Drag Racing: Celebrating Women in the Sport

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The following episode is brought to youin part by Women in Motorsports North
America, a community of professionalwomen and men devoted to supporting
opportunities for women acrossall disciplines of motorsport by
creating an inclusive and resourcefulenvironment to foster mentorship,
advocacy, education, and growth,thereby ensuring the continued strength
and successful future of our sport.

(00:23):
Well, welcome to everyone here becausethis is pretty special tonight.
Where horsepower meets heart andspeed knows no limits, we're shifting
into high gear for a special panel inhonor of International Women's Month.
From burning rubber on the track tobreaking barriers in a male dominated
sport, today, we celebrate withthe fearless women of drag racing.
Joining us Our Eric Enders,Ida Zetterstrom, Megan

(00:47):
Meyer, and Maddie Gordon.
Incredible drivers from around theworld, pioneers, champions, and all
around speed demons who prove thatracing isn't just for the boys.
So buckle up, because we're drivinginto the thrill of competition.
The challenge of the industry andwhat it truly means to be a champion.
And with that, I'm your host crewchief, Eric, from the motoring podcast

(01:07):
network, along with Lauren Goodman fromthe revs Institute, welcoming everyone
to this virtual center conversation,Erica, Ida, Megan, and Maddie.
Welcome to the show.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
Well, like all goodstories, there's an origin.
So let's.
Briefly talk about how everybodygot into motor sports, more
specifically drag racing.
What drew you into theworld of drag racing?

(01:28):
And were there any female role modelsthat inspired you along the way?
Go ahead, Maddie.
I've kind of been born into it.
I went to my first drag race atseven days old, never looked back.
My grandpa started drag racingand then my dad, and then now my
sister and I, so I mean, we've beeninvolved in it since we were kids.
Grew up through the junior dragracing program and did super
comp and worked on the funny carever since we were little kids.

(01:50):
But as far as women role models, that hasinspired me really honestly, even though
my mom's not a driver, she's inspired meso much and really helped, of course, me
and my sister through everything in life.
Through the ups and the downs, racing isvery challenging and really can beat you
down sometimes, but my mom has always beenthere and always has a way of cheering
us up or kind of keeping us in line.

(02:12):
But so I would say my mom'sdefinitely being my biggest
woman role model for sure.
Ida, how about you?
So yeah, I also grew up at the drag strip.
I was three weeks old whenI was there first time.
So Maddie beat me to it on that one alittle earlier, but yeah, I've definitely
been at the track for a long time.
My parents and especially my dadhas been involved with racing
and didn't really race himself.
During the years I grew up,he raised before I was born,

(02:35):
but worked with other teams.
He has American car repair shop andengine dyno builds engines and so on.
Worked with a lot of prostock teams and promo teams.
He actually raised pro stock himselfin the late eighties where I was born.
So I kind of always been atthe track, started racing unit
tracks to around eight years old.
I always knew I wanted to start racing.
We never really chased a championship whenI raced the juniors, just because I always

(02:58):
went to the races where my dad worked.
So we kind of just loaded thatdragster in together with the team
that he worked for and then justwent to the races where it fit in.
But we had a really great growingup in that class, had a lot of
success and we, it was just aperfect in, you know, if you.
Getting into drag racing and you'rereally getting the hold of that class.
Like you understand the business of dragracing or like what it goes down to.

(03:20):
And I feel like a lot of thechampions today and the really great
drivers, they got to start there.
So I'm really happy I gotto get my start in there.
I feel like growing up, I can'tpinpoint one specific female role model.
I think that there's beenmany of them along the way.
Drag racing has always had alot of strong female drivers
throughout the years I grew up.
Not just in the classes thatI've been in, but in others too.

(03:41):
You and growing up in junior drag, sowe were almost 50, 50 on girls and boys.
So it was never really a thing thatwomen wouldn't be there racing.
We had the top fuel champion, uh, AnitaMeckler was running when I grew up and
raised other classes, and obviouslythat was a big inspiration and even
looking at a lot of the female driversoverseas, I feel like there's a lot
of them here in NHRA that I admireda lot when I raced over in Europe and

(04:05):
many of them for different reasons.
I mean, some of them Imight admire because.
They were so good at theirmarketing, their social media,
like how they presented themselves.
Some of them were just badass drivers.
I remember I always looked up toErika for her great reaction times
and her just being a really badassfemale in that class and dominating.
In a class, there haven'tbeen a lot of women.
A lot of the other classes, there hasbeen, but that was really somewhere

(04:26):
where it's like she was a pioneer.
in that and there's just been many ofthem throughout the years where I feel
like at the track you are constantlysurrounded by strong female role
models and it's very empowering to see.
Well thank you Ida, Iappreciate the compliment.
Yeah much like the other ladies I got mystart growing up at the track from the
time I was a little kid probably beforeI could walk and then growing up watching

(04:47):
my dad race and I'm a daddy's girl.
So he's my hero, still is, and justwanted to follow in his footsteps.
He never raced professionally, justin the sportsman ranks and as a hobby.
It's all I ever wanted to do and I startedjunior drag racing when NHRA came out
with the junior drag racing league in 92.
I was eight about to turn nine and thatwas kind of the beginning of the end.

(05:08):
My sister's three years youngerthan me and when she turned
eight, she started as well.
So we toured the country driving juniors.
My dad sold his stuff to help usfocus on what we wanted to do.
And we raced juniors for nine years.
I competed in the LucasOil Series for five years.
And this is my 22nd year in Pro Stock.
Like everyone else here, I dedicatedmy whole life to the sport.

(05:28):
And it's something that I'm extremelypassionate about and love very much.
Work hard at it every single day.
I'm fortunate enough to workat the shop every day as well.
And it's just all hands on deck all thetime to make our dreams come to fruition.
And that's pretty much it.
But as far as female role models growingup, I was a huge Shelly Anderson fan.
She had the Jolly Ranchersponsored back then.

(05:49):
And my sister and I were kids.
We were like those super annoying fans.
I think we stood outside of her ropes.
and got her autographed likefour or five times a weekend.
So she probably got sick of seeing usaround, but it's definitely cool to see
her out there still with her husbandand her two kids are competing as well.
And that's really awesome.
But I mean, you can't deviatefrom the Shirley Maldoney
legend and, uh, Angel as well.

(06:10):
Those are the gals that I followed whenI was younger and through the years.
became friends and alliesand just been drag racing all
day, every day, all the time.
Megan, how about you?
Yeah, well, very similar storyto all the other ladies here.
My dad started racing in the 70s.
I have no idea when my first race wasas a kid, but I'm pretty sure I was

(06:31):
Still, you know, a newborn back thenI got started with junior dragsters
when I was 10 years old, had to waitfor my little sister to turn eight.
So that way we couldget it at the same time.
I still remember the daywe picked up those juniors.
I was completely obsessed.
So it was.
Two brothers that were aging outand we got everything that they had
cause they didn't need anything elseanymore, including their fire suits.

(06:53):
That was way too big for me, but I putthe whole thing on including like the
neck harness and everything and justwould not take it off and had a very
successful career with junior drag racingone, two track championships there.
And we had.
Such a great community there.
Just like what you do was talking about.
It was about like 50, 50 between boysand girls that we were racing junior

(07:13):
dragsters with, and my older cousinswere racing with us at the same time.
So we had a very good support systembecause my dad was still chasing.
NHRA in his top alcohol dragster.
So he missed a lot of the races thatwe had at our local track growing up.
And so it was either my mom would load usup in the dually and the trailer and take

(07:33):
us there, or my uncle or someone else'sparents would have to take us until I
was actually old enough to drive myself.
And then it's so funny.
Cause.
When my sister and I were in the sameclass back then, which was the 13
to 18, I'd have her be like the veryfirst car up in the staging lanes.
I'd start her junior dragsterand like, you know, set her idle.
And then I'd run back.

(07:54):
I'd have mine up there at thefront of the staging lanes.
And I'd wait till everybody else ran.
And I'd get my suit on and havesomeone else's parents start my junior
dragster, and I can go and do my run.
We learned at a very young age thatif we wanted to do it, we had to be.
very dedicated.
We have to give it 100 percent andvery similar to Maddie's story.
My dad made us work on thecars nights and weekends.

(08:17):
We would rather be out playing withour friends, you know, but we were
dedicated to drag racing and stillam for me growing up quite a few role
models, including Erica, especially when,you know, her movie came out is right
when I was at that perfect age for it.
Also, Ashley Forrest, When she wasracing in Top Alcohol Dragster,
we were still pretty young.
She was sponsored by Barbie.
That was at the time where my sister andI were playing with the Barbie dolls,

(08:40):
and she was the nicest person ever.
And like, we'll never forgetthis, how she treated us like
we were like her little sisters.
Even though, you know, shehas her little sisters.
But she'd always let us come into hermotorhome or her trailer, and we'd get to
watch movies with her between her runs.
Like, she just was so nice withhospitality with us and would send

(09:00):
us Barbie dolls for Christmas gifts.
And she'd even still sendus like handwritten cards.
And so she made such a goodimpression on us of how to treat
other people in this sport.
And then also another role model thatI had growing up is Diana Harker, who
she doesn't race anymore, but she wasthe first female driver on our team.
And it was.

(09:20):
back in like 2007 2008when she drove for my dad.
She has a twin sister who actually drovefor a different Top Alcohol Jaxxer team,
but Diana taught me so much with howto like race competitively, but then
also how to have your eyes set on otherstuff outside of racing and so she was
a photographer and her twin sister wasin marketing and so they were doing a

(09:45):
bunch of graphic design and websitesand photography and all that stuff.
They had amazing branding andall that and so that's what led
me on to the path of wanting to.
Get into marketing and social media and doall that when that became big in racing.
So, um, which led me to somethingcompletely different than I thought.
Listening to your guys stories,this being the third of four in our

(10:06):
mini series here dedicated to womenin motorsport for International
Women's Month is how similar.
A lot of the, what I callintergenerational racing.
There is across all the disciplines.
A lot of people are like, yeah, my dadand my uncle and my brothers and my
sister, and it's so family oriented,especially short track is very close
to you guys in that sort of way.
You know, everybody's hands on andthis and that, but a lot of us grew up

(10:28):
around the track and some people go awayfrom it, maybe school gets in the way.
They mature out of it somehow.
It's just not interesting anymore.
And I've always wondered, especiallydrag racing, how did you stay committed?
What kept.
you there what makes drag racing so kindof sticky to use a pun what was that
for you that kept you racing after allthese years from coming up as a little
kid you can go you know well for me iwas actually out of it for a few years

(10:52):
i mean i've always known i wanted torace like i said i started racing when
i was eight when 16, I was able toget my license in super comp dragster.
Always had my eyes set on top fuel.
That had been, you know, my goalsince I can't even remember.
I remember seeing like a videoof me recently when I did a TV
in June when I was like eight andthey asked, so what's your plan?
And I'm like, I'm going to raise topfuel when I'm 18 and then I get to 18.

(11:13):
And I realized like, that's not that easy.
That's not really how it happens,but obviously the passion for
it and the will to do that hadbeen there from a very young age,
but I did not have the finances.
to do it on my own and obviouslymy parents paid for my racing
when I raced junior dragsters.
They obviously owed everythingand we went to the races where
my dad was working basically, andI got to race at the same time.

(11:37):
But they were also very open withthe fact that when I graduate out of
junior dragster, I'm on my own feet.
Racing wise, obviously they'vealways helped and supported me.
Just financially, like it's morebeen the support system that
I've had around for other things.
But when I turned 16 and I wasin school, I did not have the
money to buy anything myself.
So for Dan, I got my supercomp licenseand I was actually out of it for quite

(12:00):
a few years before I found my way back.
In 2017 when I started racing bikes andthe main reason I started racing bikes
was because it was cheaper Like it'sso much cheaper racing a motorcycle.
It is to race something on four wheelsEverything is cheaper for part, you
know They just to buy it the time ittakes to work on it can many times
be a little less not not a whole lotless It's still a lot of work on that.

(12:22):
But just getting to and from the trackyou can easily Pair up and have two
bikes in a van and then, you know,have a mattress and sleep in the van,
like you can do for a really low cost.
And this class was still a pro class.
So in us pro stock bike is a proclass, but over in Europe, the
class that I raised, that was superstreet bike was also a pro class.
So that meant I could doit at a really high level.

(12:43):
With getting my sponsors, the exposureand doing everything that I would do in
a pro class, but for a lot less money.
But the main reason I did that wasjust because that passion was there.
Like even for me being awayfrom the track, all I could
think about was how to get back.
Like, how could I findthe money to get in there?
I wouldn't say that I had an easy.
You know, hey, here's a bigger car.
Here's, you know, you know, yougraduate from one class and you have the

(13:05):
opportunity to jump into something else.
Like I had to actively take timeaway from the track to find the
money to be able to get back.
And that was obviously money fromworking, but also from sponsorship and
like trying just to get all of that.
Get it to get back.
And that's where the passion comes in.
I feel like there's a lot of juniorsthat raise maybe because you have the
opportunity, same way that we all did.

(13:26):
We had the opportunity there with ourparents supporting us to do that on the
track, but a lot of the times you see abig percentage of them growing out of it.
You know, you do it for a few years,but maybe something else comes in.
You have other sports or yourother hobbies or life just happens.
But I think for us that sits here,I believe that it's the passion.
I guess that everybody else herehas that same feeling that you

(13:46):
don't want to do anything else.
This is what takes up all your life.
Just like Erica, I'm also inthe shop every day working with
my team to make everything.
This takes up everything.
And I think if you don't have that passionand that feeling for it, you will have
a hard time getting to this top level.
Cause it will really takeeverything to be able to get.
And I think either you kindof have that or you don't.
I hear a lot of the times whereother people talk about, I want to

(14:09):
race cause I want to be a strongfemale role model, or I want to
raise cause I want to inspire others.
I want to race because I wantto be here like they're not
doing this for anybody else.
This is for me and for whatwe're doing with our team.
And if that inspires others, absolutely.
I'm happy for that, but I'm notdoing it for anybody else, but
for the fact that I love it.
And I think that's what drives meand makes me be able to stay in it.

(14:30):
You know?
Yeah.
Very well said.
I have the passion.
I love to win plain and simple.
I hate losing.
When I lose, it tears me up.
I'll analyze it and be like,where exactly did I go wrong?
And how can we fix that soit doesn't happen again?
Like with juniors, when I firsttransitioned to that older age group
and had a faster car, I red lit almostevery single race that first year.

(14:53):
It was like the worst year I'veever had, but I didn't quit.
Totally could have and probably wantedto like every weekend, but I knew
that like this was what I wanted todo, like in my bones and like I had
to get better and I wanted to win.
My dad always.
taught us whatever we do, we haveto give it a hundred percent.
We can't half ass anything.
He always says, you're only asstrong as your weakest link.

(15:14):
And so if the driver's your weakestlink on your team, then like,
you're never going to win a race.
So he is always training us be better, befaster, be stronger, whatever we could do
to have that leg up on our competition.
And so, for me, mental, physicalstrength, that's so huge.
I feel like that's what helpedme when I did finally go pro

(15:36):
in Top Out College Axter.
Like, I had so much success early on andwithin a very short time frame, because
I was very well prepared for that.
But I also put in the Hours andthe years to get to that point.
Whereas like when you see kidsthat their parents just give them
everything they want, they don'thave to actually work for it.
You can completely tell it's notwhat they actually want to do.

(15:58):
Like they're just there because momand dad want them to be there or
they think that's what they want todo, or they don't want to get a job.
So they decided to become race cardrivers or they just want to get famous.
And with us having our rentalcar program, we see that all the
time and you can completely tell.
Who actually came up and grewup and worked for it versus
those that it was just given to?

(16:18):
We say that we all havea disease over here.
Like, we just are absolutelyobsessed with drag racing.
Sometimes my mom sees both sides of it.
You know, she didn'tgrow up as a drag racer.
She loves it and she comesto every single race.
She's never missed a race.
But you can see the other side of lifetoo, the normal people's side of life.
The side of life that it's like,Hey, do you like want to go hang
out with your friends on a Saturdayinstead of go to the race car shop?

(16:41):
I was never forced to learn how to race.
It was something that wasan option if I wanted to.
But if I wanted to, I wasgoing to put in the work.
It was never like, Oh,here's your race car.
And you can go do whateveryou want on the weekends.
And that'll work on it.
My parents always taughtus how to work on the cars.
We just loved it.
My sister and I, we both love themechanical side of the race car.

(17:02):
In 2020, COVID messed up a lot ofthings, but it changed my sister and
my life for the best way possible.
When school went online, we werelike, well, shoot, we're at home.
So let's go racing with dad.
So we actually became the fulltime crew with my dad's team.
And it was the first year in 2020 thatmy dad ever won a world championship.
And it was so Specialto do it as a family.

(17:26):
We race with my grandma, my grandpa,my dad, my mom, me and my sister.
And that's our whole team.
Everybody's Gordon drag racing for ourfamily has truly brought us so close.
So it's not only something we love to do.
We not only love to win, we loveto work on the race car, but
we get to do it as a family.
And it's just so.
Special.
It's just the most amazing thing.
And before we make a run, mysister, my dad fired the race car.

(17:48):
My mom backs me up.
My grandpa gives me the biggest fistbump ever before I go into the lights.
And it's my life.
It's my world.
It's everything to me.
It's literally everything I do.
I don't know what I would do withoutdrag racing, but it's my world.
That's what I love.
I feel like the four of us arepretty similar in a lot of ways.
You know, starting off in Junior Dragstersas a kid and having really big dreams

(18:10):
and feel like you have huge footsteps tofollow in part of the magic of being a kid
is actually believing that it can happen.
And I, and we on this callhave been really lucky to
see it all come to fruition.
And it's.
I want to focus on like they didabout the hard work and the effort
and the sacrifice that it takesto get to where you're going.
And Maddie, you talkedabout a normal life.

(18:32):
What is a normal life?
I don't really know.
I don't think many of us do.
I mean, through junior highand high school, I played
stick and ball sports as well.
I felt like I was pretty well rounded.
But when it came time to Choosing betweena volleyball tournament or a track
meet or a golf tournament, you know, Ialways picked drag racing and eventually
everything in my life went to the waysideand it's hard to be a good friend When

(18:57):
you can't attend weddings and baby showersand all the things that are important
to other people and eventually you stopgetting invited So is all encompassing.
It just, it swallows you up.
And I think like the best advice that Ihave heard and that I try to give is like,
make sure that it's a true desire of yourheart, because if it is not something
that you just kind of think you wantto do, you should probably not do it.

(19:19):
It takes a lot of time and effort.
Talk about hours and years and decades.
It's everything.
And to be able to drive is one thing,but to be really great at it is another.
And it takes a wholenother level of commitment.
It's definitely tough, but I thinkwhat made me stick was just my
family's love for the sport andMaddie being left to talk her saying,
like, it's a whole family deal.

(19:41):
And that's what makes everythingabout it so special is you get to
do what you love for a living withthe people that you love most in the
world and to be great at something.
I think you have to kind of have that.
positive mental attitude.
And Megan talked about physical and mentaltoughness and all of these things apply.
So I think everyone has greatstories and things to offer.
But the newer generation of driversand kids, I feel like in any aspect

(20:04):
of life, everybody's about instantgratification and they want the
results now and they don't realizewhat it actually takes to get there.
And seeing the dynamic of Prostock change over the years.
When I first started, it was kind oflike the good old boys country club.
I competed with a bunch of middleaged men and I was 19 years old.
So I can't even imagine what they thoughtabout me coming into it, but it's changed.

(20:26):
And now I'm one of the ones that's beenin the class for a really long time.
And you have all these kids coming inwho their first experience with it is
they get to get in state of the artequipment with really great horsepower
and run at the front of the packs.
That instant gratification thing, likeis false hope in a sense that the results
are just going to come immediately,seven years and seven final rounds

(20:47):
before I finally got my first onein pro stocks, but it's awesome that
we're able to give these people likewith our team at elite motorsports.
We have a bring yourhelmet and drive program.
Obviously you have to pay forit, but it opens the door for
opportunities like that, that I wishwere around when I was a teenager.
It's really cool to see how it's evolved.
You know, what made it stick for mewas just having that burning in my

(21:08):
gut for drag racing and wanting todo whatever it took to make it work.
You know, going to college, Ipicked my electives based around
drag racing and intake science.
I took meteorology because weather playsa part in drag racing or, or racing.
I was a marketing and businessmanagement major because if I wasn't
drag racing, I was going to find away to put the money together, the
marketing programs to make it happenif it wasn't for me, for someone else.

(21:31):
So it's always been racing.
And I guess the one word answerfor that would just be passion.
Erica, and to all of our panelists,I could listen to y'all talk about
your passion and your stories.
All night long, but for me, my backgroundin terms of understanding the history
of motorsport was more road racing, soI'm really fascinated by drag racing.

(21:52):
And what I want to know, sinceI have y'all on the horn right
now, what does it feel like?
You're talking about sort of like theiceberg, like all of this work, all
of this preparation goes into thatlike one moment there when you're in
the seat, and it's over like that.
I would find it hard to deal with,like, I would find it hard to deal
with the fact that, like, my victorywas decided like this and not over

(22:13):
the course of, say, a hundred laps.
Could you walk me through whatit's like being in the seat?
It takes so much out of you that,for me, like, it's five and a half
seconds is my pass and then I'm done,that, like, it's physically, like,
so demanding, not, like, endurancewise, but, like, it's like a sprint.
And like by the time I'm done withthat, like five and a half seconds
and I'm getting out of the car, you'retrying to like catch your breath.

(22:35):
It's so much like G forceand like the acceleration.
And then the deceleration when yourparachutes come out, like for us, it was
like positive three G's off the startingline and then negative three G's when
the parachutes come out within fiveand a half seconds at 270, 80 miles per
hour, like on your body, it takes a toll.
And so that's why, like I was saying,like physical fitness is important.

(22:57):
But like mental fitness is too, becauseyou've got to like mentally prepare,
like say, like you won that round,you've got to do it all over again and
get ready for that next competition.
And just try to keep that momentumgoing with your adrenaline.
So yeah, it's, it's very different.
It's a short amount of time, butit's just a sprint, not a marathon.

(23:18):
I do definitely agree that mental andphysical fitness is very important.
Your mental game can make or breakyou as a driver because everything
literally happens so quickly.
If you're down on yourself, you'regoing to have a bad light or you're
going to shift wrong or somethinglike that if you're having all these
negative thoughts and so mental fitnessis so important and physical fitness
is really important as well and.

(23:38):
You know, we have a team of six people,so I do the clutch in between rounds.
And if we heard a motor or somethinglike that, I go from clutch and I jump
on the motor and I'm helping tear itdown or take the blower off or go through
the blower, whatever needs to be done.
You know, last year was my firstyear driving the funny car.
And it was really tough whenwe were at our first race.
Last year, we went to the finalround, which was absolutely amazing.
And before that final round, I was sobeat and I was torquing the clutch.

(24:01):
I was putting the last nut on.
The wrench slipped off.
I literally flew backwards,landed in between the tables, hit
both of my wrists on the tables.
And I was like, it was just somuch because I was just so tired.
I got through it.
Everything is fine.
But coming this season, I startedgoing to the gym, working on
physical fitness so I can be up topar throughout the whole weekend.
Not just when I'm fresh atthe beginning of the weekend.

(24:23):
But as far as going through a run.
I always say the calm before the storm.
When you're just sittingthere, the cars in front of you
have gone down the racetrack.
It's like silent and you're just waitingfor them to tell you to fire it up.
It's like, I swear youcan hear my heartbeat.
Like it's so aggressive.
For me, I drove a funny car.
So the motor sits right in front of me.
I can see my dad and my sister fired up.
And as soon as the motorfires up, it's just business.

(24:46):
Like it just, all thenerves really go away.
And especially when they lowerthe body down, it's weird,
but it gets like Calming.
It's kind of like a calm feelingwhen they lower the body down and
it just kind of turns into business.
You just got to do what you got to do.
And I guess you just don'twant to get nervous anymore.
At least I don't.
Definitely extremely a lot of G forces andjust like what you fiend for every day.
What about you, Eric?
What about bad lights?

(25:07):
What does that mean?
I hate them, but doing this for as longas, as we have, or I have, there are
way more values than there are peaks.
And you just have to try to keep apositive mental attitude about it.
Like Maddie said, if you get down onyourself or if you have a negative
attitude, it shows on your report card.
Drag Race is an instant report card.
You get to see how great you did or howbad you screwed up in a matter of seconds.

(25:31):
And at Elite, we always say we winraces before we leave the shop.
And it's a lot of hard work andeffort, but being prepared when you're
out in the field, having everythingin order for when something does
go wrong and you have to thrash andswing engines and change things and.
Being a driver is one part of it,but also working on the car, you
know, adds another aspect to it.
And that's something that I enjoy.

(25:52):
I feel like working on thecar makes me a better driver,
understanding everything that goes on.
And, you know, after I serviced theengine in between runs, I go up and
meet with my crew chiefs and we goover the data, so it's like super
mentally and physically demanding.
And then like the fun part of it, right.
Is when they shut the door and you hit thestarter button and everything goes calm,
like Maddie said, the nerves go away.

(26:12):
And like, that's my.
My happy place.
Like I love that.
I love when they shut the doorsand the way of the world's on my
shoulders, everything that we'vedone collectively as a team, we've
done to the best of our ability, andnow it's time for us to go shine.
And I love that part of it, but theadrenaline rush is super intense.
You know, the G forcesdriving a pro stock car.
We leave with it.

(26:33):
And we have a five speed Liberty.
So we're in high gear by half track, whichis just at four seconds into the run.
So everything happens reallyfast, but you have to perform as
perfectly as possible because youmentioned a hundred laps, right?
You don't have anotherturn to make up a mistake.
You have to execute asperfectly as possible.
We win and lose races by thousands ofa second when the weekend's over, or

(26:54):
when you either win the race or you'reeliminated, that adrenaline crash is
super intense and it's not somethingthat I really understood before I
went through it and was super handson with the pro stock operations.
Just a quick story.
Like going back to our first worldchampionship in 2014, we skipped two
races cause we didn't have the fundingthroughout the summer, but we led the.

(27:15):
the entire year.
We got to Brainerd, we had atransmission failure first round and
lost and we lost the points lead.
From that point on the rest of the season,which is now the countdown, we had to
battle and it came down to the final roundof the final race of the year between
myself and Jason Lyon, winner take all.
And every single round he ran infront of me, Maddie talked about

(27:35):
like how quiet and calm it was whenthe race was over in front of you
and everything that's happening.
Will you watch him turn on the wind light?
Well, now in order to have a chanceat winning the world championship,
I have to turn on the wind light andit went tip for tap all day long.
We ended up winning the raceand winning the championship.
But when we got done with the winner'scircle, I remember laying in the floor
of the trailer and I'm like, I don't evenhave the energy to take my shoes off.

(27:56):
Uh, the adrenaline crash is definitely,definitely real, but it's intense.
And that's the fun part.
Like when you hit the starter buttonor when somebody fires your car, that's
your and your team's time to shine.
And it is like, nothing replaces thefeeling of turning on the wind light
at about 4 30 on Sunday afternoon.
Ida, I wanted to ask this.
I'm so fascinated by, it sounds likeall the adrenaline of racing that

(28:18):
might be spread out over many laps iscompressed into just a few seconds.
And so the highs are even higherand the lows are even lower.
Has that been your experience too?
That's what it's soundinglike from the other panelists.
Everything that the others say is so true.
I mean, everything from, we were verymuch chasing perfection in drag racing.
Just like Erica mentioned, you don't havea second lap to make up for a mistake.
You can't say, ah, I didn't do that.

(28:39):
Perfectly.
I'll make up for it in the other30 rounds or whatever it might be.
We don't have that chance.
So if we don't executeperfectly, we're usually out.
If we don't get a lucky strike everynow and then, and they don't come around
that often, then we are out if we make amistake, it's such a teamwork, everything
we do in the car and obviously howthe car is performing, how the team.
Like, all these other girls,I'm very hands on with the car

(29:01):
when we are in between runs.
The guys are working on the engine,but I'm mixing my own fuel, I'm
fueling the car, I'm doing my shoots.
Like, all of this takes time, and there'sno more extra time in between runs.
Like, you need to hustle assoon as you get back in the pit.
There is a big drop of energy,cause You get back in the pit, you
know, you got to get your fuel on.
You got to get it in the car.
You got to get your shoots in.
You got to warm up and off the warmup.

(29:22):
You need to get more fuel in the carand mix more fuel and go put your
suit on and head down to the lineup.
It's not the actual run.
I mean, I run about 3.
7 seconds.
That's not what wears you out.
What wears you out is actually everythingaround and everything that happens
like throughout the whole race weekend.
And also just like Erica said, we winraces from what we do in the shop.
So there's so much.

(29:42):
Work that has been put in priorto getting there, which means that
there's such a long build up untilwe actually get to this point.
And I think that that's whatmakes these high and low so
much extra high or extra low.
For me personally, there is abig toll on your body, obviously.
I experience around positive 6G and aboutnegative 6G when we pull the parachute.
So it's a big variation there.

(30:03):
It's about 330 plus miles per hour in 3.
7 seconds.
So obviously it takes a toll on your body.
But when we talk about adrenalinerushes, It's not driving the car
that gives me the adrenaline rush.
For me, if we do qualifying, like if youdon't qualify, you won't make the show.
If it's just a normal qualifying session,I don't get any adrenaline rushes.
My adrenaline rushes comes from winning.

(30:23):
If I turn the wind lighton, my adrenaline rush.
You can almost get like anegative adrenaline rush if you
just get so mad at yourself.
Usually that's, you know, my experience.
But those big adrenalinerushes, those really high peaks.
Those are when you win.
And I think that's why you're somentally drained after a weekend.
Cause obviously if you lose, you gointo your mode of trying to analyze.
Why did we lose?
We do not want to do that again.
And you go through all that, butwhen you win, even like again, okay.

(30:44):
Explained when you go through a longrace week and it has been so much
pressure on there's so long time andyou turn those wind lights on and
you get adrenaline, but you need toget back in your mode of blocking
everything out and be in race mode.
By the end of the day,there's nothing left.
Like you don't have anymore energy source tap off.
You're just drained.
And I felt like from the beginning,when I'm in good physical shape and
like I eat well, sleep well, andall that, the recovery period is

(31:06):
a little bit easier the day after.
It's still as hard when you cometo the races and you will still get
that feeling by the end of race day.
But I feel like when I'm in a really goodshape, I can recover better the day after.
I remember my first races.
It was right around COVID and I hadbeen sick and I was just not feeling it.
We won a race and the day after I feltlike I had been hit by a train, but like

(31:26):
someone ran me over, like I was justso worn out and it wasn't 'cause that
race was anything extra than the others.
It was just my body.
I don't think you could takethose high and lows going back
and forth for a full race day anda full race weekend basically.
This is incredible.
This is giving me this window ontoa discipline that I know some about.
I saw that incredible documentary aboutJoshua Boey and I got to hear her talk.

(31:49):
Which what a trip she is like a fullforce of life even now, but I'm also
sort of curious about the business ofracing, but if there were an aspect of
your career right now that you couldeither get rid of magically with a wave
of a wand or delegate to somebody else.
It's costing you nothing.
What would it be?
I would never leave takingcare of my sponsors because

(32:10):
that's one of my highlights.
I love taking care of my sponsorsand you know, everything that
we do to take care of them.
But the pressure of finding money,like right now I'm in a situation
where I do not have a full schedule.
I have a 10 race scheduleand I am not fully funded.
I do not come from money.
I don't have any money myself to tapinto and I am really working to make
this full season come together andbe able to chase the championship.

(32:33):
This pressure of actually findingthe sponsors is my hardest point.
I feel like taking care of them,even closing the deals, having
those meetings, I love it.
But getting myself inthe room, it's a hustle.
And I'm guessing that other peoplemight have felt this too, but.
I am not an American.
I do not have any contactnet over here in us.

(32:53):
I don't have people.
I know that I could call that eitherhas money or knows who has money.
So pitching myself is what I hate themost when I'm actually in the room and I
can explain what we can do for sponsors.
I know we have so much return oninvestment to offer, and I have
closed a lot of business to businessdeals where we have been able to,
you know, help sponsors set up globalnetworks to sell their products or.

(33:15):
Anything from a marketing standpoint,when it comes to social media or in
venue, or even doing, you know, a lotof events, whatever it might be, but
just that business to business side issomething I feel like I'm really good
at, but opening that door for myself,basically calling someone and, you know,
pitching why they should go for me.
That is why I find it'sthe absolute hardest.

(33:35):
What about the rest of our panelists?
Are you all in the same boat?
Yeah, for me, it would also besetting up the pits because.
I hate doing that.
It's just so repetitive.
Do the same thing every weekend.
I don't miss having to do that part.
No, I have been very fortunate, youknow, in our, in our racing program,
my grandparents built a very successfulcabinet company in our hometown and my

(33:56):
dad runs it and I actually worked there.
I do sales there.
I've been very, very fortunate that,you know, I haven't had to go out
and find money for our operation.
You know, I have so much respect for EDAand everybody out there who has had to go
through that because That is really toughand hard and very difficult to do that.
But yeah, so I'm veryfortunate in that aspect.

(34:17):
But as far as things I would takeaway, I honestly can't think of
anything off the top of my head.
I love the mechanic side of it.
You know, I can see if somebodywho didn't love the mechanic side
of it, they would hate what I do.
That's like, all we do are the fiveseconds of race down the racetrack.
But gosh, I just.
I love this sport.
Probably like what Erica said, youbasically don't have a home life.

(34:38):
I mean, if you commit yourselfto drag racing, you literally
don't have a life at home.
You know, it's hard to keep friendsbecause you're just never there.
You can't be a good friendbecause you're never home.
So, you know what, I guessthat would be my take.
It'd be easier to have morefriends or whatever, but you know,
it just comes with the sport.
It comes with the category.
It comes with Racing.
So this is what it is.
And you got to take thegoods with the bads.
I guess.
The selling your, yourself thing.

(34:58):
I'll agree with Eda there.
It's extremely uncomfortable for aslong as I've been racing, we've had
to dig and find the funding to do it.
Last year, when Jay, shecame on board with us.
In addition to Melling and some othergreat partners that we have, it's the
first couple of years that we've beenfully funded on my car, we operate
nine pro stock teams out of ourshop and not all of them are funded.

(35:19):
So it's a continuous efforton trying to find the money.
And the day of sponsorshipis completely over.
In my opinion, it's, Idon't say it's sponsorship.
I say partnership because you endup going to work for these people.
And the majority of the decals on mycar are business to business deals.
So.
Ultimately, we end up going to workfor them and giving them a return
on their investment to make surethat they stay on board with us.

(35:42):
It's like having like aton of full time jobs.
I can't really think of somethingthat I wish to get rid of them.
Like the negative crap on social media.
Like I wish that I could pay someone todo all that for me because I hate it.
And I want, like, I come from a family,like you don't say nasty things.
To people like you didn't learn that inSunday school, so you're not gonna treat

(36:03):
others the way you don't wanna be treated.
I can't fathom telling a strangersomething awful about their self,
whether it be the way they look orhow much they weigh, or, you know, a
lot of times it's not even focusing onyour driving ability or lack thereof.
It's something more personal.
And so I guess I don't understandthat aspect of it, and I never will.
I would rather knock their teethout than to have an argument

(36:26):
on a keyboard with someone.
So if I could get rid of one thing, itwould be to delegate that to someone else.
But everything else, again, I likebeing hands on and working on the car
and, you know, working hand in handwith our partners and having them
in their gaps out at the racetrack.
Very unique atmosphere to do business ina less traditional way to do business.
And I really liked that aspect of it.
So nothing, nothing bad exceptfor the negative haters on the, on

(36:50):
the interweb haters to the left.
As we were talking about the sponsorsand things like that, like EDA and Erica
were talking about like selling yourselfand having to go in front of doing your
meetings, responding, things like that.
I have been very fortunate thatI haven't had to do that yet.
But when we were basically justfully funded by my grandparents
company, we weren't able to reallyrun for a world championship.

(37:10):
But when Beta came on boardand Lucas Oil and GK, everybody
came on big with us in 2020.
That is when we won our first worldchampionship and we were able to get
the best of the best parts and the best.
equipment and all that kindof stuff and run all the races
for a world championship.
So although I haven't had to do alot of hard work like you guys do
with that aspect of things, we havebeen really, really fortunate to

(37:32):
have amazing partners who have trulystepped up our program to where we
are a world championship caliber car.
Here's what I'm fascinated by dragracing and its sanctioning body.
We're looking at a sport that has a lotof gender parity when in wider motor
sports, we're not seeing the same thing.
And to me, I'm sure you all havefriends who are driving in other
disciplines, or you're a fan ofother disciplines in motorsport.

(37:54):
So what is it that drag is doing rightthat other disciplines could learn from?
I think NHRA offers a really greatplatform to kind of stair step your way to
the top, starting off with the Junior DragRacing League and Our entire sportsman
organization, you can drive something asslow as a super street or a stalker and
go 10, 11, 12 seconds at barely a hundredmiles per hour, or, you know, all the way

(38:17):
up through alcohol, dragster and funny carwho are five seconds at 280 miles an hour.
So there's like an array of classesthat you can choose from, including
bringing your own street car.
So I think the platform is thereto be able to stair step in
the diversity in NHRA is not.
Something that I feel like we need towork on because it's super natural there.
It's again, family oriented and a lotof people that raise their dads and

(38:39):
grandparents have raised, and it'sa generational hobby and lifestyles.
I love that part about NHRA drag racing.
You know, it's something that theywant to talk about in NAVCAR and.
all of the other roundy round classesthat are out there that, you know, I
went to college with a girl that was inNASCAR's Drive for Diversity program,
and that's not something NHRA hasever had or that we've been a part of.

(39:01):
I'm thankful for that aspect of itbecause it's just, it's super natural
because the platform it provides.
Too, it's never been a thing.
Like, growing up, just likeMegan said too, like, even both
here and over in Europe, wewere about 50 50 girls and boys.
There was never anyone that said,hey, you gotta raise a girl.
Like, it was very common to raise a girl.
It was very common to have girls around.
In the pit, both fromlower to higher classes.

(39:21):
So it's like, we neverreally made a deal out of it.
Like it's always just been that way.
I have seen other sports where I'vebeen involved in other motor sports
where you separated girls from boys atan early age until you turned a certain
age and then you were supposed to likeintegrate the girls and the boys together.
And that could cause some problems.
Cause all of a sudden it was like,Hey, we don't want to race with
the girls or whatever it was be,but we've never had that problem.

(39:43):
It's never been something thatanybody would ever question.
And I think that that's somethingthat they've done really well.
Like it's just always felt very natural.
I think that's definitelysomething that helps.
And also with drag racing,girls don't just participate.
We're dominating, settingrecords, winning championships.
We're really here beinggreat at what we do.
And I think that that's a big differencetoo, because a lot of the times I see.

(40:04):
Other sports or other multi sportdisciplines highlighting that they
have a girl in the start field.
And I'm like, you know, we have thatall the time, but we have girls out
here that are really, really racingthe bar with what we're doing.
Having all the differentcategories is just awesome.
You know, you don't just have thetop, like NASC, it's just like.
Only 30 people will get there.
Like there's a lot more people who wantto be involved in it than just the, who

(40:26):
is at the very top, but all the differentvariety of classes that you have, I feel
like it just makes it so welcoming foreverybody from somebody who just wants
to literally bring their Kia out to theracetrack, like they can race and race for
a win in the wind light and get that sameadrenaline, whether you're racing 20 miles
an hour or 300 miles an hour, you canstill turn out on that one line and still.

(40:47):
Get that adrenaline rushthat we all feed for.
I mean, we all shared it in our stories.
We're all second orthird generation racers.
So we had the members thatwere there to support us.
And like one thing with my dadis he had two daughters, you
know, he always wanted a son.
He didn't get a son.
He didn't treat us anydifferent because of our gender.
And I think other people sawthat and didn't discredit us.

(41:10):
Because we were girls, that's a reallyinteresting point you make there, Megan,
because I was thinking about this asdisciplines go, drag racing has the
most, as Lauren put a gender parody.
And then probably behind that is goingto be some of, as Erica said, the roundy
round or the short tracks and that kind ofthing, and then it starts to diminish as
you go further and further into sports carand endurance racing and things like that.

(41:32):
And I think about this a lotbecause I have two daughters, right?
And they've been obviously biasedby my background coming from
sports car and endurance androad racing and stuff like that.
But if my eldest, who's almost 11 cameup to you and said, any one of you and
said, Hey, I'm interested in racing, but.
Why drag racing?
Why should I do thisversus something else?
What would you say to her?
You know, I get this questiona lot, whether it's like at the

(41:54):
tracker in DMS on social media.
And like the easiest way to get startedis just to go to a race and check it out.
Gets to know the people that run thetrack, could talk to the track operator
or manager, or like the announcer.
You know, they'll point you in theright direction of, Oh, you should
go talk to this team or this driver.

(42:16):
You know, someone thatcould relate to you.
Drag racing is very easy to get into.
You don't have to spend a lot of money.
Like Maddie said, you can just have yourdaily driver, your Kia and tracks also
offer test sessions, usually on like.
Friday nights where it'sjust open to anybody.
There's no classes, literallyanybody with a car or a bike can
go make passes down the drag strip.
So I would go to the track, getto know the people there and do

(42:38):
a test session with your dailydriver and just see if you like it.
Just going to a race is the best way, inmy opinion, to get started because like
she said, you don't have to have a tonof money to get started, much like other
sports, but going to a race and just.
Getting involved with the drivers.
And what's so amazing about NHRA islike Jon Forrest always said, every
path is a pit pass, which is so amazing.
You can go right up to thedrivers, talk to them, really

(42:58):
get a feel for the race cars.
So I think going to a race isthe best start to kind of get
your feet wet in drag racing.
Ida and Erica kind of switching thisquestion a little bit, focusing on the
younger drivers, Megan and Maddie sort ofcovered it into say, how do you get in?
Now, how do we keep them there?
You guys have had a long career at this.
How do we keep that 10 year old indrag racing for the next 20 years?

(43:20):
Like you guys did likejust hanging around too.
If you can't drive something, I alwayssay, drive anything you can, anytime
you can, but also keeping your nameand your face out there is important.
There have been plenty of years andraces where we didn't have the funding.
And I was out there pounding thepavement and shaking hands and
kissing babies, but also being a true.
You know, I'd go up when Pro Stock wouldrun and I'd sit on the guard wall and

(43:43):
I'd watch my competitors tendencies andwhat they like and didn't like and how
they do their burnouts and like justalways trying to learn and to be better.
But driving anything you can,obviously, is a great way because it's
like you're addicted to something.
It's crazy how much that you can fallin love with it by just being around it.
You don't necessarily have to bebehind the wheel, but if you can,

(44:04):
obviously that's the best way.
Everything that Erica used.
said, it's obviouslyhow you can stay in it.
And a big part of it is again,going back to the passion.
Like if you have the passion for itand you know, you want to be out there,
that's when you do all of those things.
If you feel like you don't havethe passion for it, then you don't.
That's usually when we lose them,you know, no matter which age we get
them in, that's usually where yourealize that maybe the real life on
the outside for many people, there'smore than this basically, but.

(44:26):
For me, I've been in the exactsituation that she just mentioned
where I don't have the money.
Like last year I raced eight races, butI was still at all the 20 NHRA events.
And just like she said, shaking hands,taking care of our sponsors, meeting
people, did interviews, had autographsessions, like did all of that that
I would normally do as a driver.
I also mixed the fuel, fueled thecar and so on for my teammates.

(44:48):
So I was basically doing all the driverduties except for driving the car.
And it's the same this year.
I will not be racing a full scheduleas it looks right now, but I
will still be at all those races.
So meet all the people, take care ofour partners and, uh, obviously have
a lot of stuff lined up at the track.
I'm actually taking a, um.
Announcing side gigs, so tosay, with NHRA on the side.

(45:10):
Well, I'll be one of theirin venue announcers for that.
And that's again, to try and, youknow, meet people, be in front of
our partner's eyes or new potentialpartners, and also learn more.
Everything you do outthere is to get better.
This is stepping out of mycomfort zone again, like.
Doing this announcing Englishis my second language.
This is not in my comfortzone, but that's how you grow.

(45:32):
So I know that the more I doit, the better I'll feel at it.
And I do feel like doing stuff likethat is also going to help me in my
own interviews when I'm in the car andI'm on the other side of the mic and
all of these are opportunities to learnopportunities to meet new people and put
your face out there and show that yourpassion is here and this is what you.
want to do.
So I feel like you just have to tryand open all those doors and be open

(45:54):
to, yeah, okay, I don't have a fulltime ride right now, but I can't sit
at home and wait for something tofall into my lap because it will not.
You need to be out there workingyour butt off to basically
show that you belong out here.
And that's exactly whatI'm trying to do right now.
So I want to dovetail off thiswith one of our crowd questions.
And so William Ross writes,Sadly, there are drag strips that

(46:16):
are closing around the country.
And as we bring a younger generationinto drag racing, what would you do to
raise the exposure and the interest?
How do we combat these closures?
That's really true.
I mean, unfortunately, drag racing capsare closing a lot, especially myself.
I live in California.
With all the rules and regulationsin California, it makes it extremely

(46:36):
difficult for track owners tohave a racetrack in California.
There's just so many laws inCalifornia that make it so difficult.
Unfortunately, I know that's whythere are less drag strips, at least
in California, but it is so sadto see a lot of them closing in.
I gotta be honest.
I don't have an opinionon how to fix that.
Well, like my home trackwith Houston closed.
That's where I grew up watching my dad.

(46:56):
The first drag strip I ever went to.
We were lucky enough to win the lastnational event that they had there
before they closed but in that trackCircumstance it was the land was sold
for a lot of money I think they'rebuilding like industrial buildings out
there Atlanta closed because I thinkthey put like a battery factory in
there where they're building apartmentcomplexes for a huge battery factory

(47:16):
That was down the road and in that senseI don't really know if you can avoid
it when the owners are getting offered
I don't really see how to change that,but a lot of people are advocating for
small hometown drag strips and talkwith some guys about being on a board
of directors to help keep the dragstrips alive and something that we
all definitely have to give effort to,but I'm not really sure that you can

(47:39):
put your thumb on a specific answer.
Like Maddie said, California hasrules and regulations and the crazy
government that they have out there.
And then other states It kind of depends.
Each situation is that initself, a situation by itself.
So I don't really know ifthere's an answer, but definitely
sucks to see them close.
So that's fair, but also, is it somethingthat keeps you guys sort of up at night?

(48:01):
Does it worry you?
Because as the tracks begin to close,and then the dragstrips become more
exclusive, then your travel costsYour travel time, preparation, all
that stuff goes up and up and up.
So does that now create a barrier of entryinto a sport that was so accessible to any
of these drivers, male or female alike?
Again, does that worry you guysfor the future of drag racing?

(48:22):
We're in the Midwest, we're in Kansasand both of my home tracks closed down.
That does affect us because wedo a regional series as well and
we have to travel further outsideof our region now to collect.
enough points for this series.
So yeah, so it does, I mean, it's notsomething that I think keeps us up at
night because we are able to includethat in the budget, but I know for

(48:44):
smaller teams out there that evenjust them getting to that race, that
racetrack, that's even just a fewhours away from home to them that now
they've got to travel twice as much.
Yeah, like I can'timagine what that's like.
Growing up in Europe, wetraveled a lot for our races.
We did not have a super close drag strip.
My season over there, we raced.
throughout Europe.
I mean, I lived on a small islandbetween Sweden and Finland, and we went

(49:06):
to Sweden, to Norway, to Finland, toGermany, to UK several times a year.
Like, it was a lot of travel for us,and I feel like we still had a lot of
teams that did all of that, and a lotof teams that showed up, and that kind
of showed me that the passion for thesport don't really know those limits.
Obviously, it might make it alittle harder for for people to
get into it in the beginning.

(49:26):
But I do feel like when there's passionfor the sport, people do travel.
So that's kind of why Idon't think of it as much.
I know when I got started, there was alot of local smaller drag strip where
you could run basically your streetcars or your unit dragsters and so on.
So the opportunity to get into thesport in that way were easier, but
there wasn't tracks where we could runtop fuel dragsters on our pro classes.

(49:48):
It got harder when you moved up for class.
So that ain't but enjoyable.
classes still have access to tracksthat were at least within four or five
hours or so long, which is close for us.
I want to talk a little bit about WMNA.
One of their missions now isby growing women in the sport,
we're growing the sport.
But I also want to talk aboutin your sport, which has

(50:10):
almost gender parity, which is.
Incredible.
Do you still find it really special tohave a place where you can connect with
other women who are in the same field?
Not even necessarily the driver's seat.
They might be on the sponsorship side.
They might be on engineering side.
For those of you who are involved inWMNA or going to some of the summits, the
importance of having that special space.
Before women in motorsports NorthAmerica, Lynn St. James had a program

(50:32):
called Women in the Winner's Circle.
I was not old enough to travel by myselfthe first time that I was invited there.
My mom went with to Indy, but Ithink it's really nice to have people
like Lynn and Cindy who believein the whole women aspect of it,
but not like completely, totallydwelling on it and in a negative way.
But so it is cool to have a groupthat gets together that share the

(50:56):
same love and passion for something.
And.
Like Lauren said, you don't haveto be a driver, but you know,
just involved in the sport.
Like my sister grew up driving andnow she works for Flow, which is a
streaming company, but she found herlittle niche in the sport where, you
know, it's not behind the wheels.
It's definitely neat.
There's like a, in a way, likea negative connotation to it.
Like growing up, you're competing for thesame spot, but once you get old enough to

(51:19):
realize that it's more of like a sororitythan something that you have to like, be
a hater of and be jealous of, like you canwork together and share the spotlight and
instead of fighting for one specific spot.
And I think that's something thatthese programs really shine a light on.
So we're, we're definitelygrateful to have them.
Yeah.
And that's so well said.
Um, I can't say enoughgood things about WMNA.

(51:41):
I first joined a few years ago and.
From the moment I walked into thedoors, just absolutely loved it.
Lynn and Cindy are so gracious andso inviting, and it's just amazing
the reach that they have in alldifferent types of motor sports.
I was able to meet a lot of the ladiesthat I follow on social media in person

(52:02):
that are in other types of racing.
And I was just like,so starstruck by them.
And like, now I can callthem some of my good friends.
Like, you know, we're in textgroups and DM groups on Instagram
and all that type of stuff.
stuff.
I absolutely loved it.
It's helped open doors todifferent possibilities for me
in both racing and business.
You know, even before I joinedWMNA, I was a part of other

(52:23):
groups like women in auto care.
Just being able to kind of havethat, like Erica said, like a
sorority and having like thatsisterhood in this industry that is.
male dominated and sometimes it's stillsome of that like old school mentality
that people have especially in, youknow, more of the corporate world.
For us it's so great to be able to havethat commonality and come together and

(52:45):
work together to try to change things.
I just, I absolutely loved it.
It's helped change my life and I will be.
WMNA supporter forever.
First, like, official interactionwith the WMNA program.
I have briefly chatted with Sydneybefore, you know, back in PRI and stuff.
It is so cool.
I was, I did see all the social mediastuff that was done at PRI and it
is such an amazing group of womenand just such a great thing to have.

(53:08):
You know, I think everybody in dragracing is very supportive, very
welcoming, very kind, and it is reallycool to kind of have those little groups
and just, I guess, like a gathering.
For all the women, I guess weall kind of embark on the same
journey and share the same passion.
So it's just really a really coolgroup that Linda has created.
Lin and Cindy's energy isvery nice to be around.

(53:30):
Like it, it inspires you to see theirenergy and their passion for it.
I think that was something thatstruck me right away when I went to
my first When I went last year, Ijust basically the energy that they
had and the energy that they kind ofprojected into this whole project.
And I think that that was very coolto see, obviously, like Megan said,
very nice to be able to meet peopleat a place where you might've been

(53:51):
following them for years on social media.
It felt like you already knew each other,but you have actually never met in person
and you got that opportunity to do that.
I think that was very cool.
We also had some really good speakers whenwe were there that we could hear about
some really passionate stories and just.
Be able to see another side of it.
And something that struck me again, thenwas just how inclusive drag racing is.

(54:12):
Cause we get to hear stories orgroundbreaking moments in other forms
of motorsport, where I noticed thatit struck me that, Hey, that happened
a long time ago in drag racing, whereI kind of reminded me of how good we
have it in drag racing with all of theattitude that it's never been a thing.
We just belong here.
So it was very cool to see, and I'mvery happy to see the work they're

(54:35):
doing for women in motorsport.
We're coming down to the end of it.
So I'm really curious to knowwhat is next this upcoming
season for each of our panelists.
And I think this is aquestion from our audience.
Is anyone considering maybe testinga car from another discipline?
Yes, I am.
I mean, it's very, very beginning,so I can't really say much yet.
I've been in drag racing for.

(54:56):
My entire life, 31 years, and I'm veryinterested in trying something else out.
So I stepped away from being aprofessional drag racer in 2020 when my
son was born and yeah, just exploringother options that are out there.
But for me, I am stillracing, just doing fun.
No competing for points because Iknow as soon as I do, I'll do it a

(55:17):
thousand percent and be so obsessedwith it that I'll never be home.
At this season of my life that I'min right now, I'm just trying to have
fun with it while having a three yearold who's also in love with cars.
So we'll figure out what that's goingto look like in a few years for him.
But yeah, so I'm just going to bedoing two races this year, possibly
a third one this summer for fun.

(55:37):
And then outside of that, myfull time job is to be the team
manager, marketing manager.
for my dad's team, whichis Randy Meier Racing.
They race two cars in the top alcoholdragster class, and we've got two
new drivers to our team this year.
So we have our first race comingup, the Baby Gators, followed
by the Gator Nationals, which isthe first NHRA national event.

(56:00):
I do want to plug in that theweek between those, on Tuesday,
we are doing a Press conference atthe state Capitol in Tallahassee.
We're going to have both ofour cars on display there.
We are making the debutof our funny car and NHRA.
So we're very excited for that.
And we are working with thetowing and recovery association
to promote and spread awarenessfor the slow down, move over law.

(56:23):
It's a law in all 50 States.
The law is if you see an emergencyvehicle on the side of the road, the
law is to slow down and move over andchange lanes so that way there's no.
other incidents where someone mightget struck, especially, you know,
with distracted drivers and all that.
And I could go on about that forever,but my parents and I also have a

(56:44):
background in the towing industry.
So does my uncle.
And unfortunately in 2021, he passedaway on a towing recovery job.
So ever since then, we've beenvery passionate about trying
to spread awareness for us.
So we're very excited todo, uh, this really big.
Press conference.
We're going to have membersfrom the Senate there as well.
That will be speaking with me aswell as government highway officials,

(57:05):
first responders, emergency workers.
And of course, we're going tohave as many tow trucks there
as we can on display as well.
So very excited for that.
This is going to be my second yearin tobacco, funny car, which is like,
literally so crazy to say, becauseI've dreamed of that my whole entire
life, but this year we're veryfortunate that all of our sponsors
from last year have stuck with us.

(57:25):
Very loyal to us, whichwe appreciate so much.
We do have some really exciting stuffon the horizon coming up next year.
But as we come into the secondyear of my Top Dog on Funny Car
career, you know, we're hopingto chase the world championship.
We're going to run enough races.
to technically qualify for that.
I'm obsessed with drag racing and Iwant to be the absolute best I can.

(57:46):
And I'm very hard on myself.
And I set goals when I setgoals, I want to achieve them.
And if I'm not able to achievethem, I'm hard on myself.
So we have the team, we have the race car.
I have so much learned my driving.
But hopefully we can have some goodsuccess this year and maybe come out with
a number one, but we got, I got a longways to go and we'll see what happens,
but really excited for this season.
It's my second year with JCM racing.

(58:07):
I had a part time schedule last year.
I actually debuted it by the end ofthe year and made last eight races.
We were.
Part of work before that and building myteam and everything that came with that.
And that's a big job in itself.
So this year I have a 10 raceschedule as it looks like now,
obviously I moved across the worldto come here to chase championships
and that's what it's all about.
You can't chase thechampionships with only 10 races.

(58:29):
So my other biggest thing to do thisyear is to try and find the correct
partners to be able to be out hereand actually chase that championship.
For hopefully this year and years tocome, but as it looks right now, we have
a minimum of 10 races that we will reveala schedule on which races those will be.
And I'm hard at work on trying to fillin those gaps to make it a full one.
So for me, it's a lot of work with that.

(58:51):
A lot of work at the shop every daywith the team, I will be at all of the
other events, except for, I think maybetwo other events that actually collide
with some other marketing opportunities.
I have with NHRA where I will bepromoting the sport at other events.
So that's going to bevery exciting as well.
But just basically trying to jumpon all of those opportunities that
I have to make this dream work.
That's the main goal.
And just like Maddie said, I'malso very, very hard on myself.

(59:14):
I don't reach my goals and I did notmove across the world to not reach them.
So I am definitely hard at workon making this all come together.
And I am very positive that wehave what it takes to be out
here chasing championships.
I know what type of driver Ican be when I'm at my best.
I've seen it when I've raisedprevious classes or when I've raised.
in, in Europe, but we won ourchampionships and I feel like over

(59:36):
here in us, I still do not havethat much seat time in this car.
And I am not one with the carin the way that I know I can be.
So I look forward to more seat time,more races and really becoming one with
the car because I do feel like that'swhen you drive at your very, very best.
And I have more potential to tap intothe team has more potential to tap into.
I have championshipwinning crew around me.

(59:59):
So I know that I have the right.
Guys in my corner and everybodyworking on my car and with my
team are absolutely the best.
And I feel like we have so muchout here to still prove, so to say.
And when it comes to other formsof racing, I have run other bikes
or cars and not professionally.
I mean, my boyfriend racedmotocross, so we did go out and

(01:00:19):
run a lot of motocross years ago.
So I always loved that, but it's somethingI haven't done in a few years now.
Did recently go to an off road eventcalled King of Hammers with the BP
racing and got to run in a trophy truck.
And it was definitely eyeopening.
I do feel like that's something I wouldat one point like to try not to race.
I would say, cause drag racinghas my full attention, but if I

(01:00:41):
could dabble more into stuff likethat, I thought it was really cool.
It was actually somethingI've never seen before.
And I'm actually going to asprint race, and I've never been
to a sprint race before either.
So we'll see what I feel about that.
I'm trying to check off all these newexperiences on my list, and I'm loving it.
Well, Erika, you've collectedenough rings, and you're
starting on your second hand.
Are you going to fill out all the fingers?
Is it going to be a ring for every finger?

(01:01:02):
What's next for you?
You've done it all.
Oh, I still have a lot of goals.
I feel like, I mean, we've, we'vedefinitely been fortunate to click a
lot of them off, but I think the onethat hangs over our head right now is
our 50th national event win on the heelsof winning back to back championships.
I had a really lacklusterseason last year.
We started off with a bang.

(01:01:23):
We won the Pro SuperstarShootout, went to Gainesville.
That race I tried to win for20 years in Pro Stock and never
was able to until last year.
So we won the Pro Race and we won theGator Nationals, and then had some
final round appearances throughout theyear, but never able to seal the deal.
So it's kind of like one of thosethings, like getting my first win, right?
It's right there within reach, butyou just can't seem to get it done.

(01:01:44):
So that 50th one is on the horizon andin a couple weeks in Gainesville, it
marks the year since I've been in thewinner's circle, which really doesn't
make me happy, but you know, I've kindof buried myself in, in work and helping
my teammates and you know, my teammates.
Aaron Stanfield and TJ and Jake Coughlinhad really, really successful years.
Aaron was in the hunt for the championshipright down to the wire last year.

(01:02:05):
So that was fun to be a part of,but I think just checking off the
number 50th and then obviously everydriver's goal is to win a world title.
And we've been so blessed to be ableto have accomplished six of them.
To get the seventh would putus in really cool territory.
I think the only ones that havemore would be John Forrest, Bob
Glidden, and Tony Schumacher.

(01:02:25):
So it'd be uncharted waters forsure to, to win the seventh.
So that's obviously a goal and we haveto take action to accomplish that.
So, you know, having the year that wehad last year for me personally getting
mad and wanting to improve when Isaw the stats at the end of the year,
I was really disappointed in myselfand that, you know, the other ladies.

(01:02:46):
Talking about how when you set a goaland you want to win and you hate to
lose and you're hard on yourself ifyou don't accomplish those goals.
Well, my goal wasn't accomplishedlast year because of me.
So I, uh, I really just want to digdeep and get hungry and get mad.
And, you know, I came outswinging in 2022 cause I was.
Just for lack of a better way to sayit, I was just pissed off at, at a lot
and I came out swinging and my teamand I had our best season in my career.

(01:03:10):
We won 10 races and went to 13final rounds and in 18 events.
So it was a really cool year.
So anyway, I just want to, I want tohave a better year than last year.
I had realistic goals, but to clickoff the number 50 and you know, to
contend for a seventh world titlewould obviously be a dream come true.
But again, we've got really greatpartners with JHD and Melling.
CTECH and CHE and Gallagher.

(01:03:32):
I mean, without these people's support,we wouldn't be able to do what we love.
So they're first and foremost,but having a solid, huge team like
we do and all working together, Ithink the sky is the limit for us.
I'm going to put my headdown and go to work.
Well, ladies, we've reached that partof the episode where I get to turn
the mic over to our title sponsor,the international motor racing.
research center for some closing thoughts.

(01:03:53):
Ladies, this has been truly a treat.
I am so impressed with yourprofessionalism, your, the way you
articulate your sport and most ofall the passion that you bring to it.
I think it's beencertainly a treat for me.
I hope it's been a treat foreverybody that's tuned in on this.
Erica, Ida, Maddie, and Megan, I wish younothing but success in the coming year.
On behalf of the International MotorRacing Research Center, we really

(01:04:14):
appreciate you taking time out of yourbusy schedules to, uh, be part of this.
Thank you so much.
And on behalf of everyone here and thoselistening at home, thank you ladies.
For sharing your stories with us.
And that's a wrap on this highoctane conversation, celebrating
the fearless women of drag racing.
A huge thank you to our incrediblepanelists for sharing their stories, their

(01:04:34):
struggles, and their victories on and offthe track as we celebrate international
women's month, let's remember that speedhas no gender and passion knows no limits.
These drivers are proving every day thatthe future of drag racing is faster,
bolder, and more inclusive than ever.
That's right.
And we hope you enjoyed this presentationand look forward to more virtual center

(01:04:56):
conversations throughout the season.
So be sure to follow, subscribe,and stay with us for more incredible
discussions from the world of motorsport.
So until next time, keep thewheels turning and the throttle.
Wide open.
Thank you.
And with that, ladies, I can'tthank you enough for coming
on and sharing your stories.
You are an absolute inspiration androle models, I think, for every other
discipline of motorsport that's out there.

(01:05:16):
We have a lot to learn from drag racing.
We really do.
So thank you for doing what you're doing.
Thanks for having us.
Yes, thank you for having us.
Ladies, that was really terrific.
Thank you.
Thanks for having us.
Yes.
Thank you guys.
Best of luck this year.
We'll see you soon.

(01:05:40):
Women in motorsports North Americais a not for profit organization
that began in 2022 known as Wimna.
It is a community that focuses onadvancing, connecting, and enabling
with its many partners, includingindustry executives, drivers.
Team members, OEM sponsors,racetracks, and more.
WMNA welcomes all who sharetheir passion for motorsports.

(01:06:00):
The Women in Drive Summit continuesits mission to bring together
motorsports professionals.
This unique event offers newpathways for individuals to explore
career opportunities, discusscurrent industry challenges, and
provides mentorship and resourcesfor future growth in the industry.
If you'd like to stay informedabout WMNA and the Women in Drive
Summit, be sure to log on to www.

(01:06:20):
wmna.
org.
Dot women in motor sports, na.
com, or follow them on socialmedia at women in motor sports,
NA on Instagram and Facebook.
This episode is brought to youin part by the international
motor racing research center.
It's charter is to collect,share, and preserve the history
of motor sports, spanningcontinents, eras, and race series.

(01:06:44):
The Center's collection embodiesthe speed, drama, and camaraderie
of amateur and professional motorracing throughout the world.
The Center welcomes serious researchersand casual fans alike to share stories
of race drivers, race series, and racecars captured on their shelves and walls.

(01:07:05):
and brought to life througha regular calendar of public
lectures and special events.
To learn more about the Center, visit www.
racingarchives.
org.
This episode is also brought to you bythe Society of Automotive Historians.
They encourage research into anyaspect of automotive history.

(01:07:27):
The SAH actively supports thecompilation and preservation of papers.
Organizational records print ephemera andimages to safeguard, as well as to broaden
and deepen the understanding of motorizedwheeled land transportation through
the modern age and into the future.
For more informationabout the SAH, Visit www.

(01:07:53):
autohistory.
org.
We hope you enjoyed another awesomeepisode of Brake Fix Podcast, brought
to you by Grand Touring Motorsports.
If you'd like to be a guest onthe show or get involved, be sure
to follow us on all social mediaplatforms at GrandTouringMotorsports.
And if you'd like to learn moreabout the content of this episode,

(01:08:15):
be sure to check out the followon article at GTMotorsports.
org.
We remain a commercial free and noannual fees organization through
our sponsors, but also throughthe generous support of our fans,
families, and friends through Patreon.
For as little as 2.
50 a month, you can get access to morebehind the scenes action, additional

(01:08:37):
Pit Stop minisodes, and other VIPgoodies, as well as keeping our team
of creators Fed on their strict diet offig Newtons, gummy bears, and monster.
So consider signing upfor Patreon today at www.
patreon.
com forward slash GT motorsports,and remember without you, none
of this would be possible.

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

Dateline NBC

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Drag Racing: Celebrating Women in the Sport

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Stuff You Should Know

Dateline NBC

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

All Episodes

Drag Racing: Celebrating Women in the Sport

Stuff You Should Know