October 28, 2025 • 44 mins
In this week's episode of Throttle Therapy, Katherine Legge welcomes renowned motorsport journalist, Jamie Little. They discuss Jamie's journey from hanging out with her dirt-biking neighbors to becoming a pit reporter and play-by-play announcer for NASCAR. She reflects on pivotal moments in her career, the evolution of social media's impact on journalism, and the importance of accurate reporting.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Throttle Therapy with Katherine 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. Hey you, guys, and welcome
(00:21):
to you this week's episode of Throttle Therapy with Me
Katherine Legg. And this week is a refreshing change to
the last couple of guests that I've had that have
been men. This week, We've got a woman. And I
have known this person for gosh, probably almost twenty years,
I would imagine, and she is a badass. She is
(00:43):
one of the best in what she does across the globe,
I believe. And I'm very proud to have Jamie Little
on the show. Hi Jamie, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Wow? Oh my gosh, that was such a nice introduction.
Thank you. And yeah, I cannot believe we've known each
other this long. I think we met at a Lynn's
Saint James event like Eon to Go at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Yeah, that must have been eonswer go. So that was
like I was thinking, it must be like circa two
thousand and six ish sometime back then.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, well, we've been around the time, girl, we have.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
And you know what's really cool about that is we've lasted.
Not many people in my role or your role have
been around for that long. And I think that's just
testament to how good and how dedicated and how I
don't know, how much guts and gumption you have. I mean, honestly,
it's really easy for me from looking from the outside.
(01:40):
I do it too. We judge the broadcasts, so we do.
We judge the journalists and we judge the broadcasts. And
you know, it's a really difficult job because not only
do you have to retain so much information, you have
to ask the pertinent questions, you have to be in
the right place at the right time. Like, there's so
many nuances to it, and there are a lot of
(02:02):
people that aren't that great at it, I would say,
And so to have been around as long as you
have and to be as well respected and as well
liked tis very unusual because a lot of people don't
keep all the friends along the way. I'll say, I
want to know how you got your star in journalism,
Like when did you realize that you wanted to do this? Well?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
First off, going back to your word gumption. I love
that word, and I think you have to have a
lot of it to succeed in something that is different
and unique, that makes you unique. Right. We're in a
male dominated industry and not many people last, and I
think a lot of that has to do with intention.
My intention coming in wasn't to be a star. My
(02:44):
idea of this role wasn't to be rich and famous. Like,
That's not what I got into it for. I got
into it because I was this young, naive girl who
knew I freaking loved racing. I love the smell of
a dirt bike. I love the stories. I loved what
these rights at the time, we're putting themselves, you know,
what they were doing to themselves, putting themselves on the
line and risking their body and you know, not going
(03:08):
to school and everything for the passion that they had
for racing. And I just gravitated to that. There was
something about it. So that goes to your question, Catherine,
is how did I get you know involved? You know,
I've told this story one hundred times, but you know,
I think it needs to be told because I think
that you can have a dream as a child and
(03:28):
it's still it's so pertinent now that you can make
it reality, Like we can do anything that we put
our minds to. I am one hundred percent an example
of that, and so are you. But I was a
tomboy raised by a single mom in Lake Tahoe, so
I was an outdoors girl. There were friends in the
neighborhood who would have like a mini bike or a quad,
and I made sure I was friends with those kids.
(03:49):
There was something about it. I'm like, it's my turn,
and just twisting the throttle and riding over pine cones
and pine needles and like being out in the open.
There was something that just was like this is I
love it And I never forgot the feeling. Person I
ever rode on a dirt bike was with my dad.
I was five years old, and then my parents got
(04:09):
divorced and we moved to Las Vegas when I was thirteen,
and I'm very formative time in your life, very vulnerable
time as a young woman, and I met a guy
named Carrie Hart. Well he's married to Pink now, but
he raised supercross and we went to school together and
I was like, this is the coolest sport ever. Supercross
was where it was at I'd sneak over the fence
(04:30):
to go check out the race in Vegas and Catherine.
At that point, like in life, I hated school, didn't
want to go to college. I was getting ready. I
was a couple of years away from graduating. Like what
am I going to do with my life? Well, I
was that nerd that literally would sit in my class
and I had Dirt Rider magazine. So I'm reading these
dirt bike magazines. There's no women except for the models.
(04:51):
And I moved to LA and I was like, I'm
going to be a model. I'm just going to do
my thing. My mom was a showgirl and a model
and all kinds of things, so I'm going to try
that route make some money. I quickly realized I had
a lot to say in life and I had a
lot of opinion, and that wasn't going to work for me.
So I needed to follow this line of passion I
had for racing. And that's literally it started. When I
(05:11):
was eighteen. I went up to a guy with an
ESPN microphone at a race and I was like, this
is what I want to do. He said, I'm a local,
you know, shooter and freelance. You can hang out go
to some races with me, learn how to write and
be on camera, do some stuff. And I did that
and I did it for two years. And while doing that,
I became the live announcer for the Supercross series. So
I traveled around the country, came to the RCA Dome
(05:33):
in Indianapolis back in the day. It's funny, that's where
I live now. And I literally got five hundred dollars
a weekend to be the live announcer in the stadium.
And that's where, like, that was my springboard for everything
to get to me where I am today, and literally
twenty five years later, here I am. And it's the gumption,
it's the passion. It's not getting sidetracked by the fame
and the fortune. I could have gone into the NFL,
(05:55):
and damn some days I wish I did, but that
wasn't my passion and I knew that I couldn't succeed
and be successful. It's something that I literally didn't love
so much that every day I wake up and that's
all I can do, and that's all I could think about.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
And that's what makes you special at it. That's interesting.
When did you realize that you were a unicorn? That
you were unique as a woman doing it.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
That's an interesting question because you know you're digging. When
you're younger, you're doing everything you can. Your head is down.
You're not thinking about, Oh, I could be paving the
way for this kid, or I could be a trailblazer
over here. You don't think of those things. But when
you ask the question, in my mind immediately went to
two thousand and four. That was my first Indy five hundred.
That's when I had just started covering the IndyCar Series
(06:41):
three months before. My bosses at ESPN were like, hey,
what do you know about auto racing? And I said, well,
I do supercross, motocross X games. I could figure it out.
And six weeks later I went to my first IndyCar
test at Phoenix and I was like, this is freaking awesome.
Three weeks later, I was covering my first race at Homestead,
and then I would I was covering all the practices
(07:01):
and qualifying at the Indy five hundred, and I wasn't
supposed to be on the race because they already had
their their or three kit reporters. I guess I did
a good enough job that they asked me to join
and I became the first woman in history to be
part of the Indy five hundred broadcast. At that point, Catherine,
I realized the night before, I'm like, this is bigger
than me, and I have to succeed at this. This
(07:22):
is an example, and people are looking at me and
waiting for me to fail. But if I don't fail,
maybe it'll open up some doors for me and other
generations and other people that look like me. So that
was probably that moment that like, well, damn, maybe there
is a spot for me.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
That yeah, that's really interesting. How you take that kind
of responsibility on your shoulders and you made the most
of it. I kind of had a similar thing when
I was driving. I just wanted to be a race
cut driver, right, just like you. I just wanted to
do my job. But then you see these little girls
come up to you, and you see the expectation and
you realize that it is bigger than you, and so
(07:57):
with that responsibility, you have to, you know, take it seriously.
And so it's in our whole moment and it's not
one that you ever think is going to happen. You
never consider that when you're going into it. But along
the responsibility lines, being a reporter, having that direct link
to the public is also a responsibility, right because they
(08:19):
take whatever you say as gospel as read It's like
I read it on the internet, it must be true.
And I'm guilty of that too. Like if you said
Danik is going to Penske for next season, I believe it.
I'll be like, Wow, that's amazing. So how do you
navigate that part of it too, like making sure what
(08:40):
you say is completely accurate, and like distancing yourself from it.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
It's all relationships. To me, I feel like knowledge is power.
And when I go directly to the source in the
garage and I talk to the crew chiefs, I talk
to the drivers throughout the weekend. When I tell those
stories on Sunday during a cup race and pit road,
those are literally things that I just learned or things
that I was just told. Nobody else has that they
might have the information or the story, but what I
(09:08):
say they told me is just verbatim from them, And
there's nothing better than that. That gives you confidence, That
gives the fans confidence in you, knowing that you have
those relationships. But it's an interesting world that we're living
in right now. I mean everybody can be a journalist.
I have a degree in journalism. By the way, part
of my story was I ended up going back to
(09:28):
school getting my degree at San Diego State University while
I was traveling the circuit with Supercross. So I got
my journalism degree because I realized, Okay, there's something in
this and just in case it fails, I have something
to fall back on. So I've really used what I learned,
and I was doing it while I was learning too,
which was the really cool part. But it's anybody can
(09:50):
really be a journalist and post anything that they want. Now.
Social media it's an interesting study because it's that necessary evil.
A lot of drivers post their news or their personal
information on social so you have to be able to
read that. A lot of times they'll post something right
before the race. I can go right to them and
follow up on it, and then we get that story
(10:12):
out for the world to see. Because a lot of
times that line between social media and broadcast or network
TV is blurred. There's a hell of a lot more
people watching you on TV than reading your social media.
So we try to tell them that, but if we
don't and they leak stories on their social we can
use it to our benefit to tell stories too, So
(10:32):
it's that necessary evil, but certainly not going down the
path of this isn't an accurate story because it happens
to all of us. I'm like you, Katherine, like soil,
you prove me wrong, I'm going to believe what you say.
Kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Do you like the way that it's evolved with social
media and how the storytelling has changed and how you
do journalism? What did you like it better before?
Speaker 2 (10:53):
I think it's a little of both. You know, there's
the purity of going to the racetrack talking to people,
getting those stories, and I could do my job just fine.
I could go all week and go into Martinsville and
have the storylines that I need for the truck series
on Friday night. However, if you're on social you have
a better scope of all the stories from all three series.
(11:15):
You kind of know the big picture that maybe fans
are looking at or want to know more of, or
that the drivers are thinking. So I think it's a
useful tool. It's just not the only tool. It broadens
the viewers, right, it gets them more in touch with
their sport, whether it's racing or NFL or whatever.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
It is.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
It's a place for people who are fans of a
sport to come together, and it helps grow it because
more eyes they want to get more involved. But it
hurts us at the same time too, because then all
you do is hear about the complainers and people with
their negative opinions. So there's that.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Yeah. I don't love it, but it's a necessary evil
these days. But I do think people crave knowledge as
to people's personal lives. Look at Formula One, You've got
drive to survive. All the reality TV type shows do
super well because people want to know what other people's
lives are like. And I think to a certain extent,
(12:11):
the fans are the different. They want to know what
it's like to be a racing driver. That's what made
Formula one big over here. I kind of get it,
but I also think it hurts in so many ways
because it's the online bullying or how many followers do
you have? How many followers do you have? And that
drives me absolutely bonkers because ten fifteen years ago that
(12:32):
wouldn't have been the case. It was mainstream media that counted,
not not how many people are following you on Twitter?
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Yeah, I'm to your like anybody can be a journalist.
I've seen this year firsthand. Somebody can take a story
and write it the way that they want and it'll
pop up on your email feed to people that don't
even follow racing. I had that happen to me, like
I had somebody in Lake Tahoe, a family friend, older man,
(13:02):
doesn't watch racing. He calls me. He's like, Jamie, what
is this story that just popped up that you're going
to be fired because the job you're doing in play
by play? He's like, do I need to come find somebody.
I'm like, bless him, chill out. They're talking about me.
I guess it's a good thing. You know that not legit,
but you can mistake in it for it and these
(13:23):
other outlets will pick it up and they put it
on your feet. I just I hate that part of it.
But as you know, Catherine, we get so much praise,
so much kudos, and I always tell people take the
good with the bad. You've got to find the middle ground.
I don't need the praise and I don't need all
the hate either. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I think you become immune to it anyway, don't you
both both sides. I mean, it's nice that people take
the time to write nice things about you, but I
think that you just kind of get numb and the
negative stuff and the positive stuff it doesn't it doesn't
mean anything.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
You know.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
If if frit Chid Chotas or Rojapenski texts you and say, hey,
you did a good job today, then that like is ever.
So it's just a it's just a different thing. Speaking
of that. Have you do you have Have you had
anybody in the paddock, whether it's IndyCar, NASCAR, much Cross,
whatever it may be, be mean or rude or not
(14:16):
talk to you or anything like that or is that
thing of the past.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
For the most part, everybody is awesome, you know, Catherine,
you just deal with it. There's men that are certain
ways and you just you know how to handle them
so that you don't piss them off, but you're not
also giving off a vibe that they take is in
a different way. That's just the way it is. Like
if you get offended easily, you don't belong in a sport.
I mean, that's just the bottom line. You've got to
(14:42):
have a thick skin, and you have to know how
to deal with people, and you have to have confidence
in your ability or you'll fall for anything. Chad Canousjimmy
Johnson's crew chief, like he's he's special, he's different. He's
(15:05):
the only crew chief that has ever kicked me out
of the haller.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Because he didn't make questions. I was asking for this
for the storylines that day, Like, I'm not asking tough,
tough questions. This is just for the broadcast to elaborate.
But he was very intense. Obviously we all know that
about Chad, but he had kicked me out of his holler.
And I'm like, okay, I see how it is. I'll
just go to your driver. He's much easier to deal with.
But for the most and Chad and I, that's in
(15:29):
the past now. Obviously he's done TV with us and
has a completely different role. But you learn from those,
you know. But there's been drivers that have been tough.
Kurt Bush and I have had to run in. Kevin
Harvick was rough. He called me out on TV before
as well.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Know it's nothing about me, what Tony Stewart.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
So those guys make you work harder. And this was
all earlier in my career. You learn, you live and learn,
and it's frustrating, but I stood up to all of
them in those moments, like when the cameras were off, like,
you don't talk to me now, I don't treat me
that way. And if you have something to say, you
don't do it on camera, you know, And then everything
is good. But it's all learning. And now Kevin Harvick
and I are teammates and he's been doing some truck
(16:10):
races with me. It's amazing. But I love to bust
his balls for sure.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
And you can bust his bulls and say, hey, what
was that about Catherine off the Phoenix? Because he like
he said some pretty awful things and then didn't ever say, oh,
she's done a good job or anything like that anymore.
So you can bust his bulls on my behalf.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Oh I will next time I see him.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
So you're working with one of my favorite people who
was a teammate of mine for a while, and Jack Corvey,
and so he didn't have any experience doing any of
this before. Did you, like take him under your wing
and show him the ropes and how has he taken
to it?
Speaker 2 (16:45):
He yes, I took him under my wing. God, Jack
is the sweetest, I mean, he is the sweetest, just
saw him a couple of days ago. He came. My
husband and I just opened a cookie shop here in
Indy and he came on opening day, just like he's
so sweet. But yeah, So I knew of Jack obviously
from running the Indy five hundred throughout the years, but
(17:06):
we officially met during the IndyCar shoot for Fox. And
it turns out that he was driving for my brother
in law's team, Chase Selman runs Dry and Rainbolts, so
that's who he raced for in the Indy five hundred.
So it was like all in the family kind of thing.
And then it was kind of like I was hearing
Jack was probably going to be the guy to be
on Pitt Road for the IndyCar Series, but it wasn't
(17:26):
official until a couple weeks before, and he reached out
to me. He's like, Jamie, it sounds like this is happening.
I haven't on my contract yet, but we're like two
weeks out, and I said, let's meet at Java House
on Michigan Road. But anyway, so we sat down and
we met over coffee and went down through the whole
rundown how I do notes, how I get information, and
(17:48):
then we kept in touch and it ended up they
asked me to do Saint Pete as well. So I
was there with Jack and we just lived and learned,
and he was flying by the seat of his pants.
And he has a great personality, talk to anybody, has
the looks, has everything. He knows the jargon, he knows
the sport. So he was such a great addition. And yes,
we're friends forever now. Like we went like that, bonding
(18:12):
was amazing and I'm so proud of him. He's a
great friend of mine and my husband's. And obviously at
Talladega when you were racing, we saw you and he
was shadowing me there just to see how I do
my job. So, yeah, he's a great addition.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Yeah, he was a great teammate. Honestly, you don't come
across people like that very often.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Yes, he adores you too.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Yeah, he's an angel. So I've got a few questions.
I was doing a bit of research and I've got
I'm going to jump around a little bit, so I apologize.
But there have been some notable moments I think that
you've had to deal with, Let's say, one of which
being the April Truck Series race this season, where you're
(18:52):
doing a lot. You're doing a live show, but you're
doing it remotely, and there was some chatter about the
final that cool that happened there. How do you deal
with moments like that? Does it change how you do
things in the future, do you think? I mean, everybody's
under pressure when they're racing. I make mistakes, my team
(19:13):
makes mistakes. How could you not make mistakes? And like,
how do you deal with that in the moment?
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Yeah, I mean that's the beauty, I guess. In the
downside to live TV, what you say is what you say.
It's out there for everybody to hear, and honestly, I
don't even know what last lap you're talking about because
I don't read it. Every once in a while, somebody
will have something in your feed that you can't help
but see you know, it's like attached to a photo
or something. But there was something in April. I remember,
(19:40):
that's the story I told about, like she needs to
be fired kind of thing and she's not even at
the racetrack, and you know that kind of thing. So
I knew that came out because it made headlines. But
the fact that we do most of our races the
second half of the year from the NASCAR production studios
in Charlotte was like a big talking point for a while,
but nobody he's talking about the fact that c W
(20:01):
does all of theirs from the exact same studio. We
show the same studio. So it's just it's those hot
button issues and if we didn't have social media, it
wouldn't even be a thing. And then they're gonna rip
me because I'm new, I sound different, I look different.
I might not call the race the same as the
guys that they've been used to their entire life. But
I think new for some people is hard. And I've
(20:22):
experienced that in every level that I've been in because
I've in a lot of cases been the first woman
or the first voice they've seen or whatever. So you
get ripped because they just automatically don't like you, just
like as a driver, they love they love to have
a woman in the field, or they freaking hate it
she doesn't belong there. I mean, it's the same for
both of us. And you just know going in like
(20:44):
you've got to have thick skin. People are gonna hate.
That's life. That's the world we're living in, unfortunately, and
they can nippick an entire call. But like I've told people,
I got my racing license. I won the Toylet Pro
Celebrity race over Mike Skinner and NASCAR.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Trust I forgot about that. That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Ten driving schools. I did the BMWM three school last
week and the guys are like, you could seriously still
race if you didn't want to broadcast. And I only
say that because if you line me up with two
or three men, say we all go into the broadcast booth,
We're all going to call our first play by play,
they are going to nitpick the shit out of me
over them.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Oh one hundred.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
They look at you through a magnifying glass. They're going
to listen to every single word that comes out of
my mouth to say she doesn't belong or doesn't know
what she's talking about. Chances are those guys have never
been in a race car. They have no idea, they
don't know about it. They're broadcasters. That's not to make
me better or them lesser. I'm just saying it's misconstrued
because you're new, you're different, and it's an easy target.
(21:41):
It's polarizing, right.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, that's actually a really good point. You're under the
spotlight more and people either love you'll hate you. So
I often joke that I'm like, mom, you either love
it or you hate it. And it's so true, Like
there's nobody was just like, oh yeah, she's okay, she's cool.
It's either like she's amazing or she's terrible. There's no
I feel like you can't go under the radar. It's
(22:04):
my team. Often joke that if nobody says anything about
you this weekend, then you've had a good weekend. Actually,
And I feel like it's probably the same for you.
So You've always been super sweet and super supportive of me,
and I feel like the other women as well. And
Katie Curriic actually wrote in her memoir that early in
(22:24):
her career she sometimes struggled to support other women because
she felt like there was only room for one of them.
Did you ever judge the other women who were coming
up because they were there for the wrong reasons? I
can tell you where this question is coming from, Like
for me, I did, And for me, I look at
other women drivers and I put them in one of
(22:44):
two buckets. Either they're there because they are they're doing
it to support their social media status and their modeling
status and they want to be they're racing for the
wrong reasons in my opinion, or they're there and they
want to be taken seriously as a race driver, and
the other stuff is just a necessary evil. Did you
(23:04):
ever find yourself judging anybody like that? Have you ever
given it any conscious thoughts?
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Absolutely? I am harder on women than I am met
for sure, and because I set a bar for myself
in a standard, a work ethic, integrity, all of those things.
So when you see someone come in, you know the
ones that are there for the right reasons, and you
know the ones who are there to get to the
next step. They want to cover footballer or whatever, and
(23:32):
maybe they're there for other reasons other than the integrity
of the sport, and because you want to help grow
the sport and you love it that much. And I
still am hard when I watch broadcasters on TV, from
news to all different sports, I think I judge them
harder than I do the men because I expect more
out of them because they're representing me and that's how
(23:52):
I look at it.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
And you're judged on their performance a little bit as well.
You will get put in the same bicket. I feel
like yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
I mean every couple of months, I see something happen
and I'm like, that woman is putting us back, setting
us back everything that we have pushed for. But I
try to also step back and say, Okay, we're in
a new time. There's a lot more women out here.
We need to be supportive of each other, especially the
ones that are like minded, the ones that are kicking butt.
Like I love to give praise where praises do and
(24:21):
you're one of those, Catherine, Like, you're so inspiring. I
can't even fathom what it's like to put a helmet
on and get in a race car and do what
you do. I respect it so much and knowing what
you have to deal with just to get the sponsorships
to get the ride, and then to deal with all
the pushback and all the bull craft that you have
to deal with, Like, I just want to help promote
(24:41):
you and women like that with all my heart, you know,
and you want to give them attention and show that
I support you so much. There wouldn't be a Danica
Patrick without Bobby Rayhall. That took guts for a man
to believe in somebody and put them in good equipment
to give them a chance. And that's what I'm trying
to show that a woman can do play by play,
(25:02):
Show these directors, show these bosses, give her a shot.
You have no idea the diamonds in the rough, And
I feel like that's with race car drivers, broadcasters, you
name it. It's just a matter of getting somebody to
believe in you and then you can show what you're
capable of.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
One hundred percent. I am trying desperately to do that
in NASCAR right now. Yeah, But you're right, it's like
kick off to kick in that you have to put
the money together and you have to put the team together,
and you can't necessarily put either together unless you've got
the other. Right, It's like, well it came from Have
you made any like good friends from doing what you're doing? Like,
(25:39):
are are there any people that you would say you
are now inseparable with because you met them along the
way and you have this shed passion And.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yeah, I would say Shannon Spake. She and I met
in two thousand and six, and we're both pit reporters
for ESPN. Starting in two thousand and seven, we clicked.
We're enough alike but very different to those She went
on to do different things at ESPN. Then I went
to Fox, then she came to Fox, and we still
talk at least once a week. I go see her
when I'm in Charlotte. She's doing all different things. But
(26:10):
you know that's just that bond, like we came in
together and what we overcame kind of together and how
our worlds have kind of we've been through a lot
as women, just as you know, we've seen each other
both pregnant, you know, with babies, husbands. She just went
through a divorce, like she was like, go a Fox.
There's just so many things in life that kind of
(26:30):
you have to stick together with those good ones that
know you inside and out.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Yeah, I wonder how much of that going through all
of that as well makes us different or you know,
I think she's super cool as well. And I wonder
whether because she's had to struggle that's given her that's
something special, like that edge too, just like you really
in the you can see it in somebody right that
(26:56):
you can see that there's another dimension of this, Like
it's deeper than somebody who's just kind of had it
had it down to play.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
And you know, I was always like I don't want
to talk to small talk. I keep to myself. I
don't want people to know like my business. I'm just
not that way. My mom wasn't that way, and so
I think I always pushed that out and didn't get
very close with people. And it's very easy for me
to talk to men and get stories because I don't
want to talk about the girly stuff. I want to
talk about your life, tell me about the race car,
(27:26):
tell me what's happening, and keep the girly stuff out
of it. And I feel like that's helped me a lot.
But now that I'm older and I've gone through all
these things, it's funny. I'll go to the racetrack and
like Amanda Busik is one of our reporters, and you know,
Caitlin Vincey is out there and we sit and get
to talk. And Heather to Bo is my pit spotter,
and she's amazing. But we sit down and we start
(27:48):
chatting and it's like the conversation is completely different than
what you typically have at a racetrack, and it's so refreshing.
Now I appreciate that because there's just not a lot
of it out there. As you know.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Yeah, I have never worked with women. Really, I've only
ever worked with men, and the first time I've really
worked with women was this year and working with Droplight
on some of the sponsor events and we went to
Nashville and it was so different to me. I was like,
I didn't realize how different it was working with women
to work with men, and it made me think about
(28:20):
I've been pretty vocal about the issues I have with
like the F One Academy and the all female series
because I don't like being segregated. I think we can
stand on our own t feet. I like the opportunity
it gives, but I think it limits the talent when
you're not racing against the best of the best. To
be the best, you have to be challenged. And if
(28:41):
you are in a supportive environment like that with other women,
then it doesn't challenge it as much because you feel
like not coddled. But you know what I mean, it's
just a different vibe. Yeah it is. It's like you belong.
But I also, with age, have kind of mellowed on
that a little bit because I've feel like I never
got it right up until Elf came alone. When Elf
(29:04):
came alone, I was like, well, I can be feminine
and I can do everything that I was doing before,
and I felt like if I ever did that before
I did it, then the men would judge me and
they'd look at me as less than because I was
more feminine. So I think it's really interesting how it
might be at times a changing thing a little bit too,
(29:27):
that we feel like we can be ourselves finally and
it not be detrimental to our careers.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, you're exactly right. I think about when I first
started back in motocross. I look at the pictures of
the clothes I would wear turtlenecks, like I was so
covered up. I wanted to be taken seriously. And then
something happened when you know, a few years in, I
did the X Games. I was on the cover of
this magazine and a painted on bikini, and it was
kind of like this out party of like I'm feminine,
(29:55):
but I'm good at my job and I can do both.
But then when I went back and you know, when
I started covering IndyCar and got into serious, you know,
auto racing, it was back to like the turtlenecks, Like,
who am I I need to cover up? Okay, I'm
gonna wear fire suit on pit road perfect. I don't
have to think about it. I'm covered up, I'm professional.
When I signed with Fox, though, Catherine, it was so interesting.
(30:17):
After thirteen years with ESPN and ABC, I signed with
Fox and they were like, you're not wearing a fire
suit here. You're here for who you are, what you do,
your personality, your looks, all of those things. I had
to figure out my personality on air. I'm like, what's okay,
what's acceptable? I want to express who I am, but
I also want to be taken seriously. So that was
(30:37):
an interesting point in my career to figure out. And
it seems like nothing, but it's a lot. We judge
people by their looks, especially when we do men too,
but like, how is she dressed, what does her hair
look like? What's her makeup?
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Like?
Speaker 2 (30:50):
You know, what's the jewelry situation? All those things. So
I had to figure that out. And now, like doing
play by play, I wear dresses to work, like. I
never would have been dead at a racetrack in a
dress or a skirt. But that's hard for the course
and it's okay, I guess is the bottom line, like
you said to be feminine, to be who you are
and also be good at your job, but you have
(31:12):
to work your ass off to get to that point
that you have that respect.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Yeah, I think I went wrong because I was trying
to be somebody else right, Like I wasn't trying to
figure out who I was. I was trying to figure
out what everybody else wanted and become that person the
way I judge other female drivers. I don't journalists or broadcasters,
(31:35):
but I do drivers. I think the world was judging
me like that. So maybe it's a Catherine issue. I
don't know, but I definitely didn't find who I was
until a couple of years ago, and I felt like
I was able to be the a because as you
get older, you don't really give the monkeyses anymore, you know,
Like did people think that I'm fast? That's all I
(31:56):
really care about. But you and Danica, for example, both
walked that line like you are both gorgeous and being
taken seriously, and nobody on the Danika on the driving side.
Nobody since has and a lot of people tried to
copy Danika right. A lot of drivers have come along
(32:18):
and tried to do the sex cells route while trying
to be taken seriously. As a driver, and nobody has.
She was a unique situation. I tried to be the
female version of Jensen Button and didn't want to didn't
want to be seen as as gendered. I guess which is.
(32:38):
I wish I could go back and do it all again.
But it's just a really weird, interesting nuance that we
have to think about that men do not deal with
at all, Like is she too fat? Is she too thin?
Is the her head too long? Is it too short?
You know all of those things, and I feel like
there's a lot more to be judged about about.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Us, and there is. But I always liked how Danni
embraced her femininity and she didn't back down from posing
and doing all those things once she had that win
in IndyCar. I think it really came out and I
appreciate that. I mean, that's comfort in your own skin,
but you have to balance it in a way like
(33:16):
are the results measuring up to how much I'm putting
out of yourself? I think broadcasting is the same way,
Like you should be this version of you, not all
in until you really make it, and then who is
that person? And who are you willing to share with people?
You know it is a fine line for sure.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
I have another question because I have never I've never
had kids, right, I don't think I've ever really wanted them, Patty.
Balance having your kiddo's and being mom and still doing
everything that you need to do, because it's like a
big drawer on your resources. Really.
Speaker 2 (34:04):
It's funny though, when you become a parent, I feel
like you go into a whole other gear, like you know,
this is what you have to do, and all of
a sudden, like you thought you needed this much sleep,
you don't. You thought you needed this much time for
your job, you don't. Although I put a lot into that.
For me, it made it simple when I had my
son in twenty twelve, All of a sudden, I had
(34:26):
this clarity. When I missed six weeks, Basically I came
back when you was six weeks old. I missed like
nine weeks, but six weeks, you know, postpartum. Then I
got back on the road. Hardest thing I ever did.
Oh my god, that was so hard. It was like
the championship was starting for the Cup Series, and I
literally went from having him c section by the way
(34:46):
and getting right back to the racetrack flu cross country
to Chicago. I'm pretty sure I cried the whole way,
and I'm not a crier. Cried all the way all
night until I got into the garage the next day, Catherine,
and all of a sudden, it was like, I have
a purpose. This isn't about me anymore. I'm providing for
my family. And there was something about like I just
loved it even that much more. You know that I
(35:07):
could do both and it's not easy, and you know it.
You find your ways, but it's not easy. And I
couldn't do it if I didn't have my husband here.
He has sacrificed, you know, his career and things that
he does so he could take care of our kids.
I couldn't do all this stuff without him. It's not
like I'm a miracle worker and I can rescue dogs
and run businesses and have my career and broadcasting chase
(35:29):
race car drivers around. I can't do it without a partner.
It's truly a team effort, and I think that's that's
really the only way you can do it. And I'm
so proud. My kids have never had to be raised
by somebody other than me or my husband, and that
is probably one of the most proud things I have,
you know, a balancing all of it.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Speaking of other businesses, you own a franchise? Is that
right of nothing but cake?
Speaker 2 (35:53):
We had three bakeries in Indy. We sold those like
a year ago and we were always onto the next venture.
Just open crave cookies and soda. So you're gonna have
to come see us when you're in Indy. Yes, they're amazing.
I like competition, so they think crumbles it. You got
to try Crave and yeah, we have some new things
coming down the pipeline.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Well maybe you want to do that. Do you have
an experience like when you got into it, did you
know what that industry was about or did you just
like cookies?
Speaker 2 (36:22):
It's funny. Well we started in Vegas where we had
our kids, and my husband worked on medical device sales,
so he was in surgeries with doctors and we were like,
this is not going to work with me traveling every
weekend having a baby. So he figured out, he said,
I'm going to do a franchise and we went with
Jimmy Johns because they supported racing and like Kevin came
to our store like it was just it made sense.
(36:45):
So we got a taste of it. Then when we
moved to Indy, we sold those. We started nothing bunk
cakes there and then the cookie thing. It's just it's
like anything. It's like, what's the next best thing? You know,
what's the best buy in, what's the best you know
return on your investment. I mean those are all the
things you look at. But is it something that you
can back, that you really like and you believe in absolutely?
(37:06):
That has to be the key. And yes, this is awesome.
I like bringing joy to people and you have to
have a treat. But then we're gonna we're bringing a
healthier option later we'll talk about.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
I like the sound of that because I love cookies
so much, but the sugar is addictive. And once I
stop down that path, I just know I don't stop.
Is there anything left that you want to achieve? Because
I think you've pretty much done it all? Is you
just want to continue doing it all? Or is there
anything that eludes you?
Speaker 2 (37:38):
Yeah? I mean I have done everything. I always tell
people when they would ask me, did you want to
do football? And I was like, the Cup series is
like my Monday night football, my Sunday night football. You know,
that's the big deal. Racing has always been my thing.
I've stayed true to it, I think the only thing left.
I mean, I do play by play for the Truck Series.
I've done one race for Exfinity. It'd be foolishit I
(38:00):
me not just say I'd want to do the Cup
Series one day now? Do I have that many years
left to wait my turn? I don't know. But I
never saw myself doing play by play, you know, anyway,
because it's fricking hard, and you get bashed a ton
because of your look and your sound and the way
that you do things. And if as long as I
(38:20):
can keep dredging forward, and like, why wouldn't I want
to do the Cup Series? If I was asked tomorrow,
I'd say, hell, yeah, that's the series I've covered for
nineteen years. Why wouldn't I want to be in the
booth calling it?
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Yeah? I saw Lee Diffi earlier this year. It was
probably like a month or so ago, and I asked
him about it because he got a bunch of stick
for his accent and for the fans to say they
don't like the way he sounds because it's American and everything.
I was like, oh, maybe I should ultimate English accent
a little bit, But it's everybody's going to have something
(38:51):
against everybody, and you can't please all the people all
the time, unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
But again, if you don't have social media, it wouldn't
even be a thing. You just have to sit at
home and just deal with somebody calling the race with
an accent, or somebody calling a race with a female voice.
But that's not the world we live in, and we
know that. And Lee is tremendous at his job and
he has such you know it's his fault. I'm doing
play by play?
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Is it really?
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Yes? He called me during COVID out of the blue.
He's like, Jamie, you're going to think this is weird.
I'm like, what, Lee? He said? Women are doing play
by playing other sports. It's time Racing does it, and
you're the one to do it. I'm like, really, Like,
that's always been a man thing. I never aspired to
do it because I didn't think somebody like me could.
I went back and I called my boss at Fox
(39:36):
and was like, put me in coach, Like, when there's
an opportunity, I want to try it. Why not? I've
been a pit reporter for frickin' ever. Why don't I
try it? And he called me back a week later.
He's like, Jamie, what would you think of doing the
arkhamn Arts series? Like, I've never covered it, but that's
a good way to start. Let's go national TV right away.
There's no other way to learn. So that's how it happened,
(39:56):
all because of Lee.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Ah, that's cool. Do you enjoy it or is it
like that pleasure pain thing that it's really hard? So
you enjoy it because you like challenging you.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
So it was like that challenge thing for the first
three years because I wasn't full time. I didn't do
all the ARKA races because of my schedule, and the
last two years I shared with Adam Alexander. Adam's been
there forever, so it's super easy to pin me against him,
and you know, I was brand new. But now this
year doing every race, I freaking love it. I love
(40:27):
who I get to work with. I have analysts and
there I've had Joey Legano, Bradkeslowski, Kevin Harvick, Carson, Jose
arc just in the past two months. It's so great
working with those guys. And I know the job now,
I know what it's you know what it entails. I
know what I need to know. I don't cover it
like I do a pit reporter, Like I came in
thinking that's how you do it. But I love it now.
(40:49):
I used to think, Catherine, after so many races, I'd
come home to my husband and be like, I feel
like I'm putting my reputation on the line. You know,
I feel like this could ruin everything I built because
people don't think I'm good or I'm not going to
figure it out one hundred percent. I don't feel like
that anymore. I feel like I'm in a really good
place and if they don't like it, yeah, sorry, Like
(41:10):
I'm here until my bosses say I'm not.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
Again. I can relate. Doing Nasca's was the same thing
for me, like, very much the same. Have you ever
thought about moving to Charlotte because the facility that they
have there is amazing. It's I got the tour this
year and the NASCAR built that production facility is incredible.
I don't think there's anything quite like it. And because
(41:35):
you do so much NASCAR stuff, did you ever consider
Charlotte as a base or has it always just been
Indie off to Vegas View.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Yeah, I actually moved to Charlotte from Las Vegas. In
two thousand and eight, I bought a condo there in
Davidson and tried to give it a whirl because I
wasn't married. My friends were there every you know, racing central,
and then I met my husband and I was like,
I want to get away from racing when I'm not working,
So we moved to Vegas where my family was, and
(42:04):
I've never considered it since, but that NASCAR Productions facility
is incredible. That's my home away from home. I literally
work out of their fourteen weekends a year, so I'll travel,
like from Martinsville, I'll fly to Charlotte. I'll talk to
my crew chiefs, any drivers I need to check in with.
Unfortunately it's not in person, but I still check in
with them. My analysts do the same. We get our storylines,
(42:26):
then we have all the cameras set up. We get
to see and hear everything we need to. So it's
a great situation. Ideally you want to be at the racetrack,
but that's not where we are the second half of
the year. So I think it's a pretty darn good
broadcast considering we're not at the track. But we definitely
do our damndest to help tell those stories and do
it just like we were there.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
Yeah, Jamie, thank you so much for coming on and
sharing all your experiences. I will forever being or of
what you do. I think I would need to definitely
think about the words that were coming out of my
mouth before they came out of my mouth a lot
more if I was to do anything like that. So
I have a lot of respect for everything that you've
(43:08):
achieved and I wish you all the luck and I
will see you a racetrack very soon.
Speaker 2 (43:13):
Thank you. And I feel the same about you, like seriously,
like the spirit animal. If I could do anything other
than what I do now, i'd view you, you know,
just I love the intensity, I love racing, and I
just found the next best thing talking about it. You know,
you're such a bright light and I can't tell you
how many people I know you hear it too. Young girls, men, women.
Who's the next racer we're going to see in Cup?
(43:34):
We need another woman in Cup. It's so important, and
I know you're working your butt off to be that woman,
and I hope that we get to see you more
next year.
Speaker 1 (43:42):
Thanks Chris. I'll be the one giving you some information
in the pits. Thanks for listening to Throttle Therapy. We'll
be back next week with more updates and more overtakes.
We want to hear from you. Leave us a review
in Apple book Cuts 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.
(44:05):
Our executive producer is Jesse Katz, and our supervising producer
is Grace Fuse. Listen to Throttle Therapy on America's number
one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and
search throttle Therapy with Katherine Legg and start listening
Throttle Therapy with Katherine 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. Hey you, guys, and welcome
(00:21):
to you this week's episode of Throttle Therapy with Me
Katherine Legg. And this week is a refreshing change to
the last couple of guests that I've had that have
been men. This week, We've got a woman. And I
have known this person for gosh, probably almost twenty years,
I would imagine, and she is a badass. She is
(00:43):
one of the best in what she does across the globe,
I believe. And I'm very proud to have Jamie Little
on the show. Hi Jamie, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Wow? Oh my gosh, that was such a nice introduction.
Thank you. And yeah, I cannot believe we've known each
other this long. I think we met at a Lynn's
Saint James event like Eon to Go at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Yeah, that must have been eonswer go. So that was
like I was thinking, it must be like circa two
thousand and six ish sometime back then.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, well, we've been around the time, girl, we have.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
And you know what's really cool about that is we've lasted.
Not many people in my role or your role have
been around for that long. And I think that's just
testament to how good and how dedicated and how I
don't know, how much guts and gumption you have. I mean, honestly,
it's really easy for me from looking from the outside.
(01:40):
I do it too. We judge the broadcasts, so we do.
We judge the journalists and we judge the broadcasts. And
you know, it's a really difficult job because not only
do you have to retain so much information, you have
to ask the pertinent questions, you have to be in
the right place at the right time. Like, there's so
many nuances to it, and there are a lot of
(02:02):
people that aren't that great at it, I would say,
And so to have been around as long as you
have and to be as well respected and as well
liked tis very unusual because a lot of people don't
keep all the friends along the way. I'll say, I
want to know how you got your star in journalism,
Like when did you realize that you wanted to do this? Well?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
First off, going back to your word gumption. I love
that word, and I think you have to have a
lot of it to succeed in something that is different
and unique, that makes you unique. Right. We're in a
male dominated industry and not many people last, and I
think a lot of that has to do with intention.
My intention coming in wasn't to be a star. My
(02:44):
idea of this role wasn't to be rich and famous. Like,
That's not what I got into it for. I got
into it because I was this young, naive girl who
knew I freaking loved racing. I love the smell of
a dirt bike. I love the stories. I loved what
these rights at the time, we're putting themselves, you know,
what they were doing to themselves, putting themselves on the
line and risking their body and you know, not going
(03:08):
to school and everything for the passion that they had
for racing. And I just gravitated to that. There was
something about it. So that goes to your question, Catherine,
is how did I get you know involved? You know,
I've told this story one hundred times, but you know,
I think it needs to be told because I think
that you can have a dream as a child and
(03:28):
it's still it's so pertinent now that you can make
it reality, Like we can do anything that we put
our minds to. I am one hundred percent an example
of that, and so are you. But I was a
tomboy raised by a single mom in Lake Tahoe, so
I was an outdoors girl. There were friends in the
neighborhood who would have like a mini bike or a quad,
and I made sure I was friends with those kids.
(03:49):
There was something about it. I'm like, it's my turn,
and just twisting the throttle and riding over pine cones
and pine needles and like being out in the open.
There was something that just was like this is I
love it And I never forgot the feeling. Person I
ever rode on a dirt bike was with my dad.
I was five years old, and then my parents got
(04:09):
divorced and we moved to Las Vegas when I was thirteen,
and I'm very formative time in your life, very vulnerable
time as a young woman, and I met a guy
named Carrie Hart. Well he's married to Pink now, but
he raised supercross and we went to school together and
I was like, this is the coolest sport ever. Supercross
was where it was at I'd sneak over the fence
(04:30):
to go check out the race in Vegas and Catherine.
At that point, like in life, I hated school, didn't
want to go to college. I was getting ready. I
was a couple of years away from graduating. Like what
am I going to do with my life? Well, I
was that nerd that literally would sit in my class
and I had Dirt Rider magazine. So I'm reading these
dirt bike magazines. There's no women except for the models.
(04:51):
And I moved to LA and I was like, I'm
going to be a model. I'm just going to do
my thing. My mom was a showgirl and a model
and all kinds of things, so I'm going to try
that route make some money. I quickly realized I had
a lot to say in life and I had a
lot of opinion, and that wasn't going to work for me.
So I needed to follow this line of passion I
had for racing. And that's literally it started. When I
(05:11):
was eighteen. I went up to a guy with an
ESPN microphone at a race and I was like, this
is what I want to do. He said, I'm a local,
you know, shooter and freelance. You can hang out go
to some races with me, learn how to write and
be on camera, do some stuff. And I did that
and I did it for two years. And while doing that,
I became the live announcer for the Supercross series. So
I traveled around the country, came to the RCA Dome
(05:33):
in Indianapolis back in the day. It's funny, that's where
I live now. And I literally got five hundred dollars
a weekend to be the live announcer in the stadium.
And that's where, like, that was my springboard for everything
to get to me where I am today, and literally
twenty five years later, here I am. And it's the gumption,
it's the passion. It's not getting sidetracked by the fame
and the fortune. I could have gone into the NFL,
(05:55):
and damn some days I wish I did, but that
wasn't my passion and I knew that I couldn't succeed
and be successful. It's something that I literally didn't love
so much that every day I wake up and that's
all I can do, and that's all I could think about.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
And that's what makes you special at it. That's interesting.
When did you realize that you were a unicorn? That
you were unique as a woman doing it.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
That's an interesting question because you know you're digging. When
you're younger, you're doing everything you can. Your head is down.
You're not thinking about, Oh, I could be paving the
way for this kid, or I could be a trailblazer
over here. You don't think of those things. But when
you ask the question, in my mind immediately went to
two thousand and four. That was my first Indy five hundred.
That's when I had just started covering the IndyCar Series
(06:41):
three months before. My bosses at ESPN were like, hey,
what do you know about auto racing? And I said, well,
I do supercross, motocross X games. I could figure it out.
And six weeks later I went to my first IndyCar
test at Phoenix and I was like, this is freaking awesome.
Three weeks later, I was covering my first race at Homestead,
and then I would I was covering all the practices
(07:01):
and qualifying at the Indy five hundred, and I wasn't
supposed to be on the race because they already had
their their or three kit reporters. I guess I did
a good enough job that they asked me to join
and I became the first woman in history to be
part of the Indy five hundred broadcast. At that point, Catherine,
I realized the night before, I'm like, this is bigger
than me, and I have to succeed at this. This
(07:22):
is an example, and people are looking at me and
waiting for me to fail. But if I don't fail,
maybe it'll open up some doors for me and other
generations and other people that look like me. So that
was probably that moment that like, well, damn, maybe there
is a spot for me.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
That yeah, that's really interesting. How you take that kind
of responsibility on your shoulders and you made the most
of it. I kind of had a similar thing when
I was driving. I just wanted to be a race
cut driver, right, just like you. I just wanted to
do my job. But then you see these little girls
come up to you, and you see the expectation and
you realize that it is bigger than you, and so
(07:57):
with that responsibility, you have to, you know, take it seriously.
And so it's in our whole moment and it's not
one that you ever think is going to happen. You
never consider that when you're going into it. But along
the responsibility lines, being a reporter, having that direct link
to the public is also a responsibility, right because they
(08:19):
take whatever you say as gospel as read It's like
I read it on the internet, it must be true.
And I'm guilty of that too. Like if you said
Danik is going to Penske for next season, I believe it.
I'll be like, Wow, that's amazing. So how do you
navigate that part of it too, like making sure what
(08:40):
you say is completely accurate, and like distancing yourself from it.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
It's all relationships. To me, I feel like knowledge is power.
And when I go directly to the source in the
garage and I talk to the crew chiefs, I talk
to the drivers throughout the weekend. When I tell those
stories on Sunday during a cup race and pit road,
those are literally things that I just learned or things
that I was just told. Nobody else has that they
might have the information or the story, but what I
(09:08):
say they told me is just verbatim from them, And
there's nothing better than that. That gives you confidence, That
gives the fans confidence in you, knowing that you have
those relationships. But it's an interesting world that we're living
in right now. I mean everybody can be a journalist.
I have a degree in journalism. By the way, part
of my story was I ended up going back to
(09:28):
school getting my degree at San Diego State University while
I was traveling the circuit with Supercross. So I got
my journalism degree because I realized, Okay, there's something in
this and just in case it fails, I have something
to fall back on. So I've really used what I learned,
and I was doing it while I was learning too,
which was the really cool part. But it's anybody can
(09:50):
really be a journalist and post anything that they want. Now.
Social media it's an interesting study because it's that necessary evil.
A lot of drivers post their news or their personal
information on social so you have to be able to
read that. A lot of times they'll post something right
before the race. I can go right to them and
follow up on it, and then we get that story
(10:12):
out for the world to see. Because a lot of
times that line between social media and broadcast or network
TV is blurred. There's a hell of a lot more
people watching you on TV than reading your social media.
So we try to tell them that, but if we
don't and they leak stories on their social we can
use it to our benefit to tell stories too, So
(10:32):
it's that necessary evil, but certainly not going down the
path of this isn't an accurate story because it happens
to all of us. I'm like you, Katherine, like soil,
you prove me wrong, I'm going to believe what you say.
Kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Do you like the way that it's evolved with social
media and how the storytelling has changed and how you
do journalism? What did you like it better before?
Speaker 2 (10:53):
I think it's a little of both. You know, there's
the purity of going to the racetrack talking to people,
getting those stories, and I could do my job just fine.
I could go all week and go into Martinsville and
have the storylines that I need for the truck series
on Friday night. However, if you're on social you have
a better scope of all the stories from all three series.
(11:15):
You kind of know the big picture that maybe fans
are looking at or want to know more of, or
that the drivers are thinking. So I think it's a
useful tool. It's just not the only tool. It broadens
the viewers, right, it gets them more in touch with
their sport, whether it's racing or NFL or whatever.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
It is.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
It's a place for people who are fans of a
sport to come together, and it helps grow it because
more eyes they want to get more involved. But it
hurts us at the same time too, because then all
you do is hear about the complainers and people with
their negative opinions. So there's that.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Yeah. I don't love it, but it's a necessary evil
these days. But I do think people crave knowledge as
to people's personal lives. Look at Formula One, You've got
drive to survive. All the reality TV type shows do
super well because people want to know what other people's
lives are like. And I think to a certain extent,
(12:11):
the fans are the different. They want to know what
it's like to be a racing driver. That's what made
Formula one big over here. I kind of get it,
but I also think it hurts in so many ways
because it's the online bullying or how many followers do
you have? How many followers do you have? And that
drives me absolutely bonkers because ten fifteen years ago that
(12:32):
wouldn't have been the case. It was mainstream media that counted,
not not how many people are following you on Twitter?
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Yeah, I'm to your like anybody can be a journalist.
I've seen this year firsthand. Somebody can take a story
and write it the way that they want and it'll
pop up on your email feed to people that don't
even follow racing. I had that happen to me, like
I had somebody in Lake Tahoe, a family friend, older man,
(13:02):
doesn't watch racing. He calls me. He's like, Jamie, what
is this story that just popped up that you're going
to be fired because the job you're doing in play
by play? He's like, do I need to come find somebody.
I'm like, bless him, chill out. They're talking about me.
I guess it's a good thing. You know that not legit,
but you can mistake in it for it and these
(13:23):
other outlets will pick it up and they put it
on your feet. I just I hate that part of it.
But as you know, Catherine, we get so much praise,
so much kudos, and I always tell people take the
good with the bad. You've got to find the middle ground.
I don't need the praise and I don't need all
the hate either. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I think you become immune to it anyway, don't you
both both sides. I mean, it's nice that people take
the time to write nice things about you, but I
think that you just kind of get numb and the
negative stuff and the positive stuff it doesn't it doesn't
mean anything.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
You know.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
If if frit Chid Chotas or Rojapenski texts you and say, hey,
you did a good job today, then that like is ever.
So it's just a it's just a different thing. Speaking
of that. Have you do you have Have you had
anybody in the paddock, whether it's IndyCar, NASCAR, much Cross,
whatever it may be, be mean or rude or not
(14:16):
talk to you or anything like that or is that
thing of the past.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
For the most part, everybody is awesome, you know, Catherine,
you just deal with it. There's men that are certain
ways and you just you know how to handle them
so that you don't piss them off, but you're not
also giving off a vibe that they take is in
a different way. That's just the way it is. Like
if you get offended easily, you don't belong in a sport.
I mean, that's just the bottom line. You've got to
(14:42):
have a thick skin, and you have to know how
to deal with people, and you have to have confidence
in your ability or you'll fall for anything. Chad Canousjimmy
Johnson's crew chief, like he's he's special, he's different. He's
(15:05):
the only crew chief that has ever kicked me out
of the haller.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Because he didn't make questions. I was asking for this
for the storylines that day, Like, I'm not asking tough,
tough questions. This is just for the broadcast to elaborate.
But he was very intense. Obviously we all know that
about Chad, but he had kicked me out of his holler.
And I'm like, okay, I see how it is. I'll
just go to your driver. He's much easier to deal with.
But for the most and Chad and I, that's in
(15:29):
the past now. Obviously he's done TV with us and
has a completely different role. But you learn from those,
you know. But there's been drivers that have been tough.
Kurt Bush and I have had to run in. Kevin
Harvick was rough. He called me out on TV before
as well.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Know it's nothing about me, what Tony Stewart.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
So those guys make you work harder. And this was
all earlier in my career. You learn, you live and learn,
and it's frustrating, but I stood up to all of
them in those moments, like when the cameras were off, like,
you don't talk to me now, I don't treat me
that way. And if you have something to say, you
don't do it on camera, you know, And then everything
is good. But it's all learning. And now Kevin Harvick
and I are teammates and he's been doing some truck
(16:10):
races with me. It's amazing. But I love to bust
his balls for sure.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
And you can bust his bulls and say, hey, what
was that about Catherine off the Phoenix? Because he like
he said some pretty awful things and then didn't ever say, oh,
she's done a good job or anything like that anymore.
So you can bust his bulls on my behalf.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Oh I will next time I see him.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
So you're working with one of my favorite people who
was a teammate of mine for a while, and Jack Corvey,
and so he didn't have any experience doing any of
this before. Did you, like take him under your wing
and show him the ropes and how has he taken
to it?
Speaker 2 (16:45):
He yes, I took him under my wing. God, Jack
is the sweetest, I mean, he is the sweetest, just
saw him a couple of days ago. He came. My
husband and I just opened a cookie shop here in
Indy and he came on opening day, just like he's
so sweet. But yeah, So I knew of Jack obviously
from running the Indy five hundred throughout the years, but
(17:06):
we officially met during the IndyCar shoot for Fox. And
it turns out that he was driving for my brother
in law's team, Chase Selman runs Dry and Rainbolts, so
that's who he raced for in the Indy five hundred.
So it was like all in the family kind of thing.
And then it was kind of like I was hearing
Jack was probably going to be the guy to be
on Pitt Road for the IndyCar Series, but it wasn't
(17:26):
official until a couple weeks before, and he reached out
to me. He's like, Jamie, it sounds like this is happening.
I haven't on my contract yet, but we're like two
weeks out, and I said, let's meet at Java House
on Michigan Road. But anyway, so we sat down and
we met over coffee and went down through the whole
rundown how I do notes, how I get information, and
(17:48):
then we kept in touch and it ended up they
asked me to do Saint Pete as well. So I
was there with Jack and we just lived and learned,
and he was flying by the seat of his pants.
And he has a great personality, talk to anybody, has
the looks, has everything. He knows the jargon, he knows
the sport. So he was such a great addition. And yes,
we're friends forever now. Like we went like that, bonding
(18:12):
was amazing and I'm so proud of him. He's a
great friend of mine and my husband's. And obviously at
Talladega when you were racing, we saw you and he
was shadowing me there just to see how I do
my job. So, yeah, he's a great addition.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Yeah, he was a great teammate. Honestly, you don't come
across people like that very often.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Yes, he adores you too.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Yeah, he's an angel. So I've got a few questions.
I was doing a bit of research and I've got
I'm going to jump around a little bit, so I apologize.
But there have been some notable moments I think that
you've had to deal with, Let's say, one of which
being the April Truck Series race this season, where you're
(18:52):
doing a lot. You're doing a live show, but you're
doing it remotely, and there was some chatter about the
final that cool that happened there. How do you deal
with moments like that? Does it change how you do
things in the future, do you think? I mean, everybody's
under pressure when they're racing. I make mistakes, my team
(19:13):
makes mistakes. How could you not make mistakes? And like,
how do you deal with that in the moment?
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Yeah, I mean that's the beauty, I guess. In the
downside to live TV, what you say is what you say.
It's out there for everybody to hear, and honestly, I
don't even know what last lap you're talking about because
I don't read it. Every once in a while, somebody
will have something in your feed that you can't help
but see you know, it's like attached to a photo
or something. But there was something in April. I remember,
(19:40):
that's the story I told about, like she needs to
be fired kind of thing and she's not even at
the racetrack, and you know that kind of thing. So
I knew that came out because it made headlines. But
the fact that we do most of our races the
second half of the year from the NASCAR production studios
in Charlotte was like a big talking point for a while,
but nobody he's talking about the fact that c W
(20:01):
does all of theirs from the exact same studio. We
show the same studio. So it's just it's those hot
button issues and if we didn't have social media, it
wouldn't even be a thing. And then they're gonna rip
me because I'm new, I sound different, I look different.
I might not call the race the same as the
guys that they've been used to their entire life. But
I think new for some people is hard. And I've
(20:22):
experienced that in every level that I've been in because
I've in a lot of cases been the first woman
or the first voice they've seen or whatever. So you
get ripped because they just automatically don't like you, just
like as a driver, they love they love to have
a woman in the field, or they freaking hate it
she doesn't belong there. I mean, it's the same for
both of us. And you just know going in like
(20:44):
you've got to have thick skin. People are gonna hate.
That's life. That's the world we're living in, unfortunately, and
they can nippick an entire call. But like I've told people,
I got my racing license. I won the Toylet Pro
Celebrity race over Mike Skinner and NASCAR.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Trust I forgot about that. That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Ten driving schools. I did the BMWM three school last
week and the guys are like, you could seriously still
race if you didn't want to broadcast. And I only
say that because if you line me up with two
or three men, say we all go into the broadcast booth,
We're all going to call our first play by play,
they are going to nitpick the shit out of me
over them.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Oh one hundred.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
They look at you through a magnifying glass. They're going
to listen to every single word that comes out of
my mouth to say she doesn't belong or doesn't know
what she's talking about. Chances are those guys have never
been in a race car. They have no idea, they
don't know about it. They're broadcasters. That's not to make
me better or them lesser. I'm just saying it's misconstrued
because you're new, you're different, and it's an easy target.
(21:41):
It's polarizing, right.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, that's actually a really good point. You're under the
spotlight more and people either love you'll hate you. So
I often joke that I'm like, mom, you either love
it or you hate it. And it's so true, Like
there's nobody was just like, oh yeah, she's okay, she's cool.
It's either like she's amazing or she's terrible. There's no
I feel like you can't go under the radar. It's
(22:04):
my team. Often joke that if nobody says anything about
you this weekend, then you've had a good weekend. Actually,
And I feel like it's probably the same for you.
So You've always been super sweet and super supportive of me,
and I feel like the other women as well. And
Katie Curriic actually wrote in her memoir that early in
(22:24):
her career she sometimes struggled to support other women because
she felt like there was only room for one of them.
Did you ever judge the other women who were coming
up because they were there for the wrong reasons? I
can tell you where this question is coming from, Like
for me, I did, And for me, I look at
other women drivers and I put them in one of
(22:44):
two buckets. Either they're there because they are they're doing
it to support their social media status and their modeling
status and they want to be they're racing for the
wrong reasons in my opinion, or they're there and they
want to be taken seriously as a race driver, and
the other stuff is just a necessary evil. Did you
(23:04):
ever find yourself judging anybody like that? Have you ever
given it any conscious thoughts?
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Absolutely? I am harder on women than I am met
for sure, and because I set a bar for myself
in a standard, a work ethic, integrity, all of those things.
So when you see someone come in, you know the
ones that are there for the right reasons, and you
know the ones who are there to get to the
next step. They want to cover footballer or whatever, and
(23:32):
maybe they're there for other reasons other than the integrity
of the sport, and because you want to help grow
the sport and you love it that much. And I
still am hard when I watch broadcasters on TV, from
news to all different sports, I think I judge them
harder than I do the men because I expect more
out of them because they're representing me and that's how
(23:52):
I look at it.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
And you're judged on their performance a little bit as well.
You will get put in the same bicket. I feel
like yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
I mean every couple of months, I see something happen
and I'm like, that woman is putting us back, setting
us back everything that we have pushed for. But I
try to also step back and say, Okay, we're in
a new time. There's a lot more women out here.
We need to be supportive of each other, especially the
ones that are like minded, the ones that are kicking butt.
Like I love to give praise where praises do and
(24:21):
you're one of those, Catherine, Like, you're so inspiring. I
can't even fathom what it's like to put a helmet
on and get in a race car and do what
you do. I respect it so much and knowing what
you have to deal with just to get the sponsorships
to get the ride, and then to deal with all
the pushback and all the bull craft that you have
to deal with, Like, I just want to help promote
(24:41):
you and women like that with all my heart, you know,
and you want to give them attention and show that
I support you so much. There wouldn't be a Danica
Patrick without Bobby Rayhall. That took guts for a man
to believe in somebody and put them in good equipment
to give them a chance. And that's what I'm trying
to show that a woman can do play by play,
(25:02):
Show these directors, show these bosses, give her a shot.
You have no idea the diamonds in the rough, And
I feel like that's with race car drivers, broadcasters, you
name it. It's just a matter of getting somebody to
believe in you and then you can show what you're
capable of.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
One hundred percent. I am trying desperately to do that
in NASCAR right now. Yeah, But you're right, it's like
kick off to kick in that you have to put
the money together and you have to put the team together,
and you can't necessarily put either together unless you've got
the other. Right, It's like, well it came from Have
you made any like good friends from doing what you're doing? Like,
(25:39):
are are there any people that you would say you
are now inseparable with because you met them along the
way and you have this shed passion And.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yeah, I would say Shannon Spake. She and I met
in two thousand and six, and we're both pit reporters
for ESPN. Starting in two thousand and seven, we clicked.
We're enough alike but very different to those She went
on to do different things at ESPN. Then I went
to Fox, then she came to Fox, and we still
talk at least once a week. I go see her
when I'm in Charlotte. She's doing all different things. But
(26:10):
you know that's just that bond, like we came in
together and what we overcame kind of together and how
our worlds have kind of we've been through a lot
as women, just as you know, we've seen each other
both pregnant, you know, with babies, husbands. She just went
through a divorce, like she was like, go a Fox.
There's just so many things in life that kind of
(26:30):
you have to stick together with those good ones that
know you inside and out.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Yeah, I wonder how much of that going through all
of that as well makes us different or you know,
I think she's super cool as well. And I wonder
whether because she's had to struggle that's given her that's
something special, like that edge too, just like you really
in the you can see it in somebody right that
(26:56):
you can see that there's another dimension of this, Like
it's deeper than somebody who's just kind of had it
had it down to play.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
And you know, I was always like I don't want
to talk to small talk. I keep to myself. I
don't want people to know like my business. I'm just
not that way. My mom wasn't that way, and so
I think I always pushed that out and didn't get
very close with people. And it's very easy for me
to talk to men and get stories because I don't
want to talk about the girly stuff. I want to
talk about your life, tell me about the race car,
(27:26):
tell me what's happening, and keep the girly stuff out
of it. And I feel like that's helped me a lot.
But now that I'm older and I've gone through all
these things, it's funny. I'll go to the racetrack and
like Amanda Busik is one of our reporters, and you know,
Caitlin Vincey is out there and we sit and get
to talk. And Heather to Bo is my pit spotter,
and she's amazing. But we sit down and we start
(27:48):
chatting and it's like the conversation is completely different than
what you typically have at a racetrack, and it's so refreshing.
Now I appreciate that because there's just not a lot
of it out there. As you know.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Yeah, I have never worked with women. Really, I've only
ever worked with men, and the first time I've really
worked with women was this year and working with Droplight
on some of the sponsor events and we went to
Nashville and it was so different to me. I was like,
I didn't realize how different it was working with women
to work with men, and it made me think about
(28:20):
I've been pretty vocal about the issues I have with
like the F One Academy and the all female series
because I don't like being segregated. I think we can
stand on our own t feet. I like the opportunity
it gives, but I think it limits the talent when
you're not racing against the best of the best. To
be the best, you have to be challenged. And if
(28:41):
you are in a supportive environment like that with other women,
then it doesn't challenge it as much because you feel
like not coddled. But you know what I mean, it's
just a different vibe. Yeah it is. It's like you belong.
But I also, with age, have kind of mellowed on
that a little bit because I've feel like I never
got it right up until Elf came alone. When Elf
(29:04):
came alone, I was like, well, I can be feminine
and I can do everything that I was doing before,
and I felt like if I ever did that before
I did it, then the men would judge me and
they'd look at me as less than because I was
more feminine. So I think it's really interesting how it
might be at times a changing thing a little bit too,
(29:27):
that we feel like we can be ourselves finally and
it not be detrimental to our careers.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, you're exactly right. I think about when I first
started back in motocross. I look at the pictures of
the clothes I would wear turtlenecks, like I was so
covered up. I wanted to be taken seriously. And then
something happened when you know, a few years in, I
did the X Games. I was on the cover of
this magazine and a painted on bikini, and it was
kind of like this out party of like I'm feminine,
(29:55):
but I'm good at my job and I can do both.
But then when I went back and you know, when
I started covering IndyCar and got into serious, you know,
auto racing, it was back to like the turtlenecks, Like,
who am I I need to cover up? Okay, I'm
gonna wear fire suit on pit road perfect. I don't
have to think about it. I'm covered up, I'm professional.
When I signed with Fox, though, Catherine, it was so interesting.
(30:17):
After thirteen years with ESPN and ABC, I signed with
Fox and they were like, you're not wearing a fire
suit here. You're here for who you are, what you do,
your personality, your looks, all of those things. I had
to figure out my personality on air. I'm like, what's okay,
what's acceptable? I want to express who I am, but
I also want to be taken seriously. So that was
(30:37):
an interesting point in my career to figure out. And
it seems like nothing, but it's a lot. We judge
people by their looks, especially when we do men too,
but like, how is she dressed, what does her hair
look like? What's her makeup?
Speaker 1 (30:50):
Like?
Speaker 2 (30:50):
You know, what's the jewelry situation? All those things. So
I had to figure that out. And now, like doing
play by play, I wear dresses to work, like. I
never would have been dead at a racetrack in a
dress or a skirt. But that's hard for the course
and it's okay, I guess is the bottom line, like
you said to be feminine, to be who you are
and also be good at your job, but you have
(31:12):
to work your ass off to get to that point
that you have that respect.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Yeah, I think I went wrong because I was trying
to be somebody else right, Like I wasn't trying to
figure out who I was. I was trying to figure
out what everybody else wanted and become that person the
way I judge other female drivers. I don't journalists or broadcasters,
(31:35):
but I do drivers. I think the world was judging
me like that. So maybe it's a Catherine issue. I
don't know, but I definitely didn't find who I was
until a couple of years ago, and I felt like
I was able to be the a because as you
get older, you don't really give the monkeyses anymore, you know,
Like did people think that I'm fast? That's all I
(31:56):
really care about. But you and Danica, for example, both
walked that line like you are both gorgeous and being
taken seriously, and nobody on the Danika on the driving side.
Nobody since has and a lot of people tried to
copy Danika right. A lot of drivers have come along
(32:18):
and tried to do the sex cells route while trying
to be taken seriously. As a driver, and nobody has.
She was a unique situation. I tried to be the
female version of Jensen Button and didn't want to didn't
want to be seen as as gendered. I guess which is.
(32:38):
I wish I could go back and do it all again.
But it's just a really weird, interesting nuance that we
have to think about that men do not deal with
at all, Like is she too fat? Is she too thin?
Is the her head too long? Is it too short?
You know all of those things, and I feel like
there's a lot more to be judged about about.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Us, and there is. But I always liked how Danni
embraced her femininity and she didn't back down from posing
and doing all those things once she had that win
in IndyCar. I think it really came out and I
appreciate that. I mean, that's comfort in your own skin,
but you have to balance it in a way like
(33:16):
are the results measuring up to how much I'm putting
out of yourself? I think broadcasting is the same way,
Like you should be this version of you, not all
in until you really make it, and then who is
that person? And who are you willing to share with people?
You know it is a fine line for sure.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
I have another question because I have never I've never
had kids, right, I don't think I've ever really wanted them, Patty.
Balance having your kiddo's and being mom and still doing
everything that you need to do, because it's like a
big drawer on your resources. Really.
Speaker 2 (34:04):
It's funny though, when you become a parent, I feel
like you go into a whole other gear, like you know,
this is what you have to do, and all of
a sudden, like you thought you needed this much sleep,
you don't. You thought you needed this much time for
your job, you don't. Although I put a lot into that.
For me, it made it simple when I had my
son in twenty twelve, All of a sudden, I had
(34:26):
this clarity. When I missed six weeks, Basically I came
back when you was six weeks old. I missed like
nine weeks, but six weeks, you know, postpartum. Then I
got back on the road. Hardest thing I ever did.
Oh my god, that was so hard. It was like
the championship was starting for the Cup Series, and I
literally went from having him c section by the way
(34:46):
and getting right back to the racetrack flu cross country
to Chicago. I'm pretty sure I cried the whole way,
and I'm not a crier. Cried all the way all
night until I got into the garage the next day, Catherine,
and all of a sudden, it was like, I have
a purpose. This isn't about me anymore. I'm providing for
my family. And there was something about like I just
loved it even that much more. You know that I
(35:07):
could do both and it's not easy, and you know it.
You find your ways, but it's not easy. And I
couldn't do it if I didn't have my husband here.
He has sacrificed, you know, his career and things that
he does so he could take care of our kids.
I couldn't do all this stuff without him. It's not
like I'm a miracle worker and I can rescue dogs
and run businesses and have my career and broadcasting chase
(35:29):
race car drivers around. I can't do it without a partner.
It's truly a team effort, and I think that's that's
really the only way you can do it. And I'm
so proud. My kids have never had to be raised
by somebody other than me or my husband, and that
is probably one of the most proud things I have,
you know, a balancing all of it.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Speaking of other businesses, you own a franchise? Is that
right of nothing but cake?
Speaker 2 (35:53):
We had three bakeries in Indy. We sold those like
a year ago and we were always onto the next venture.
Just open crave cookies and soda. So you're gonna have
to come see us when you're in Indy. Yes, they're amazing.
I like competition, so they think crumbles it. You got
to try Crave and yeah, we have some new things
coming down the pipeline.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Well maybe you want to do that. Do you have
an experience like when you got into it, did you
know what that industry was about or did you just
like cookies?
Speaker 2 (36:22):
It's funny. Well we started in Vegas where we had
our kids, and my husband worked on medical device sales,
so he was in surgeries with doctors and we were like,
this is not going to work with me traveling every
weekend having a baby. So he figured out, he said,
I'm going to do a franchise and we went with
Jimmy Johns because they supported racing and like Kevin came
to our store like it was just it made sense.
(36:45):
So we got a taste of it. Then when we
moved to Indy, we sold those. We started nothing bunk
cakes there and then the cookie thing. It's just it's
like anything. It's like, what's the next best thing? You know,
what's the best buy in, what's the best you know
return on your investment. I mean those are all the
things you look at. But is it something that you
can back, that you really like and you believe in absolutely?
(37:06):
That has to be the key. And yes, this is awesome.
I like bringing joy to people and you have to
have a treat. But then we're gonna we're bringing a
healthier option later we'll talk about.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
I like the sound of that because I love cookies
so much, but the sugar is addictive. And once I
stop down that path, I just know I don't stop.
Is there anything left that you want to achieve? Because
I think you've pretty much done it all? Is you
just want to continue doing it all? Or is there
anything that eludes you?
Speaker 2 (37:38):
Yeah? I mean I have done everything. I always tell
people when they would ask me, did you want to
do football? And I was like, the Cup series is
like my Monday night football, my Sunday night football. You know,
that's the big deal. Racing has always been my thing.
I've stayed true to it, I think the only thing left.
I mean, I do play by play for the Truck Series.
I've done one race for Exfinity. It'd be foolishit I
(38:00):
me not just say I'd want to do the Cup
Series one day now? Do I have that many years
left to wait my turn? I don't know. But I
never saw myself doing play by play, you know, anyway,
because it's fricking hard, and you get bashed a ton
because of your look and your sound and the way
that you do things. And if as long as I
(38:20):
can keep dredging forward, and like, why wouldn't I want
to do the Cup Series? If I was asked tomorrow,
I'd say, hell, yeah, that's the series I've covered for
nineteen years. Why wouldn't I want to be in the
booth calling it?
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Yeah? I saw Lee Diffi earlier this year. It was
probably like a month or so ago, and I asked
him about it because he got a bunch of stick
for his accent and for the fans to say they
don't like the way he sounds because it's American and everything.
I was like, oh, maybe I should ultimate English accent
a little bit, But it's everybody's going to have something
(38:51):
against everybody, and you can't please all the people all
the time, unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (38:54):
But again, if you don't have social media, it wouldn't
even be a thing. You just have to sit at
home and just deal with somebody calling the race with
an accent, or somebody calling a race with a female voice.
But that's not the world we live in, and we
know that. And Lee is tremendous at his job and
he has such you know it's his fault. I'm doing
play by play?
Speaker 1 (39:12):
Is it really?
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Yes? He called me during COVID out of the blue.
He's like, Jamie, you're going to think this is weird.
I'm like, what, Lee? He said? Women are doing play
by playing other sports. It's time Racing does it, and
you're the one to do it. I'm like, really, Like,
that's always been a man thing. I never aspired to
do it because I didn't think somebody like me could.
I went back and I called my boss at Fox
(39:36):
and was like, put me in coach, Like, when there's
an opportunity, I want to try it. Why not? I've
been a pit reporter for frickin' ever. Why don't I
try it? And he called me back a week later.
He's like, Jamie, what would you think of doing the
arkhamn Arts series? Like, I've never covered it, but that's
a good way to start. Let's go national TV right away.
There's no other way to learn. So that's how it happened,
(39:56):
all because of Lee.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Ah, that's cool. Do you enjoy it or is it
like that pleasure pain thing that it's really hard? So
you enjoy it because you like challenging you.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
So it was like that challenge thing for the first
three years because I wasn't full time. I didn't do
all the ARKA races because of my schedule, and the
last two years I shared with Adam Alexander. Adam's been
there forever, so it's super easy to pin me against him,
and you know, I was brand new. But now this
year doing every race, I freaking love it. I love
(40:27):
who I get to work with. I have analysts and
there I've had Joey Legano, Bradkeslowski, Kevin Harvick, Carson, Jose
arc just in the past two months. It's so great
working with those guys. And I know the job now,
I know what it's you know what it entails. I
know what I need to know. I don't cover it
like I do a pit reporter, Like I came in
thinking that's how you do it. But I love it now.
(40:49):
I used to think, Catherine, after so many races, I'd
come home to my husband and be like, I feel
like I'm putting my reputation on the line. You know,
I feel like this could ruin everything I built because
people don't think I'm good or I'm not going to
figure it out one hundred percent. I don't feel like
that anymore. I feel like I'm in a really good
place and if they don't like it, yeah, sorry, Like
(41:10):
I'm here until my bosses say I'm not.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
Again. I can relate. Doing Nasca's was the same thing
for me, like, very much the same. Have you ever
thought about moving to Charlotte because the facility that they
have there is amazing. It's I got the tour this
year and the NASCAR built that production facility is incredible.
I don't think there's anything quite like it. And because
(41:35):
you do so much NASCAR stuff, did you ever consider
Charlotte as a base or has it always just been
Indie off to Vegas View.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Yeah, I actually moved to Charlotte from Las Vegas. In
two thousand and eight, I bought a condo there in
Davidson and tried to give it a whirl because I
wasn't married. My friends were there every you know, racing central,
and then I met my husband and I was like,
I want to get away from racing when I'm not working,
So we moved to Vegas where my family was, and
(42:04):
I've never considered it since, but that NASCAR Productions facility
is incredible. That's my home away from home. I literally
work out of their fourteen weekends a year, so I'll travel,
like from Martinsville, I'll fly to Charlotte. I'll talk to
my crew chiefs, any drivers I need to check in with.
Unfortunately it's not in person, but I still check in
with them. My analysts do the same. We get our storylines,
(42:26):
then we have all the cameras set up. We get
to see and hear everything we need to. So it's
a great situation. Ideally you want to be at the racetrack,
but that's not where we are the second half of
the year. So I think it's a pretty darn good
broadcast considering we're not at the track. But we definitely
do our damndest to help tell those stories and do
it just like we were there.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
Yeah, Jamie, thank you so much for coming on and
sharing all your experiences. I will forever being or of
what you do. I think I would need to definitely
think about the words that were coming out of my
mouth before they came out of my mouth a lot
more if I was to do anything like that. So
I have a lot of respect for everything that you've
(43:08):
achieved and I wish you all the luck and I
will see you a racetrack very soon.
Speaker 2 (43:13):
Thank you. And I feel the same about you, like seriously,
like the spirit animal. If I could do anything other
than what I do now, i'd view you, you know,
just I love the intensity, I love racing, and I
just found the next best thing talking about it. You know,
you're such a bright light and I can't tell you
how many people I know you hear it too. Young girls, men, women.
Who's the next racer we're going to see in Cup?
(43:34):
We need another woman in Cup. It's so important, and
I know you're working your butt off to be that woman,
and I hope that we get to see you more
next year.
Speaker 1 (43:42):
Thanks Chris. I'll be the one giving you some information
in the pits. Thanks for listening to Throttle Therapy. We'll
be back next week with more updates and more overtakes.
We want to hear from you. Leave us a review
in Apple book Cuts 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.
(44:05):
Our executive producer is Jesse Katz, and our supervising producer
is Grace Fuse. Listen to Throttle Therapy on America's number
one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and
search throttle Therapy with Katherine Legg and start listening
Host
Katherine Legge
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