June 30, 2025 • 55 mins
What happens when you're born into a family of aviators but feel drawn to conquer the ground instead? For 18-year-old Charlotte Traynor, the answer came through motorsports, sparked simply by watching in-car camera footage on television that ignited something within her.
Charlotte takes us through her unconventional journey into racing, beginning at age 13 with no family connections to the sport. From indoor karting centers to professional go-karts and now competing in the Mazda MX-5 Cup Series, her path illustrates the complex landscape young drivers must navigate to build a career in motorsports. The financial realities led her to Mazda's development ladder—a relatively affordable pathway that still offers substantial opportunities, including a $100,000 Rookie of the Year prize and significant payouts for female competitors.
Beyond the technical aspects of driving, Charlotte reveals how racing transformed her from a shy teenager into someone comfortable initiating conversations and representing herself professionally. Her mental approach to the sport—maintaining "short-term memory" after setbacks and always keeping her "eyes up"—provides wisdom that extends far beyond the track. Perhaps most poignantly, she shares her experience racing at Daytona for the first time: "I was probably feeling every single emotion you could feel inside the car... It was one of those things like, okay, I'm making it, I am doing this."
As motorsports evolves in the social media age, Charlotte discusses the surprising reality that teams now often ask about follower counts before race results. Her authentic perspective offers valuable insights for aspiring racers while reminding us all that perseverance matters: "You're never gonna know if you never even try... don't let anyone or anything hold you back." Ready to support the next generation of female racers? Follow Charlotte's journey and discover how passion combined with determination can open doors in even the most challenging environments.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Melinda Russell (00:02):
Welcome to the Women's Motorsports Network
podcast, the show that puts thespotlight on the incredible
women who fuel the world ofmotorsports, From drivers to
crew members, engineers to fansand everyone in between.
We're here to celebrate thetrailblazers, dreamers and doers
shaping the sport we love.
Each episode we share inspiringstories of females of all ages,
(00:24):
from every corner of themotorsports universe, past,
present and future.
It's a journey through theseasons of life filled with
heartfelt moments, laughter anda whole lot of horsepower.
So, whether you're a lifelongfan, a racer yourself or simply
curious about the extraordinarywomen behind the wheel, settle
in, relax and enjoy a fun anduplifting ride with us.
(00:47):
This is the Women's MotorsportsNetwork podcast, connecting and
celebrating women in motorsports, one story at a time.
Let's hit the track.
Promoting a track takes heart,and now showing appreciation can
be just as easy with send outcards.
(01:10):
You can thank sponsors,volunteers, drivers and fans
with personalized digital cardssent right from your phone or
laptop.
Add a photo, write a messageand hit send.
It's that simple Unlimitedsends for just $10 a month.
Go to sendoutcardscom forwardslash 53240.
(01:33):
That's sendoutcardscom forwardslash 53240.
Because gratitude builds greattracks.
Because gratitude builds greattracks.
Hello everyone, this is MelindaRussell with the Women's
Motorsports Network podcast, andmy guest today is Charlotte
(01:56):
Trainor, and Charlotte comes tous from the Southwest and I'm
going to let her tell us wherethat is and a little bit more
about herself.
So, Charlotte, I want towelcome you to the show and
would you first start by tellingus a little about yourself so
we can get to know you better.
Charlotte Traynor (02:13):
Yes, hello, and thank you so much for having
me.
So my name is Charlotte Traynor, I'm 18 years old and I'm from
Phoenix, arizona, so I'm a racecar driver.
I've been racing for about fiveyears now, so I'm just trying
to, you know, become aprofessional in that category,
and I graduated high schoolearly, so now I have kind of all
(02:36):
my time as an 18-year-old toget to try to focus on racing
and, you know, making a livingoff of it.
Melinda Russell (02:42):
Yeah, that's exciting and I love hearing that
.
And you know we talked a littlebefore the show started that I
am pretty familiar with thePhoenix area, as most people
know.
My youngest, two daughters liveout there and I come out there
a lot, but I haven't ever beento a racetrack other than the
(03:04):
one in Avondale, the NASCARtrack.
It seems like whenever I comeout there it's they're not
racing, it's too hot or it's thebreak or whatever it is, and so
the racing season in Phoenix isa little different, I feel,
than most places.
So remind me I want to talkabout that too.
But let's start first with howdid you get involved in
(03:27):
motorsports?
Charlotte Traynor (03:29):
So my start in motorsports is a bit
different, I would say, thanmost people.
I do not come from a racingfamily, so I have no connection
to motorsports like in that way.
My dad is a pilot, my grandpawas a pilot, my sister is a
pilot, so it's like I come fromthis family of like aviators and
for some odd reason I don'tknow, I'm just like the ground
(03:50):
loving one of the family.
But I started in motorsports abit later, when I was around 13
years old and it was just fromlike watching it on TV, like we
would always watch, you know,nascar, formula One, indycar,
and even though, like nobody inmy family raced, we still loved
it and we actually had like dirtbikes.
(04:11):
We were a little bit in likethe motocross scene kind of Like
, I'd say, when I was like 10 to13 years old, because our
neighbors were huge on motocrossso they kind of got us into, I
guess, motorsports through thatway.
So I actually rode dirt bikesfor a little while when I was,
you know, a young 10, you knowyear old.
But yeah, I would just watchyou know NASCAR and Formula One
(04:35):
on TV, and it's like when theywould show the in-car cameras
and like the driver's point ofview.
I don't know, it was like aswitch or something that just
clicked on in my brain and I waslike of view, I don't know, it
was like a switch or somethingthat just clicked on in my brain
and I was like that looks likeso much fun, I have to do that.
Like it just looks so cool.
Like as a kid, I was like, holycow, can I actually do this?
Like how do I become a race cardriver?
(04:55):
I don't know why.
I was just so fascinated withit.
So I looked it up and I, youknow, looked up all these things
about you know how you canbecome a race car driver and the
first thing it kind of said waslike, well, start with
go-karting.
So I was like, hey, dad, I kindof want to, you know, um, try
this out.
And obviously he didn't reallyknow what to do, cause he's not
(05:19):
a racer, he doesn't come fromracing at all.
So he was like, okay, we justwent to an indoor go-karting
center, you know like kind ofwhere they go for birthday
parties and stuff like that, andI really took to it, like I
really enjoyed it.
It was something that I wasactually decent at.
You know, I didn't have toomany things as a kid that I like
, really liked and things thatlike clicked for me and it's
(05:40):
like that was one of them.
So that like surprised me and Ireally liked it and I was good
at it.
So, sure enough, my dad and Iwe bought like a professional go
kart that you can race, and wedid that for like about five
years, I'd say.
And now, you know, I'm movingup and taking the step up into
(06:00):
cars.
So last year was my first yearracing cars.
Melinda Russell (06:03):
So now I'm just going along with that journey
you know, charlotte, you saythat you, you know you're
different from your family, butnot really, because if they're
flying they're in the speed youknow.
Charlotte Traynor (06:16):
That's kind of a speed thing um, I mean, my
sister has yeah, she's alwaysbeen obsessed with like fighter
jets and stuff.
So I'm like, okay, you canconquer the air and I'll conquer
the ground yeah, that's a goodplan.
You got every area covered,right one of somebody has to
race boats or something oh mygosh, maybe my brother, I can
(06:36):
get him into racing somethingwell like you know, there's some
people, I know, that race boatsout and like by near Lake
Havasu and other places.
So yeah, yeah, I have friendsthat race like jet skis up there
.
It's honestly sometimes moreinsane than cars Like it really
kind of is.
Melinda Russell (06:54):
I think it really is.
So you mentioned a brother anda sister.
Is there three of you in thefamily, Three kids?
Charlotte Traynor (07:01):
Yes, there is .
So I'm a middle child.
I have an older sister who's 21.
And then my younger brother is16.
Melinda Russell (07:08):
Okay, all right .
So you have the middle childsyndrome.
Charlotte Traynor (07:12):
So yes, I do.
Melinda Russell (07:13):
All right, I have.
I'm the youngest of threedaughters that my parents had,
so I was the baby and I alwayshear about that for sure still,
and I'm my 60s, so that's howthat goes.
So, charlotte, what kind of carare you racing?
Where are you racing?
Charlotte Traynor (07:30):
tell me all about that so the car that I'm
racing now is a Mazda MX-5 cupcar.
When I started racing cars Istarted in this spec Miata and
then we kind of like moved upbecause Mazda Motorsports they
have a really accessible ladderfor someone that's wanting to
get into car racing for arelatively inexpensive price.
(07:52):
Because, you know, obviously akid's dream is to kind of go in
the open wheel world and stufflike that, but it's way too
expensive for me, like that'sout of the budget.
So you know, mazda Motorsportshas a really good pathway for
go-carters trying to step up tocars.
Um, they have like a spec Miata, spec MX-5 and then MX-5 cup
(08:13):
and it's kind of like differentlevels, um, and a relatively
inexpensive way to get into thesport.
So, um, I started in a specMiata last year driving had some
, you know, decent results andsuccess in that, which was great
.
So I kind of like moved up andthrough some connections that we
have here in Arizona, we wereable to purchase an MX-5 Cup car
(08:35):
and just kind of dabble in thatseries a little bit.
And I say dabble is becausewe're only running three of
those races this year.
Only running three of thoseraces this year.
I think the calendar.
Gosh, I don't know how manyraces I think it might have.
Like 12 races total over thecourse of like six weekends, so
it's like they're all combined.
Don't quote me on that, I needto check the schedule.
Melinda Russell (08:53):
That sounds about right, though.
Charlotte Traynor (08:55):
Yeah, make sure.
But so we're running apart-time season in the MX5 Cup
Series.
And it's part-time because ifyou run three races, that's like
the most you can run in orderto be eligible for Rookie of the
Year next year in that series.
And the special thing about theMazda MX-5 Cup Series is that
(09:16):
its payouts are incredible.
It has incredible payouts forthe drivers, for the females in
the series highest finishingfemale gets like two thousand
dollars per race and the rookieof the year gets a hundred grand
.
So, and and the championshipwinner if you win the overall
championship, you get 250 grand.
So it's like people have becomemillionaires off racing in that
(09:37):
series and there's reallynothing else like it that offers
that kind of like cash payback.
So we were really drawn to thatseries and because our friends
from arizona they're competingin that series, so they kind of
like pulled us in as we weresaying like, hey, we want to get
into cars, we kind of shadowedthem and would follow them
around to the mazda mx-5 cupraces and then we realized like
(10:00):
hey, we can get into this andthey have a car that we can buy.
So we've just been using themfor and they have a car that we
can buy.
So we've just been using themfor training and for the races
that we do.
We do with them.
So it's really been like alucky kind of case scenario to
end up with those people to beable to run in that series.
Melinda Russell (10:17):
Do you want to share who they are, or would you
rather not?
Charlotte Traynor (10:20):
Yeah, I will.
Um, so it's Parker DeLongracing Um, it's just uh, him and
his dad.
Um, so it's parker de longracing um, it's just uh, him and
his dad.
So it's a totally likeprivateer operation almost,
which is really difficult.
Trying to run like as aprivateer team against all the
huge mx5 cup teams like jtr, bsi, mmr, like it's big.
(10:40):
Those teams have been doing itfor years and years and the m MX
five cup is like all they know.
So to step in, just Parker andhis dad like to do this and to
kind of step up and be able tocompete with them is just huge.
And I mean they have, like lastyear at road Atlanta, parker
got second place like, andthat's huge.
You know, you are reallyswimming with the sharks in that
(11:03):
series.
So it's been also really coolto like not only see my
development but like theirdevelopment as well in that
series.
So it's super cool to be a partof and we're so just we're
lucky to have come across them,because they coached us in
go-karts, so it's like hecoached me in karting and then
we just kind of like followedthem.
Then, you know, when they wentto the nx5 cup, then we went,
(11:23):
you know a year later.
Melinda Russell (11:24):
So so when you go to those races is, I think,
sally mott races.
That yes, have you met her.
Charlotte Traynor (11:34):
I have.
I've met her multiple times.
I've met all the girls in theseries, so there's a lot more
this year, which is incredible.
I've met sally.
She's incredible.
She's been so helpful with likeall the advice and all the tips
that she's given me.
She's great, super talented aswell, so it's really cool to get
to like share the paddock withher.
There's Heather Hadley, who'salso incredibly experienced in
(11:55):
that series and she's so sweetas well.
Yeah, there's Ashlyn Speed, whowon the scholarship last year
and, is you know, this is herfirst year in the cup series, so
it's super cool to talk withher.
Like we're both kind of the newfaces, so that's cool, um, and
then there's there's anothergirl, my mighty casteris.
(12:15):
I don't know if I'm saying hername right, but um, she's she's
from uruguay, I think, and she'sshe's incredibly nice as well.
Um, she did like some of theopen wheel stuff I think she has
experience in that and like theF1 academy, so she was super
nice from the brief chat that Igot with her.
So it's it's really cool tolike have more girls getting
into that series and kind ofhave that community.
(12:36):
It's super cool just to get toshare the paddock and the track
with them yeah, so did you watchthe movie or documentary to the
finish?
Melinda Russell (12:44):
yes, finish.
Charlotte Traynor (12:45):
Yes, I did.
I did watch it.
It's cool.
It's like it's crazy.
Who would have thought that?
You know Mazda, the MX Web Cupwould be getting you know this
series, kind of following it.
It's just, it's crazy.
But it's so cool to see likethat series has grown so much
and the viewers that it gets nowthe popularity it's completely
deserved.
Like the racing in that seriesis like no other.
(13:08):
It's so entertaining.
Like the last lap people willbe going like five wide through
the dirt, someone's off there,someone's spinning out.
So it's super entertaining andI it deserves like all the hype
and the buzz that it deservesmore promotion and I don't think
it gets near enough.
Melinda Russell (13:25):
It gets overshadowed by some of the
bigger series but the racing isunbelievable, and I think connor
zillich raced in that series alittle bit he did.
Charlotte Traynor (13:35):
he did, and that's a thing that they bring
up.
A lot is like the drivers thatkind of go through the mx5 cup,
you can just go in anything elseand be fast.
Yeah, because the mx5 cup andthat can just go in anything
else and be fast.
Yeah, Because the MX-5 Cup andthat's why we see, you know,
Conor Zilch is so good and kidslike Tyler Gonzalez and Nathan
Nicholson and all these you knowincredible drivers that go off
(13:55):
and then they drive other thingsLike they're so talented they
are and it's because the MX-5Cup is such a good like starting
ground and it's because theMX-5 Cup is such a good starting
ground and the car is so trickyto get a grasp on and drive.
The series is so competitive, soit's really like you have
everything thrown at you andthen when you get in an LMP2 car
(14:16):
or a GT car or something likethat, it's like the car does the
work for you and it'severything's at least in my
opinion.
I feel like I can say that toofrom driving different things.
It's like nothing is as hard asthe MX-5 Cup car and the racing
and the car itself.
It's just it's really tricky.
So if you can perform there,you can perform almost anywhere.
Melinda Russell (14:39):
Yeah, and it's road course racing, right, yeah.
Yeah, and so that's one reasonhe's so good on road courses.
Charlotte Traynor (14:47):
Yeah, for sure, he definitely has that,
you know, kind of one up oneveryone and even in ovals too,
like I mean, it's just been,he's been insane everywhere he
goes and obviously it's you know, raw talent, but I feel like
it's also you know part of thedevelopment that the MX five cup
brings you know, yeah, hello.
(15:12):
I'm sorry it's okay, I'm like,oh, am I alone?
Melinda Russell (15:21):
yeah, you were alone for a little bit.
So, um, sorry about that.
So, yeah, um, I love seeingthese series that make it easier
to get started, because, I mean, all sports can be expensive,
but but you know, if you're afootball player, you're not
buying your own footballs andequipment right.
(15:44):
They're paying you to do allthat and and to get into
motorsports you've got to bringsome money or some sponsors
normally, and so it's a wholedifferent model of business and
things.
And so you know, we've got tomake it more affordable for
people to get started, or, youknow, unless you're young and
(16:06):
your parents are millionaires,it's really hard to get into it.
So I love that you're doingthat, yeah, and it's really
tricky because it's like it'sreally hard to get into it.
Charlotte Traynor (16:12):
So I love that you're doing that, yeah,
and it's really tricky becauseit's like it's so tough.
You see so many kids and I knowso many kids that I know if they
got in a car, if they got thechance, they would just be
incredible, but they don't getthe chance because they don't
have the funding.
So that's one of the huge thingsthat I do want to do one day is
somehow get you know more kids,give more talented kids a
(16:33):
chance.
You know like it's, you know itsucks how this sport has kind
of sometimes just become likeovershadowed by the people that
have money, you know, and nowit's like money over talent,
which is really unfortunate, andyou know it doesn't even make
the racing as good, because thenyou have more kids and people
crashing cars because they don'treally know how to drive as
(16:54):
well as you know maybe someoneelse that can't afford to go in
the series.
So you know, one day that wouldbe like a dream of mine to like
create some sort of foundationor something that gives you know
young talented kids a chancewho wouldn't really have a
chance, you know, anywhere elsekids a chance, who wouldn't
really have a chance, you know,anywhere else.
Melinda Russell (17:15):
I, I love that idea for you as well, because I,
you know, I mean we can't saythat everybody that's in the top
series come from money, but ifyou most of them, most of them
do, a lot of them do, and so youknow not nothing against those
people, because I'll tell you,the NASCAR teams and those three
series, they have a lot ofextremely talented racers, but I
(17:39):
know there's just as manyprobably that are out there that
are winning at a local level,who could compete in a NASCAR
series or whatever, and theyjust don't get the chance.
And that's the sad part.
But you know, that's true infootball, baseball, everything
else.
You know, you think of all thelittle league teams that play
during the summer and then howmany get to really be
(18:01):
professional baseball players.
It's tough, it's really, it'sreally tough to do.
So, yeah, for sure.
So now, where do you race mostof the time?
Charlotte?
So I race.
Charlotte Traynor (18:13):
I would say we've kind of been moving more
out East.
When I first started, like incars and in go-karts, it was all
kind of out West, like we wouldgo out to California.
You know, buttonwillow, willowSprings.
There's a decent amount oftracks in Arizona as well, like
road course tracks, not just the, you know, oval.
So we kind of, you know, justrace on the west coast.
(18:34):
But now kind of the more westep up and the bigger it gets,
lots of the racing is all on theeast coast.
So we've been traveling outeast a lot, just going to lots
of different tracks likebirmingham, alabama.
I was just in daytona, yeah,virginia.
So it's kind of it started westand now it's like transitioning
to the east because that'swhere racing is honestly like
(18:56):
that's where, that's whereeverything is, that's where the
hub is.
So definitely like the more Igo on with this, the more I'm
gonna kind of see myself outthere.
Melinda Russell (19:05):
Yeah but so now , who travels with you when you
go to the races?
How you know, how do you getyour car there, and all that
Normally it's my dad.
Charlotte Traynor (19:13):
So we one of the past races that we did in
the MX five cup my first one atBarber we drove our MX five cup
car all the way from Phoenix toBirmingham, alabama, you know,
all the way across the country.
Melinda Russell (19:27):
So it's a lot of work.
Charlotte Traynor (19:28):
It's yeah, it's a lot of work and it just
shows, I feel like, how muchwork and effort that really goes
into trying to become aprofessional race car driver.
Like I feel like people it justflies over people's heads and
they don't realize, like howmuch work you actually put in.
You know, and when we're notdriving now we kind of keep our
car on the East coast becausethat's where we are the most and
(19:49):
it's too hot to train inArizona in the summer.
So it's really, you know, it'sno use keeping it here when the
days are just like 105 degreesand you can't really go drive.
So we just keep it out east andthen we just fly out east
because, because my dad's apilot, it's actually really easy
to fly.
Yeah, you know, if the flightsare open, we can just hop on.
So that is a bonus.
(20:09):
It is actually really easy toget out there and normally me
and him we just go out and then,uh, we have, you know, we have
people that are part of the team, that kind of like drive our
car to wherever we're going, solike if we're going to Alabama
or if we're going to Atlanta,they'll just, you know, drive it
out there and we'll just spendthe day practicing or preparing
for a race.
Melinda Russell (20:29):
All right, yeah , you're lucky that your dad's a
pilot.
That works out good for you.
Not many, not many drivers havethat advantage, for sure.
Yeah, so, charlotte, what isthe thing that was the hardest
for you to learn when you weredriving a car?
What took you the most time toto kind of master?
Charlotte Traynor (20:53):
I think honestly just being able to let
things go and have almost like ashort-term memory, because
sometimes I would get too caughtup over things and stuck on
things Like, let's say, you havea bad start or someone hits you
, I would get so flustered inthe moment and I feel like
(21:14):
racing cars.
It's really taught me how tolike keep my cool and how to
really like forget what justhappened in the past corner,
cause it's hard.
It's hard to like get past ifyou get spied out or you make a
mistake, and it's so easy tolike beat yourself up over the
little things.
But you know it really made merealize like that's not going to
(21:36):
get me anywhere.
You know, like you, really, asa race car driver, you almost
have to have like this shortterm memory and, just, you know,
keep focusing forward.
I feel like it kind of that's agood thing on life too.
It kind of gives you like youknow that went up on having that
in life as well, but that wasdefinitely took me a little bit
to learn and it's tricky.
It's tricky to not beatyourself up over like the little
things and you're like well,it's happened, I can't change it
, I can't do anything about it.
(21:56):
So you know, I just got to moveforward.
Melinda Russell (21:59):
You know that I think racing, and you know
again, a lot of sports, teach uslife lessons, and that's one of
the things that you know mightbe a life lesson that you're
learning is, you know you can'thold on to everything and hold
grudges and all and all that.
You have to be forgiving, youhave to give people grace and
and that kind of thing, and andyou know I talked to a lot of
(22:22):
girls who are very shy and thenonce they're into racing they
come out of their shell, they'rethere, they go from introvert
to extrovert.
A lot of those things.
What else have you learned Doyou think that you can attribute
to being a race car driver?
Charlotte Traynor (22:37):
Honestly, I have learned so much, I think,
to add on to kind of like theintrovert to extrovert.
Like racing teaches you how to.
I feel like it's almost likelife, like things aren't going
to go your way.
You're gonna have more bad daysthan good, you know.
And it teaches you how to getover things, and not just get
over things.
It also teaches you how torepresent, like as a race car
driver, you're not just youronly job isn't just to drive the
(23:00):
car fast Outside of the car.
You have to be a spokespersonfor yourself, you have to market
for yourself, you have to reachout to people, you have to send
emails, you have to do allthese things that you know
people don't realize.
So it really has, like broughtme out of my shell as well.
I was definitely a very shy kidand I didn't.
I got so nervous talking topeople and I wasn't really one
(23:20):
for conversations with people.
But now, like racing, like Irealized like I can just go up
to anyone and say anything.
Now, like I'll go up and I willbe the one to initiate the
conversation.
I will be the one to like sendthe email when before, like I
would never do that, but nowit's.
It's really just made me intolike a spokesperson and, you
know, an extrovert, becausethat's what you need.
(23:42):
You know you're not.
If you don't knock on the doorit's it's never going to be open
.
So, you know, it's reallytaught me that as well, and I
feel like that's just sovaluable for getting through
life is learning how torepresent yourself, who you are
as a person, build a brand foryourself too.
So it's incredible All thethings that racing teaches you
(24:03):
and you don't even realize.
And then you look back atyourself a few years ago and
you're like, wow, I really havegrown, not just as a driver but
as a person.
Melinda Russell (24:13):
Yeah, that's so true and I'm glad you said that
because you know a lot of girlsand their parents even don't
realize that there's a lot ofbenefits to being in motorsports
that you can't put your fingeron before you start and every
person's different.
Every person isn't going togrow up or change.
(24:34):
You know change how they are,but overall I hear it so often
that all the things thatmotorsports has changed for the
good in a young woman.
So I love hearing that Now doyou have marketing partners or
is this more of a?
You know you pay as you go.
Charlotte Traynor (24:55):
Well, right now it's I pay as I go.
That's one of the things thatI'm working on right now.
You know, just like puttingtogether sponsorship packets and
putting together all thesedeals and, you know, trying to
go up to people, and so that iswhat I'm my project I would say
at the moment.
You know it's something onceagain, but I'm learning how to
do.
It's like I've never puttogether a sponsorship packet
(25:15):
before this.
I have no idea what I'm doing,but you just have to kind of go
along with things, and I do have, you know, a few people helping
me out.
We do have you know a few likesponsor stickers on the car.
You know that just sometimeshelp with like some of the
prices, whether it's like fuelor like your helmet right or
tires, um.
But I'm definitely like in theprocess of trying to get myself
(25:37):
out there more, get moresponsors, kind of like grow your
brand on social media as well,because that's been a huge tool
for drivers these days.
So I'm like, well, if you kindof get yourself out there on
social media, that's just goingto open so many more doors for
you.
And I have talked to likemultiple professional drivers in
the past, like these NASCARdrivers, that um one of them,
(25:58):
she gave me advice and she waslike the first thing that this
team asked me when I was goingto sign for them wasn't how many
wins do you have, it's how manyfollowers do you have, and then
how many wins do you have?
And it's just crazy becauseit's like that is how
motorsports has changed and it'slike if you have that online
presence and that it's veryclear that you can bring
something to the team that's notjust driving like they will
(26:20):
want you.
So that's been another hugething that I've kind of been
like working on is just growingthat like online presence.
So then, like the more peopleknow you, the more you get
yourself out there.
It's like that's how you'regoing to find opportunities to
you know.
Melinda Russell (26:33):
Absolutely.
And then another thing thatyou're going to want to grow is
your email list, so 100%.
I had over 10,000 followers ona Facebook page and two years
ago it got hacked and I lostthem all.
Charlotte Traynor (26:48):
Oh first I cried no, no, I would like be
bawling, oh my gosh mad.
Melinda Russell (26:55):
I was so mad because there was no monetary
reason for somebody to hack myFacebook page they're not gonna
make a penny off of it and I wasso, just so angry that somebody
, just for meanness they werejust being mean, I mean, that's
how I looked at it yeah, that'sso frustrating so I I still am
(27:19):
trying, you know, I'm stilltrying to grow it back, but I
haven't really concentrated onthat.
Charlotte, I've grown my emaillist.
I have over 7,000 emailaddresses.
Oh wow, I own those.
Yeah, I nobody can take thoseaway from me, yeah, so you know
that that, to me, is such a abonus that I I learned the hard
(27:42):
way.
You know I'll go back and getmy followers back eventually.
In fact, I was able recently toget on my old Facebook page
through a backdoor, kind of notas an admin, but I was able to
see all the followers wherebefore I couldn't see them, and
so I printed it.
(28:02):
You know it was 70, some pagesof of names.
You know five or six names to apage.
I printed it and I'm going toeventually reach out to everyone
and try to get them to followme again.
But that's in my spare time,which you know.
Who has spare time?
Right?
Yeah, seriously, yeah.
So anyway, but grow an emaillist.
(28:25):
I would, I would reallyencourage you to do that.
So you don't work on the carbecause it's out east and you're
out west and so you know that's, that's okay.
A lot of them don't.
A lot of young gals or evenguys don't work on their car, if
you ask an NASCAR driver.
Charlotte Traynor (28:44):
Yeah, when it was here in Arizona, my dad and
I we would work on it.
And still, at the track I dobecause the team that we're with
, obviously parker delong it's,it's just us, you know.
So it's like we.
You kind of need all hands ondeck, sure.
So even though I'm not workingon the car, like most of the
time, I will help in areas thatI do need to help.
(29:05):
And obviously, when it was herejust in our garage, my dad and
I would work on it.
We changed the oil, we changedthe tires.
He makes me work on it like he'snot gonna, he's not gonna let
me run off and do other things,like no, he, he makes me work on
my stuff.
Yeah, it was the exact samewith go-karts.
I was actually a mechanic, um,for a go-karting team, um, like
a year ago.
(29:25):
I just, you know, I'll go tothe track when I wasn't racing
and I would work on, you know,other kids, other kids, go-karts
.
So I do have a little bit ofexperience kind of, in that and
it's like, cause we have to, wedon't have the extra help Right,
so it's it's all hands on deck,you know.
Melinda Russell (29:39):
Okay, yeah, well, that's good to hear.
I'm glad to hear that for sure.
So now as a girl racing andthere are a few girls in what
you're doing but even back inthe go-karts, did you ever feel
like you didn't fit in or didn'tbelong?
Did anybody ever treat you like?
What are you doing here?
Charlotte Traynor (29:57):
yeah, well, I knew, you know, from the start
like it was something that Iwanted to do and inside me I
knew that I belonged.
But it was definitely hard, Ifeel like sometimes to find like
your click and like people totalk to.
Like, thank goodness I so Igrew up in Colorado, so that's
kind of where I started racingand I had the best group of
friends, like one at me and myfriend, like we started on the
(30:18):
exact same day.
It was his first day, it was myfirst day in the go-kart and
you know our friend group.
I had a really nice littlefriend group of like what five
or six of us, um, that kind ofall competed locally together
and there was.
I was never treated differently,like there was no differences,
it was just all fun like buddy,buddy stuff.
But kind of like at biggernational go-kart races where
people don't really know you, um, you could feel it a little bit
(30:42):
like people would stare at youor they would.
There was a lot of instanceswhere they would treat me
differently, like on track,because obviously in go-karting
you can kind of tell who's agirl and who's not.
You can tell that they'resmaller in the cart, so smaller
must mean easier to push around.
So that means I'm just gonnapush you into the barrier.
So that did happen at times.
(31:02):
It did, it did get me upset.
I would get driven differently,I'd say, at the bigger races by
lots of people, just becausethey you know, they see you and
they know, you know who you are.
So they just think that it'sokay and nobody's gonna work
with you.
Nobody's, you know.
You're trying to tap the backof your helmet and say like hey,
push me, let's work together.
Like, but nobody works with you, nobody does any of that um,
(31:25):
and just like talking to likeall the guys and everyone kind
of had their own group and I'mlike, okay, cool, I'm gonna go
back to the tent and just kindof look at my stuff by myself.
But I got over it because at theend of the day, like I didn't
really care, like this is whatI'm here to do, this is what I
want to make.
You know, I want to make acareer off this and this is what
I'm so passionate about.
Like you cannot take that awayfrom me, right, you know?
(31:47):
So it's like all your littleegotistical things you have
going on, like do whatever youwant At the end of the day, it's
not going to make me stop, likenothing you can do is going to
make me quit or stop, and thankgoodness, like in cars, I have
not experienced that Like peopleare.
So you know they're a lot betterbecause it's a car Like they
(32:07):
don't.
You know you're not just asmall person in a go-kart,
you're a car like in front ofthem and they don't want to
wreck their car as well becauseit's so much more expensive too.
So, um, I I have notexperienced, you know, any sort
of like uh, behavior like thatin cars, which is awesome and
incredible to see.
And I feel like people realize,like okay, there are some girls
(32:28):
that are like really good, youknow, and they, they understand
it and they respect you, whichis incredible.
But I definitely faced a littlebit of that in karting.
Melinda Russell (32:36):
I would say yeah, so Charlotte racing, are
you still in school?
Charlotte Traynor (32:44):
I am not in school at the moment.
So I graduated early because Ihomeschooled, so I was able to
graduate early.
So now I'm taking a gap yearbecause I'm only 18 years old.
So I am taking a gap year tofocus on racing and to be able
to travel every week and do whatI want to do, to try to, you
know, live out this career.
So if I ever did go to schoolin the future, it would probably
(33:08):
be, you know, some sort oftrade school, just to study.
You know a certain thing, and itwould probably be engineering,
because you know, I would stillwant to be in motor sports and
it would be any sort of likemotor sports engineering,
because that is something thatI'm also passionate about.
But as of right now, it's just,you know, 100% full focus on
racing, because that's what youhave to do.
You know, if you want to becomea professional, you know,
(33:29):
you're, you're doing it everysingle week, you're.
You know the tennis playersthey're all playing every single
day.
The football players they'reall training every single day.
So it's like you have to giveit your all.
You can't 50, 50 it, and I'm solucky that you know.
Melinda Russell (33:53):
I was homeschooled and I had the time
and I still do have the time togive it faced with like this
incredible opportunity.
So I'm for sure going to makethe most of it, absolutely so.
Everybody has a bad day at thetrack.
When you have a bad day at thetrack, how do you handle that?
Charlotte Traynor (34:02):
Ooh, normally well, normally, my family's
there with me at the track, so,whether it's my dad or my
brother, um, they're huge,they're huge.
Support uh, having the rightpeople around you, I feel like,
is, you know, wins more thanhalf the battle, because, you
know, it all depends on yoursupport system, and I'm so
thankful that I do have a greatsupport system around me.
So I know that if I'm likehaving a bad day, or I had a bad
(34:24):
day or I, you know something'sgoing on at the track, or you
know whatever race happened thatI didn't like it, you know.
I know that, whether it's mydad or my brother or even my
sister, you know I'll be able toreach out to anyone and I feel
like you know the people thatyou surround yourself with can
really get you through the hardtimes.
(34:51):
And then I feel like also justkind of like taking a moment.
You know, even though, becauseit gets so hectic at the track,
I feel like sometimes you forgetto like that you can step away
for a second, you can go in thetrailer, you can go in the hall
or just take a moment toyourself, like whether it's just
laying down, reflecting like,and just kind of stepping back
from whatever the situation maybe.
That also like really helps,you know, and you don't realize
that you needed it until, like,you step out of the trailer from
like that five minutes ofsilence that you just had,
you're like, hmm, I feel a lotbetter about what just happened
(35:14):
now that I just kind of tooktime to step back from this like
chaotic environment, you know.
Melinda Russell (35:19):
Yeah, yeah, good, good advice for other
people to do the same.
So let's say it's race day.
Do you have a routine?
Are you superstitious?
You always wear the same socks.
I always eat at McDonald's forbreakfast.
What might be your race dayroutine?
Charlotte Traynor (35:40):
Okay, in terms of superstitions, I
actually don't really have manyLike I'm not crazy superstitious
, I'm not like, oh, I need to dothis and this and this before I
get in the car.
Sometimes I'll listen to music,but lots of the time, like,
I'll just study, like I'llvisualize like the track and
I'll visualize like the perfectlap, kind of that I want to do.
(36:00):
Take time to just close my eyesand really think about that.
I'll look at, I'll study thetrack map, I'll study my video
and I'll just really try to likeget everything in my brain.
You know that I need to thinkabout whether it's like a
certain braking zone or how Iwant to start the race, or like
who I'm around.
You know, what do they drivelike.
So you know just really kind oflike getting in the zone,
(36:24):
looking at my own stuff, lookingat my video, the track map and
everything that I need to do.
I'd say that's something that Ido a lot before the races.
And also just like deepbreathing, like when I'm in the
car, like we're, you know,getting ready to go out, I will
do like all sorts of deepbreathing things.
You know these deeper theexercises.
Sometimes I'll like clench myfists super tight and then like
(36:47):
release it, you know, and thenjust kind of like, do that,
cause it does, it works, itfeels good.
It's like you clench up likeall this you know tense energy
that you have building up andthen you just release it and let
it go, you know, and take adeep breath and that you know
that that works for me as well.
Melinda Russell (37:02):
So yeah, yeah, good, good advice as well.
I'm not sure if I asked youthis what's your favorite part
of?
Charlotte Traynor (37:13):
being involved in motor sports.
Can I say everything?
Obviously, I'd say the peopleare so incredible.
Like you realize, the more thatyou get into racing it's like
everybody's connected in someway and everybody knows someone
and it's just like this one bigfamily.
Like you all understand eachother on this different level.
I feel like, and the bonds andthe connections that I've made
(37:36):
are like no other.
Like all my friends that I havein racing, it's like they're
not even friends, they're family, like the family that you make.
You know, cause you go throughso much together.
You go through the highest ofhighs and you see each other at
your best and you see each otherat your worst.
So it's like you become sovulnerable and I feel like you
know, in other aspects of lifeyou don't really get that, but
(37:58):
in racing you really.
It shows like all of your sidesand it really grows.
You know that connection to thepeople that you're with.
You know, and then, like whenyou do have good days, you have
great results.
It just makes that like evensweeter when you have, you know,
that incredible team and thatincredible group of people that
you share it with.
Melinda Russell (38:17):
Yeah, I hear that's the answer that I get.
Probably 90% of the time ormore is the people.
Yeah, for sure.
So if you had somebody come upto you at a, at a race or
something, and say my daughteror son wants to get started in
racing, are you gonna encouragethem that racing is a good sport
(38:39):
, especially for a girl to getstarted in?
And then how should they getstarted?
Charlotte Traynor (38:44):
100.
I think if it's something thatthey really that they're
passionate about, they should100% pursue it, no questions
asked, obviously.
Give them a bit of rundown ofjust what I did, like starting
go-karting.
If the kid's young enough,which most of the time they are.
Sometimes I've had like littlekids come up to the car.
They're like really young andI'm like, maybe come up to the
(39:12):
car.
They're like really young andI'm like maybe you want to wait
a little bit for go-karts.
But um, yeah, I just say like,look up tracks in your area,
look up go-karting tracks or,you know, maybe they're a bit
older, look up car tracks.
Like you just really have toimmerse yourself in the
environment and because so manypeople at the track will be
willing to help you.
So if you just go there and youjust check it out, even if
you're a bit unsure, you're likewe're not sure if we want to
get into racing, we're not sureyet.
Just go and check it out, Go toyour local go-kart track, go to
(39:32):
your local racetrack.
There will be so many peoplethere that will want to help you
and, you know, help you findthe right path and, who knows,
maybe you get in a go-k, out andexplore, like other pathways,
(39:52):
you just have to get your footin the door.
So yeah, that would obviously bethe biggest thing.
You know that I say.
And then if they're passionateabout racing and passionate
about go-karting, like they getin a go-kart and they love it,
then awesome, like, sign up justfor your local league, like
throughout the state.
It does not have to be big, youdo not need to start big
whatsoever, you know, just dowhat you feel like, start with
(40:13):
any local karting series that'skind of like near your area, you
know, and just let it buildfrom there and they all, most of
those places, have try andrides.
Yeah, yeah, they have likearrive and drives where you can
just show up and you know, noreally big commitment, just show
up, drive.
If you like, it keep going.
(40:33):
If you don't, then hey, youknow, you tried.
Melinda Russell (40:36):
Yeah, that's a great way to do it.
A lot of people leave there andgo straight to buying a cart.
Charlotte Traynor (40:42):
Yeah, exactly , so it starts things for a lot
of people.
Melinda Russell (40:47):
Yeah it does for sure.
So what's been the best advicethat someone has given you, or
has anybody given you any goodadvice?
Charlotte Traynor (40:59):
Yeah, I've gotten a lot of good advice over
the years.
I think actually, some of thebest advice I've kind of been
given was so two weeks ago I wasracing at Daytona in a WRL
event.
It was an endurance race and itwas in a new car, a car that I
haven't driven and I was withthese like other really good
(41:20):
girls it was a team of girlswhich was awesome and they had
so much experience and, um, oneof the girls, laura hayes, she
gave me this really good liketip just keep your eyes up, not
just like obviously lookingtowards the next braking zone
and everything, but just ingeneral, like obviously.
And I realized like when I keepmy eyes up, you know your hands
follow your eyes in racing.
(41:42):
So if I'm looking exactly whereI want to go, that's exactly
where the car is going to go,you know, and it seems like such
a simple fix, but it's so trueand that helped me so much, and
not just on track but off trackto keep your eyes up, keep your
head up, like no matter whathappens if something happens
that you weren't happy with, youhad a bad session, you had a
(42:03):
bad race just keep your eyes up,like you have to keep your eyes
up and fixed on where you wantto go.
You can't let your sights wander, because then your hands are
gonna follow, your head's gonnafollow, you know you're gonna
follow where you're looking.
So just always keep looking up,always keep, you know, moving
forward.
You can't let the little thingsyou know upset you and get to
(42:23):
you, because where you look iswhere you're going to go, you
know, not just in the car, butout of the car as well.
So I think that was huge andthat really stuck with me and
it's something that like reallyhelps and I feel like works with
me.
Like if I'm getting flustered,you know, I'm just like eyes up,
charlotte, keep your eyes up,you know.
Melinda Russell (42:43):
That's even true when you drive a car down
the road.
Yeah, that's even true when youdrive a car down the road.
Yeah, you're driving down theroad and then you, you're, you
see a deer or something and youlook over and there goes your
hands exactly exactly.
Charlotte Traynor (42:54):
So I feel like it's really one of those
things where it's likeapplicable almost in any
scenario.
Melinda Russell (42:59):
Yeah, so do you have a favorite race memory so
far?
It could be good or bad.
Charlotte Traynor (43:07):
I think it probably was two weeks ago,
racing at Daytona.
That was my first time at thattrack and I mean I grew up, you
know, watching races there,watching NASCAR race there,
watching the 24 hours there.
So to actually get to step footon that place, not just as a
spectator or a viewer but as aracer, and like driving that
(43:28):
first lap around DaytonaInternational Speedway and
feeling like the banking howsteep the banking is there I was
like wow, I was probablyfeeling every single emotion you
could feel inside the car.
It was just such a cool, likepinch me moment.
It was kind of one of thosethings.
It's like okay, I'm making it,like I am doing this.
This is my dream, I'm actuallydriving it like this track that
(43:49):
I've dreamed of driving it foryears, you know.
And it was so cool too, like atnight, like when the sun goes
down and they turn the lights on.
It's like the place just camealive and I was like how is this
real?
So that was for sure like oneof the coolest experiences of my
life.
Melinda Russell (44:04):
Yeah, I love day, love Daytona.
It's.
It's a beautiful place to be in, especially at night.
Yeah, now, charlotte, you'rethe social media age.
So how do you use social mediato promote yourself?
We talked about you, know we?
We have to promote ourselves.
They have to have a brand andshare our brand.
(44:25):
So how do you do that?
And then, like, what platformsand how could people follow you?
Charlotte Traynor (44:31):
Yeah, so my main social media platforms are
TikTok and Instagram, and I'veactually just recently started.
My Instagram following has beengetting a lot better and it's
something that I've been workingon on and honestly, it's just a
matter of like finding sometrends and some things that
maybe your peers are doing, orlike inspiration, and then it's
(44:51):
so simple, like I feel likepeople try to make social media
and content creation seem sohard, but it really isn't.
It's very simple.
Take a few clips whether it's aclip of you walking to the car
or a clip of you at the race andkind of be creative with it.
You could add, like you know, acaption or a saying and just
kind of make this like jumble ofa reel or a video.
(45:13):
You know that kind of likehighlights a few of the aspects
of who you are, what you do, andlike have like a little catch
with it, and then you put it outthere and it's it actually
draws in like a very decentcrowd, like one of the videos
that I posted on tiktok.
It was so random, like it wasjust, you know, it was me
outside the car and then medriving the car, and it got
(45:33):
almost like 47 000 views, forjust simple things like that,
and it's like you just have todo it and like, put yourself out
there and, like I was scared,like I did not really want to
post on social media first,because I'm like, oh, that's
scary, but it's like you have toand, at the end of the day, you
cannot worry about what otherpeople are going to say because,
like, other people understand,like social media, as we talked
(45:57):
about, has been such a usefultool for drivers these days, so
it's like the more you seeothers post, you're like this is
it?
Like it?
Like this is what you need todo.
You need to be kind of like thenext big thing getting yourself
out there, and all it takes isjust, you know, a few good clips
, clips of the car, clips ofyourself, you know kind of like
put them together in a cleverway and you know, just keep
(46:19):
posting and be consistent withit, because it's like, not
something may not blow up likethe first time.
You just have to be consistentwith it, consistently post.
You know kind of make aschedule of when you're going to
post, what you're going to do,you know, and just just stay at
it, because it will, it willwork.
You know, eventually, you justhave to, you know, keep pushing
(46:39):
yourself and keep gettingyourself out there.
Melinda Russell (46:41):
Yeah, a couple of girls that well, of course,
haley Deacon was really good atit, but a couple other girls
that have been really good atthat, and I love what you said
about it as well.
Be consistent, you have to doit.
Our Taylor Kuhl, k-u-e-h-l fromthe Arizona area.
Do you know Taylor?
Yeah, I've seen her online.
(47:02):
Yes, okay, she's really good atit.
So is Kylie Glick.
Yeah, she's very good, verygood, and so, um, and the thing
is, charlotte, that people don'tpeople can always find your
race results and those kinds ofthings, but they want to know
who you are, and I think thething you know not to don't put
(47:24):
your drama on there, which Iknow you don't, but a lot of
people do.
People don't want to see yourdrama.
They want to see you walkinginto your favorite restaurant
and then a picture of yourfavorite meal, or they want to
see you going to, you know,getting on an airplane with your
dad and saying, hey, did youknow my dad was a pilot or is a
pilot?
Blah, blah, things like that.
You, hey, did you know my dadwas a pilot or is a pilot?
(47:45):
Blah, blah, things like that.
You know, do you have any pets?
They want to see you with yourpets, all those kinds of things,
or a tick tock with you.
Know, I love, I love to go toBucky's.
So I have my cup that I've hadfor probably almost a year now.
It's the only cup I use.
(48:07):
It's bigger than most and itholds the ice longer.
And so you know, people want tosee who are you, what do you?
Like that kind of thing and alot of people, I think, forget
that.
They don't want to just see youin a car going around a track.
Charlotte Traynor (48:26):
Yeah Right, like you have to show some
personality, like you're notjust a robot.
Like you put on the helmet Ifeel like we all look like
robots and that's kind of whatpeople think.
It's like you're not just thisvanilla driver with, like you
know, people love it when theyget that depth and that
personality and someone that isworth following, following along
with Cause.
It's like like, yeah, you couldbe a good driver, but if you
have like no personality, nolikability whatsoever, it's like
(48:48):
you have to show kind of theside of you that you know people
don't get from just a simplepost saying how the weekend went
or something.
So you do have to, yeah, getcreative, like with certain
things on how to get yourselfout there and how to say like,
hey, this is who I am, I'm notjust a race car driver.
Like this is my personality,this is what I do, you know so
(49:09):
yeah, perfect.
Melinda Russell (49:10):
Well, charlotte , is there anything we haven't
talked about that we need toshare, about you or your racing
or anything at all?
Charlotte Traynor (49:18):
well, I do need to add with the Buc-ee's
thing.
We are, my family, we areobsessed with Buc-ee's,
literally.
That is the stuff like whetherit's a road trip or, oh my gosh,
probably the amount of timesthat we went to bucky's when my
dad and I were driving out toalabama with our car and then we
were just staying there likeout east, that is our spot.
Melinda Russell (49:37):
So I, I I'm at home with the bucky's
merchandise and all that youknow you're a bucky's fan when
you're gonna do a road trip andand one of the first things
you're a Bucky's fan when you'regoing to do a road trip and and
one of the first things youGoogle is Bucky locations.
I mean, I'm sorry, the food isgood there, the restrooms are
clean, they have greatmerchandise, even for my dog,
(49:58):
and yeah, we love, we loveBucky's for sure, a hundred
percent Like we were.
Charlotte Traynor (50:02):
there was actually one in Florida a few
weeks ago and one of our friendguys that was with us he'd never
been to Buc-ee's.
So we're like, oh my gosh, arewe about to introduce you to
Buc-ee's?
Like?
Melinda Russell (50:14):
yeah, so you know there's.
There's a few things I know Itold you.
You know, my daughters live inyour area in Arizona, and I live
in Michigan, and so there'salways a few things that when I
go to Arizona I have to do, andso there's not a Bucky's in
Phoenix but there is In-N-Out Ihave to go to In-N-Out.
(50:35):
We used to not have Chick-fil-A, Now we do, but I used to
always have to go to Chick-fil-Aand you know there's just some
things there that I don't havein Kalamazoo, Michigan, and so
you know your location.
You always have those placesthat mean a lot to you.
Yeah, exactly exactly.
Charlotte Traynor (50:56):
Actually, they're making a Buc-ee's in
Arizona.
They're making it in likeBuckeye and I think it's
literally going to be thebiggest Buc-ee's like on the
planet.
Melinda Russell (51:06):
You know they say that every time they build
one, every time they build one,it's going to be the biggest one
there is one coming to Arizona,so that's awesome.
Charlotte Traynor (51:15):
I'm excited about that.
Melinda Russell (51:17):
I was just in Colorado for several days
visiting my sister.
She lives in Berthard orwhatever.
Anyway, there's a Buc-ee'sabout 15 minutes from them, but
we were so busy I never even gotthere.
I can't believe I didn't gothere but I didn't.
But I'll be back there, butI'll definitely be able to go to
(51:37):
the one in Arizona, becauseBuckeye is not that far.
You know, when my husband and Ilived in our RV a couple
winters so that we could be outclose to the daughters and the
grandkids, and we lived inSurprise, and so you could just
go from Surprise right up toBuckeye.
It's not that far, but yeah,that's great.
(51:58):
I love that too.
So anything else you want toshare at all, charlotte, before
we hang up, Well, I'm gonnathink honestly, just, you know,
follow your dreams.
Charlotte Traynor (52:10):
You know, like, do what you're passionate
about.
And you can't be scared likethere's gonna be so many people
that, like you know, they try tojudge you and they try to say
things like, oh, you shouldn'tdo this, you shouldn't do that,
are you sure you want to do this?
Like you know you should have asecond option, a second plan,
and it's like you're never gonnaknow if you never even try, you
know.
So it's like you can't beswayed by what other people have
(52:33):
said and it's like, okay, justbecause you didn't make it
doesn't mean that I'm not gonnamake it, you know.
So it's like don't let anyoneor anything hold you back.
And I feel like just like havingthat you know tunnel vision of
your eyes set on where you wantto go, what you want to do, and
not letting anyone kind of likeinterrupt you and getting in the
way.
That is huge.
And just kind of having theperseverance because it's tough,
(52:55):
like it's tough to make a, youknow, career with whatever you
want to do, whatever you'repassionate about.
You know it's and you're gonnahave more bad days than good,
but, you know, having thatperseverance just to like get
through it, you know, and notbeing swayed by what other
people think of you, like it'sjust huge and something that I
would just you know say to kindof everyone.
Melinda Russell (53:18):
Yeah, good, good advice, very good advice
and a good way to end the show,charlotte.
So thank you so much for beingon with me.
If you want to hold on just asecond after we stop recording,
then we'll finish out our day,so thanks again for being on.
Charlotte Traynor (53:34):
For sure, thank you for having me.
Melinda Russell (53:41):
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That's it for this episode ofthe Women's Motorsports Network
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We hope you've been inspired bythe stories I shared today and
feel more connected to theamazing community of women in
motorsports.
(54:43):
Remember, whether you're behindthe wheel in the pits or
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If you enjoyed today's episode,be sure to subscribe, leave us
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(55:07):
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Each episode we share inspiringstories of females of all ages,
(00:24):
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(00:47):
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Because gratitude builds greattracks.
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Hello everyone, this is MelindaRussell with the Women's
Motorsports Network podcast, andmy guest today is Charlotte
(01:56):
Trainor, and Charlotte comes tous from the Southwest and I'm
going to let her tell us wherethat is and a little bit more
about herself.
So, Charlotte, I want towelcome you to the show and
would you first start by tellingus a little about yourself so
we can get to know you better.
Charlotte Traynor (02:13):
Yes, hello, and thank you so much for having
me.
So my name is Charlotte Traynor, I'm 18 years old and I'm from
Phoenix, arizona, so I'm a racecar driver.
I've been racing for about fiveyears now, so I'm just trying
to, you know, become aprofessional in that category,
and I graduated high schoolearly, so now I have kind of all
(02:36):
my time as an 18-year-old toget to try to focus on racing
and, you know, making a livingoff of it.
Melinda Russell (02:42):
Yeah, that's exciting and I love hearing that
.
And you know we talked a littlebefore the show started that I
am pretty familiar with thePhoenix area, as most people
know.
My youngest, two daughters liveout there and I come out there
a lot, but I haven't ever beento a racetrack other than the
(03:04):
one in Avondale, the NASCARtrack.
It seems like whenever I comeout there it's they're not
racing, it's too hot or it's thebreak or whatever it is, and so
the racing season in Phoenix isa little different, I feel,
than most places.
So remind me I want to talkabout that too.
But let's start first with howdid you get involved in
(03:27):
motorsports?
Charlotte Traynor (03:29):
So my start in motorsports is a bit
different, I would say, thanmost people.
I do not come from a racingfamily, so I have no connection
to motorsports like in that way.
My dad is a pilot, my grandpawas a pilot, my sister is a
pilot, so it's like I come fromthis family of like aviators and
for some odd reason I don'tknow, I'm just like the ground
(03:50):
loving one of the family.
But I started in motorsports abit later, when I was around 13
years old and it was just fromlike watching it on TV, like we
would always watch, you know,nascar, formula One, indycar,
and even though, like nobody inmy family raced, we still loved
it and we actually had like dirtbikes.
(04:11):
We were a little bit in likethe motocross scene kind of Like
, I'd say, when I was like 10 to13 years old, because our
neighbors were huge on motocrossso they kind of got us into, I
guess, motorsports through thatway.
So I actually rode dirt bikesfor a little while when I was,
you know, a young 10, you knowyear old.
But yeah, I would just watchyou know NASCAR and Formula One
(04:35):
on TV, and it's like when theywould show the in-car cameras
and like the driver's point ofview.
I don't know, it was like aswitch or something that just
clicked on in my brain and I waslike of view, I don't know, it
was like a switch or somethingthat just clicked on in my brain
and I was like that looks likeso much fun, I have to do that.
Like it just looks so cool.
Like as a kid, I was like, holycow, can I actually do this?
Like how do I become a race cardriver?
(04:55):
I don't know why.
I was just so fascinated withit.
So I looked it up and I, youknow, looked up all these things
about you know how you canbecome a race car driver and the
first thing it kind of said waslike, well, start with
go-karting.
So I was like, hey, dad, I kindof want to, you know, um, try
this out.
And obviously he didn't reallyknow what to do, cause he's not
(05:19):
a racer, he doesn't come fromracing at all.
So he was like, okay, we justwent to an indoor go-karting
center, you know like kind ofwhere they go for birthday
parties and stuff like that, andI really took to it, like I
really enjoyed it.
It was something that I wasactually decent at.
You know, I didn't have toomany things as a kid that I like
, really liked and things thatlike clicked for me and it's
(05:40):
like that was one of them.
So that like surprised me and Ireally liked it and I was good
at it.
So, sure enough, my dad and Iwe bought like a professional go
kart that you can race, and wedid that for like about five
years, I'd say.
And now, you know, I'm movingup and taking the step up into
(06:00):
cars.
So last year was my first yearracing cars.
Melinda Russell (06:03):
So now I'm just going along with that journey
you know, charlotte, you saythat you, you know you're
different from your family, butnot really, because if they're
flying they're in the speed youknow.
Charlotte Traynor (06:16):
That's kind of a speed thing um, I mean, my
sister has yeah, she's alwaysbeen obsessed with like fighter
jets and stuff.
So I'm like, okay, you canconquer the air and I'll conquer
the ground yeah, that's a goodplan.
You got every area covered,right one of somebody has to
race boats or something oh mygosh, maybe my brother, I can
(06:36):
get him into racing somethingwell like you know, there's some
people, I know, that race boatsout and like by near Lake
Havasu and other places.
So yeah, yeah, I have friendsthat race like jet skis up there
.
It's honestly sometimes moreinsane than cars Like it really
kind of is.
Melinda Russell (06:54):
I think it really is.
So you mentioned a brother anda sister.
Is there three of you in thefamily, Three kids?
Charlotte Traynor (07:01):
Yes, there is .
So I'm a middle child.
I have an older sister who's 21.
And then my younger brother is16.
Melinda Russell (07:08):
Okay, all right .
So you have the middle childsyndrome.
Charlotte Traynor (07:12):
So yes, I do.
Melinda Russell (07:13):
All right, I have.
I'm the youngest of threedaughters that my parents had,
so I was the baby and I alwayshear about that for sure still,
and I'm my 60s, so that's howthat goes.
So, charlotte, what kind of carare you racing?
Where are you racing?
Charlotte Traynor (07:30):
tell me all about that so the car that I'm
racing now is a Mazda MX-5 cupcar.
When I started racing cars Istarted in this spec Miata and
then we kind of like moved upbecause Mazda Motorsports they
have a really accessible ladderfor someone that's wanting to
get into car racing for arelatively inexpensive price.
(07:52):
Because, you know, obviously akid's dream is to kind of go in
the open wheel world and stufflike that, but it's way too
expensive for me, like that'sout of the budget.
So you know, mazda Motorsportshas a really good pathway for
go-carters trying to step up tocars.
Um, they have like a spec Miata, spec MX-5 and then MX-5 cup
(08:13):
and it's kind of like differentlevels, um, and a relatively
inexpensive way to get into thesport.
So, um, I started in a specMiata last year driving had some
, you know, decent results andsuccess in that, which was great
.
So I kind of like moved up andthrough some connections that we
have here in Arizona, we wereable to purchase an MX-5 Cup car
(08:35):
and just kind of dabble in thatseries a little bit.
And I say dabble is becausewe're only running three of
those races this year.
Only running three of thoseraces this year.
I think the calendar.
Gosh, I don't know how manyraces I think it might have.
Like 12 races total over thecourse of like six weekends, so
it's like they're all combined.
Don't quote me on that, I needto check the schedule.
Melinda Russell (08:53):
That sounds about right, though.
Charlotte Traynor (08:55):
Yeah, make sure.
But so we're running apart-time season in the MX5 Cup
Series.
And it's part-time because ifyou run three races, that's like
the most you can run in orderto be eligible for Rookie of the
Year next year in that series.
And the special thing about theMazda MX-5 Cup Series is that
(09:16):
its payouts are incredible.
It has incredible payouts forthe drivers, for the females in
the series highest finishingfemale gets like two thousand
dollars per race and the rookieof the year gets a hundred grand
.
So, and and the championshipwinner if you win the overall
championship, you get 250 grand.
So it's like people have becomemillionaires off racing in that
(09:37):
series and there's reallynothing else like it that offers
that kind of like cash payback.
So we were really drawn to thatseries and because our friends
from arizona they're competingin that series, so they kind of
like pulled us in as we weresaying like, hey, we want to get
into cars, we kind of shadowedthem and would follow them
around to the mazda mx-5 cupraces and then we realized like
(10:00):
hey, we can get into this andthey have a car that we can buy.
So we've just been using themfor and they have a car that we
can buy.
So we've just been using themfor training and for the races
that we do.
We do with them.
So it's really been like alucky kind of case scenario to
end up with those people to beable to run in that series.
Melinda Russell (10:17):
Do you want to share who they are, or would you
rather not?
Charlotte Traynor (10:20):
Yeah, I will.
Um, so it's Parker DeLongracing Um, it's just uh, him and
his dad.
Um, so it's parker de longracing um, it's just uh, him and
his dad.
So it's a totally likeprivateer operation almost,
which is really difficult.
Trying to run like as aprivateer team against all the
huge mx5 cup teams like jtr, bsi, mmr, like it's big.
(10:40):
Those teams have been doing itfor years and years and the m MX
five cup is like all they know.
So to step in, just Parker andhis dad like to do this and to
kind of step up and be able tocompete with them is just huge.
And I mean they have, like lastyear at road Atlanta, parker
got second place like, andthat's huge.
You know, you are reallyswimming with the sharks in that
(11:03):
series.
So it's been also really coolto like not only see my
development but like theirdevelopment as well in that
series.
So it's super cool to be a partof and we're so just we're
lucky to have come across them,because they coached us in
go-karts, so it's like hecoached me in karting and then
we just kind of like followedthem.
Then, you know, when they wentto the nx5 cup, then we went,
(11:23):
you know a year later.
Melinda Russell (11:24):
So so when you go to those races is, I think,
sally mott races.
That yes, have you met her.
Charlotte Traynor (11:34):
I have.
I've met her multiple times.
I've met all the girls in theseries, so there's a lot more
this year, which is incredible.
I've met sally.
She's incredible.
She's been so helpful with likeall the advice and all the tips
that she's given me.
She's great, super talented aswell, so it's really cool to get
to like share the paddock withher.
There's Heather Hadley, who'salso incredibly experienced in
(11:55):
that series and she's so sweetas well.
Yeah, there's Ashlyn Speed, whowon the scholarship last year
and, is you know, this is herfirst year in the cup series, so
it's super cool to talk withher.
Like we're both kind of the newfaces, so that's cool, um, and
then there's there's anothergirl, my mighty casteris.
(12:15):
I don't know if I'm saying hername right, but um, she's she's
from uruguay, I think, and she'sshe's incredibly nice as well.
Um, she did like some of theopen wheel stuff I think she has
experience in that and like theF1 academy, so she was super
nice from the brief chat that Igot with her.
So it's it's really cool tolike have more girls getting
into that series and kind ofhave that community.
(12:36):
It's super cool just to get toshare the paddock and the track
with them yeah, so did you watchthe movie or documentary to the
finish?
Melinda Russell (12:44):
yes, finish.
Charlotte Traynor (12:45):
Yes, I did.
I did watch it.
It's cool.
It's like it's crazy.
Who would have thought that?
You know Mazda, the MX Web Cupwould be getting you know this
series, kind of following it.
It's just, it's crazy.
But it's so cool to see likethat series has grown so much
and the viewers that it gets nowthe popularity it's completely
deserved.
Like the racing in that seriesis like no other.
(13:08):
It's so entertaining.
Like the last lap people willbe going like five wide through
the dirt, someone's off there,someone's spinning out.
So it's super entertaining andI it deserves like all the hype
and the buzz that it deservesmore promotion and I don't think
it gets near enough.
Melinda Russell (13:25):
It gets overshadowed by some of the
bigger series but the racing isunbelievable, and I think connor
zillich raced in that series alittle bit he did.
Charlotte Traynor (13:35):
he did, and that's a thing that they bring
up.
A lot is like the drivers thatkind of go through the mx5 cup,
you can just go in anything elseand be fast.
Yeah, because the mx5 cup andthat can just go in anything
else and be fast.
Yeah, Because the MX-5 Cup andthat's why we see, you know,
Conor Zilch is so good and kidslike Tyler Gonzalez and Nathan
Nicholson and all these you knowincredible drivers that go off
(13:55):
and then they drive other thingsLike they're so talented they
are and it's because the MX-5Cup is such a good like starting
ground and it's because theMX-5 Cup is such a good starting
ground and the car is so trickyto get a grasp on and drive.
The series is so competitive, soit's really like you have
everything thrown at you andthen when you get in an LMP2 car
(14:16):
or a GT car or something likethat, it's like the car does the
work for you and it'severything's at least in my
opinion.
I feel like I can say that toofrom driving different things.
It's like nothing is as hard asthe MX-5 Cup car and the racing
and the car itself.
It's just it's really tricky.
So if you can perform there,you can perform almost anywhere.
Melinda Russell (14:39):
Yeah, and it's road course racing, right, yeah.
Yeah, and so that's one reasonhe's so good on road courses.
Charlotte Traynor (14:47):
Yeah, for sure, he definitely has that,
you know, kind of one up oneveryone and even in ovals too,
like I mean, it's just been,he's been insane everywhere he
goes and obviously it's you know, raw talent, but I feel like
it's also you know part of thedevelopment that the MX five cup
brings you know, yeah, hello.
(15:12):
I'm sorry it's okay, I'm like,oh, am I alone?
Melinda Russell (15:21):
yeah, you were alone for a little bit.
So, um, sorry about that.
So, yeah, um, I love seeingthese series that make it easier
to get started, because, I mean, all sports can be expensive,
but but you know, if you're afootball player, you're not
buying your own footballs andequipment right.
(15:44):
They're paying you to do allthat and and to get into
motorsports you've got to bringsome money or some sponsors
normally, and so it's a wholedifferent model of business and
things.
And so you know, we've got tomake it more affordable for
people to get started, or, youknow, unless you're young and
(16:06):
your parents are millionaires,it's really hard to get into it.
So I love that you're doingthat, yeah, and it's really
tricky because it's like it'sreally hard to get into it.
Charlotte Traynor (16:12):
So I love that you're doing that, yeah,
and it's really tricky becauseit's like it's so tough.
You see so many kids and I knowso many kids that I know if they
got in a car, if they got thechance, they would just be
incredible, but they don't getthe chance because they don't
have the funding.
So that's one of the huge thingsthat I do want to do one day is
somehow get you know more kids,give more talented kids a
(16:33):
chance.
You know like it's, you know itsucks how this sport has kind
of sometimes just become likeovershadowed by the people that
have money, you know, and nowit's like money over talent,
which is really unfortunate, andyou know it doesn't even make
the racing as good, because thenyou have more kids and people
crashing cars because they don'treally know how to drive as
(16:54):
well as you know maybe someoneelse that can't afford to go in
the series.
So you know, one day that wouldbe like a dream of mine to like
create some sort of foundationor something that gives you know
young talented kids a chancewho wouldn't really have a
chance, you know, anywhere elsekids a chance, who wouldn't
really have a chance, you know,anywhere else.
Melinda Russell (17:15):
I, I love that idea for you as well, because I,
you know, I mean we can't saythat everybody that's in the top
series come from money, but ifyou most of them, most of them
do, a lot of them do, and so youknow not nothing against those
people, because I'll tell you,the NASCAR teams and those three
series, they have a lot ofextremely talented racers, but I
(17:39):
know there's just as manyprobably that are out there that
are winning at a local level,who could compete in a NASCAR
series or whatever, and theyjust don't get the chance.
And that's the sad part.
But you know, that's true infootball, baseball, everything
else.
You know, you think of all thelittle league teams that play
during the summer and then howmany get to really be
(18:01):
professional baseball players.
It's tough, it's really, it'sreally tough to do.
So, yeah, for sure.
So now, where do you race mostof the time?
Charlotte?
So I race.
Charlotte Traynor (18:13):
I would say we've kind of been moving more
out East.
When I first started, like incars and in go-karts, it was all
kind of out West, like we wouldgo out to California.
You know, buttonwillow, willowSprings.
There's a decent amount oftracks in Arizona as well, like
road course tracks, not just the, you know, oval.
So we kind of, you know, justrace on the west coast.
(18:34):
But now kind of the more westep up and the bigger it gets,
lots of the racing is all on theeast coast.
So we've been traveling outeast a lot, just going to lots
of different tracks likebirmingham, alabama.
I was just in daytona, yeah,virginia.
So it's kind of it started westand now it's like transitioning
to the east because that'swhere racing is honestly like
(18:56):
that's where, that's whereeverything is, that's where the
hub is.
So definitely like the more Igo on with this, the more I'm
gonna kind of see myself outthere.
Melinda Russell (19:05):
Yeah but so now , who travels with you when you
go to the races?
How you know, how do you getyour car there, and all that
Normally it's my dad.
Charlotte Traynor (19:13):
So we one of the past races that we did in
the MX five cup my first one atBarber we drove our MX five cup
car all the way from Phoenix toBirmingham, alabama, you know,
all the way across the country.
Melinda Russell (19:27):
So it's a lot of work.
Charlotte Traynor (19:28):
It's yeah, it's a lot of work and it just
shows, I feel like, how muchwork and effort that really goes
into trying to become aprofessional race car driver.
Like I feel like people it justflies over people's heads and
they don't realize, like howmuch work you actually put in.
You know, and when we're notdriving now we kind of keep our
car on the East coast becausethat's where we are the most and
(19:49):
it's too hot to train inArizona in the summer.
So it's really, you know, it'sno use keeping it here when the
days are just like 105 degreesand you can't really go drive.
So we just keep it out east andthen we just fly out east
because, because my dad's apilot, it's actually really easy
to fly.
Yeah, you know, if the flightsare open, we can just hop on.
So that is a bonus.
(20:09):
It is actually really easy toget out there and normally me
and him we just go out and then,uh, we have, you know, we have
people that are part of the team, that kind of like drive our
car to wherever we're going, solike if we're going to Alabama
or if we're going to Atlanta,they'll just, you know, drive it
out there and we'll just spendthe day practicing or preparing
for a race.
Melinda Russell (20:29):
All right, yeah , you're lucky that your dad's a
pilot.
That works out good for you.
Not many, not many drivers havethat advantage, for sure.
Yeah, so, charlotte, what isthe thing that was the hardest
for you to learn when you weredriving a car?
What took you the most time toto kind of master?
Charlotte Traynor (20:53):
I think honestly just being able to let
things go and have almost like ashort-term memory, because
sometimes I would get too caughtup over things and stuck on
things Like, let's say, you havea bad start or someone hits you
, I would get so flustered inthe moment and I feel like
(21:14):
racing cars.
It's really taught me how tolike keep my cool and how to
really like forget what justhappened in the past corner,
cause it's hard.
It's hard to like get past ifyou get spied out or you make a
mistake, and it's so easy tolike beat yourself up over the
little things.
But you know it really made merealize like that's not going to
(21:36):
get me anywhere.
You know, like you, really, asa race car driver, you almost
have to have like this shortterm memory and, just, you know,
keep focusing forward.
I feel like it kind of that's agood thing on life too.
It kind of gives you like youknow that went up on having that
in life as well, but that wasdefinitely took me a little bit
to learn and it's tricky.
It's tricky to not beatyourself up over like the little
things and you're like well,it's happened, I can't change it
, I can't do anything about it.
(21:56):
So you know, I just got to moveforward.
Melinda Russell (21:59):
You know that I think racing, and you know
again, a lot of sports, teach uslife lessons, and that's one of
the things that you know mightbe a life lesson that you're
learning is, you know you can'thold on to everything and hold
grudges and all and all that.
You have to be forgiving, youhave to give people grace and
and that kind of thing, and andyou know I talked to a lot of
(22:22):
girls who are very shy and thenonce they're into racing they
come out of their shell, they'rethere, they go from introvert
to extrovert.
A lot of those things.
What else have you learned Doyou think that you can attribute
to being a race car driver?
Charlotte Traynor (22:37):
Honestly, I have learned so much, I think,
to add on to kind of like theintrovert to extrovert.
Like racing teaches you how to.
I feel like it's almost likelife, like things aren't going
to go your way.
You're gonna have more bad daysthan good, you know.
And it teaches you how to getover things, and not just get
over things.
It also teaches you how torepresent, like as a race car
driver, you're not just youronly job isn't just to drive the
(23:00):
car fast Outside of the car.
You have to be a spokespersonfor yourself, you have to market
for yourself, you have to reachout to people, you have to send
emails, you have to do allthese things that you know
people don't realize.
So it really has, like broughtme out of my shell as well.
I was definitely a very shy kidand I didn't.
I got so nervous talking topeople and I wasn't really one
(23:20):
for conversations with people.
But now, like racing, like Irealized like I can just go up
to anyone and say anything.
Now, like I'll go up and I willbe the one to initiate the
conversation.
I will be the one to like sendthe email when before, like I
would never do that, but nowit's.
It's really just made me intolike a spokesperson and, you
know, an extrovert, becausethat's what you need.
(23:42):
You know you're not.
If you don't knock on the doorit's it's never going to be open
.
So, you know, it's reallytaught me that as well, and I
feel like that's just sovaluable for getting through
life is learning how torepresent yourself, who you are
as a person, build a brand foryourself too.
So it's incredible All thethings that racing teaches you
(24:03):
and you don't even realize.
And then you look back atyourself a few years ago and
you're like, wow, I really havegrown, not just as a driver but
as a person.
Melinda Russell (24:13):
Yeah, that's so true and I'm glad you said that
because you know a lot of girlsand their parents even don't
realize that there's a lot ofbenefits to being in motorsports
that you can't put your fingeron before you start and every
person's different.
Every person isn't going togrow up or change.
(24:34):
You know change how they are,but overall I hear it so often
that all the things thatmotorsports has changed for the
good in a young woman.
So I love hearing that Now doyou have marketing partners or
is this more of a?
You know you pay as you go.
Charlotte Traynor (24:55):
Well, right now it's I pay as I go.
That's one of the things thatI'm working on right now.
You know, just like puttingtogether sponsorship packets and
putting together all thesedeals and, you know, trying to
go up to people, and so that iswhat I'm my project I would say
at the moment.
You know it's something onceagain, but I'm learning how to
do.
It's like I've never puttogether a sponsorship packet
(25:15):
before this.
I have no idea what I'm doing,but you just have to kind of go
along with things, and I do have, you know, a few people helping
me out.
We do have you know a few likesponsor stickers on the car.
You know that just sometimeshelp with like some of the
prices, whether it's like fuelor like your helmet right or
tires, um.
But I'm definitely like in theprocess of trying to get myself
(25:37):
out there more, get moresponsors, kind of like grow your
brand on social media as well,because that's been a huge tool
for drivers these days.
So I'm like, well, if you kindof get yourself out there on
social media, that's just goingto open so many more doors for
you.
And I have talked to likemultiple professional drivers in
the past, like these NASCARdrivers, that um one of them,
(25:58):
she gave me advice and she waslike the first thing that this
team asked me when I was goingto sign for them wasn't how many
wins do you have, it's how manyfollowers do you have, and then
how many wins do you have?
And it's just crazy becauseit's like that is how
motorsports has changed and it'slike if you have that online
presence and that it's veryclear that you can bring
something to the team that's notjust driving like they will
(26:20):
want you.
So that's been another hugething that I've kind of been
like working on is just growingthat like online presence.
So then, like the more peopleknow you, the more you get
yourself out there.
It's like that's how you'regoing to find opportunities to
you know.
Melinda Russell (26:33):
Absolutely.
And then another thing thatyou're going to want to grow is
your email list, so 100%.
I had over 10,000 followers ona Facebook page and two years
ago it got hacked and I lostthem all.
Charlotte Traynor (26:48):
Oh first I cried no, no, I would like be
bawling, oh my gosh mad.
Melinda Russell (26:55):
I was so mad because there was no monetary
reason for somebody to hack myFacebook page they're not gonna
make a penny off of it and I wasso, just so angry that somebody
, just for meanness they werejust being mean, I mean, that's
how I looked at it yeah, that'sso frustrating so I I still am
(27:19):
trying, you know, I'm stilltrying to grow it back, but I
haven't really concentrated onthat.
Charlotte, I've grown my emaillist.
I have over 7,000 emailaddresses.
Oh wow, I own those.
Yeah, I nobody can take thoseaway from me, yeah, so you know
that that, to me, is such a abonus that I I learned the hard
(27:42):
way.
You know I'll go back and getmy followers back eventually.
In fact, I was able recently toget on my old Facebook page
through a backdoor, kind of notas an admin, but I was able to
see all the followers wherebefore I couldn't see them, and
so I printed it.
(28:02):
You know it was 70, some pagesof of names.
You know five or six names to apage.
I printed it and I'm going toeventually reach out to everyone
and try to get them to followme again.
But that's in my spare time,which you know.
Who has spare time?
Right?
Yeah, seriously, yeah.
So anyway, but grow an emaillist.
(28:25):
I would, I would reallyencourage you to do that.
So you don't work on the carbecause it's out east and you're
out west and so you know that's, that's okay.
A lot of them don't.
A lot of young gals or evenguys don't work on their car, if
you ask an NASCAR driver.
Charlotte Traynor (28:44):
Yeah, when it was here in Arizona, my dad and
I we would work on it.
And still, at the track I dobecause the team that we're with
, obviously parker delong it's,it's just us, you know.
So it's like we.
You kind of need all hands ondeck, sure.
So even though I'm not workingon the car, like most of the
time, I will help in areas thatI do need to help.
(29:05):
And obviously, when it was herejust in our garage, my dad and
I would work on it.
We changed the oil, we changedthe tires.
He makes me work on it like he'snot gonna, he's not gonna let
me run off and do other things,like no, he, he makes me work on
my stuff.
Yeah, it was the exact samewith go-karts.
I was actually a mechanic, um,for a go-karting team, um, like
a year ago.
(29:25):
I just, you know, I'll go tothe track when I wasn't racing
and I would work on, you know,other kids, other kids, go-karts
.
So I do have a little bit ofexperience kind of, in that and
it's like, cause we have to, wedon't have the extra help Right,
so it's it's all hands on deck,you know.
Melinda Russell (29:39):
Okay, yeah, well, that's good to hear.
I'm glad to hear that for sure.
So now as a girl racing andthere are a few girls in what
you're doing but even back inthe go-karts, did you ever feel
like you didn't fit in or didn'tbelong?
Did anybody ever treat you like?
What are you doing here?
Charlotte Traynor (29:57):
yeah, well, I knew, you know, from the start
like it was something that Iwanted to do and inside me I
knew that I belonged.
But it was definitely hard, Ifeel like sometimes to find like
your click and like people totalk to.
Like, thank goodness I so Igrew up in Colorado, so that's
kind of where I started racingand I had the best group of
friends, like one at me and myfriend, like we started on the
(30:18):
exact same day.
It was his first day, it was myfirst day in the go-kart and
you know our friend group.
I had a really nice littlefriend group of like what five
or six of us, um, that kind ofall competed locally together
and there was.
I was never treated differently,like there was no differences,
it was just all fun like buddy,buddy stuff.
But kind of like at biggernational go-kart races where
people don't really know you, um, you could feel it a little bit
(30:42):
like people would stare at youor they would.
There was a lot of instanceswhere they would treat me
differently, like on track,because obviously in go-karting
you can kind of tell who's agirl and who's not.
You can tell that they'resmaller in the cart, so smaller
must mean easier to push around.
So that means I'm just gonnapush you into the barrier.
So that did happen at times.
(31:02):
It did, it did get me upset.
I would get driven differently,I'd say, at the bigger races by
lots of people, just becausethey you know, they see you and
they know, you know who you are.
So they just think that it'sokay and nobody's gonna work
with you.
Nobody's, you know.
You're trying to tap the backof your helmet and say like hey,
push me, let's work together.
Like, but nobody works with you, nobody does any of that um,
(31:25):
and just like talking to likeall the guys and everyone kind
of had their own group and I'mlike, okay, cool, I'm gonna go
back to the tent and just kindof look at my stuff by myself.
But I got over it because at theend of the day, like I didn't
really care, like this is whatI'm here to do, this is what I
want to make.
You know, I want to make acareer off this and this is what
I'm so passionate about.
Like you cannot take that awayfrom me, right, you know?
(31:47):
So it's like all your littleegotistical things you have
going on, like do whatever youwant At the end of the day, it's
not going to make me stop, likenothing you can do is going to
make me quit or stop, and thankgoodness, like in cars, I have
not experienced that Like peopleare.
So you know they're a lot betterbecause it's a car Like they
(32:07):
don't.
You know you're not just asmall person in a go-kart,
you're a car like in front ofthem and they don't want to
wreck their car as well becauseit's so much more expensive too.
So, um, I I have notexperienced, you know, any sort
of like uh, behavior like thatin cars, which is awesome and
incredible to see.
And I feel like people realize,like okay, there are some girls
(32:28):
that are like really good, youknow, and they, they understand
it and they respect you, whichis incredible.
But I definitely faced a littlebit of that in karting.
Melinda Russell (32:36):
I would say yeah, so Charlotte racing, are
you still in school?
Charlotte Traynor (32:44):
I am not in school at the moment.
So I graduated early because Ihomeschooled, so I was able to
graduate early.
So now I'm taking a gap yearbecause I'm only 18 years old.
So I am taking a gap year tofocus on racing and to be able
to travel every week and do whatI want to do, to try to, you
know, live out this career.
So if I ever did go to schoolin the future, it would probably
(33:08):
be, you know, some sort oftrade school, just to study.
You know a certain thing, and itwould probably be engineering,
because you know, I would stillwant to be in motor sports and
it would be any sort of likemotor sports engineering,
because that is something thatI'm also passionate about.
But as of right now, it's just,you know, 100% full focus on
racing, because that's what youhave to do.
You know, if you want to becomea professional, you know,
(33:29):
you're, you're doing it everysingle week, you're.
You know the tennis playersthey're all playing every single
day.
The football players they'reall training every single day.
So it's like you have to giveit your all.
You can't 50, 50 it, and I'm solucky that you know.
Melinda Russell (33:53):
I was homeschooled and I had the time
and I still do have the time togive it faced with like this
incredible opportunity.
So I'm for sure going to makethe most of it, absolutely so.
Everybody has a bad day at thetrack.
When you have a bad day at thetrack, how do you handle that?
Charlotte Traynor (34:02):
Ooh, normally well, normally, my family's
there with me at the track, so,whether it's my dad or my
brother, um, they're huge,they're huge.
Support uh, having the rightpeople around you, I feel like,
is, you know, wins more thanhalf the battle, because, you
know, it all depends on yoursupport system, and I'm so
thankful that I do have a greatsupport system around me.
So I know that if I'm likehaving a bad day, or I had a bad
(34:24):
day or I, you know something'sgoing on at the track, or you
know whatever race happened thatI didn't like it, you know.
I know that, whether it's mydad or my brother or even my
sister, you know I'll be able toreach out to anyone and I feel
like you know the people thatyou surround yourself with can
really get you through the hardtimes.
(34:51):
And then I feel like also justkind of like taking a moment.
You know, even though, becauseit gets so hectic at the track,
I feel like sometimes you forgetto like that you can step away
for a second, you can go in thetrailer, you can go in the hall
or just take a moment toyourself, like whether it's just
laying down, reflecting like,and just kind of stepping back
from whatever the situation maybe.
That also like really helps,you know, and you don't realize
that you needed it until, like,you step out of the trailer from
like that five minutes ofsilence that you just had,
you're like, hmm, I feel a lotbetter about what just happened
(35:14):
now that I just kind of tooktime to step back from this like
chaotic environment, you know.
Melinda Russell (35:19):
Yeah, yeah, good, good advice for other
people to do the same.
So let's say it's race day.
Do you have a routine?
Are you superstitious?
You always wear the same socks.
I always eat at McDonald's forbreakfast.
What might be your race dayroutine?
Charlotte Traynor (35:40):
Okay, in terms of superstitions, I
actually don't really have manyLike I'm not crazy superstitious
, I'm not like, oh, I need to dothis and this and this before I
get in the car.
Sometimes I'll listen to music,but lots of the time, like,
I'll just study, like I'llvisualize like the track and
I'll visualize like the perfectlap, kind of that I want to do.
(36:00):
Take time to just close my eyesand really think about that.
I'll look at, I'll study thetrack map, I'll study my video
and I'll just really try to likeget everything in my brain.
You know that I need to thinkabout whether it's like a
certain braking zone or how Iwant to start the race, or like
who I'm around.
You know, what do they drivelike.
So you know just really kind oflike getting in the zone,
(36:24):
looking at my own stuff, lookingat my video, the track map and
everything that I need to do.
I'd say that's something that Ido a lot before the races.
And also just like deepbreathing, like when I'm in the
car, like we're, you know,getting ready to go out, I will
do like all sorts of deepbreathing things.
You know these deeper theexercises.
Sometimes I'll like clench myfists super tight and then like
(36:47):
release it, you know, and thenjust kind of like, do that,
cause it does, it works, itfeels good.
It's like you clench up likeall this you know tense energy
that you have building up andthen you just release it and let
it go, you know, and take adeep breath and that you know
that that works for me as well.
Melinda Russell (37:02):
So yeah, yeah, good, good advice as well.
I'm not sure if I asked youthis what's your favorite part
of?
Charlotte Traynor (37:13):
being involved in motor sports.
Can I say everything?
Obviously, I'd say the peopleare so incredible.
Like you realize, the more thatyou get into racing it's like
everybody's connected in someway and everybody knows someone
and it's just like this one bigfamily.
Like you all understand eachother on this different level.
I feel like, and the bonds andthe connections that I've made
(37:36):
are like no other.
Like all my friends that I havein racing, it's like they're
not even friends, they're family, like the family that you make.
You know, cause you go throughso much together.
You go through the highest ofhighs and you see each other at
your best and you see each otherat your worst.
So it's like you become sovulnerable and I feel like you
know, in other aspects of lifeyou don't really get that, but
(37:58):
in racing you really.
It shows like all of your sidesand it really grows.
You know that connection to thepeople that you're with.
You know, and then, like whenyou do have good days, you have
great results.
It just makes that like evensweeter when you have, you know,
that incredible team and thatincredible group of people that
you share it with.
Melinda Russell (38:17):
Yeah, I hear that's the answer that I get.
Probably 90% of the time ormore is the people.
Yeah, for sure.
So if you had somebody come upto you at a, at a race or
something, and say my daughteror son wants to get started in
racing, are you gonna encouragethem that racing is a good sport
(38:39):
, especially for a girl to getstarted in?
And then how should they getstarted?
Charlotte Traynor (38:44):
100.
I think if it's something thatthey really that they're
passionate about, they should100% pursue it, no questions
asked, obviously.
Give them a bit of rundown ofjust what I did, like starting
go-karting.
If the kid's young enough,which most of the time they are.
Sometimes I've had like littlekids come up to the car.
They're like really young andI'm like, maybe come up to the
(39:12):
car.
They're like really young andI'm like maybe you want to wait
a little bit for go-karts.
But um, yeah, I just say like,look up tracks in your area,
look up go-karting tracks or,you know, maybe they're a bit
older, look up car tracks.
Like you just really have toimmerse yourself in the
environment and because so manypeople at the track will be
willing to help you.
So if you just go there and youjust check it out, even if
you're a bit unsure, you're likewe're not sure if we want to
get into racing, we're not sureyet.
Just go and check it out, Go toyour local go-kart track, go to
(39:32):
your local racetrack.
There will be so many peoplethere that will want to help you
and, you know, help you findthe right path and, who knows,
maybe you get in a go-k, out andexplore, like other pathways,
(39:52):
you just have to get your footin the door.
So yeah, that would obviously bethe biggest thing.
You know that I say.
And then if they're passionateabout racing and passionate
about go-karting, like they getin a go-kart and they love it,
then awesome, like, sign up justfor your local league, like
throughout the state.
It does not have to be big, youdo not need to start big
whatsoever, you know, just dowhat you feel like, start with
(40:13):
any local karting series that'skind of like near your area, you
know, and just let it buildfrom there and they all, most of
those places, have try andrides.
Yeah, yeah, they have likearrive and drives where you can
just show up and you know, noreally big commitment, just show
up, drive.
If you like, it keep going.
(40:33):
If you don't, then hey, youknow, you tried.
Melinda Russell (40:36):
Yeah, that's a great way to do it.
A lot of people leave there andgo straight to buying a cart.
Charlotte Traynor (40:42):
Yeah, exactly , so it starts things for a lot
of people.
Melinda Russell (40:47):
Yeah it does for sure.
So what's been the best advicethat someone has given you, or
has anybody given you any goodadvice?
Charlotte Traynor (40:59):
Yeah, I've gotten a lot of good advice over
the years.
I think actually, some of thebest advice I've kind of been
given was so two weeks ago I wasracing at Daytona in a WRL
event.
It was an endurance race and itwas in a new car, a car that I
haven't driven and I was withthese like other really good
(41:20):
girls it was a team of girlswhich was awesome and they had
so much experience and, um, oneof the girls, laura hayes, she
gave me this really good liketip just keep your eyes up, not
just like obviously lookingtowards the next braking zone
and everything, but just ingeneral, like obviously.
And I realized like when I keepmy eyes up, you know your hands
follow your eyes in racing.
(41:42):
So if I'm looking exactly whereI want to go, that's exactly
where the car is going to go,you know, and it seems like such
a simple fix, but it's so trueand that helped me so much, and
not just on track but off trackto keep your eyes up, keep your
head up, like no matter whathappens if something happens
that you weren't happy with, youhad a bad session, you had a
(42:03):
bad race just keep your eyes up,like you have to keep your eyes
up and fixed on where you wantto go.
You can't let your sights wander, because then your hands are
gonna follow, your head's gonnafollow, you know you're gonna
follow where you're looking.
So just always keep looking up,always keep, you know, moving
forward.
You can't let the little thingsyou know upset you and get to
(42:23):
you, because where you look iswhere you're going to go, you
know, not just in the car, butout of the car as well.
So I think that was huge andthat really stuck with me and
it's something that like reallyhelps and I feel like works with
me.
Like if I'm getting flustered,you know, I'm just like eyes up,
charlotte, keep your eyes up,you know.
Melinda Russell (42:43):
That's even true when you drive a car down
the road.
Yeah, that's even true when youdrive a car down the road.
Yeah, you're driving down theroad and then you, you're, you
see a deer or something and youlook over and there goes your
hands exactly exactly.
Charlotte Traynor (42:54):
So I feel like it's really one of those
things where it's likeapplicable almost in any
scenario.
Melinda Russell (42:59):
Yeah, so do you have a favorite race memory so
far?
It could be good or bad.
Charlotte Traynor (43:07):
I think it probably was two weeks ago,
racing at Daytona.
That was my first time at thattrack and I mean I grew up, you
know, watching races there,watching NASCAR race there,
watching the 24 hours there.
So to actually get to step footon that place, not just as a
spectator or a viewer but as aracer, and like driving that
(43:28):
first lap around DaytonaInternational Speedway and
feeling like the banking howsteep the banking is there I was
like wow, I was probablyfeeling every single emotion you
could feel inside the car.
It was just such a cool, likepinch me moment.
It was kind of one of thosethings.
It's like okay, I'm making it,like I am doing this.
This is my dream, I'm actuallydriving it like this track that
(43:49):
I've dreamed of driving it foryears, you know.
And it was so cool too, like atnight, like when the sun goes
down and they turn the lights on.
It's like the place just camealive and I was like how is this
real?
So that was for sure like oneof the coolest experiences of my
life.
Melinda Russell (44:04):
Yeah, I love day, love Daytona.
It's.
It's a beautiful place to be in, especially at night.
Yeah, now, charlotte, you'rethe social media age.
So how do you use social mediato promote yourself?
We talked about you, know we?
We have to promote ourselves.
They have to have a brand andshare our brand.
(44:25):
So how do you do that?
And then, like, what platformsand how could people follow you?
Charlotte Traynor (44:31):
Yeah, so my main social media platforms are
TikTok and Instagram, and I'veactually just recently started.
My Instagram following has beengetting a lot better and it's
something that I've been workingon on and honestly, it's just a
matter of like finding sometrends and some things that
maybe your peers are doing, orlike inspiration, and then it's
(44:51):
so simple, like I feel likepeople try to make social media
and content creation seem sohard, but it really isn't.
It's very simple.
Take a few clips whether it's aclip of you walking to the car
or a clip of you at the race andkind of be creative with it.
You could add, like you know, acaption or a saying and just
kind of make this like jumble ofa reel or a video.
(45:13):
You know that kind of likehighlights a few of the aspects
of who you are, what you do, andlike have like a little catch
with it, and then you put it outthere and it's it actually
draws in like a very decentcrowd, like one of the videos
that I posted on tiktok.
It was so random, like it wasjust, you know, it was me
outside the car and then medriving the car, and it got
(45:33):
almost like 47 000 views, forjust simple things like that,
and it's like you just have todo it and like, put yourself out
there and, like I was scared,like I did not really want to
post on social media first,because I'm like, oh, that's
scary, but it's like you have toand, at the end of the day, you
cannot worry about what otherpeople are going to say because,
like, other people understand,like social media, as we talked
(45:57):
about, has been such a usefultool for drivers these days, so
it's like the more you seeothers post, you're like this is
it?
Like it?
Like this is what you need todo.
You need to be kind of like thenext big thing getting yourself
out there, and all it takes isjust, you know, a few good clips
, clips of the car, clips ofyourself, you know kind of like
put them together in a cleverway and you know, just keep
(46:19):
posting and be consistent withit, because it's like, not
something may not blow up likethe first time.
You just have to be consistentwith it, consistently post.
You know kind of make aschedule of when you're going to
post, what you're going to do,you know, and just just stay at
it, because it will, it willwork.
You know, eventually, you justhave to, you know, keep pushing
(46:39):
yourself and keep gettingyourself out there.
Melinda Russell (46:41):
Yeah, a couple of girls that well, of course,
haley Deacon was really good atit, but a couple other girls
that have been really good atthat, and I love what you said
about it as well.
Be consistent, you have to doit.
Our Taylor Kuhl, k-u-e-h-l fromthe Arizona area.
Do you know Taylor?
Yeah, I've seen her online.
(47:02):
Yes, okay, she's really good atit.
So is Kylie Glick.
Yeah, she's very good, verygood, and so, um, and the thing
is, charlotte, that people don'tpeople can always find your
race results and those kinds ofthings, but they want to know
who you are, and I think thething you know not to don't put
(47:24):
your drama on there, which Iknow you don't, but a lot of
people do.
People don't want to see yourdrama.
They want to see you walkinginto your favorite restaurant
and then a picture of yourfavorite meal, or they want to
see you going to, you know,getting on an airplane with your
dad and saying, hey, did youknow my dad was a pilot or is a
pilot?
Blah, blah, things like that.
You, hey, did you know my dadwas a pilot or is a pilot?
(47:45):
Blah, blah, things like that.
You know, do you have any pets?
They want to see you with yourpets, all those kinds of things,
or a tick tock with you.
Know, I love, I love to go toBucky's.
So I have my cup that I've hadfor probably almost a year now.
It's the only cup I use.
(48:07):
It's bigger than most and itholds the ice longer.
And so you know, people want tosee who are you, what do you?
Like that kind of thing and alot of people, I think, forget
that.
They don't want to just see youin a car going around a track.
Charlotte Traynor (48:26):
Yeah Right, like you have to show some
personality, like you're notjust a robot.
Like you put on the helmet Ifeel like we all look like
robots and that's kind of whatpeople think.
It's like you're not just thisvanilla driver with, like you
know, people love it when theyget that depth and that
personality and someone that isworth following, following along
with Cause.
It's like like, yeah, you couldbe a good driver, but if you
have like no personality, nolikability whatsoever, it's like
(48:48):
you have to show kind of theside of you that you know people
don't get from just a simplepost saying how the weekend went
or something.
So you do have to, yeah, getcreative, like with certain
things on how to get yourselfout there and how to say like,
hey, this is who I am, I'm notjust a race car driver.
Like this is my personality,this is what I do, you know so
(49:09):
yeah, perfect.
Melinda Russell (49:10):
Well, charlotte , is there anything we haven't
talked about that we need toshare, about you or your racing
or anything at all?
Charlotte Traynor (49:18):
well, I do need to add with the Buc-ee's
thing.
We are, my family, we areobsessed with Buc-ee's,
literally.
That is the stuff like whetherit's a road trip or, oh my gosh,
probably the amount of timesthat we went to bucky's when my
dad and I were driving out toalabama with our car and then we
were just staying there likeout east, that is our spot.
Melinda Russell (49:37):
So I, I I'm at home with the bucky's
merchandise and all that youknow you're a bucky's fan when
you're gonna do a road trip andand one of the first things
you're a Bucky's fan when you'regoing to do a road trip and and
one of the first things youGoogle is Bucky locations.
I mean, I'm sorry, the food isgood there, the restrooms are
clean, they have greatmerchandise, even for my dog,
(49:58):
and yeah, we love, we loveBucky's for sure, a hundred
percent Like we were.
Charlotte Traynor (50:02):
there was actually one in Florida a few
weeks ago and one of our friendguys that was with us he'd never
been to Buc-ee's.
So we're like, oh my gosh, arewe about to introduce you to
Buc-ee's?
Like?
Melinda Russell (50:14):
yeah, so you know there's.
There's a few things I know Itold you.
You know, my daughters live inyour area in Arizona, and I live
in Michigan, and so there'salways a few things that when I
go to Arizona I have to do, andso there's not a Bucky's in
Phoenix but there is In-N-Out Ihave to go to In-N-Out.
(50:35):
We used to not have Chick-fil-A, Now we do, but I used to
always have to go to Chick-fil-Aand you know there's just some
things there that I don't havein Kalamazoo, Michigan, and so
you know your location.
You always have those placesthat mean a lot to you.
Yeah, exactly exactly.
Charlotte Traynor (50:56):
Actually, they're making a Buc-ee's in
Arizona.
They're making it in likeBuckeye and I think it's
literally going to be thebiggest Buc-ee's like on the
planet.
Melinda Russell (51:06):
You know they say that every time they build
one, every time they build one,it's going to be the biggest one
there is one coming to Arizona,so that's awesome.
Charlotte Traynor (51:15):
I'm excited about that.
Melinda Russell (51:17):
I was just in Colorado for several days
visiting my sister.
She lives in Berthard orwhatever.
Anyway, there's a Buc-ee'sabout 15 minutes from them, but
we were so busy I never even gotthere.
I can't believe I didn't gothere but I didn't.
But I'll be back there, butI'll definitely be able to go to
(51:37):
the one in Arizona, becauseBuckeye is not that far.
You know, when my husband and Ilived in our RV a couple
winters so that we could be outclose to the daughters and the
grandkids, and we lived inSurprise, and so you could just
go from Surprise right up toBuckeye.
It's not that far, but yeah,that's great.
(51:58):
I love that too.
So anything else you want toshare at all, charlotte, before
we hang up, Well, I'm gonnathink honestly, just, you know,
follow your dreams.
Charlotte Traynor (52:10):
You know, like, do what you're passionate
about.
And you can't be scared likethere's gonna be so many people
that, like you know, they try tojudge you and they try to say
things like, oh, you shouldn'tdo this, you shouldn't do that,
are you sure you want to do this?
Like you know you should have asecond option, a second plan,
and it's like you're never gonnaknow if you never even try, you
know.
So it's like you can't beswayed by what other people have
(52:33):
said and it's like, okay, justbecause you didn't make it
doesn't mean that I'm not gonnamake it, you know.
So it's like don't let anyoneor anything hold you back.
And I feel like just like havingthat you know tunnel vision of
your eyes set on where you wantto go, what you want to do, and
not letting anyone kind of likeinterrupt you and getting in the
way.
That is huge.
And just kind of having theperseverance because it's tough,
(52:55):
like it's tough to make a, youknow, career with whatever you
want to do, whatever you'repassionate about.
You know it's and you're gonnahave more bad days than good,
but, you know, having thatperseverance just to like get
through it, you know, and notbeing swayed by what other
people think of you, like it'sjust huge and something that I
would just you know say to kindof everyone.
Melinda Russell (53:18):
Yeah, good, good advice, very good advice
and a good way to end the show,charlotte.
So thank you so much for beingon with me.
If you want to hold on just asecond after we stop recording,
then we'll finish out our day,so thanks again for being on.
Charlotte Traynor (53:34):
For sure, thank you for having me.
Melinda Russell (53:41):
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That's it for this episode ofthe Women's Motorsports Network
podcast.
We hope you've been inspired bythe stories I shared today and
feel more connected to theamazing community of women in
motorsports.
(54:43):
Remember, whether you're behindthe wheel in the pits or
cheering from the stands, yourstory matters and together we're
driving change and celebratingevery milestone.
If you enjoyed today's episode,be sure to subscribe, leave us
a review and share it withsomeone who loves motorsports as
much as you do, and don'tforget to follow us on Facebook
(55:07):
and Instagram for updates,behind the scenes content and
more incredible stories.
So until next time, stayinspired, stay connected and
keep racing through life.
This is the Women's MotorsportsNetwork podcast, where every
woman's story is worthcelebrating.
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