What Youth Racing Is Teaching Athena Rose Webster About Life

[00:00:02] - [Speaker 0]
Hello, everyone. This is Melinda Russell with the Women's Mother Sports Network podcast, and my guest today is Athena Rose Webster. And Athena is, very much involved in racing. She's a race car driver, so we're gonna hear her story today. So, Athena, I wanna welcome you to the show.

[00:00:22] - [Speaker 0]
And would you first tell me a little bit about yourself? Yes.

[00:00:28] - [Speaker 1]
So my name is Athena Webster. I have one little brother. His name is Apollo.

[00:00:38] - [Speaker 0]
Do you have

[00:00:39] - [Speaker 1]
any pets? Yeah. I have one cat. Her name is Zelda.

[00:00:44] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. And what grade are you in

[00:00:47] - [Speaker 1]
school? I'm in second grade.

[00:00:50] - [Speaker 0]
You're gonna be in second grade. Okay. But you're off for summer vacation. Yeehaw. Right?

[00:00:55] - [Speaker 0]
Yay. Yay. What do you like to do besides racing? Do you have any hobbies?

[00:01:04] - [Speaker 1]
I like going out with my neighbor, playing some games, and then I'll come in for a little, do some crafts, maybe go back out.

[00:01:15] - [Speaker 0]
Alright. Just kinda having a good summer. Yeah. Yeah. That's good.

[00:01:21] - [Speaker 0]
Awesome. Do you you live in Missouri? Yes. Okay. Alright.

[00:01:29] - [Speaker 0]
And and you're seven years old?

[00:01:33] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. I'm seven.

[00:01:34] - [Speaker 0]
You're seven. Okay. Yeah. Anything else that you wanna share yourself before we talk about motorsports?

[00:01:41] - [Speaker 1]
Not really.

[00:01:42] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Yeah. Athena, how did you get interested in motorsports at the age of seven? When did you get started?

[00:01:53] - [Speaker 1]
I was four. We went to our NASCAR race, and I really liked it. It was really cool. So then we found out about Kansas City Karting Association. We went to watch a race.

[00:02:08] - [Speaker 1]
We started practicing, and then I finally got in my first race when I was five. I started practicing when I was four.

[00:02:16] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Wow. You were little. And so is Kansas City is that pretty close to you, or is that kind of a long way to go? How far away?

[00:02:25] - [Speaker 1]
About an hour.

[00:02:27] - [Speaker 0]
Oh, that's not bad. That's that's close. So you probably went to the race at Kansas, the NASCAR race. Yeah. I haven't been to that track, but I have that on my bucket list.

[00:02:37] - [Speaker 0]
I'd like to go there. I've heard it's a really nice, really nice track. It is. It is. So you were four years old.

[00:02:45] - [Speaker 0]
Where where were you practicing?

[00:02:49] - [Speaker 1]
Kansas City Karting Association.

[00:02:51] - [Speaker 0]
Oh, so you did go to Kansas City for your practicing too. Okay. Alright. And so you started when you were five. So you're very experienced because you are you're already seven then.

[00:03:02] - [Speaker 0]
You've already been doing this. This would be your third year, I would think, to do it. Right? Yeah. Yeah.

[00:03:10] - [Speaker 0]
So tell okay. So going to a NASCAR race is what got you interested. What did your parents think about that? Did they like racing, or did they encourage you to get involved in racing?

[00:03:25] - [Speaker 1]
I kinda liked it. And then we all kinda started getting into it. So we kinda Okay. Got in. So first year, I

[00:03:36] - [Speaker 0]
Mhmm.

[00:03:36] - [Speaker 1]
Go ahead. First year, I had my track car, my asphalt car. And then my second year, I finally got my wing car, dirt oval. And then I got a flat car. And then at the age of six, I got my junior spring.

[00:03:54] - [Speaker 0]
Wow. You've had lots of karts. Mhmm. Which one had which one did you like the best?

[00:04:01] - [Speaker 1]
I'd say junior sprint.

[00:04:03] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. And that's what you're running right now? Is that what you're racing right now, junior sprints?

[00:04:13] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. I can race all of them.

[00:04:15] - [Speaker 0]
But Oh, you still race all of them. Okay. Well, then you really are busy. And so does do you race them all at the Kansas City Karting Track?

[00:04:24] - [Speaker 1]
No. So my my outlaw wing car is a dirt kart, and then my dirt oval flat kart is a dirt kart too.

[00:04:37] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah.

[00:04:38] - [Speaker 1]
And then junior sprint is a dirt kart too. And then my asphalt sprint car will race on KCKA.

[00:04:46] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Then where do you go to race the dirt cars karts?

[00:04:50] - [Speaker 1]
So my junior sprint, we go to Sweet Springs K. Lot Of Sports. And then dirt, oval, flat cart. We go to Emma, maybe some Butler.

[00:05:07] - [Speaker 0]
K.

[00:05:10] - [Speaker 1]
Outlaw wing kart, pretty much same as wild kart. And then my asphalt kart, KCKA. I've raced at Garnett, Kansas, and then and then Ozark International.

[00:05:29] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. So you've been all over the place racing out, haven't you? Yeah. Do you like that? Do you like going to different tracks?

[00:05:38] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. Yeah. I do like it.

[00:05:41] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. That's a lot of fun, isn't it? And you meet a lot of different people.

[00:05:45] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. Meet new friends.

[00:05:48] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Absolutely. Have you made a lot of friends as you've gone to these different tracks?

[00:05:54] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. Pretty much. Actually, pretty much in my asphalt sprint car, I pretty much made, like, like, all the people that were there. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:06:07] - [Speaker 1]
All my friends.

[00:06:08] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. And are there a lot of other girls there, or how More girls than boys? More boys than girls? How's

[00:06:15] - [Speaker 1]
that going? More boys than girls.

[00:06:16] - [Speaker 0]
A lot more boys.

[00:06:17] - [Speaker 1]
It's only about, like, four or five.

[00:06:20] - [Speaker 0]
Four or five girls.

[00:06:22] - [Speaker 1]
Out of, like

[00:06:24] - [Speaker 0]
A lot.

[00:06:26] - [Speaker 1]
A lot of classes.

[00:06:27] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Okay. Do you think that running a kart or or being in motorsports, though, is that a good thing for a girl to be doing? Yeah. Yeah.

[00:06:38] - [Speaker 0]
Why is that? Is it fun? Do you like going fast? What do you like about it?

[00:06:46] - [Speaker 1]
I like going fast. It's fun. I make a lot new friends.

[00:06:50] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Mhmm. You get to spend time with your family. Yeah. Right?

[00:06:55] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Now does your little brother race?

[00:06:58] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. He just started this year. He he just turned five couple in March. So

[00:07:04] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Alright. So he's he's following in your footsteps. Does he look up to you when does he like watching you race?

[00:07:13] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah.

[00:07:13] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. I bet he does. Who's who's your biggest supporter? Do you know what I mean? Like, who really cheers you on and and really helps you the most?

[00:07:25] - [Speaker 1]
My brother, my sponsors, and my family.

[00:07:29] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. So do you know who your sponsors are? Are you able to tell me who they are?

[00:07:35] - [Speaker 1]
Nasty Glass, Slappy, Slap Nasty Entertainment, Lindsey Techmeier State Farm, Lawrenceburg Tent, Golden Rule Company, Spirit Rentals, Property Management, Wag Dog Spices, and Gator Graphics.

[00:07:50] - [Speaker 0]
Wow. You got a lot of sponsors. So how did you get those? Did you go talk to those people? Are they relatives?

[00:07:58] - [Speaker 0]
How did you My get

[00:08:01] - [Speaker 1]
dad works at Gator Graphics. He's He's looked stuff up. We find kinda found them. We go went to talk to people. Yeah.

[00:08:10] - [Speaker 1]
And Yeah. They really wanted

[00:08:14] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. It's hard to say no to a cute little girl like you, so that was probably good that you went with your dad to ask for the sponsors because Well, it

[00:08:23] - [Speaker 1]
me me and my mom went.

[00:08:25] - [Speaker 0]
Oh, you and your mom went? Oh, okay. Even better. Yeah. My dad had to work.

[00:08:29] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Exactly. Because somebody's gotta pay for racing. Right? Yeah.

[00:08:34] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. For sure. So when you when you meet these new kids, do any of them, like, go to your school? Or is there anybody at your school that races besides you?

[00:08:49] - [Speaker 1]
When we go to Emma in Norraceway, I have a friend named Araya. She goes to my school. She races too, but she's not in the class.

[00:09:01] - [Speaker 0]
So Okay. Alright. So there's just the two of you, and you're both girls. That's interesting. No boys.

[00:09:07] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Interesting. So what would you say was the hardest thing for you to learn when you started racing?

[00:09:17] - [Speaker 1]
I'd say it was probably trying to figure out the lines because we were kinda new to racing. Nobody know anything about it. So Mhmm.

[00:09:34] - [Speaker 0]
Lots of things to learn. Right? Yeah. Lots. So yeah.

[00:09:37] - [Speaker 0]
Lots to learn. So, you know, shifting your lines, what the flags mean, how to pass, lots of stuff to learn. So what is the what is the thing now that you really wish you could be better at? Is there anything that you're like, oh, if I was just better at this?

[00:10:01] - [Speaker 1]
I mean, not really. It's just, like, when we're at Kansas City Karting Association, I kinda really wanna just work on, like, the first turn. It's, like, really hard to take. Mhmm. So that's kinda for that track, I wanna Yeah.

[00:10:19] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Alright. And what what is the thing that happens, you know, like, when you're out on the track, what's what are you thinking about? What's there's so much going on around you. When you're sitting in your cart or you're ready to go out on the track, what are you thinking about?

[00:10:41] - [Speaker 1]
What I would do if I'd have to, like, pass someone in this situation

[00:10:48] - [Speaker 0]
K.

[00:10:50] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. In this part of the track, kind of.

[00:10:55] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Now do you when when you start a race, would you rather start from the front, the middle, or the back?

[00:11:04] - [Speaker 1]
I'd say it's probably actually the back because the middle gets a lot, like, and all that stuff crashes.

[00:11:13] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah.

[00:11:13] - [Speaker 1]
And then Right.

[00:11:16] - [Speaker 0]
I like that idea. Either be in the front away from all the crashes or in the back after they crash and pass them pass them. Yeah. Yeah. For sure.

[00:11:26] - [Speaker 1]
As long as it's not too big of a Yeah. As long as you can

[00:11:30] - [Speaker 0]
get around them for sure. Yeah. Yeah. In the class that you race, is there an any other little girls? Are you the only girl in your class?

[00:11:40] - [Speaker 1]
So yeah. In all the carts, pretty much.

[00:11:45] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Alright. How do you feel about that? Does it bother you that you're the only girl? Do you wish there were a lot more girls?

[00:11:55] - [Speaker 1]
Kinda. Yeah. A little. But except for, I think, maybe one in my wing cart.

[00:12:02] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Alright. So we need to get more girls out there doing it like you do. Maybe they just think they can't do it because they're young, but that's not true because look at you. You're out there doing it, aren't you?

[00:12:17] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Yeah. So once you outgrow your junior, then what would be the next step for you? MicroSprint. Okay.

[00:12:29] - [Speaker 0]
So how long are you able to run-in a junior? Till how old? Do you know?

[00:12:34] - [Speaker 1]
12, I think.

[00:12:35] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Okay. And then you would go to a microsprint. Yeah.

[00:12:40] - [Speaker 1]
Which So

[00:12:42] - [Speaker 0]
okay. So have you ever been to, like, the Tulsa shootout or any races big races where the carts are running?

[00:12:51] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. We actually just went in December.

[00:12:57] - [Speaker 0]
Mhmm. Mhmm.

[00:12:59] - [Speaker 1]
I raced my junior sprint there.

[00:13:01] - [Speaker 0]
Oh, wow.

[00:13:02] - [Speaker 1]
Take your time.

[00:13:04] - [Speaker 0]
That's cool.

[00:13:05] - [Speaker 1]
Place. But

[00:13:06] - [Speaker 0]
So what did you think of that? Was that pretty fun?

[00:13:10] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. It was a lot of fun.

[00:13:12] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. And there was a lot of people there. Yeah. I've taught I've interviewed several girls that were there, and they're they're all been older than you. But, man, lots of races.

[00:13:26] - [Speaker 0]
And from morning till night. Right? Yeah.

[00:13:30] - [Speaker 1]
Like, some days.

[00:13:31] - [Speaker 0]
I know. So how did you do when you were there? Did you do good? In

[00:13:37] - [Speaker 1]
the C main, I got In the C main. In my C main, I got third.

[00:13:44] - [Speaker 0]
Oh, that's really good. Yeah.

[00:13:48] - [Speaker 1]
I didn't start in my heat because engine won't start. So

[00:13:52] - [Speaker 0]
Oh.

[00:13:53] - [Speaker 1]
Started last engine. Yeah. So I started eleventh for CME.

[00:13:58] - [Speaker 0]
And you got up to third? Yeah. Wow. You must have been driving fast to do that. So tell me about your cart.

[00:14:07] - [Speaker 0]
What color is it?

[00:14:09] - [Speaker 1]
So my junior sprint, it's like white, purple, gold.

[00:14:15] - [Speaker 0]
Okay.

[00:14:16] - [Speaker 1]
And then my asphalt sprint car, it's kinda like red, white, blue. K. Dirt, oval, flat cart, we have, like, a blue. Blue with all, like, stickers on it with, like, sponsors and stuff.

[00:14:35] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah.

[00:14:36] - [Speaker 1]
And then wing cart, it's pretty much like a say, like a like a light purple and then, a white

[00:14:46] - [Speaker 0]
K.

[00:14:46] - [Speaker 1]
Kind of.

[00:14:48] - [Speaker 0]
Wow. And do you have the same number for all of them, or are they different?

[00:14:53] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. They're all the same. Number 15.

[00:14:57] - [Speaker 0]
Number 15. Did you pick that number?

[00:15:02] - [Speaker 1]
I didn't really pick my number. It's kinda my dad and my mom. I kinda did. Kinda.

[00:15:09] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Because that's your birthday.

[00:15:13] - [Speaker 1]
Fifteenth is your birthday. I just I just realized that couple like, a year ago.

[00:15:19] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah.

[00:15:19] - [Speaker 1]
I was gonna say, like, the fifteenth is my birthday.

[00:15:23] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. I bet that's why they picked it. What do you think? Yeah. I know.

[00:15:28] - [Speaker 0]
Probably so. Yeah. So your mom and dad, neither one of them raced or your grandparents. You're the first one in your family that raced. Yeah.

[00:15:38] - [Speaker 0]
Wow. So do your grandparents come and watch? Are they close by? Or who's who comes and watches on the when you're racing?

[00:15:48] - [Speaker 1]
Who comes and watches? Mainly just us, but sometimes sponsors will come. Sometimes

[00:15:54] - [Speaker 0]
K.

[00:15:54] - [Speaker 1]
My grandparents will come out from California. Sometimes they come out from the other ones. I have two. The other ones will come out from an hour and a half

[00:16:10] - [Speaker 0]
Okay.

[00:16:11] - [Speaker 1]
For a long time.

[00:16:12] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Alright. So when you're out on the track and you're ready to pass somebody and things are getting kinda crazy out there, is your mom watching, or is she hiding her eyes?

[00:16:29] - [Speaker 1]
I have no idea. I I don't pay attention to her when I'm racing.

[00:16:34] - [Speaker 0]
Well, no. But I just wondered, is does she get nervous when you race?

[00:16:38] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. She's told me many times.

[00:16:41] - [Speaker 0]
Yes. She gets nervous. And what about your dad? Is he your crew chief?

[00:16:46] - [Speaker 1]
Oh, yeah.

[00:16:47] - [Speaker 0]
Oh, yeah. Then do you have anybody else that helps on the cart? The carts?

[00:16:51] - [Speaker 1]
I'm gonna say mainly my mom, me, but because my dad like I said, my dad has to work. So but sometimes he'll help kill that racist and stuff.

[00:17:03] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Yeah. And so your mom's had to learn how to do things on the cart so that she can help you?

[00:17:09] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. She learned she's learned a bunch over the past few years.

[00:17:13] - [Speaker 0]
Well, that's good. And so what do you do to help with the carts? Do you have certain jobs?

[00:17:19] - [Speaker 1]
Kinda.

[00:17:21] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. So what would be some of those jobs?

[00:17:25] - [Speaker 1]
I can help her clean the tires. I help with, like, changing the oil and some, and then Yeah. Much good.

[00:17:37] - [Speaker 0]
Whenever she needs a hand, you're there to help her. Yeah. Yeah. That's good. So when you go on a let's say it's race day.

[00:17:46] - [Speaker 0]
You get up. You probably eat breakfast. Then when you get to the cart, are you do you eat lunch, or do you eat during the day while you're racing, or do you have to wait till you're all done before you eat again?

[00:17:59] - [Speaker 1]
They they have a lunch break, so we can eat.

[00:18:02] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Lot of girls say, I can't eat until I'm all done racing. So do you eat do you have a favorite food at the track that you like to eat?

[00:18:16] - [Speaker 1]
I mean, we mainly just bring, like, sandwiches and some snacks in a cooler or something. Okay.

[00:18:22] - [Speaker 0]
Alright. That's better for you anyway than eating fried track food and then trying to race. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:18:30] - [Speaker 0]
So there's gotta be something that doesn't go right. You know? Every racer has issues like something breaks or somebody wrecks you or a 100 other things could happen. When you're having a bad day at the racetrack, what happens when you how how do you deal with that? Do you cry?

[00:18:51] - [Speaker 0]
Do you throw your helmet? Do you what do you do?

[00:18:57] - [Speaker 1]
Stay calm. Finish next race.

[00:19:01] - [Speaker 0]
Okay.

[00:19:01] - [Speaker 1]
You always have another chance. You always have another race.

[00:19:05] - [Speaker 0]
You're so smart for a seven year old. Yes. That's so true. More people need to go by your little piece of advice there. There's always another race.

[00:19:15] - [Speaker 0]
And so there's no reason to have a temper tantrum, is there, when something goes wrong? Because that just makes you look bad and there's people watching. And so you wanna have a good you want people to think highly of you and not only just how you race, but that you're a good person. And so that I'm proud of you for that, Athena. That's really, really mature of you for your age for sure.

[00:19:40] - [Speaker 1]
You could be angry, but not too angry. You

[00:19:43] - [Speaker 0]
can Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. You can be disappointed in yourself or in the race, but you have to just move on because there is always another race. I love that you said that.

[00:19:58] - [Speaker 0]
That's a great quote. Now when you're on social media, I know that your mom probably takes care of that. Does she? Yeah. Okay.

[00:20:08] - [Speaker 0]
And so, you know, she may have to answer this if you're not sure, but what do you think what do you think social media does to help you? Like, do your sponsors follow you? Do you get other people that know you, they start to follow and see what you're doing? What what does social media do for you? Your mom can answer.

[00:20:35] - [Speaker 1]
That helps, of course, that we're not about what you do and have on embracing. Helps get more fathers,

[00:20:44] - [Speaker 0]
more

[00:20:44] - [Speaker 1]
people who wanna start trying.

[00:20:49] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Good. Because if they see you doing it, then some other little girl might try it or some a parent might say, oh, Athena Webster's racing. Maybe we should take, you know, Susie out and and watch. And that's how that's how they get interested, isn't it?

[00:21:07] - [Speaker 0]
So you're kinda being an example for other girls to race.

[00:21:12] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. Yeah.

[00:21:14] - [Speaker 0]
And does your mom post, like, when you're gonna go what? Like, if you're racing, she'll post where you're gonna be, or she'll post how you did at the race. Does she stay on social media and share those kinds of things?

[00:21:27] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. I've kinda, like, sat down with her, watched her do that stuff kinda.

[00:21:31] - [Speaker 0]
Okay.

[00:21:31] - [Speaker 1]
So

[00:21:32] - [Speaker 0]
And and do you know how somebody would find you on social media? What your handle is? Is it your name or Athena Rose Racing? Yeah. I figured.

[00:21:45] - [Speaker 0]
Athena Rose Racing. Okay. So people can follow you if they want to. And if they live near you in Warrensburg, Missouri down by Kansas City, then, you know, if they're interested, they could come out and watch because it's really fun to watch for sure. Do they ever do try and rides at the any of these tracks where, you know, kids can come and and give the racing a try to see if they like it?

[00:22:12] - [Speaker 1]
We have a lot of people that will offer their cart for kids to drink. Yeah. We have a lot of people who were, like, let some kids drive if they want to offer the car for

[00:22:23] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. That's good because that's how that's how kids and their parents figure out if they want to wanna, you know, be part of racing. So I see a big a big trophy kinda sticking up behind you there.

[00:22:38] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. So

[00:22:39] - [Speaker 0]
What's that trophy for?

[00:22:49] - [Speaker 1]
My first year of KCKA.

[00:22:53] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. And what did you win? What did you do to win I see now there's two trophies, a silver one, it looks like, and a blue one. So what did you win to to get those trophies?

[00:23:05] - [Speaker 1]
So my big one over here

[00:23:08] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah.

[00:23:11] - [Speaker 1]
That's from my first year KCKA.

[00:23:15] - [Speaker 0]
And did you win the did you win the championship or what?

[00:23:21] - [Speaker 1]
Kinda. In kid cart, everyone gets it, but now I moved up to cadet cart. Okay. Yeah. You have to get first, second, first coat.

[00:23:32] - [Speaker 0]
Alright. And have you won other trophies or or races? Have you won any races?

[00:23:38] - [Speaker 1]
Oh, yeah. We have a bunch downstairs in a tote.

[00:23:42] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Because you just can't go

[00:23:43] - [Speaker 1]
the Yeah. We've been keeping them in my room. I'm like, they've they're just get

[00:23:50] - [Speaker 0]
They're just overrunning your room.

[00:23:52] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. Taking space up.

[00:23:54] - [Speaker 0]
Taking space up. Yeah. So how many how how many races have you won do you think?

[00:24:04] - [Speaker 1]
15 to 20. Okay. 15 to 20.

[00:24:07] - [Speaker 0]
Alright. Well, you got four different karts, so you're running a lot of races. On the weekends, do you typically just run one kind of kart, or do you race more than one at a you know, like, on a weekend?

[00:24:22] - [Speaker 1]
So I'll race my one in a weekend. Yeah.

[00:24:28] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. That's that's enough, isn't it? Yeah. Spread it out a little bit. Okay.

[00:24:35] - [Speaker 0]
For sure. So when's your next race?

[00:24:38] - [Speaker 1]
This weekend. This weekend on Saturn Saturday.

[00:24:42] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. And where's that gonna be?

[00:24:44] - [Speaker 1]
Sweet Springs. I'm gonna be racing my junior sprint.

[00:24:48] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Alright. And is how far away is that from where you live? Thirty minutes. Oh, that's close.

[00:24:58] - [Speaker 0]
You must have a lot of tracks close by.

[00:25:01] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. We have a lot.

[00:25:02] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Pretty much. Because some girls that I interview, they drive two or three hours or more on a weekend

[00:25:10] - [Speaker 1]
to race. Racetrack?

[00:25:12] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Yeah. Everybody's not lucky like you and I. I have a lot of racetracks around where I live too in Michigan, but, there's a lot of places that girls who race, they have to drive a long way to actually just run a race. And so you're you're lucky and so am I that I can go watch racing that's so close by.

[00:25:33] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. For sure. So, Athena, what is it about racing that keeps you going on the weekends? You could be playing with your neighbor girl. You could be going swimming.

[00:25:46] - [Speaker 0]
You could be going to the movie, or you could be playing softball. What is it about racing that makes you wanna do that instead of all those other things?

[00:25:57] - [Speaker 1]
On the weekends, like, my my neighbors pretty much just relaxing, so we kinda just take a day off on the weekends. So while he's doing that and stuff, we go racing. And, I mean

[00:26:15] - [Speaker 0]
Why do you like going racing when you could be doing something else?

[00:26:21] - [Speaker 1]
Yes. Racing, it's pretty much like doing something else, but it's racing.

[00:26:32] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah.

[00:26:32] - [Speaker 1]
Racing is fun.

[00:26:34] - [Speaker 0]
It's different than going to the lake or or going to the movie, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. It's hard to explain that to people who haven't raced before. They don't always understand that when we go to the racetrack

[00:26:48] - [Speaker 1]
do it.

[00:26:49] - [Speaker 0]
No. Not everybody has the chance to do it. We make new friends, and we like hanging out with them. And then we like driving the carts. And so there's a lot of things we like about it that it's hard to explain to somebody who has never been to a race or seen what it's all about.

[00:27:10] - [Speaker 0]
But you Yeah. You do. You understand that, don't you?

[00:27:15] - [Speaker 1]
Do you wanna explaining it to someone because

[00:27:18] - [Speaker 0]
It is.

[00:27:18] - [Speaker 1]
I've done it a couple times. Mhmm.

[00:27:22] - [Speaker 0]
It is hard to explain it. Now you're seven years old. Let's let's think ten years from now. You're probably gonna be out of high school. Are you still gonna be racing, do you think?

[00:27:34] - [Speaker 0]
And what is your where if you could if you could choose some place to race or a thing that you wanna do involved in racing, do you have any thoughts about that? Do you wanna, like, run with high limit cars series or the world of outlaws? Do you wanna just keep racing bigger cars? Have you thought about that?

[00:27:59] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. Kinda step up, step by step, go to bigger cars.

[00:28:06] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. So do you ever watch High Limit Racing or World of Outlaws or any of those on, like, Flow Racing?

[00:28:14] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. We've watched quite a bit, actually.

[00:28:16] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Alright. My friend my friend is involved with the high limit series. She does the prayer. She's works for racers for Christ.

[00:28:26] - [Speaker 0]
And so I went to one of their races about a month ago here in Michigan, and that was a lot of fun watching those cars. Yeah. So that's how oh, really fast. And there were a lot of karts there. Lots of them.

[00:28:42] - [Speaker 0]
So that was a lot of fun. I love going to watch. So, Athena, what is it about you or your racing? Anything at all that I have not asked you about that you wanna make sure that we share on this show? Is is there anything that I didn't ask you about that we should tell about?

[00:29:07] - [Speaker 0]
Or you got a nice Hoosier sign hanging behind you.

[00:29:12] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. We kinda got that from the KCKA banquet. There's a banquet every year for

[00:29:21] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah.

[00:29:22] - [Speaker 1]
Emma,

[00:29:25] - [Speaker 0]
KCKA, and Yeah.

[00:29:27] - [Speaker 1]
All that. So KCKA, the banquet, that's where we got that from.

[00:29:33] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Pretty cool. So It's a lot of fun. Yeah. It would be a lot of fun.

[00:29:42] - [Speaker 0]
What, you know, what what else can we tell our listeners about Athena that we haven't talked about?

[00:29:51] - [Speaker 1]
I mean, there's not much. No? But

[00:29:55] - [Speaker 0]
We've talked about a lot. Yeah. Yeah. That's good. So you've got a lot of races scheduled yet for the summer?

[00:30:03] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah.

[00:30:04] - [Speaker 1]
Yeah. We're doing some fun stuff. So

[00:30:07] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. That's good. So is your schedule on, like, Facebook, or how would we find out where you're gonna be racing?

[00:30:16] - [Speaker 1]
Facebook.

[00:30:17] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Okay. Alright. So I encourage everybody to go to Athena Rose Racing on Facebook, and you'll be able to see where she's gonna be. Because if she's racing close to where some of you people live, you should go watch and tell her that you heard her on the podcast and encourage her on because we wanna encourage more girls to get into karts and sprint cars because there's not as many girls that race those things as there are, like, late models and street stocks and those things.

[00:30:52] - [Speaker 0]
So you keep doing what you're doing, Athena. You invite girls to be a part of racing, and you share why you love it, and then other people are gonna wanna be part of it too. Yeah? Yeah. Okay.

[00:31:08] - [Speaker 0]
Yeah. Okay. Anything else you or your mom wanna share before we go?

[00:31:15] - [Speaker 1]
Me, not really. No. Not really.

[00:31:20] - [Speaker 0]
Not really? Okay. Alright. Well, I wanna thank you for being on the show, And I want you to just hold on when we stop recording, and then I'll talk to you for a minute. And and I hope you have a good successful weekend and a successful summer.

[00:31:38] - [Speaker 0]
And then maybe when the season's over, we'll catch up with you again and see how how it went.

[00:31:44] - [Speaker 1]
K.

[00:31:45] - [Speaker 0]
Okay. Thank you. You're welcome.