There are
so many things that I just learned by going on
on the floor and talking to Chip or one of
the other tire builders that he's been doing this forever. So, Hey,
did you think about this, this, and this? Oh? No,
(23:21):
you know, I had no idea that's how that works.
So you have to be open to learning, and you
can't ever think that you got the answers because we don't.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
I actually hate to ask you this and I hate
to touch on it because I hate that it's an
issue and I feel like it's really not with you,
and it's definitely not with you and I. But do
you think, because we're both one of very few females
in racing in it, let's say, technical role, do you
think that being a female has influenced your career progression
(24:04):
in any way, shape or form or the way that
people have worked with you in terms of the series,
the teams, the drivers, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
Be honest, Yeah, this is this is one that is
always difficult to be honest with. But it's you, and
it's just you and me.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
We don't have there's nobody listening, we don't have hundreds
of people's yes, So we're good.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
It's been different. So one of the things that I
always try to focus on, especially when I'm talking to
young engineers that don't know what the real world is like,
is Okay, we're going to be different, We're going to
stick out. But how do I use the things that
are to my advantage because I stick out. Let me
give you an example. When I started my first manager page,
(24:48):
she was really good about going around to the teams
and saying, hey, this is Kara, she's new, she's our
street course, pay attention to her. And he got it
wrong too. So when I started out as an engineer,
I was not that's high guy. I was not the
firestone guy. I was Kara. And because they remembered that
I looked different than the others, they remembered I was
the engineer. So of course we all start out and
(25:09):
even you going through your career, are you PR? Are
you are you marketing? Which now I'm like, I know
so many amazing PR and marketing people, but just to
be able to say no, I'm an engineer. And when
I went out to drivers At the beginning, I was like, Hey,
can you tell me a little bit about the performance
of your tires on the track today? The Firestone tires
were amazing today. Everything was good, it was great. We
(25:33):
love Firestone, and I'd be like, why am I? Yes, exactly, Catherine.
So what we ended up doing is I realized I
had to cue the questions in such a manner that
people knew that I was looking for a technical answer.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
So do you have any degradation?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
How was it was?
Speaker 3 (25:49):
The yes? I was the mid to exit oversteer, like
did you have mid exit understeer? What was the handling
of your high speed? Things like that, And then there
are definitely things that were are negative and definitely things
that we've all experienced as females that are just super frustrating.
But as far as my career, I just we're not
all fortunate enough to work for a company that just
(26:11):
sees great performance and promotes that. So with my company,
it was never ever a oh, she's female, we either
should or shouldn't promote her because she's female. It was
always at Bridgetown, you put the best person in the role.
It's interesting to see the number of females grow and
I do want to touch on the Indie five hundred
(26:32):
this year, and a couple thoughts I had about not
having the race this year, but we're seeing that grow
on the technical side, on the engineering side, you know, Kat,
One of my favorite pictures is the women engineers and
the technical professionals on the grid. We take this picture
every year and the group grows and grows and grows,
And just this year, there was somebody that couldn't get
(26:53):
the radio right, so I have a picture of like
three people going in and trying to help her with
her radio, which is so great. So I just have
to use those things to just the fact that you're different,
the fact that you stand out. How do you take
advantage of those things. So I think it's really good.
I think it's really positive. One thing that I really
(27:13):
I mean, I love having you at the five hundred
and like the last two years of having you there,
which is so wonderful. It's very stressful at the same
time too, because I have some residual level of stress
when I'm at the Indianapolis five hundred because my team
and I are responsible for the safety of thirty three
drivers and managing many things in the background. Teams running
(27:34):
too much camber, too low pressure, all the things that
you're constantly chasing as somebody who's trying to make sure
the product is good. So residual level of stress. Even
when I'm sitting down my garment which we're watched twinsies,
my garment says my baseline heart rate during the eighty
five hundred is one hundred beats per minute just sitting down,
So there's a bit of stress there. And then conversely,
(27:55):
when I'm at one of your races that has nothing
to do with my tires, I'm not in charge of
anything except for being friend, my stress level is very high.
So for the past two years, having you there at
the anty five hundred, it was like, oh my goodness,
I love this and I hate this all at the
same time, because the combined weight of everything is always
a challenge. But that being said, I love having you
(28:15):
at the five hundred the last couple of years, and
I love seeing all the girls getting so excited and
winning autographs everywhere. And for this past year, this month,
I kept seeing Catherine jerseys and elf jerseys and all
of these residual things from last year, and I know
those girls would have loved to have you there because
you're such a great ambassador for the sport. One of
(28:37):
the things that I was so proud of you for
doing last year and the year before this partnership with
ELF was amazing. And then being able to see the
activation of ELF, and one of my favorite things that
you did was say, hey, yes, I can be feminine
and I can be very talented at the same time.
So it's not just you have to take me seriously
because I'm in the role I am in. It's no,
(28:59):
I can be myself. I can express who I am
and then I can also be an amazing race car driver.
And I think that message that you and ELF put
together was so empowering for the girls that were out there,
the kids that were out there. The activation at the speedway,
and I saw that at Charlotte, you guys had a
similar activation, which was it was so amazing. But just
to have girls come in, have a makeover station and
(29:21):
all that, it was just it was so nice. As
a female who maybe early in my career I tried
to play down all the aspects of being female. I
would wear my hair in a tight ponytail and a
hat on just to make sure I blend in, and
just that message you had of being able to be
yourself and be feminine and be doing amazing things is awesome.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Thank you, lovely.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
I actually just had this conversation with somebody and it
was about being authentically you. And now when I get
asked advice for young girls coming up through, one of
the things I say is be authentically you.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Don't be somebody who.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Other people tell you should be, because it's taken me
until now to realize that's exactly what I was doing too.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
I wanted to blend in.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
I wanted to do everything that the boys did, so
I definitely played down who I was or being authentically
me or feminine or wearing makeup or whatever. And I
think it's such a thin line that, you know, I
was told my whole career, you have to be seen
to be girly but not too girly, right.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
You have to be seen to be sporty but like
not too butch.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
You have to be seen to do this, that and
the other, and so it's like painted this picture that
you're chasing, and you never really get there because it's
not who you are.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
And so I think it's really important.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
And also nowadays, especially with social media, which you have
to use because everybody else is using it.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
You know, there are girls who play that.
Speaker 1 (30:47):
Up as well because they think that they need to
get the followers to be able to afford to go raising,
to get the partners, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
So's it's the way that we did it.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
But then it's also the other end of the spectrum,
and it's like, no, just be who you are, Like
when did we all become the same? Why are we
all trying to be this other person? And you know,
you see it all on social media, everybody looks the same, Like,
let's just be authentically us and let the driving or
the engineering or whatever it may be takes center stage here.
(31:20):
And so I feel very passionately about that, and I
am beyond grateful that ELF came on board and we're like,
we got your girl, like you do.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
It's so awesome.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
But actually, when you were saying autographs and stuff like that,
it brought up another thing which since the beginning, Kara
and I we kind of looked like sisters. Yes we do,
and she has an actual sister, and we were actually
skiing once and somebody thought that I was your sister
and was like, who's the other chick.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
Yes, he's the other one in the picture. I'm like,
well that's my sister. No, not that one, but no, okay,
And my sister looks a lot like me too, so.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
That's like me too.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Yeah, that's strange enough, but so anyway, we look the
same kind of She's total than I. And I can't
tell you how many times somebody has asked car fors
Para for her autograph thinking that she's me because she's
wearing a race suit at the at the racetrack.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
And it never happened more than during Delta wing days
because your car was bridge Stone branded and so you
were wearing bridget One firesuit rather and I was wearing
a Bridgeton firesuit. So it was like, oh, can I
have your autograph? Can I have your autograph? And then yeah,
standing around your car at some impse of events, it's
always pretty funny.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Did you ever sign it?
Speaker 1 (32:34):
No?
Speaker 2 (32:34):
I did not, I would have whatever.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
So you've been doing this for a long time now, obviously,
do you still like get your kicks from making developments
in the tire and like finding new things and like
it still motivates you so I.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
Think Bridge John Fireston. One of the things that we're
doing right now is focusing a lot on sustainability. So
many companies across the motorsports industry are really focused on
how do we keep our product and honestly, our racing
series sustainable so it stays around for a long period
of time. We've been doing some really cool things on
the chemistry side and the renewable materials, so that's always
(33:19):
fascinating and interesting and seeing the new materials that come
out the new ways of doing sustainability is very cool
and it's always a challenge. As long as there are
drivers and there are engineers, you're never going to have
the same car. Even if you have the same car
from last year this year, which my goodness with the
new hybrid, and I mean feel like we had almost
(33:39):
every year, it's been something we're changing something. The new
innovations of the aeroscreen we're quite a bit engineering wise
to handle, and then we have a new hybrid, and
we're always working towards things. On the Indy car side.
We've got the new car coming out in a couple
of years, so working on development with that, so there's
always a new engineering challenge. And as an engineer, I
(34:00):
I love the engineering challenge. So sometimes it's frustrating, why
are we changing things? Why are they repaving tracks? But
there's always something that we're going to learn, and that
engineering challenge is always something that motivates both me and
my team. And the other thing that we talked about
me as a younger engineer, I didn't want to be
a manager. I didn't want to be a leader. But
seeing my team do well, seeing them succeed, that's something
(34:21):
that is highly motivating for me. To be able to
see somebody say, oh, yeah, that new engineer Rick, what
he's doing with any next is phenomenal. And just like
listening to all of the feedback that my team gets.
I never thought that that was going to be important
to me, but it's become super important to me.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
That's amazing. Oh your little duck things going off into
the world and doing well.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
Yes, a little duck things I can imagine like little
graduation hats.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Yes, exactly.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
So I really appreciate you coming on the podcast to
talk about all things friendship, girly and also work related,
because I find it fascinating. You were the first one
who explained to me how i'd tire at what and
I still go to you with my entire related questions
when I don't understand something and I don't want to
(35:07):
sound stupid to whatever tire engineer there might be at
the race track.
Speaker 3 (35:10):
And no judgment ever.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Well you, I think with your work with the schools
and kids and science experiments and schools has enabled you
to better work with people like me and probably most
of the other race car drivers who are really good
at turning left and right and breaking but not so
much on the technical side.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
As an engineer, you got to be able to do that.
And Kat, just thanks for having me on here. The
power of having such an amazing female friend is just
it's just so incredible. There's nothing like having a female
friend that it's going to be there for you, that's
not going to judge you, that's going to support you
no matter what, let you listen and cry and all
of the things, and to your listeners. I really hopefully
(35:50):
you can find a friend that's an amazing as Catherine
is to me, and I am to Catherine, So that's
a hope for me have those those positive friendships of
somebody that's similar to you. So just an amazing amazing blessing.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
It is a really really cool dynamic. I have to say,
and I love you heaps, and I know the next
time I have a problem at three o'clock in the
morning that I need solved, I have you on speed dial.
Speaker 3 (36:12):
Absolutely You're on my favorites and you go.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Righting exactly same girl saying well, I love you heaps.
Thanks for coming on and we will chat very soon.
Speaker 3 (36:21):
Love you too.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
Okay, thanks for listening to Throttle Therapy. We'll be back
next week with more updates and more overtakes.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
We want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
Leave us a review in Apple Podcasts and tell us
what you want to talk about. It might just be
the topic for our next show. Throttle Therapy is hosted
by Katherine Legg. Our executive producer is Jesse Katz, and
our supervising producer is Grace Fuse. Listen to Throttle Therapy
on America's number one podcast network, I Heart, open your
(36:52):
free iHeart app and search throttle Therapy with Catherine Legg
and start listening.
Host
Katherine Legge
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.