February 25, 2025 • 42 mins
It’s that time of the month and Christina Nielsen is back to talk about representation in racing, the photoshoot she and Katherine turned down, and the drivers they looked up to early in their careers.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Throttle Therapy with Catherine Legg is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all, she said in
(00:21):
her best Nascar accent, because you know, I've been racing
stock cars at Daytona and I'm super getting into it.
Welcome to that time of the month with me, Catherine
Legg on Throttle Therapy and the amazing Christina Nielsen, and
I just wanted to fill you in a little bit
on what I've been up to this month. Obviously, I
(00:43):
don't know whether you have been under a rock, but
I've been banging on about NASCAR for a few solid
weeks now. I've been embracing my inner stock car driver
and racing NASCAR ARCA Series in Daytona, and I had
the most amount of funding. Yeah, I am still reeling.
I'm still gutted that my race lasted a total of
(01:05):
four and a half laps, unfortunately, but it's just made
me hungry for more. So I've been working really hard
behind the scenes. I have been training hard in preparation
forts to come, which I would love to be able
to share with you, but until it's all signed on
the dotted line, I really don't want to jinx anything.
But I am going to NASCAR have a race in
town this weekend. It's in Atlanta, and I'm going to
(01:28):
go down and see my friends there and see if
I can learn some more stock car racing. Obviously not racing,
but will be there supporting my friend Aj Almondinger. So
Aj Almondinger and I have been friends for twenty years.
He was one of the first people who kind of
took me under his wing when I came over and
did champ Car. Well, I did Atlantics first, and I
(01:49):
was in the Atlantic Series, which is the equivalent to
the Indie Lights Series nowadays, and he was in the
big car, in the IndyCar, in the chap Car, and
he and a number of other drivers like Justin Wilson
and Paul Tracy and those guys, they kind of ToIP
me under their wing and looked after me and taught
me the ways of American racing. Is this new be
English girl that came over and so we've been through
(02:12):
numerous adventures since we had this one week of promotion
for the Champcar series and we called it the Terribo Tour.
By we I meant this series and the series basically
flew on Kevin Calcoven, who owned the series, his Gulf Stream.
We flew around the country and we hit every major
(02:33):
market that we were racing, and so we'd start on
the West coast and then we'd go to Denver and
then we go to the East coast. And it was
a week and I remember it well because I have
never felt so ill in my entire life. We got
zero sleep. We lived on peanut eminem's. I think that's
like the entirety of what we ate for a week
was copious amount of peanut eminem's. I cannot look at
a peanut eminem to this day, I'll have you know.
(02:55):
And we would try and sleep on the plane as
and when we could, but we made the big mistake
of going out the first night, and so AJ and
I decided that this guy Alan Shutto, who was a
kid in one of the development series. This was after
the first year of me doing Atlantics, and so it
was my first year in champ Car and I thought
(03:18):
I'd made it to the big leagues and this kid
Alan Shutto, who's probably not a kid anymore, because this
was twenty years ago, you guys crazy. I don't even
remember how old he was. I think he was eighteen
at the time, and AJ and I thought, in our
infinite wisdom, because we were still you know, early twenties,
that we would take him out and get him drunk
and show him, you know, how to be the big man.
(03:40):
And so all I remember is the first day we
were there in Long Beach and we went to this
bar and it had really sticky floors, you know, when
you couldn't like move your feet because the floor was
really sticky. I remember that there were weird things, you remember. Anyway,
we were getting this Alan shutto kid drunk. In the
same time, AJ and I were drinking far too much
(04:00):
and we had a lot of fun. We were dancing around,
We had a great night. But that set the tone
for the rest of the week, and I think we
literally were hungover for a whole week. We could not
catch up on sleep, and we lived on peanut m
and M's and so that kind of really cemented our friendship.
And so I have always cheered for AJ. He's a
new dad now, which blows my mind because I don't
(04:21):
think we're grown up enough to have children. And I
have another I have other drivers that I support and
that I like from Afar from watching, but I don't
know that many of them in the in the stock
car pattick, in the NASCAR paddock. So I am just
getting to know them, and so far they've all been
really friendly and really welcoming, and it seems like a
really cool place to be. So I'm looking forward to
(04:43):
going and seeing old friends and making new ones and
speaking of old friends, and by old I mean young
but been friends for a long time. Christina and I
made this podcast for you. Hello everybody, and welcome to
(05:04):
Throttle Therapy with me Catherine Legg and we are extremely
lucky to be joined by the amazing Christina Nielsen again
this month because it is that time of the Boots exactly.
I love our monthly show. I love that we can
kind of poke fun at ourselves as well as Yeah,
(05:24):
so whether it's driving or a competition, or the technical aspect,
or the teamwork aspect, or the social aspect or whatever
aspect of racing, we obviously fell in love with it. It
has been all encompassing, to the detriment of everything else
in our lives at times, but we love it more
than anything else, And I wanted to ask. I know
(05:47):
everybody's driven, no pun intended by different things in racing.
Like some people love the will to wiel competition. Some
people love the driving and the perfecting that some people
love the competition agin themselves. That's one for me for sure.
What was it that was your hook that made you
(06:10):
give up everything else in your life and pursue driving
as a career.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
I mean, honestly, I just loved driving from the moment
I sat in a go kart for the first time,
fell in love with the driving part, sitting behind the wheel.
My dad has quite an extensive racing CD, but it
wasn't him who took me to the karting track for
the first time. It was kind of a random thing,
went with a friend loved.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
But you were going to say random friend.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I didn't have friends when I was younger, before I
met you. There were other people. But yeah, I just
you know, I fell in love with it right then
and there on the spot. I went home. I asked
my dad and he went, oh boy. But of course
he's also a huge racing fanatic, loves it, has the
(07:01):
same passion shares it with me. So yeah, I mean
he was my number one supporter from the beginning and
used to go to the karting trap drive around Europe
in event with the mechanic that I was with, and
did that for quite a few years. And I think
also a blessing in disguise that we had when we
were younger was the fact that social media wasn't around.
(07:23):
It was absolutely building an image or what can you
show your friends started cool. I mean, of course it
was kind of cool, you know, to be driving go
karts at that age, but we didn't have that side
of it, so we just got to be present when
we're at the go kart track enjoy it. You know,
there was a community and building friends. I also think
(07:44):
I met some of my good friends already back then,
so it just made us really enjoy the moment. And yeah,
that was a part of what I loved about it.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
I'm bond with your dad as well. It was definitely
a bonding experience with my dad too.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
So when you're driving now, say you're at Sebrian casting
with me and we're in I don't know the NSX
and I want the pitstand and you're like, oh my goodness,
I've got the biggest grin on my face because it's
the we get to do the coolest job in the
whole wide world. And that's the driving aspect. I mean,
obviously that's the working with me aspect, but you know everyone, yea,
(08:21):
is it still the driving that gets it done for you?
Because I'll preempt that by saying, be totally honest, because
if you feel like you drove as well as you
possibly could, but you finished eighteenth, right, do you still
love it for the driving aspect? Or is it a
mix of the driving aspect and also the doing well aspect?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
It's one hundred percent a mix of driving and being competitive.
I think for me, one of the biggest examples of
how much it affects your mindset to know where you
are compared to competition is like gunn Sega, like Wuna
Sega has a super high drop for the tires. You know,
you have the peak when they're new, and then it's
a big change from when the tires are almost extant
(09:08):
old compared to them being completely new, so you feel
like the car is moving around. It's an opposite track
to for example, Spring, where you're sort of driving like
a gun to your head. It's almost like slower is
faster at Laguna and you feel like, man, I'm doing
a horrible job out here, because I remember that actually
happened in the Nsex and Mike. I was like panicking
(09:30):
a little bit, like this feels really bad, And Mike
came at the radio and told me, you know that
the times were good, like because it was comparison compared
to some of the other people that were on old
tires and therefore one hundred percent. I cannot say it's
only the driving. It's also the part about, you know,
feeling like you're getting the maximum out of whatever you're
dealing with the conditions that you're dealing with and being
(09:52):
competitive with it.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Same with me, Oh yeah, it's so the same same
because I feel like it's the competition with myself and
being able to get out of that car and say
nobody else could have driven that car any better than
me at that point in time. Then I feel like
a one, whether that's P eighteen or P one, right, Like,
if I feel like I got the most out of it,
then I feel like that's a win.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
But we want to be P one.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
But we want to win anyway and.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
We get.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Percent. But actually Lagoon is not the same anymore now,
I know.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
But a lot of tracks change throughout, like even Watkins
Glen what can slen? You used to have to be
super precise because of the ascots being different on it,
so line essentially was super important. But after they repaved
it there was a lot more grip everywhere. So definitely
some major changes that has happened throughout. I would say, yeah,
our years on the American tracks.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
So back to what forged Christina Nielsen as a driver,
like what drove? You got to keep making that pun
and it's getting old. So you obviously you had your
dad as a role model. I had my dad also
as a role model, but my dad never drove like
your dad was somebody that you could look up to
(11:10):
and listen to and respect and like if he said
ten in later for ten three or break late for
ten two, like you've.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Never listened to him? Really? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, I mean
we both know each other's dad. Your dad is amazing
as well. I can totally see you know the influence
that he's had on you as much as I think
there's something beautiful and both of us are very close
to our dads. I also think that there's something about like,
sometimes it can be difficult, but listening to the ones
(11:39):
that are the closest to you.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Racing dad syndrome.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Yeah, I mean, wasn't your dad a part of your
journey right from the beginning.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yes, But I also went through the same thing that
I think you probably went through. And I see with
one of the young girls that I'm helping this year,
I see it with her too, is that her dad
wants to be super involved and she doesn't want to
listen to her because it's her dad. She just wants
her dad to be there for her and let her
vent and just listen and move on. I guess that's
(12:08):
back to relationships as well, like how much do you
want the solution and how much do you just want
somebody to understand yeah, and be your dad. So my
dad and I fought a lot in that transition of yes, Daddy,
I know what you're saying is right, but stop saying it,
because I just need to do me and listen to
(12:29):
the engineers and listen to the people that I need
to listen to. And I don't necessarily want your nagging
me all the time.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
My dad would actually sometimes after I'm done with like
analyzing my data, he would go back into the truck
and have a look at my data afterwards. I mean,
on one hand, it's a it's a blessing that he's
so passionate about it. It's because he is really curious
and involved, and it's great that we have dads that
(12:56):
we can call up and we can talk to him
about the nerdy stuff that normal people otherwise wouldn't understand.
But on the other hand, it is also hard that
a dad wears several hats. So there's the dad, there's
the manager, there's the coach. There's a lot of different
roles that they want to take on, and it's not
always an easy balance within a father daughter relationship. On
(13:19):
dred percent, it's.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Also very strange because like normal life does not involve
taking a dad to work.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
No. I used to always stand like, you know you
still watching every time, you know, popping everybody, like watching
the split sectors.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
And like giving us split times. It's really good in
turn one, but she lives and like we see we
have to date, but we know thank you. So obviously
dads were our first ever role model in racing, but
then as you get to know more about racing, and
you're researching more and you're getting more into the weeds
of it all, and you're following it and you decide,
(14:00):
I think, what kind of racing you want to specialize?
And it's a bit like going to university. Do I
want to study economics or do I want to study art?
Or what do I want to study? Where we're like, oh,
do I want to be open wheel or do I
want to be sports cars? Like what passion you have?
So in that young Christina Molding period, who were people
(14:20):
who you looked up to, that influenced you, that were
role models for you, that were good ambassadors for the
sport in your eyes.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Here's the interesting part. My dad has three daughters, and
as much as my dad is my dad, I don't
think I ever grew up separating men and women in
terms of who I looked at. I looked at them
as drivers. So you and I are on the same
page with this. Through many years, we wanted to just
be viewed as drivers. The thing about being a woman
(14:50):
came second. Now as I became more knowledgeable and became
more aware of social situations and gatherings of what was
going on I started to realize that it was important
to have female representation. But I will say this, growing up,
I definitely didn't see a lot of women. But I'll
tell you one thing my dad did, and that was
(15:12):
interesting because he never asked me to look at only
the female drivers as role models, like it was just drivers.
I think, you know a classic example being Danish with
Tom Christensen. You know, one Lemon multiple times, you know,
audi legend, complete legend exactly. But he did buy me
a watch one year that was done in collaboration with
(15:36):
Nika Patrick. So I think there was a female aspect
there that you know, he acknowledged, but it was never
something we really spoke about. And it was a nice
gesture and you know, I appreciated it and it was
a very thoughtful gift. But yeah, I don't think I
really had an opinion about male or female. It was
(15:56):
more about drivers.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah, so slightly different era for me. Again, same didn't
even really see there was any women in racing. I
remember when I first started go karting, there was one
other girl there, Louise somebody, and so the fact that
she was there was the only reason that I thought
that there was an access to go karting. Right, if
(16:23):
she hadn't had a go kart, I would have just
assumed that there were women didn't do it, Like women
didn't play football soccer in England at that time. I
think they do now, but we weren't allowed, like oh no,
that's for boys. There was a lady called Ellen MacArthur
who single handedly sailed around the world when I was
(16:43):
in my molding years. I guess I was like nine
ten something like that, and I remember writing her a
letter because I thought she was a badass, right, like
she was the only woman, and I was like, wow,
a girl can set off on her own. This is
how conditioned we are, right, and especially a little bit older,
I was like, wow, a girl could set off on
her I wouldn't have thought anything of it if it
(17:04):
had been a boy, But the fact that it was
a woman and she set off on her own to
sail around the world with all the supplies that she
may need for whatever period of time that was, I
was like, wow, she's cool. So she really started the
whole girl power me opening my eyes to being whatever
you want to be. And my dad reinforced that right,
like my dad and my mom, I sh shouldn't forget
(17:26):
my mom. My Mom's been an important influence in my
life too. Helped me grow up thinking that I could
do anything that I wanted to that I set my
mind to, So that kind of sort of set the stage,
if you like. And then as I got into racing,
I realized that there was at that time, Sarah Fisher
was racing Indica, and obviously you look a little bit further.
You had Dasiri Wilson who did some Formula one stuff
(17:48):
back in the day. You had Lindsea and James, you
had Janet Guthrie over here. You didn't hear about them
so much in Europe. Now you do because it's much
more accessible to everybody globally. And obviously there was Michelle Muton,
and Michelle Muton for me, still stands out because she
was the only one in global rallying, which is really
(18:09):
really tough that was winning world championship races. I mean,
that's like winning F one races in the rally world, right,
so she was really cool. There was Danika, and there
was me, and then latterly there was Simona and so
there really wasn't many of us. And it's at that
point then I realized, well, holy cow, we are now
(18:34):
also role models. And for you, it's interesting to hear
that Danika's story because she came up at the same time,
just before me. Right, So for me, she wasn't a
role model because I was already kind of there. But
what she did for me was made me think about
how I wanted to be positioned as a role model,
because it comes with a certain amount of responsibility racing.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
I think, you know, how did my dad know about her?
It was extremely clever marketing and how she was branded
and positioned that put her in a position to have
those type of deals.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Did it make you think like it did me of like, Okay,
how do I want to be seen by the outside world?
Like what do I want people to think of me
as a brand or commodity?
Speaker 2 (19:19):
I think, honestly, it wasn't before I was striving and
I saw the little girls and I had interactions with
them where I suddenly felt the responsibility to how I
was viewed by them, And that was I think the
first real moment where I felt the responsibility as a
woman within the industry. One story or one moment that
I stually remember was the podium at Petit Lemong in sixteen,
(19:44):
close the championship and there's this little girl with her
dad and Oliver. Gavin and I are walking down from
the podium together, and all of it, in my opinion,
is a pretty He's a legend within Corvette, Like he's
a legend. Yeah, absolutely, such a N eighte. You know,
he is an ambassador also, I would say for the sport.
I mean, he was a fierce but fair competitor. He
(20:05):
has an amazing career and at the same time he
was such a nice guy really just a great human being.
And exactly and I'm this little girl, like both Gavin
and I stop to give her our podium hat and
she looks at Gavin. She shakes his head and she
takes my hat and I was like, okay, it's already
(20:27):
Gavin that I'm standing next to here, and she's choosing
mind like I would have taken his.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
But so lovely.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Yeah, but that was that was a special moment where
I kind of felt like, Okay, we mat her to
these young girls that are showing up. And this girl
was not very old. She was with her dad, she
was maybe five years old. But the fact that she
already at that age acknowledged that, Okay, here's you know,
a girl, a woman who's competing and she can do it,
(20:58):
I can do it kind of thing. You know that
that's pretty special, see it to be it. Yeah, so
I think that was gross tend.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
I think Oliver Gavin would actually be a really great
one to have as a role model. I had a
very similar role model in Justin Wilson. Do you remember
Justin Wilson. Yeah, yeah, Unfortunately he's no longer with us,
but he was the same kind of ilk mold as
Oliver Gavin. You know, like they're very stoic but kind,
but level headed, but just like a beast in a
(21:29):
race car, but really fair. You know, when you're racing
them will to will, they're not going to do anything
stupid or or mean or means not the right way.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
I disrespect you as a driver, like it's not about
anything else but that.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
So I also have more male role models I think
than female in the in the driving kind of aspect.
Although I I love Sarah, She's awesome. She's a friend
of mine now and she was definitely somebody that I
looked up to coming over here. Because when you are
the only one and you're fighting against all of the stigma,
(22:18):
and back then it was even harder than it is now.
Like now, there's definitely a lot more going on. But
I think also back then, going back to the Danika
reference that you did, I rebelled against the pretty privileged
aspect of it, if you see what I mean, Like
I did not want to be seen as a woman.
I wanted to be seen as a race car driver,
(22:39):
and so I did not do anything feminine. Really that
wasn't forced upon me, like oh, you have to do
this photo shoot or what have you. Because I was
so determined.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
We had a photo shoot. Do you remember that one?
Do you remember that one with the in Texas? You
and I individually refused. Did we do a photo shoot? Yeah? Yes,
because it went against like what we stand for. They
wanted us to wear ball gowns or something like like
like evening gowns. Oh I remember this, Yeah, I ad
the track.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Yeah yeah, so yeah, So we both kind of rebelled
against that, and we didn't want I didn't want, you know,
nine year old Christina's or Catherines in the future to
think that you had to be seen as sexual if
you like them, in order to get ahead. I just
wanted to be taken seriously as a race cut driver.
In hindsight, I think there's a really thin line that
(23:31):
we have to walk, and it's not disgusting enough. Like
the boys can just be the boys, and they can
be hot boys, or they can be just like focused
in nerdy boys, or like they can be a mix
of both. But for us, there's like a fine line
where we want to be seen as feminine and attractive,
but we also want to be taken seriously, and so
to go over the line one way or another, it's
(23:52):
pretty tricky, tight repe to walk.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
But also because with eyes on you, you wouldn't be
caught likeshing your hair before going to the podium, because
you know that's something that probably is going to create
some negative comments online, Like you're a driver, you're just
going ahead and doing what you need to do. But
at the same time, if let's say you were sponsored
(24:15):
by a makeup company, you would want to, you know,
like look nice on the podium.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Well that's how times have changed, right.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
One hundred percent, because we would never do that back
in the day.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Never even five years ago, we would not have done that.
But then the W series came along and they were
all doing that, and I remember looking at that with
open mouth, thinking what happened to Like how is that
now an acceptable thing? But even the boys were embracing
the fact that we should be feminine, and even Andy Lally,
(24:47):
my teammate, I think around it at the same time,
he's like, yeah, you should probably like put some lipstick
on a brush your hair. I remember being so offended
by this, like, no, why do I Why does it
matter what I look like? Isn't it matha how I drive?
Speaker 2 (25:02):
And I think it also goes hand in hand with
we are doing something that's extreme, like those cars get hot,
especially the and the sex that we drove together, so
you are supposed to come out of the car being sweaty,
you know, being you know, worn out or a bit dehydrated.
Like that's okay. But you know, there's a time and
(25:22):
place for everything. And I think, going back to that
shoot that we were asked to be a part of,
both of us said, yeah, if we were going to
a nice event, we would put on an evening gown,
But when we're at the racetrack, we wear suits, race suits,
that's what we're here to do. So I still think there's
a there's a balance to be kept in terms of
(25:43):
where your focus should be, because what you don't want
is people to think, oh, like, oh yeah, she crashed important.
Imagine if you had a crash and you were doing
your makeup or your hair right before, then the common
sex would probably say, oh yeah, but that's because she
was too busy, you know, checking out her eyeshadow and
the uh in the mirror. I've had comments like that
on some of the articles about me, and.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Some of the comments do get very personal.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Yes, as a female, it's much more about I think
your looks, and I mean I used to have comments
on some of the articles, like I remember some of
them saying I must have taken so much testosterone that
I'm more men than woman. My baby watch may be broken,
Like really personal, harsh comments that I don't know if
(26:31):
the men get them, but I did not enjoy them
back then, Like it was hard to read.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
I wonder what possesses somebody to write something like that.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Though, write that about another person, all right.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
But also how weird? Like everybody is different and that's
what makes life fun. Right, If we're all the same,
it would be boring. And so whether I am a
little bit more of a tomboy than somebody else. Is
just it shouldn't be a factor. Yeah, it shouldn't be
brought into anything racing related, in my opinion. But you
(27:04):
are a public figure, so they do feel entitled to
pick apart your life a little bit. But I'm sorry
that happened to you.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Thank you. Well, okay, we're doing just fine, just fine.
I think it's also a part of me thinks, don't
you have a sister or a mom, or what if
you have a daughter, would you like anybody to make
those type of comments about them. I think there's a
line very often that is crossed on the Internet in
terms of what is acceptable to say.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Yeah, but it's things that they would never say to
your face. I don't even look at it anymore because
I think how many people would actually come up to
you at a racetrack and say something like that. Not many,
but they feel very empowered behind the behind the keyboard.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
So I will say also, I still have some of
the speaking of the positive side, I still have some
of the gifts that fans have given me throughout the years.
Like I remember one book I still have and I
keep that one actually with like the main trophies, the
championship trophies and the trophies from Ferrari. It's a book
(28:09):
about and so Ferrari, and they had earmarked the chapter
about that was called women and Ferrari, and so that
book is with the Ferrari stuff. And yeah, that was
just very personalized, very cute, very thoughtful gifts.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Yeah, and there are there are so many of them.
I keep all of them, an everything that fans give me,
the pictures, the friendship races. Oh, speaking of friendship races.
So I am coming up with my merchandise for this year,
and I was thinking, you know, Taylor Swift started this
whole thing, and I've got so many friendship races from
(28:46):
fans and I love them, but I run out of
wrist space and stuff too, but I love them. And
I was thinking, wouldn't it be cool to do like
make it your own, make your own friendship bracelet that
the fans could get and then they could wear them,
so it would be like girl power or that might
be a little bit too cliche these days. What do
you think? Do you think that it would be like
(29:09):
a solidarity thing, because I feel like times have changed
so much. There's more women watching racing. There's more women
involved in racing, and there's definitely especially since Elf came
on board for Indy, there's this whole solidarity thing which
I love, which you know, I've been pushing forever, in
that we are stronger together, we have to stand together.
There should not be a competition between women in racing
(29:31):
because we have to also beat the boys. It's not
like you have to be the best girl or anything
like that. So I love the girl power aspect, and
I know that that sounds cliche, but I don't care
because I am all about supporting and empowering other women
who deserve it in racing, and so I just I
don't know how to go about that with the fans.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
I guess I think honestly, Taylor Swift is a great
example in the sense that she created, you know, that
image with the Amazon women, like she had her own
what do you call it? Like Amazon Warrior?
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Did she? I don't know enough about her.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yeah, we call like some sort of image or maybe
it was from a concert or a tour, but yeah,
I mean, I think it's definitely an amazing idea. I mean,
it's about community, right, It's about building a community.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Yes, that's the perfect way of putting it. It is
a community, and I definitely feel that community. I'm more
of a Miley Cyrus kind of like burn the whole
place down kind of thing, but but I'm trying to
embrace my inner Taylor absolutely, So something like that sounds
like it'd be good because I wanted to be open
(30:45):
and accessible for everybody, and I want women to be
respected in the sport. And I feel like in the
last decade there's been a massive shift where it's way
more accessible. You had the W Series, you got the
F one Academy. Now you've got a pyramid of drivers
coming in. Like I mentioned, it was Danniger and me
and then Simona and then you and now there's like
(31:05):
a broad base of them all coming up. But I
don't know that it's being done, and I don't want
to come across at all in any way, shape or
form like I'm against it because I'm not. And you
know very well that I'm definitely pro woman, But I
feel like it's become a bit of a gimmick and
then not taken seriously by swinging to the other extreme
(31:27):
and giving them so many opportunities, like for example, the
F one Academy has got a lot of good drivers
that they are giving F one test driver roles to
or roles within the F one teams. Do those Formula
one teams actually believe that those drivers that they have
are going to progress into driving roles in there as
(31:50):
good as their male counterpoint.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Will they actually be just like the male junior drivers? Now,
I don't know this, but it's one of the requirements
that I think would be nice to have in place.
Is one of the requirements for the male junior drivers.
Is the female junior driver expecting to do the same,
deliver the same, and be as much a part of
it as the male junior drivers.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
I guess I'm just kind of like a bit over
the segregation in one way, and I just want to
get it to a point where it's not discussed whether
you're a male female, whether you wear makeup or you
don't wear makeup. I just wanted to get to a
point where that person is a driver. Christina Nielsen's just
(32:33):
a driver. They don't have to be like, oh, Christina's
so pretty, you know, or whatever it may be. I
just I hate that it is such a topic now
and I feel like it's been that horse has been
what is the saying.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
I think you and I both enjoyed our year in
twenty nineteen with Myershank Racing Timebriker Racing, where we were
competing together, but we were competing against the men, and
we were competitive against them men, which is the ultimate
test that everyone will be expecting you to complete. You've
got to be competitive against the men. Is the W
(33:10):
Series F one Academy? Has that been a great opportunity
for women to give experience, drive time to build on
their racecrafts. Absolutely, but in the end they're going to
have to be if they have to make it to
Formula one, they have to be competitive with the men.
And I think you and I both enjoyed that. We
at the time we were driving together, both had years
(33:32):
in the product as drivers, and yes, now we're competing
together as teammates, just like we had other teammates male
or men or women, and we got to do it together,
but it was in an equal platform.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
Do you think in al lifetime there will be a
woman on the F one grid?
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Hell? Yeah, absolutely, do you Yeah?
Speaker 3 (34:06):
Actually, I mean our lifetime, we still have a lot
of years to go fast, so yes, absolutely, I think so,
and I have to say, maybe we should consider starting
a management company because imagine being the one that brings
a competitive female to the field.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Wouldn't that be cool to be those people?
Speaker 1 (34:25):
It absolutely would be, And I have had that same
thought because sometimes what you went through in your transition
to starting your business outside of racing, which is super cool.
By the way, guys, if you haven't looked it at me,
should go and look up The Destination by Christina Nielsen.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Thanks Kay, of course.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
But I also think, okay, driving isn't gonna last forever.
I know, I'm only twenty one, and I've still got
a lot of good yas.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
I'm twelve everybody, So.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
I think what would fulfill me. I love racing because
it makes you want to get out of bed in
the morning and you're like, I'm going to do this,
And yes, there's frustrations and there's ups and downs, but
it's what I'm passionate about.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
The only thing that will get us up at five.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Yeah, exactly, And I think that is one of the
things that I would be passionate about, would be managing
other female drivers and trying to stop them making the
same mistakes that we did on our way up and
like keeping them on the straight and narrow and trying
to get them to be the best versions of themselves
and hopefully successful in the future. So yeah, it is
something that I've given some thought to. I think we
(35:33):
would actually make a kick ass team at doing it,
so we should definitely talk about that.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
We're taking applications for sponsors from participants, for race teams everything.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
I have a few that I've been watching, Like I
keep an eye on all the female drivers because I
do want to support them for the most part. There
are a few that I think are doing it for
the wrong reasons, but then that's the same with the males,
and I really do hope that some of them succeed.
I met one a few years ago now in the
(36:04):
sprint car Paddock, who I think will make it to NASCAR.
I think she has really cool and got the bit
between her teeth. But it's so difficult because at every stage,
I mean, think about it, there are millions of boys
around the world karting. Maybe not millions, but like a
whole bunch a.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Lot more than women. We can agree on that one. Yeah,
That's what I always say when I get asked, like,
what do you think are the lighthold of a woman
making it to Formula one? And I said, well, you
got to look at statistics. How many female karting drivers
are there, how many male karting drivers are there, How
many of them make it into the feeder series. I
mean the percentage is just so low. But if you
(36:43):
ask me within my life style, yeah, I think it's
going to be possible. Also because there is a focus
now that is allowing a platform where women are actually
giving some opportunities that could put them in a position
to be considered for the future.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
Yeah, very true.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
And there are more women karting. I mean I during COVID,
towards the end we were allowed to move outside. I
volunteered for a day for girl carters like they were
carding drivers in Denmark. Yeah, they joined me for a
day in Denmark and on a normal Tuesday, I think
there was like fourteen girls. I can't even count fourteen
(37:25):
girls from my time in cutting that I remember from
an international competition standpoint, So the fact that fourteen Danish
girls showed up, I mean that's an increase. Is it
still a low number compared to the amount of male drivers. Yeah,
but it's still an improvement.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
So sticking with the girl and racing theme because it
was obviously the thing that bonded us and the thing
that we have in common the most. I feel like
we get asked some very similar questions and the focus
is on the fact that we're females some of the time,
Like how many times have you been asked what's it
like to be a girl in racing?
Speaker 2 (38:02):
I used to say sometimes because the first year I
drove at Lamont, I was the first Danish want to
compete at Lamont and I got asked that question so
many times and referred to it, and at that point
I was also like, well, how about the fact that
I'm leading a championship in America as a driver? Can't
that be acknowledged? So it's a blessing and a curse.
(38:24):
You know, there's a good and a bad side, but yeah,
it's all part of the game. What was your go
to response?
Speaker 1 (38:33):
Normally I get a little bit jaded and strappy by
it all. Now, yeah, I get a bit of an attitude,
I have to say, and when somebody says that to me. Now,
after being in professional racing for twenty years and literally
being the only girl for the majority of those twenty
years in whatever I'm doing, until you know we did
(38:53):
our thing, and imse, I'm like, well, I don't know
what it's like to be a boy in racing, and
I imagine it's very similar, only how do I know
a frame of reference? Like it's it's crazy. I know
that they don't mean anything by these questions, but it's
also like, well, what's it like being a girl in journalism?
Like you don't know what it's like being a boy
in journalism, So why I ask the question? So I
(39:14):
feel like times are changing positively. I feel like Company's
like Elf coming on board and doing that makes it
authentic to be a girl and racing. And now I
can tell you that I wear mascara and I care
about my skin and all the things without feeling.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
You're who you are as a driver.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
Yes, that's the perfect way of putting it. Yes, So
I know we harped on a lot about being a
female and dry and racing shocking.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
I mean, as much as we don't like the question,
we did talk a lot about that, but some of
the points are important to address.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
I think so, and I think now everybody knows our
opinion on it, which we've formed and has changed over
the years. I think that's an important point to make
as well. I think if you can look at it
objectively and times changing, you know, there's more women running companies,
there's more women running countries. There's definitely a shift in
attitude towards the different sexes.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
And I also think there's sometimes a difference between something
being for example, as GRIB journalists, where you feel like
it's a clickbait versus if you're being asked to do
a speaking engagement or be on a panel. Because what
I'm trying to sometimes remind myself as well, the reason
why this is still a topic that people want to
talk about is because there's still a lot to learn
(40:30):
about it, and there's still you know, lack of diversity,
you know, lack of women, especially within our industry, within
a lot of STEM focused industries. So all right, if
that's still the case, we still got to share our knowledge,
our experiences and be a part of creating a change.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Yeah, I do think it's really important as something that's
very close to my heart is to get more women
involved in racing in general. Like I one of the
best engineers I ever worked with was a woman and
having that representation and that link with her was very
meaningful to me. And I hate when we get pitched
against each other where you know, take Simona for example,
(41:11):
like she's just another driver. It's not like we should
be rivals or we should be compared to each other
or anything else more than you know, You're no different
as a teammate to me, is Andy or Jack Harvey
or whoever else was in my sphere. Thank you for
giving us your opinion. I think our opinions are very
(41:33):
similar on most of these topics, and I think that
it is because we've had so many years of experiencing
different opinions. And I love the fact that you are
intelligent enough and emotionally intelligent enough that you shift your
opinion if evidence has provided to you that maybe this
is the better way of doing it, And so I
(41:53):
try and do the same. So that's why my opinion
has shifted on the subject a lot too, So I
feel like same.
Speaker 2 (42:00):
Yeah, as always, surprise.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
Thanks for listening to Throttle Therapy. We'll be back next
week with more updates and more overtakes, and we want
to hear from you. Leave us a review in Apple
Podcasts and tell us what you want to talk about.
It might just be the topic for our next show.
Throttle Therapy is hosted by Katherine Legg. Our executive producer
is Jesse Kat and our supervising producer is Grace Fuse.
(42:32):
Listen to Throttle Therapy on America's number one podcast network,
I Heart. Open your free iHeart app and search throttle
Therapy with Katherine Legg and start listening.
Throttle Therapy with Catherine Legg is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all, she said in
(00:21):
her best Nascar accent, because you know, I've been racing
stock cars at Daytona and I'm super getting into it.
Welcome to that time of the month with me, Catherine
Legg on Throttle Therapy and the amazing Christina Nielsen, and
I just wanted to fill you in a little bit
on what I've been up to this month. Obviously, I
(00:43):
don't know whether you have been under a rock, but
I've been banging on about NASCAR for a few solid
weeks now. I've been embracing my inner stock car driver
and racing NASCAR ARCA Series in Daytona, and I had
the most amount of funding. Yeah, I am still reeling.
I'm still gutted that my race lasted a total of
(01:05):
four and a half laps, unfortunately, but it's just made
me hungry for more. So I've been working really hard
behind the scenes. I have been training hard in preparation
forts to come, which I would love to be able
to share with you, but until it's all signed on
the dotted line, I really don't want to jinx anything.
But I am going to NASCAR have a race in
town this weekend. It's in Atlanta, and I'm going to
(01:28):
go down and see my friends there and see if
I can learn some more stock car racing. Obviously not racing,
but will be there supporting my friend Aj Almondinger. So
Aj Almondinger and I have been friends for twenty years.
He was one of the first people who kind of
took me under his wing when I came over and
did champ Car. Well, I did Atlantics first, and I
(01:49):
was in the Atlantic Series, which is the equivalent to
the Indie Lights Series nowadays, and he was in the
big car, in the IndyCar, in the chap Car, and
he and a number of other drivers like Justin Wilson
and Paul Tracy and those guys, they kind of ToIP
me under their wing and looked after me and taught
me the ways of American racing. Is this new be
English girl that came over and so we've been through
(02:12):
numerous adventures since we had this one week of promotion
for the Champcar series and we called it the Terribo Tour.
By we I meant this series and the series basically
flew on Kevin Calcoven, who owned the series, his Gulf Stream.
We flew around the country and we hit every major
(02:33):
market that we were racing, and so we'd start on
the West coast and then we'd go to Denver and
then we go to the East coast. And it was
a week and I remember it well because I have
never felt so ill in my entire life. We got
zero sleep. We lived on peanut eminem's. I think that's
like the entirety of what we ate for a week
was copious amount of peanut eminem's. I cannot look at
a peanut eminem to this day, I'll have you know.
(02:55):
And we would try and sleep on the plane as
and when we could, but we made the big mistake
of going out the first night, and so AJ and
I decided that this guy Alan Shutto, who was a
kid in one of the development series. This was after
the first year of me doing Atlantics, and so it
was my first year in champ Car and I thought
(03:18):
I'd made it to the big leagues and this kid
Alan Shutto, who's probably not a kid anymore, because this
was twenty years ago, you guys crazy. I don't even
remember how old he was. I think he was eighteen
at the time, and AJ and I thought, in our
infinite wisdom, because we were still you know, early twenties,
that we would take him out and get him drunk
and show him, you know, how to be the big man.
(03:40):
And so all I remember is the first day we
were there in Long Beach and we went to this
bar and it had really sticky floors, you know, when
you couldn't like move your feet because the floor was
really sticky. I remember that there were weird things, you remember. Anyway,
we were getting this Alan shutto kid drunk. In the
same time, AJ and I were drinking far too much
(04:00):
and we had a lot of fun. We were dancing around,
We had a great night. But that set the tone
for the rest of the week, and I think we
literally were hungover for a whole week. We could not
catch up on sleep, and we lived on peanut m
and M's and so that kind of really cemented our friendship.
And so I have always cheered for AJ. He's a
new dad now, which blows my mind because I don't
(04:21):
think we're grown up enough to have children. And I
have another I have other drivers that I support and
that I like from Afar from watching, but I don't
know that many of them in the in the stock
car pattick, in the NASCAR paddock. So I am just
getting to know them, and so far they've all been
really friendly and really welcoming, and it seems like a
really cool place to be. So I'm looking forward to
(04:43):
going and seeing old friends and making new ones and
speaking of old friends, and by old I mean young
but been friends for a long time. Christina and I
made this podcast for you. Hello everybody, and welcome to
(05:04):
Throttle Therapy with me Catherine Legg and we are extremely
lucky to be joined by the amazing Christina Nielsen again
this month because it is that time of the Boots exactly.
I love our monthly show. I love that we can
kind of poke fun at ourselves as well as Yeah,
(05:24):
so whether it's driving or a competition, or the technical aspect,
or the teamwork aspect, or the social aspect or whatever
aspect of racing, we obviously fell in love with it. It
has been all encompassing, to the detriment of everything else
in our lives at times, but we love it more
than anything else, And I wanted to ask. I know
(05:47):
everybody's driven, no pun intended by different things in racing.
Like some people love the will to wiel competition. Some
people love the driving and the perfecting that some people
love the competition agin themselves. That's one for me for sure.
What was it that was your hook that made you
(06:10):
give up everything else in your life and pursue driving
as a career.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
I mean, honestly, I just loved driving from the moment
I sat in a go kart for the first time,
fell in love with the driving part, sitting behind the wheel.
My dad has quite an extensive racing CD, but it
wasn't him who took me to the karting track for
the first time. It was kind of a random thing,
went with a friend loved.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
But you were going to say random friend.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I didn't have friends when I was younger, before I
met you. There were other people. But yeah, I just
you know, I fell in love with it right then
and there on the spot. I went home. I asked
my dad and he went, oh boy. But of course
he's also a huge racing fanatic, loves it, has the
(07:01):
same passion shares it with me. So yeah, I mean
he was my number one supporter from the beginning and
used to go to the karting trap drive around Europe
in event with the mechanic that I was with, and
did that for quite a few years. And I think
also a blessing in disguise that we had when we
were younger was the fact that social media wasn't around.
(07:23):
It was absolutely building an image or what can you
show your friends started cool. I mean, of course it
was kind of cool, you know, to be driving go
karts at that age, but we didn't have that side
of it, so we just got to be present when
we're at the go kart track enjoy it. You know,
there was a community and building friends. I also think
(07:44):
I met some of my good friends already back then,
so it just made us really enjoy the moment. And yeah,
that was a part of what I loved about it.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
I'm bond with your dad as well. It was definitely
a bonding experience with my dad too.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
So when you're driving now, say you're at Sebrian casting
with me and we're in I don't know the NSX
and I want the pitstand and you're like, oh my goodness,
I've got the biggest grin on my face because it's
the we get to do the coolest job in the
whole wide world. And that's the driving aspect. I mean,
obviously that's the working with me aspect, but you know everyone, yea,
(08:21):
is it still the driving that gets it done for you?
Because I'll preempt that by saying, be totally honest, because
if you feel like you drove as well as you
possibly could, but you finished eighteenth, right, do you still
love it for the driving aspect? Or is it a
mix of the driving aspect and also the doing well aspect?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
It's one hundred percent a mix of driving and being competitive.
I think for me, one of the biggest examples of
how much it affects your mindset to know where you
are compared to competition is like gunn Sega, like Wuna
Sega has a super high drop for the tires. You know,
you have the peak when they're new, and then it's
a big change from when the tires are almost extant
(09:08):
old compared to them being completely new, so you feel
like the car is moving around. It's an opposite track
to for example, Spring, where you're sort of driving like
a gun to your head. It's almost like slower is
faster at Laguna and you feel like, man, I'm doing
a horrible job out here, because I remember that actually
happened in the Nsex and Mike. I was like panicking
(09:30):
a little bit, like this feels really bad, And Mike
came at the radio and told me, you know that
the times were good, like because it was comparison compared
to some of the other people that were on old
tires and therefore one hundred percent. I cannot say it's
only the driving. It's also the part about, you know,
feeling like you're getting the maximum out of whatever you're
dealing with the conditions that you're dealing with and being
(09:52):
competitive with it.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Same with me, Oh yeah, it's so the same same
because I feel like it's the competition with myself and
being able to get out of that car and say
nobody else could have driven that car any better than
me at that point in time. Then I feel like
a one, whether that's P eighteen or P one, right, Like,
if I feel like I got the most out of it,
then I feel like that's a win.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
But we want to be P one.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
But we want to win anyway and.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
We get.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Percent. But actually Lagoon is not the same anymore now,
I know.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
But a lot of tracks change throughout, like even Watkins
Glen what can slen? You used to have to be
super precise because of the ascots being different on it,
so line essentially was super important. But after they repaved
it there was a lot more grip everywhere. So definitely
some major changes that has happened throughout. I would say, yeah,
our years on the American tracks.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
So back to what forged Christina Nielsen as a driver,
like what drove? You got to keep making that pun
and it's getting old. So you obviously you had your
dad as a role model. I had my dad also
as a role model, but my dad never drove like
your dad was somebody that you could look up to
(11:10):
and listen to and respect and like if he said
ten in later for ten three or break late for
ten two, like you've.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Never listened to him? Really? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, I mean
we both know each other's dad. Your dad is amazing
as well. I can totally see you know the influence
that he's had on you as much as I think
there's something beautiful and both of us are very close
to our dads. I also think that there's something about like,
sometimes it can be difficult, but listening to the ones
(11:39):
that are the closest to you.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
Racing dad syndrome.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Yeah, I mean, wasn't your dad a part of your
journey right from the beginning.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yes, But I also went through the same thing that
I think you probably went through. And I see with
one of the young girls that I'm helping this year,
I see it with her too, is that her dad
wants to be super involved and she doesn't want to
listen to her because it's her dad. She just wants
her dad to be there for her and let her
vent and just listen and move on. I guess that's
(12:08):
back to relationships as well, like how much do you
want the solution and how much do you just want
somebody to understand yeah, and be your dad. So my
dad and I fought a lot in that transition of yes, Daddy,
I know what you're saying is right, but stop saying it,
because I just need to do me and listen to
(12:29):
the engineers and listen to the people that I need
to listen to. And I don't necessarily want your nagging
me all the time.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
My dad would actually sometimes after I'm done with like
analyzing my data, he would go back into the truck
and have a look at my data afterwards. I mean,
on one hand, it's a it's a blessing that he's
so passionate about it. It's because he is really curious
and involved, and it's great that we have dads that
(12:56):
we can call up and we can talk to him
about the nerdy stuff that normal people otherwise wouldn't understand.
But on the other hand, it is also hard that
a dad wears several hats. So there's the dad, there's
the manager, there's the coach. There's a lot of different
roles that they want to take on, and it's not
always an easy balance within a father daughter relationship. On
(13:19):
dred percent, it's.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Also very strange because like normal life does not involve
taking a dad to work.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
No. I used to always stand like, you know you
still watching every time, you know, popping everybody, like watching
the split sectors.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
And like giving us split times. It's really good in
turn one, but she lives and like we see we
have to date, but we know thank you. So obviously
dads were our first ever role model in racing, but
then as you get to know more about racing, and
you're researching more and you're getting more into the weeds
of it all, and you're following it and you decide,
(14:00):
I think, what kind of racing you want to specialize?
And it's a bit like going to university. Do I
want to study economics or do I want to study art?
Or what do I want to study? Where we're like, oh,
do I want to be open wheel or do I
want to be sports cars? Like what passion you have?
So in that young Christina Molding period, who were people
(14:20):
who you looked up to, that influenced you, that were
role models for you, that were good ambassadors for the
sport in your eyes.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Here's the interesting part. My dad has three daughters, and
as much as my dad is my dad, I don't
think I ever grew up separating men and women in
terms of who I looked at. I looked at them
as drivers. So you and I are on the same
page with this. Through many years, we wanted to just
be viewed as drivers. The thing about being a woman
(14:50):
came second. Now as I became more knowledgeable and became
more aware of social situations and gatherings of what was
going on I started to realize that it was important
to have female representation. But I will say this, growing up,
I definitely didn't see a lot of women. But I'll
tell you one thing my dad did, and that was
(15:12):
interesting because he never asked me to look at only
the female drivers as role models, like it was just drivers.
I think, you know a classic example being Danish with
Tom Christensen. You know, one Lemon multiple times, you know,
audi legend, complete legend exactly. But he did buy me
a watch one year that was done in collaboration with
(15:36):
Nika Patrick. So I think there was a female aspect
there that you know, he acknowledged, but it was never
something we really spoke about. And it was a nice
gesture and you know, I appreciated it and it was
a very thoughtful gift. But yeah, I don't think I
really had an opinion about male or female. It was
(15:56):
more about drivers.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Yeah, so slightly different era for me. Again, same didn't
even really see there was any women in racing. I
remember when I first started go karting, there was one
other girl there, Louise somebody, and so the fact that
she was there was the only reason that I thought
that there was an access to go karting. Right, if
(16:23):
she hadn't had a go kart, I would have just
assumed that there were women didn't do it, Like women
didn't play football soccer in England at that time. I
think they do now, but we weren't allowed, like oh no,
that's for boys. There was a lady called Ellen MacArthur
who single handedly sailed around the world when I was
(16:43):
in my molding years. I guess I was like nine
ten something like that, and I remember writing her a
letter because I thought she was a badass, right, like
she was the only woman, and I was like, wow,
a girl can set off on her own. This is
how conditioned we are, right, and especially a little bit older,
I was like, wow, a girl could set off on
her I wouldn't have thought anything of it if it
(17:04):
had been a boy, But the fact that it was
a woman and she set off on her own to
sail around the world with all the supplies that she
may need for whatever period of time that was, I
was like, wow, she's cool. So she really started the
whole girl power me opening my eyes to being whatever
you want to be. And my dad reinforced that right,
like my dad and my mom, I sh shouldn't forget
(17:26):
my mom. My Mom's been an important influence in my
life too. Helped me grow up thinking that I could
do anything that I wanted to that I set my
mind to, So that kind of sort of set the stage,
if you like. And then as I got into racing,
I realized that there was at that time, Sarah Fisher
was racing Indica, and obviously you look a little bit further.
You had Dasiri Wilson who did some Formula one stuff
(17:48):
back in the day. You had Lindsea and James, you
had Janet Guthrie over here. You didn't hear about them
so much in Europe. Now you do because it's much
more accessible to everybody globally. And obviously there was Michelle Muton,
and Michelle Muton for me, still stands out because she
was the only one in global rallying, which is really
(18:09):
really tough that was winning world championship races. I mean,
that's like winning F one races in the rally world, right,
so she was really cool. There was Danika, and there
was me, and then latterly there was Simona and so
there really wasn't many of us. And it's at that
point then I realized, well, holy cow, we are now
(18:34):
also role models. And for you, it's interesting to hear
that Danika's story because she came up at the same time,
just before me. Right, So for me, she wasn't a
role model because I was already kind of there. But
what she did for me was made me think about
how I wanted to be positioned as a role model,
because it comes with a certain amount of responsibility racing.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
I think, you know, how did my dad know about her?
It was extremely clever marketing and how she was branded
and positioned that put her in a position to have
those type of deals.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Did it make you think like it did me of like, Okay,
how do I want to be seen by the outside world?
Like what do I want people to think of me
as a brand or commodity?
Speaker 2 (19:19):
I think, honestly, it wasn't before I was striving and
I saw the little girls and I had interactions with
them where I suddenly felt the responsibility to how I
was viewed by them, And that was I think the
first real moment where I felt the responsibility as a
woman within the industry. One story or one moment that
I stually remember was the podium at Petit Lemong in sixteen,
(19:44):
close the championship and there's this little girl with her
dad and Oliver. Gavin and I are walking down from
the podium together, and all of it, in my opinion,
is a pretty He's a legend within Corvette, Like he's
a legend. Yeah, absolutely, such a N eighte. You know,
he is an ambassador also, I would say for the sport.
I mean, he was a fierce but fair competitor. He
(20:05):
has an amazing career and at the same time he
was such a nice guy really just a great human being.
And exactly and I'm this little girl, like both Gavin
and I stop to give her our podium hat and
she looks at Gavin. She shakes his head and she
takes my hat and I was like, okay, it's already
(20:27):
Gavin that I'm standing next to here, and she's choosing
mind like I would have taken his.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
But so lovely.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Yeah, but that was that was a special moment where
I kind of felt like, Okay, we mat her to
these young girls that are showing up. And this girl
was not very old. She was with her dad, she
was maybe five years old. But the fact that she
already at that age acknowledged that, Okay, here's you know,
a girl, a woman who's competing and she can do it,
(20:58):
I can do it kind of thing. You know that
that's pretty special, see it to be it. Yeah, so
I think that was gross tend.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
I think Oliver Gavin would actually be a really great
one to have as a role model. I had a
very similar role model in Justin Wilson. Do you remember
Justin Wilson. Yeah, yeah, Unfortunately he's no longer with us,
but he was the same kind of ilk mold as
Oliver Gavin. You know, like they're very stoic but kind,
but level headed, but just like a beast in a
(21:29):
race car, but really fair. You know, when you're racing
them will to will, they're not going to do anything
stupid or or mean or means not the right way.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
I disrespect you as a driver, like it's not about
anything else but that.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
So I also have more male role models I think
than female in the in the driving kind of aspect.
Although I I love Sarah, She's awesome. She's a friend
of mine now and she was definitely somebody that I
looked up to coming over here. Because when you are
the only one and you're fighting against all of the stigma,
(22:18):
and back then it was even harder than it is now.
Like now, there's definitely a lot more going on. But
I think also back then, going back to the Danika
reference that you did, I rebelled against the pretty privileged
aspect of it, if you see what I mean, Like
I did not want to be seen as a woman.
I wanted to be seen as a race car driver,
(22:39):
and so I did not do anything feminine. Really that
wasn't forced upon me, like oh, you have to do
this photo shoot or what have you. Because I was
so determined.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
We had a photo shoot. Do you remember that one?
Do you remember that one with the in Texas? You
and I individually refused. Did we do a photo shoot? Yeah? Yes,
because it went against like what we stand for. They
wanted us to wear ball gowns or something like like
like evening gowns. Oh I remember this, Yeah, I ad
the track.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Yeah yeah, so yeah, So we both kind of rebelled
against that, and we didn't want I didn't want, you know,
nine year old Christina's or Catherines in the future to
think that you had to be seen as sexual if
you like them, in order to get ahead. I just
wanted to be taken seriously as a race cut driver.
In hindsight, I think there's a really thin line that
(23:31):
we have to walk, and it's not disgusting enough. Like
the boys can just be the boys, and they can
be hot boys, or they can be just like focused
in nerdy boys, or like they can be a mix
of both. But for us, there's like a fine line
where we want to be seen as feminine and attractive,
but we also want to be taken seriously, and so
to go over the line one way or another, it's
(23:52):
pretty tricky, tight repe to walk.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
But also because with eyes on you, you wouldn't be
caught likeshing your hair before going to the podium, because
you know that's something that probably is going to create
some negative comments online, Like you're a driver, you're just
going ahead and doing what you need to do. But
at the same time, if let's say you were sponsored
(24:15):
by a makeup company, you would want to, you know,
like look nice on the podium.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Well that's how times have changed, right.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
One hundred percent, because we would never do that back
in the day.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Never even five years ago, we would not have done that.
But then the W series came along and they were
all doing that, and I remember looking at that with
open mouth, thinking what happened to Like how is that
now an acceptable thing? But even the boys were embracing
the fact that we should be feminine, and even Andy Lally,
(24:47):
my teammate, I think around it at the same time,
he's like, yeah, you should probably like put some lipstick
on a brush your hair. I remember being so offended
by this, like, no, why do I Why does it
matter what I look like? Isn't it matha how I drive?
Speaker 2 (25:02):
And I think it also goes hand in hand with
we are doing something that's extreme, like those cars get hot,
especially the and the sex that we drove together, so
you are supposed to come out of the car being sweaty,
you know, being you know, worn out or a bit dehydrated.
Like that's okay. But you know, there's a time and
(25:22):
place for everything. And I think, going back to that
shoot that we were asked to be a part of,
both of us said, yeah, if we were going to
a nice event, we would put on an evening gown,
But when we're at the racetrack, we wear suits, race suits,
that's what we're here to do. So I still think there's
a there's a balance to be kept in terms of
(25:43):
where your focus should be, because what you don't want
is people to think, oh, like, oh yeah, she crashed important.
Imagine if you had a crash and you were doing
your makeup or your hair right before, then the common
sex would probably say, oh yeah, but that's because she
was too busy, you know, checking out her eyeshadow and
the uh in the mirror. I've had comments like that
on some of the articles about me, and.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
Some of the comments do get very personal.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Yes, as a female, it's much more about I think
your looks, and I mean I used to have comments
on some of the articles, like I remember some of
them saying I must have taken so much testosterone that
I'm more men than woman. My baby watch may be broken,
Like really personal, harsh comments that I don't know if
(26:31):
the men get them, but I did not enjoy them
back then, Like it was hard to read.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
I wonder what possesses somebody to write something like that.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Though, write that about another person, all right.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
But also how weird? Like everybody is different and that's
what makes life fun. Right, If we're all the same,
it would be boring. And so whether I am a
little bit more of a tomboy than somebody else. Is
just it shouldn't be a factor. Yeah, it shouldn't be
brought into anything racing related, in my opinion. But you
(27:04):
are a public figure, so they do feel entitled to
pick apart your life a little bit. But I'm sorry
that happened to you.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Thank you. Well, okay, we're doing just fine, just fine.
I think it's also a part of me thinks, don't
you have a sister or a mom, or what if
you have a daughter, would you like anybody to make
those type of comments about them. I think there's a
line very often that is crossed on the Internet in
terms of what is acceptable to say.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Yeah, but it's things that they would never say to
your face. I don't even look at it anymore because
I think how many people would actually come up to
you at a racetrack and say something like that. Not many,
but they feel very empowered behind the behind the keyboard.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
So I will say also, I still have some of
the speaking of the positive side, I still have some
of the gifts that fans have given me throughout the years.
Like I remember one book I still have and I
keep that one actually with like the main trophies, the
championship trophies and the trophies from Ferrari. It's a book
(28:09):
about and so Ferrari, and they had earmarked the chapter
about that was called women and Ferrari, and so that
book is with the Ferrari stuff. And yeah, that was
just very personalized, very cute, very thoughtful gifts.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Yeah, and there are there are so many of them.
I keep all of them, an everything that fans give me,
the pictures, the friendship races. Oh, speaking of friendship races.
So I am coming up with my merchandise for this year,
and I was thinking, you know, Taylor Swift started this
whole thing, and I've got so many friendship races from
(28:46):
fans and I love them, but I run out of
wrist space and stuff too, but I love them. And
I was thinking, wouldn't it be cool to do like
make it your own, make your own friendship bracelet that
the fans could get and then they could wear them,
so it would be like girl power or that might
be a little bit too cliche these days. What do
you think? Do you think that it would be like
(29:09):
a solidarity thing, because I feel like times have changed
so much. There's more women watching racing. There's more women
involved in racing, and there's definitely especially since Elf came
on board for Indy, there's this whole solidarity thing which
I love, which you know, I've been pushing forever, in
that we are stronger together, we have to stand together.
There should not be a competition between women in racing
(29:31):
because we have to also beat the boys. It's not
like you have to be the best girl or anything
like that. So I love the girl power aspect, and
I know that that sounds cliche, but I don't care
because I am all about supporting and empowering other women
who deserve it in racing, and so I just I
don't know how to go about that with the fans.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
I guess I think honestly, Taylor Swift is a great
example in the sense that she created, you know, that
image with the Amazon women, like she had her own
what do you call it? Like Amazon Warrior?
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Did she? I don't know enough about her.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yeah, we call like some sort of image or maybe
it was from a concert or a tour, but yeah,
I mean, I think it's definitely an amazing idea. I mean,
it's about community, right, It's about building a community.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Yes, that's the perfect way of putting it. It is
a community, and I definitely feel that community. I'm more
of a Miley Cyrus kind of like burn the whole
place down kind of thing, but but I'm trying to
embrace my inner Taylor absolutely, So something like that sounds
like it'd be good because I wanted to be open
(30:45):
and accessible for everybody, and I want women to be
respected in the sport. And I feel like in the
last decade there's been a massive shift where it's way
more accessible. You had the W Series, you got the
F one Academy. Now you've got a pyramid of drivers
coming in. Like I mentioned, it was Danniger and me
and then Simona and then you and now there's like
(31:05):
a broad base of them all coming up. But I
don't know that it's being done, and I don't want
to come across at all in any way, shape or
form like I'm against it because I'm not. And you
know very well that I'm definitely pro woman, But I
feel like it's become a bit of a gimmick and
then not taken seriously by swinging to the other extreme
(31:27):
and giving them so many opportunities, like for example, the
F one Academy has got a lot of good drivers
that they are giving F one test driver roles to
or roles within the F one teams. Do those Formula
one teams actually believe that those drivers that they have
are going to progress into driving roles in there as
(31:50):
good as their male counterpoint.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Will they actually be just like the male junior drivers? Now,
I don't know this, but it's one of the requirements
that I think would be nice to have in place.
Is one of the requirements for the male junior drivers.
Is the female junior driver expecting to do the same,
deliver the same, and be as much a part of
it as the male junior drivers.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
I guess I'm just kind of like a bit over
the segregation in one way, and I just want to
get it to a point where it's not discussed whether
you're a male female, whether you wear makeup or you
don't wear makeup. I just wanted to get to a
point where that person is a driver. Christina Nielsen's just
(32:33):
a driver. They don't have to be like, oh, Christina's
so pretty, you know, or whatever it may be. I
just I hate that it is such a topic now
and I feel like it's been that horse has been
what is the saying.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
I think you and I both enjoyed our year in
twenty nineteen with Myershank Racing Timebriker Racing, where we were
competing together, but we were competing against the men, and
we were competitive against them men, which is the ultimate
test that everyone will be expecting you to complete. You've
got to be competitive against the men. Is the W
(33:10):
Series F one Academy? Has that been a great opportunity
for women to give experience, drive time to build on
their racecrafts. Absolutely, but in the end they're going to
have to be if they have to make it to
Formula one, they have to be competitive with the men.
And I think you and I both enjoyed that. We
at the time we were driving together, both had years
(33:32):
in the product as drivers, and yes, now we're competing
together as teammates, just like we had other teammates male
or men or women, and we got to do it together,
but it was in an equal platform.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
Do you think in al lifetime there will be a
woman on the F one grid?
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Hell? Yeah, absolutely, do you Yeah?
Speaker 3 (34:06):
Actually, I mean our lifetime, we still have a lot
of years to go fast, so yes, absolutely, I think so,
and I have to say, maybe we should consider starting
a management company because imagine being the one that brings
a competitive female to the field.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Wouldn't that be cool to be those people?
Speaker 1 (34:25):
It absolutely would be, And I have had that same
thought because sometimes what you went through in your transition
to starting your business outside of racing, which is super cool.
By the way, guys, if you haven't looked it at me,
should go and look up The Destination by Christina Nielsen.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Thanks Kay, of course.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
But I also think, okay, driving isn't gonna last forever.
I know, I'm only twenty one, and I've still got
a lot of good yas.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
I'm twelve everybody, So.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
I think what would fulfill me. I love racing because
it makes you want to get out of bed in
the morning and you're like, I'm going to do this,
And yes, there's frustrations and there's ups and downs, but
it's what I'm passionate about.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
The only thing that will get us up at five.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Yeah, exactly, And I think that is one of the
things that I would be passionate about, would be managing
other female drivers and trying to stop them making the
same mistakes that we did on our way up and
like keeping them on the straight and narrow and trying
to get them to be the best versions of themselves
and hopefully successful in the future. So yeah, it is
something that I've given some thought to. I think we
(35:33):
would actually make a kick ass team at doing it,
so we should definitely talk about that.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
We're taking applications for sponsors from participants, for race teams everything.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
I have a few that I've been watching, Like I
keep an eye on all the female drivers because I
do want to support them for the most part. There
are a few that I think are doing it for
the wrong reasons, but then that's the same with the males,
and I really do hope that some of them succeed.
I met one a few years ago now in the
(36:04):
sprint car Paddock, who I think will make it to NASCAR.
I think she has really cool and got the bit
between her teeth. But it's so difficult because at every stage,
I mean, think about it, there are millions of boys
around the world karting. Maybe not millions, but like a
whole bunch a.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Lot more than women. We can agree on that one. Yeah,
That's what I always say when I get asked, like,
what do you think are the lighthold of a woman
making it to Formula one? And I said, well, you
got to look at statistics. How many female karting drivers
are there, how many male karting drivers are there, How
many of them make it into the feeder series. I
mean the percentage is just so low. But if you
(36:43):
ask me within my life style, yeah, I think it's
going to be possible. Also because there is a focus
now that is allowing a platform where women are actually
giving some opportunities that could put them in a position
to be considered for the future.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
Yeah, very true.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
And there are more women karting. I mean I during COVID,
towards the end we were allowed to move outside. I
volunteered for a day for girl carters like they were
carding drivers in Denmark. Yeah, they joined me for a
day in Denmark and on a normal Tuesday, I think
there was like fourteen girls. I can't even count fourteen
(37:25):
girls from my time in cutting that I remember from
an international competition standpoint, So the fact that fourteen Danish
girls showed up, I mean that's an increase. Is it
still a low number compared to the amount of male drivers. Yeah,
but it's still an improvement.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
So sticking with the girl and racing theme because it
was obviously the thing that bonded us and the thing
that we have in common the most. I feel like
we get asked some very similar questions and the focus
is on the fact that we're females some of the time,
Like how many times have you been asked what's it
like to be a girl in racing?
Speaker 2 (38:02):
I used to say sometimes because the first year I
drove at Lamont, I was the first Danish want to
compete at Lamont and I got asked that question so
many times and referred to it, and at that point
I was also like, well, how about the fact that
I'm leading a championship in America as a driver? Can't
that be acknowledged? So it's a blessing and a curse.
(38:24):
You know, there's a good and a bad side, but yeah,
it's all part of the game. What was your go
to response?
Speaker 1 (38:33):
Normally I get a little bit jaded and strappy by
it all. Now, yeah, I get a bit of an attitude,
I have to say, and when somebody says that to me. Now,
after being in professional racing for twenty years and literally
being the only girl for the majority of those twenty
years in whatever I'm doing, until you know we did
(38:53):
our thing, and imse, I'm like, well, I don't know
what it's like to be a boy in racing, and
I imagine it's very similar, only how do I know
a frame of reference? Like it's it's crazy. I know
that they don't mean anything by these questions, but it's
also like, well, what's it like being a girl in journalism?
Like you don't know what it's like being a boy
in journalism, So why I ask the question? So I
(39:14):
feel like times are changing positively. I feel like Company's
like Elf coming on board and doing that makes it
authentic to be a girl and racing. And now I
can tell you that I wear mascara and I care
about my skin and all the things without feeling.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
You're who you are as a driver.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
Yes, that's the perfect way of putting it. Yes, So
I know we harped on a lot about being a
female and dry and racing shocking.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
I mean, as much as we don't like the question,
we did talk a lot about that, but some of
the points are important to address.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
I think so, and I think now everybody knows our
opinion on it, which we've formed and has changed over
the years. I think that's an important point to make
as well. I think if you can look at it
objectively and times changing, you know, there's more women running companies,
there's more women running countries. There's definitely a shift in
attitude towards the different sexes.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
And I also think there's sometimes a difference between something
being for example, as GRIB journalists, where you feel like
it's a clickbait versus if you're being asked to do
a speaking engagement or be on a panel. Because what
I'm trying to sometimes remind myself as well, the reason
why this is still a topic that people want to
talk about is because there's still a lot to learn
(40:30):
about it, and there's still you know, lack of diversity,
you know, lack of women, especially within our industry, within
a lot of STEM focused industries. So all right, if
that's still the case, we still got to share our knowledge,
our experiences and be a part of creating a change.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Yeah, I do think it's really important as something that's
very close to my heart is to get more women
involved in racing in general. Like I one of the
best engineers I ever worked with was a woman and
having that representation and that link with her was very
meaningful to me. And I hate when we get pitched
against each other where you know, take Simona for example,
(41:11):
like she's just another driver. It's not like we should
be rivals or we should be compared to each other
or anything else more than you know, You're no different
as a teammate to me, is Andy or Jack Harvey
or whoever else was in my sphere. Thank you for
giving us your opinion. I think our opinions are very
(41:33):
similar on most of these topics, and I think that
it is because we've had so many years of experiencing
different opinions. And I love the fact that you are
intelligent enough and emotionally intelligent enough that you shift your
opinion if evidence has provided to you that maybe this
is the better way of doing it, And so I
(41:53):
try and do the same. So that's why my opinion
has shifted on the subject a lot too, So I
feel like same.
Speaker 2 (42:00):
Yeah, as always, surprise.
Speaker 1 (42:10):
Thanks for listening to Throttle Therapy. We'll be back next
week with more updates and more overtakes, and we want
to hear from you. Leave us a review in Apple
Podcasts and tell us what you want to talk about.
It might just be the topic for our next show.
Throttle Therapy is hosted by Katherine Legg. Our executive producer
is Jesse Kat and our supervising producer is Grace Fuse.
(42:32):
Listen to Throttle Therapy on America's number one podcast network,
I Heart. Open your free iHeart app and search throttle
Therapy with Katherine Legg and start listening.
Host
Katherine Legge
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