Episodes
Mini Wedges Keep Racing Alive with Kenny Head
Send us Fan Mail A lot of racers retire and finally take it easy. Kenny Head went the other direction and built a youth racing pipeline that’s helping keep short track racing alive in Michigan. Melinda Russell sits down with Kenny to talk about the Kalamazoo Speedway Mini Wedges program, why it mat…
Jessica Trout: A Lubrication Consultant Shows What Really Improves En…
Send us Fan Mail Horsepower isn’t only built with parts and talent, it’s protected by the choices you make between rebuilds. We’re joined by Jessica Trout of Schaefer Oil to talk about what happens when you treat lubricants like performance equipment instead of an afterthought, and why a “lubricati…
Kendra Sommer: She Quit Her Reporting Job To Build A Motorsports Medi…
Send us Fan Mail She got told “nobody really cares about motorsports” and made a decision that changed everything. We’re talking with Kendra Sommer, a former TV news reporter who quits her job, flies to the SEMA Show with no network, and turns that leap into real momentum and a real business in aut…
What If A Pageant Made You Braver with Caitlyn Vogel
Send us Fan Mail Air horns, a packed arena, and a mom who never thought she’d wear a swimsuit on stage, then did it anyway. We’re joined by Caitlyn Vogel, a racer from Pennsylvania and a powerhouse in the women in motorsports community, to unpack what the Motorama pageant is actually like and why s…
Mallory Kutz Shares How Advocacy, Grit, And Community Turned A Pagean…
Send us Fan Mail We trace Mallory Kutz's year from Miss Motorama win to a full-throttle campaign that connected drivers, packed a seminar, funded scholarships, and reframed what a motorsports pageant can be. Along the way, she kept racing, took her first feature wins, and proved that advocacy grows…
Shelby Thurman’s Full-Throttle Journey
Send us Fan Mail What happens when a racer grows up trackside and turns childhood laps into a signature streak that few ever touch? We invited 20-year-old bracket sensation Shelby Thurman to share the real story behind her ri...
How A Chicago Community Leader Helped Bring NASCAR Home with Jacque H…
Send us Fan Mail NASCAR doesn’t just show up with race cars and a schedule, it shows up with road closures, noise fears, neighborhood questions, and a whole lot of logistics. That’s why my conversation with Jacque Herrera is so timely. Jacque grew up in Chicago, built a career in community relation…
OUTGO SONG
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INTRO SONG
Send us Fan Mail Support the show FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/womensmotorsportsnetworkandpodcast INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/womensmotorsportsnetwork/ LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melindarussell/ TIKTOK: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melindarussell/ https://www.patreon.com/po…
Mckaylee Meyerhofer: Snow, Speed, And Grit
Send us Fan Mail The throttle snaps, the snow flies, and a 21-year-old rider decides to trust herself over the voice of doubt. That’s the heartbeat of our conversation with Mckaylee, a snowcross racer who started at five year...
Dystany Spurlock: What Changes When Women Stop Waiting For Permission…
Send a text Dystany Spurlock doesn’t talk like someone waiting to be picked. She talks like a driver who decided to learn the game, earn the seat, and bring other women with her. We sit down with Dystany to trace a journey that starts with childhood power wheels and turns into real-world racing acr…
Karen Bailey-Chapman: Inside SEMA and PRI: Protecting Tracks, Growing…
Send a text Karen Bailey-Chapman, Senior VP of Public & Government Affairs for SEMA and PRI, joins Melinda to talk about the “Right to Race” campaign, protecting local racetracks from nuisance laws, tax policy impacting track...
Avery Hemmer: How A 14-Year-Old Became A Six-Time Champion In Snowcro…
Send a text At just 14 years old, Avery Hemmer is already a six-time champion and currently leading the Pro Women Snowcross points standings. From racing at age six in Minnesota to flying across North America for national com...
Racing Through The Noise with Taylor Reimer
Send a text A single bad clip can turn into a full-blown verdict online, and Taylor Reimer knows that pressure firsthand. From her first ARCA Menards Series DNF at Phoenix to the wave of commentary that followed, she breaks down what fans rarely understand about stock car racing physics, visibility…
From Dirt To Daytona: Sonya Lloyd On Speed, Grit, And Breaking Barrie…
Send a text Sonya Lloyd is a 23-year-old professional motorcycle racer balancing a full-time engineering career at Siemens with competing in MotoAmerica. From hitting 161 mph at Daytona to racing in six countries in the Women...
Rilee Nowaczyk: A Teen Racer Balances School, Travel, And High-Speed …
Send a text High school sophomore Rilee Nowaczyk from Holland, Michigan is proving that snowcross racing isn’t just for the boys. Racing a 600 Polaris in the national ISOC series (streamed on International Series of Champions via FloSports), Rilee competes in the Pro Women’s class against racers tw…
Robyn Douthit on Running a Jet Car Team & RV Life
Send a text Robyn Douthit didn’t grow up in drag racing—until life (and love) brought her into it. In this episode, she shares how reconnecting with her husband in 2009 led to a wild, rewarding motorsports lifestyle: a full-time RV family traveling across the country to put on jet-car exhibition sh…
Isabella Robusto: Driven Different: Building A Brand In A Male-Domina…
Send a text In this episode of the Women’s Motorsports Network Podcast, Melinda Russell sits down with 21-year-old ARCA driver Isabella Robusto to talk about her journey from go-karts at age four to racing full-time in the ARCA Menards Series. Isabella shares how the NASCAR Drive for Diversity prog…
Dana Courtney: How A Mustang, A Camera, And A Track Shaped A Lifelong…
Send a text Dana Courtney grew up immersed in drag racing at Gainesville Raceway and later served 10 years as a military mechanic before returning home to rejoin the racing community. Now a volunteer photographer, raceway sta...
Debbie Matthews: She Passed Him On The Outside And Married Him
Send a text Debbie Matthews is known as the “Godmother of Women’s Motocross,” and after this conversation, you’ll understand why. Starting her racing journey in 1974, Debbie competed in the very first Women’s National Motocross Championship at Indian Dunes in California. From there, she built a 50-…
How A 15-Year-Old Built A Sprint Car Dream And A Support Network
Send a text At just 15 years old, Brielle Stern is already carving out her place in the competitive world of 600 micro sprint racing. From selling cookies to fund her first race car to traveling across the country chasing dirt tracks, Brielle’s journey is fueled by grit, family support, and big dre…
Alexis Sparby Gross: How A Father-Daughter Team Turned Weekend Wrench…
Send us a text The engines might cool at sunset, but the stories only get hotter. We sit down with Minnesota racer Alexa Gross for a candid ride through family-built race craft, moving up to Wasota Super Stocks, and the steady confidence that comes from small wins and patient passes. From a childho…
Gabrielle Grigsby: How A Waterfall Jump Led To A Racing Career
Send us a text A leap off a Kentucky waterfall for a shot at a first race car. Late nights in the shop turning a bare frame into a factory stock. A seat in the UNOH engine room and a bold jump to the ASA Stars National Tour. Gabby Grigsby’s path is a fast, honest look at how a young driver builds s…
From Quarter Midgets To Miss Mahoning: Zoe Quinn’s Path In Motorsports
Send us a text A five-year-old asks for a race kart. A teenager helps build her first full-bodied car. Then she trades her helmet for a tiara to grow the sport she loves. Meet Zoe Quinn—19-year-old driver and 2025 Miss Mahoning—whose story proves that visibility can be just as powerful as velocity.…