Women's Motorsports Network Podcast----Fuel Her Future Podcast
Women's Motorsports Network Podcast shares the stories of women involved in motorsports from around the world. The first episode was in 2018 and new episodes are added each week. Feel free to suggest potential guests to Melinda at melinda@wmnnation.com.
Fuel Her Future with Melinda Russell is a solo podcast that began in June of 2026,
Fueling Your Future with Inspiration, Encouragement, Courage, Confidence, and Community.
https://www.facebook.com/womensmotorsportsnetworkandpodcast
www.womensmotorsportsnetwork.com
Based in Kalamazoo, MI
Episodes
435 episodes
Maddy Brook: Fat Duck Racing And The Need To Feel It
Dirt tracks have a way of revealing who you are the moment you turn in. Maddy Brook is only 17, but she already talks like someone who has learned that speed is equal parts courage, composure, and community. She joins us from Western Sydney to ...
Racing Made Me Confident Even When I Was Shy with Jillian Cole
A rear tire flies off on the last lap and you still take the win by crossing the finish line backwards. That’s the kind of real-world racing story we love, and teen driver Jillian Cole brings it with honesty, humor, and a clear look at what you...
Lauri Eberhart: How To Get Hired In Motorsports Without A Pit Pass
A $5 an hour summer job at a racetrack doesn’t sound like the start of a major motorsports career, but that’s exactly where Lauri Eberhart begins. From Michigan International Speedway to Nazareth Speedway to the NASCAR hub in North Carolina, Lo...
Why A 10-Year-Old Has More Sponsors Than You-Laci Mitchell
A 10-year-old with a trophy shelf behind her sounds adorable until you realize she’s also a serious driver with a clear head for speed, strategy, and safety. We sit down with Laci Mitchell from Victoria, Australia, a fourth-generation racer who...
Katrina Gray: Racing Across the United Kingdom
Most racing stories start with childhood karting, but Katrina “Kat” Gray takes a route that feels a lot more like real life. Kat joins us from Lincolnshire in the UK, where she teaches people to drive for a living and still finds time to chase ...
Kim Estep: I Bought The Porsche After Two Laps
You don’t need to start racing at five years old to belong on a racetrack. Melinda Russell sits down with Kim Estep, a Porsche racer who didn’t take her first laps until her 30s, and still built a path into real competition through coaching, cl...
Racing Through Anxiety: Danika Miles Inspires Young Racers
Drag racing taught Danika Miles how to perform under pressure, but dirt racing forced her to rebuild everything she thought she knew. Danika is 18, already nine years into motorsports, and she’s not sugarcoating what it takes to grow up around ...
Katlyn Calhoun Explains Why Racing Is A Way Of Life
A dirt sprint car doesn’t reward you for playing it safe, it rewards you for understanding chaos. We’re joined by 17-year-old Florida racer Katlyn Calhoun, who’s making the leap from quarter midgets to a 600 micro sprint and a winged 360 sprint...
WMN-Fuel Her Future with Melinda Russell: So God Made A Racer
We share an original “So God Made a Racer” tribute that puts the real work of racing front and center, from late-night wrenching to the courage it takes to keep chasing a dream. We also explain why our mission is to connect and celebrate women ...
Autumn DeRossett: What Happens When Racing Gear Finally Fits Women
She was nine years old, terrified on her first passes, and by the end of her first race day she was holding a win and wondering how she ever thought racing was “not cool.” Melinda Russell sits down with Autumn DeRossett, an NHRA drag racer who ...
Fuel Her Future Episode 1: The Secret To Getting “Ready” Is Starting
Waiting feels responsible, but it’s often the quiet place where big dreams stall. Fuel Her Future launches with Melinda Russell’s clearest message yet: you don’t have to have everything figured out to move forward, you just have to take one ste...
Holley Spake: Fried Chicken, Hairless Cats, And Full Throttle
A 13-year-old micro sprint driver tells the truth about what it takes to get fast, stay confident, and keep learning on a dirt oval. We’re joined by Holly Spake from Southeast Texas, and her racing timeline is wild: eight years in the sport alr...
Kelly Anderson: Fill Your Joy Tank And Quit Overthinking It
A lot of people think you have to start racing young, have the “right” connections, and already know what you’re doing. Kelly Barr Anderson proves the opposite. She started drag racing at 51, fell in love on her first pass, and found a communit...
The Jernigans: A Michigan Short Track Family That Races Together
A mom climbs into a race car, hates it, swears they must be the worst parents ever for letting their teen do this… then takes one more run and falls in love with racing. That turn is the heartbeat of our conversation with Bobby Joe Jernigan and...
Sprint Car Driver Natalie Waters Uses Racing to Fight Bullying
A sprint car at 150 mph is loud, fast, and impossible to ignore and that’s exactly why Natalie Waters uses racing to start conversations most adults avoid. Natalie races 410 wing sprint cars on asphalt, grew up in quarter midgets, and now balan...
Amber Eberspeaker: From Go Karts To Street Stocks In Michigan
She loved speed before she could spell it, and she’s still chasing it as a mom, a competitor, and a hands-on racer from Greenville, Michigan. We sit down with Amber Eberspeaker to hear how a childhood around go-kart tracks and family racing sto...
Ariel Bayarski Explains How She Balances School Work And National Racing
A 20-year-old college student lines up on a national short course off-road grid, straps into a Can-Am X3, and expects herself to perform like a pro, because she is one. We talk with Ariel Bayarski about how she got pulled into motorsports as a ...
Linzi Theobald Meserve: From Junior Dragsters To A 1968 Barracuda Legacy
A family buys a junior dragster thinking it will be a short-lived hobby. A few years later, it has become a full-blown way of life, and for Lindsay Meserve, it starts with a seven-year-old’s first pass and never really lets go. I talk with Lind...
Gina Schild-Knowles: Short Track Racing Survives When Communities Show Up
Short tracks aren’t just where racing happens. They’re where careers start, families gather, and a whole town learns what a Saturday night feels like. I’m joined by Gina Schild Knowles, a lifelong motorsports pro whose path runs through Texas r...
SPECIAL MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND PODCAST--RIDE SAFE FOUNDATION--What If The Most Dangerous Machine On The Farm Is The One That Feels Like A Toy
A kid on an ATV can look like pure summer fun, right up until it becomes an emergency. We sit down with Kristen Almer of the Ride Safe Foundation to talk about the reality most families never see: the repeat patterns behind youth ATV and UTV cr...
A Mother And Daughter Build A Purpose-Driven Brand That Helps Fund Cancer Research
Your phone is the one thing you can’t afford to lose at the track, on a trip, or in the middle of a packed day, so why do we keep stuffing it into pockets that don’t exist or burying it at the bottom of a bag? I’m joined by Tammy and Elizabeth,...
If Your Car Likes To Roll Maybe It Is Time To Move Up with Sophie Anderson
A dirt track career can start with a dream, then immediately test you with fire, rollovers, and a rulebook you didn’t know you broke. That’s why our conversation with young Midwest Modified racer Sophie Anderson hits so hard: she’s honest about...
Stefy Bau: She Lost Her Racing Career And Built A New Path For Women In Motorsport
A championship career can disappear in a split second. What happens next is the part nobody trains you for. We sit down with Stefy, an Italian-born motocross world champion who wins three world titles, races against men on some of ...
Kelly Coss: What If Confidence Is The Real Finish Line
You can love racing your whole life and still believe you “missed your chance” to drive. That’s why our conversation with 20-year-old A-class micro sprint driver Kelly Coss hits so hard. Kelly grew up around speed, spent years as a Friday-night...
Brina Seng: How A Dirt Track Meteorologist Turned Haters Into Fans
A weekly weather report filmed in the rain probably should not be a turning point in racing culture, but that is exactly what happens at River Cities Speedway. We talk with Brina Sang, a Grand Forks, North Dakota native who grew up at the track...
