Women's Motorsports Network Podcast & Let's Talk Racing LIVE
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.
Let's Talk Racing LIVE airs on Wednesdays at 7pm EASTERN TIME on the Women's Motorsports Network-A Media Company Facebook Page.
https://www.facebook.com/womensmotorsportsnetworkandpodcast
Melinda Russell
Women's Motorsports Network Podcast & Let's Talk Racing LIVE
Ashley Winslett: Smooth is Fast: Life Lessons from a Capsule Boat
Ashley Winslet balances her day job as an assistant manager working with elephants at the Dallas Zoo with her passion for high-speed flat bottom boat racing, reaching speeds up to 142 mph on water. As one of only three female flat bottom drivers in the country, she's making waves in the sport after winning her first two races of the 2024 season.
• Growing up in a racing family with her first race technically happening before she was born
• Starting in stock eliminator boats in 2018 before progressing to top eliminator and now driving the legendary War Party boat
• Winning the Pro Comp Flat championship last year before moving up to Top Alcohol Flat this season
• Racing across the country in the inaugural World Series of Top Alcohol Flat
• Overcoming skepticism as a female driver by focusing on her abilities
• Following the advice "smooth is fast" when driving a flat bottom boat that requires constant adjustments
• Getting thrown in the water after her first win with her phone still in her pocket
• Promoting the sport through "show and shines" and social media to attract new fans
• Using Facebook (War Party 556 TAF) and TikTok (War Party Racing) to share her racing journey
You can catch Ashley racing next in Dexter, Oregon on July 19th-20th. Follow her journey on social media or come out to the races to see her in action.
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/
X: https://x.com/IWMANation
FACEBOOK Personal Page: https://www.facebook.com/melinda.ann.russell
Welcome to the Women's Motorsports Network podcast, the show that puts the spotlight on the incredible women who fuel the world of motorsports, from drivers to crew members, engineers to fans and everyone in between. We're here to celebrate the trailblazers, dreamers and doers shaping the sport we love. Each episode we share inspiring stories of females of all ages, from every corner of the motorsports universe, past, present and future. It's a journey through the seasons of life filled with heartfelt moments, laughter and a whole lot of horsepower. So, whether you're a lifelong fan, a racer yourself or simply curious about the extraordinary women behind the wheel, settle in, relax and enjoy a fun and uplifting ride with us. This is the women's motorsports network podcast, connecting and celebrating women in motorsports, one story at a time. Let's hit the track.
Speaker 2:picture this you're at the track looking at all the merch trailers. What do you see? Picture this. You're at the track looking at all the merch trailers. What do you see? Shirts and hats everywhere, and you think I want more. That's how 4 Left Turns was born. At 4 Left Turns, we create unique products for race fans. Our retail website is 4leftturnsnet and if you're looking to stock your gift shop or merch trailer, we also sell wholesale. 4 Left Turns is a one-stop shop for everything racing Well, except shirts and hats we don't wholesale. Four Left Turns is a one-stop shop for everything racing Well, except shirts and hats. We don't do those Made for race fans by race fans. Fourleftturnsnet.
Speaker 1:Hello everyone. This is Melinda Russell with the Women's Motorsports Network podcast, and my guest today is Ashley Winslet, and Ashley comes to us from Texas, but I'm going to let her tell you more about herself. So, ashley, welcome to the show. And we always start with a little bit about yourself. So share your family, your pets, where you work, all those good things, so we can get to know you better.
Speaker 3:Yeah, my name is Ashley Winslet. I live in Dallas, texas. I've been here for about six, seven years now. I have a dog Her name is Roxy and then my parents and my older brother live outside of Austin where we grew up. We grew up in Pflugerville, texas. My day job is I'm an assistant manager at the Dallas Zoo, so I work with elephants and a bunch of hoofstock, so that is my day job.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's interesting. I haven't ever had anybody that worked at the zoo, so you're my first. So that's pretty cool. We'll have to talk about that in a little bit. So very, very cool. So, ashley, tell me how a pretty thing like you in Dallas, texas, got interested in motorsports.
Speaker 3:So I first started truly racing in 2016, but I first got involved. My mom likes to say my first race was before I was born. It was when she was pregnant with me. Um, so I've been around it since I was born, um. We first started actually going to races, um, just as spectators, um. And then we kind of started hanging around two boats the War Party, tabagaw Flat and then Flat Crazy. Then we just kind of started getting integrated into War Party. We truly became crew members and then we just followed them around mainly Texas and Oklahoma, and then we would go to Arizona. Occasionally. They would go all throughout the country, but we would just kind of follow them around there, um.
Speaker 3:And then Jerry, who drove war party um. He initially owned it. He passed away in 2010, um pancreatic cancer, um. So they took a few years off. Then his nancy um wanted to go racing again. Uh, she didn't like the boat in storage, so she um recruited bill diaz to drive the boat for her. Um. So they drove the boat up until 2020 whenever she passed away. Um. And then bill diaz kept the boat and then I started driving it.
Speaker 3:I got my license last year in it and then I am fully driving it this year okay, so this is really your first year to do that yeah, I started driving an open boat, so a slower boat with stock eliminator it's like nine second class in a thousand feet back in 2018, and then I moved up classes in 2023 to a top eliminator and then the following year I went ahead and I still actually stole my brother's alcohol engine because he had taken a break from racing. So I went ahead and just popped that right into my boat, went even faster, ran about 620, 630s and then for two years I actually won the championship last year in Pro Comp Flat and then so I just decided to keep on moving up.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and that's a you know, I've watched boats race and I've watched it on TV and that To me that looks so much scarier than driving a car, so is it scary to be in that boat?
Speaker 3:Um, it is definitely. It has different dangers. I mean, in a car you have fire. Um so that kind of makes me nervous, uh, but uh water, yeah, if you do happen to crash, it can do some damage because you're rolling in it, it catches you, but it's also your momentum still pulls you, so it can definitely do some damage. But it's an awesome feeling going down the lake that fast.
Speaker 1:I'll bet it is. I don't want to do it, but I can imagine that it is exciting. I'm just you know what, I'm not really a big water person. I mean like I don't like water over my head. So being in a boat and thinking about that is not my thing. So I admire people that do that even more because of what you do and how fast you go and who gives me the willies. But I love watching it. That's the thing. I love watching it for sure. So you know you can be doing a lot of things on the weekends other than racing a boat. Why do you keep going back and doing that on the weekends instead of hanging out at home or, you know, going to the pool or wherever?
Speaker 3:I mean, I've been a part of boat racing, yeah, since I was a little kid. Um, actually, one of my favorite races used to be marble falls. Right now we're taking a break, um, from that location, but, uh, it used to be my favorite race. Uh, my birthday is in august, um, and a lot of our crew members and old, old crew back when I was a kid, all our birthdays were in august, so we always celebrated our birthday there. So while other kids were, you know, having sleepovers, birthday parties at different parks, I was at the boat races, uh, with our racing family, uh, watching races.
Speaker 3:So it's just been a part of my life. I couldn't imagine not doing it. Um and yeah, but racing, it's just a huge family. Um, everyone is out there to support each other. You can go and ask for parts to your next door neighbor. You may be racing them next round, they don't care, they're going to give you the part if you can. So it's just a big family.
Speaker 1:It really is, and and that's racing in general. I mean, wherever you go, any kind of racing, it really is a family. That's what I hear over and over and over from people. It's, you know, one of the reasons why they keep going back every weekend is because of the people, because of the people that you spend the time with, for sure. So so tell me about your boat. Have you always raced? You've always raced this boat. I take it. So tell me about it. What kind of boat is it? What class is it? What color is it? All the things.
Speaker 3:So I technically haven't just started racing this boat just this year, but I've always driven the flat bottom style of boat, so there's several different styles. So the boat that I drive is a flat bottom, so the bottom is basically fat, flat, and then it's kind of goes to a point at the tip and then obviously the right foot is gas but the left foot actually has cavitation plates in the back of the boat and so that controls how high the nose of the boat is in the water. So it's a little bit more of a driving boat, whereas like a hydro, you just have a gas pedal, you just smash it and go A flat bottom. You truly have to drive all the way down the course and if you mess up things can go bad. So it's definitely a driving. It's definitely a driving boat, um, and so that's my favorite um. So when I originally started driving I was in an open boat, so, um, kind of like what you see on a lake, similar like that um, but what I'm in now it's a capsule boat.
Speaker 3:So technically there's kind of like the firefighter lid on top yeah and there's a little, basically pod, on the inside of the boat that if you crash it breaks away from the boat yeah um. So no one hopefully gets injured. The motor can't hit you with things crashing um. So I've been driving that style of boat the capsule tabagal flat bottom um just this year so I'm definitely still learning uh I got my license last year, at the very end of last year, but I am truly racing, uh, just this year.
Speaker 3:So we've had two races this year, um already, and I've been very lucky to win both of them.
Speaker 1:Oh, good for you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we still have three more to go. My next race is actually next week in Oregon at the Dexter Reservoir, so I'm super excited for that. I've never been there. I know it's beautiful up there, so I'm super excited to go out there and be out there to race up with everyone.
Speaker 1:So I don't think of Texas as being a place where there would be a lot of water for you to race, but apparently there's enough for you to do that. Do you go to the same place in Texas, or do you have different places where you race?
Speaker 3:So we race in different places generally. So there's some places that we'll race at every year and other places that'll just kind of pop up every once in a while. Um. So we race on rivers, we race on lakes. Um, in Missouri there's actually a man-made um specifically made for drag boat racing track. So really it's just kind of finding water and getting the cities and everyone to agree to allow us to come out there and race. One of my favorite tracks is actually St Angelo. You wouldn't think out in the middle of West Texas there'd be a lake, but there is, uh, and that's actually one of my favorite tracks okay, all right.
Speaker 1:So the lake in missouri, is it like near the, the branson lake of the ozarks?
Speaker 3:and they actually built this did you say they built it for racing? Yeah, so, uh, lucas oil actually built it. It's on their property. Uh, so it's actually called lake lucas. Um, it's in wheatland, wheatland, missouri, yeah, um, so it's purposely built just for just for boat racing okay, and do they let other people go on the lake when there's not boat racing?
Speaker 3:no, no no it's it's a really skinny, just straight, long, long track um, and then it has like two little out ramps where you can drive and get out, get off of the track on both sides. So it's truly purposely built just just for drag racing.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's interesting for sure. What's your favorite? You said you've never been to the one that you're going to, but do you have a favorite one that you?
Speaker 3:have been to Um. I really liked marble falls. Right now we not racing there, so um, san angelo is probably my second favorite. I love the track. It's great for spectators um. You can completely line the whole track with spectators. Everyone can see everything. It's really open, um, and I've had a lot of great luck there okay well then, that's why you love that.
Speaker 2:I won a few there, so I do really enjoy it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's good, and the more you win there, the more confidence you have and the more you win. So that's kind of a goes in circles, doesn't it? So in boat racing do you have marketing partners like you do, like car racing would do? And if so, do you want to mention any of your partners?
Speaker 3:We do have some sponsors, but it's not like quite as big as car racing. It's definitely a little bit more difficult to get. Drag bull racing isn't quite as popular, but I do have quite a few sponsors. They're more like a lot of them are just kind of like people and family friends that help out. Okay, but people like Steve Pagan, Robin Banks, Fastline Fabrication, DSM Racing. They've helped me out quite a bit and I definitely appreciate everything that they've done so and you know you don't have to share particulars.
Speaker 1:But other than the cost of the boat, which I know can probably vary when you go to the go to the race on the weekend, what are some of the expenses? You would have Gas for the boat, do you pay like pit pass or you know some registration? I guess it would be called for you Tell me about some of those costs on the weekend.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we have registration. So we register the boat and then, depending on what association you race at, you get so many bands with it. So some places you have to even drive, you have to purchase a driver's band, whereas others you'll get a driver's band and like three crew members. So it just kind of depends where it's at, and they're generally like $100 each. And then you have to buy car passes and RV passes, if we do have an RV, if it's close enough. But a lot of our big cost is going to be diesel to get the trailer and the boat to the location.
Speaker 3:So, like this year, we're doing the World Series of Top Alcohol Flat. It's kind of the first national series that we're trying to get every. We're trying to hit every association within the country to try to kind of spread the wealth share what Top of Cal Flat is. So we were in Bakersfield, california, for our first race. We were here in San Angelo, texas. The second we're going to Dexter, oregon, here in a week and then we're going to Wheatland, missouri, and then we're going to go back to Bakersfield, california. So we're kind of traveling all over the country. So it's a lot of fuel, lot of fuel and it'll be a lot of hotel costs as well.
Speaker 1:Right, those are kind of bigger, bigger items for us. Yeah, yeah, for sure, and and those are. So that's like five races, do you and? And are those all one? You said different series, so are they all different series?
Speaker 3:And what series would those be? So there's different associations. So this year we're trying to kind of create our own series. So we're hitting all the different associations. So there's technically five associations within large associations within the US. You have NJBA out in California, you have ADBA uh in Arizona.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:CDBA is in Columbia, it's, it's the Oregon kind of up Northwest. Sdba is Southern drag boat association. It's mainly here in Texas, a little bit Oklahoma, and then KDBA is Kentuckyucky drag boat association. It's there in kentucky, oklahoma as well.
Speaker 1:okay, um yeah yeah, so that's pretty cool. Are there a lot of women that race in in boat racing?
Speaker 3:there's not a ton of us. There's maybe 20 20 total out of all the associations. Okay, so there's not a ton. There are two other female flat bottom divers like myself. So when we do happen to meet each other at the track, we always go talk, hang out a little bit as much as we can. We always try to support each other on social media. Yeah there's not a ton of us, unfortunately, but it definitely has been growing within the last several years, which is very good to see.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely so. Where and where are those ladies from, Do you know?
Speaker 3:Um, jojo is from California, I believe, and I think Tanya is in Arizona.
Speaker 1:I'm not exactly sure. Okay, so you're the only Texas girl, probably, or one of the few.
Speaker 3:For the flat bottom, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's, yeah, there's only, there's only three of us right now.
Speaker 1:Okay, All right. Well, it'll grow once they see you race. And that's the thing you have to spread the word. And whenever you go to these tracks, you call them tracks, which I knew that. But I always have to stop and think, because to me it doesn't seem like a track, but yet it is. And then you know it's getting people there to watch, because if people come out and watch and they love boats, which is why they would come to watch you know my husband loves motorcycles so he likes going to the motorcycle races, Right, and so if you can get them out there to watch and promote, then you never know it's going to spark somebody's interest to do that for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So, like in San Angelo, we did uh, we call it a show and shine. So we like, take your boat out there, you shine it all up and then you just let public kind of look at it. So we had our Steve Pagan had a sponsor, he was our sponsor, he had a. He has a local bar called the Tilted Bug in San Angelo. So we took all the alcohol, flat tobacco, flat bottoms there. We were there for like three, three, three hours probably got to look at it. You know, just trying to bring awareness. Like hey, if you go down five miles at the lake, we're here racing. Come out, come out and see us.
Speaker 3:Um, yeah, I always love show and shines, I always try to. But the capsule boat is really cool to kind of help the kids and let them sit inside the capsules. Really cool to kind of help the kids and let them sit inside the capsules. Um, some of them get a little scared if you close the capsule, so just gotta, gotta see what they like. But uh, yeah, I love, love, uh trying to promote this sport and especially getting kids excited about this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, cause they'll say mom, dad, we want to go watch the boats race. You know? Yeah for sure, dad, we want to go watch the boats race, you know? Yeah for sure. Those are the kind of things that I think we don't do enough in all of motorsports Because, like I live in Kalamazoo, michigan, and they have a lot of big races and you know it's a nice track and it's been here a long time, you'd be surprised at how many people don't even know it's here, and they may have lived here, but if they have no reason to be involved or have any connections that race, they really don't know. And so that's the thing about getting the word out. And a bar is a perfect place because it's not a boat dealer, where you're already going to find people that like boats, because people that like boats probably know about the boat racing, right, exactly, yeah to find people that like boats, because people that like boats probably know about the boat racing right, exactly.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's people that don't know exactly know that it's there and they hopefully you can get them interested in the sport um, so that they actually come out and show up, yeah there was a.
Speaker 1:I went to a conference one time and they talked about the big piece of the pie. So if the audience is a pie, the smaller sliver is the people that already know about it and the big piece of the pie are the people we have to reach. So you know and I think social media helps that you know for sure as well too. But yeah, so let's say it's race day. Do you have any kind of a superstition? Or you have, like, certain things you always do and anything along those lines?
Speaker 3:Me and my mom have a handshake that we always do before she puts me in the water. So she's we call them toe hose she basically she's the one that drives the boat trailer uh, puts me in the water and takes me out of the water. Um, so she always. We have a special handshake that we do every time she puts me in the water. Um, other ways not really. I don't eat a ton on race day, um, it's just, it's hot generally, um, a little bit of nerves, you're getting strapped in really tight, don't want to eat. Um, so I'll generally, uh, eat Froot Loops. I'll get a like, get some Froot Loops, put it in like a little red solo cup, just nibble on it throughout the day and then, once we're done racing, I'll.
Speaker 1:I'll eat stuff, but otherwise yeah, yeah, that's, that's the normal most, and even guys, uh, but I think it's mostly women too that don't don't eat till they're done racing. You know it's just better not to have all that log, and you know, and especially if you eat something heavy or whatever, and and we know that food at the racetrack is not, you know, your most, your most healthy, lightest food. So yeah, for sure. It's really greasy.
Speaker 1:Greasy it lays there in your stomach. Yeah, I can't, yeah for sure. So, ashley, what do you do when you have a bad day? We all have them Every kind of racing. You're going to lose more than you win, although you've won two out of two. So I can't say that about you. But what happens on a bad day? How do you get yourself over that?
Speaker 3:so when I first started racing, I kind of let people get in my head. It was a little bit of a struggle. People were kind of questioning whether I should not know whether I should be doing it, whether I was capable of doing it, so I definitely let people in my head. So I definitely had to learn to just focus on me. Doesn't matter who's in the other lane. So really I just try to focus right now.
Speaker 3:Getting from A to B, getting just getting to the end of the track, making sure I'm doing what I need to do. That way, if a wind light comes on, awesome. If it doesn't, I put my best foot forward. Yeah, um, there's nothing else I really could have done. You know, I have all the faith in my crew members uh, bill diaz, todd schwartz, my dad, my they're not going to put me out there without knowing that boat is 100% safe. So I have all the trust in them and I'm just going to do my best and then, at the end of the day, if we win, we win. If not, at least I got to hang out with some of my favorite people and got to be at a really awesome location and just being grateful for being able to do what we are able to do in motorsports.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Really just kind of taking a step back and just like looking at the big picture a little bit.
Speaker 1:Right, because how lucky are you to drive a boat or race a boat? I mean, when you look at the, like you said, the big scheme of things you're, you're definitely in the minority and and so you just got to be grateful that you have that opportunity. If it's something you love, then you should go for it and do it, and a lot, of, a lot of women even car racing or whatever you know. I hear him say, oh, I always wanted to race. Or, you know, maybe I'm interviewing their daughter and they'll say, yeah, I always wanted to race, but I never had the chance. I'm glad my daughter gets the chance, and that's kind of sad. You know that they didn't get to and so we have to be grateful.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean I am super grateful. I mean Bill Diaz is literally letting me drive his boat, so he obviously has a lot of faith in me. But yeah, I hear that as well sometimes and I just, if it's your dream, I just go for it. Yeah, just try to do it. I mean, sometimes things can't happen, but if it's within your power, definitely try to make it so.
Speaker 1:do you have to do a lot of maintenance, like between races? Is there a lot of work to do on the boat to keep it up for the next race, and if so, are you doing that or who's doing that?
Speaker 3:So there is definitely maintenance in between the boats. So when it was my open boat I would do it myself, um, but with this boat it actually lives at bill shop in arizona so he does all of this stuff in between the races um, and gets everything ready, gets the trailer ready.
Speaker 3:He just says it all yeah, isn't that nice yeah, um, so sometimes we will do things at the track before the race, um, if he wasn't able to get to it, um, and then we'll try to finish everything that we possibly can at the track while he has help, um, but sometimes he does have to, you know, take the motor out of the boat, go through it at his shop.
Speaker 3:But yeah, races we say races are generally won at home and in the pits, not on the water, so making sure all your parts are good and everything's in working condition is definitely key before you even get on the water.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've heard that. In fact I I interviewed a 14 year old boy that races against way older men. In fact he races his dad and his grandpa on a in the asphalt late model or whatever. He said the same thing he said ever since I've grown up around racing, which he did. Um, he said my dad always says races are won in the shop, not on the racetrack.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So whenever I was in my open boat, my parents are two and a half hours away, so my boat lives at their shop. So I would go home on my weekends, work on the boat for my two or three days that I had off and then I would come come back home, okay, to Dallas yeah, lots of driving.
Speaker 1:So if, if you know, let's say you're at the race races and someone comes up to you and says my daughter loves boats she loves you know she wants to get into boat racing, what would you say to them is it a good sport for girls to be in and how? How do you get started racing a boat other than you know? I heard your story are. Are there other ways for people?
Speaker 3:yeah. So there's a lot of kids um actually start in jet skis uh, we call it personal watercraft. So it's a great way for kids to kind of get into boat racing, kind of a little bit cheaper way, um to make sure that they uh are really into it. Um, but yeah, that's a great way for kids to get started and then technically, if you are 16 and have a boater's license, you can start driving a stock eliminator, and then you have to be, I believe, 18 to go up any higher than that. But I mean, right now there's quite a lot of boats on out there for sale, so I would probably try to try to help them figure out which boat style they wanted to drive and then, yeah, I would try to help them, however, however I could, and then probably let them get in the capsule boat to show them how fun a capsule boat is.
Speaker 1:Right, right, exactly yeah. Has anyone given you any advice that's kind of stuck with you during your racing career? Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with racing, it could be just life advice.
Speaker 3:One of Bill's favorite quotes that he always tells me is smooth is fast. So whenever for flat bottom, whenever you're moving the pedals for the cavitation plates for your nose, if you do things too fast the boat doesn't like it. And it does crazy things, so you have to do things very smooth to keep the boat happy, to make sure that's going fast.
Speaker 1:That makes sense to me. I can see that you know for sure. Okay, so do you have a favorite race memory? Or maybe it could be a good memory, it could be a bad memory, just a favorite memory from your time on the water, a favorite memory from your time on the water, um, I know so.
Speaker 3:in boat racing, whenever you win a class um for your first time, you get thrown into the water.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's nice.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's nice and refreshing, yeah, Um. So the very first time I was thrown thrown in it was when I was racing stock eliminator. I had won and my older brother actually came, ran all the way to the outramp, drug me out of the boat and then threw me in the water. He just kind of dove straight in the water. The sad part was we were watching the weather right before then because there were storms coming and I apparently had put my cell phone in my pocket before I raced.
Speaker 2:So, immediately.
Speaker 3:There's a video. You can see me immediately pulling my phone out afterwards because I realized that it was in there. Yeah, but yeah and then. Yeah, probably when I got my license for Tabagal Hall Flat last year, me just making that full, full track pass, smiling ear to ear and just looking at, looking at the outramp and there's like 20, 30 people smiling and just as excited as I was, so it was pretty awesome.
Speaker 1:Isn't that nice to know that you've got such a good support system.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Especially when.
Speaker 3:I was getting my license. I could hear people when you're sitting on the line. You can still hear people screaming for you whenever they're talking on the on the microphone, um, so you could hear people yelling and screaming go girl, or whatever. It was pretty awesome.
Speaker 1:I bet it was. That had to be a great moment for you to remember, for sure. So, ashley, what about social media? I'm sure you use it. What platforms do you use and how do you use it to promote your racing, maybe get attention for sponsors, that kind of thing?
Speaker 3:so my main thing is facebook. So we have a facebook page. Uh, war party 556, taf, um, that's the main one that we use. Try to keep all of our fans up to date. And then I just recently created t TikTok. Try to get into the TikTok realm. And that one is is war party racing.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:We had some of our friends create a production company, SoCo productions so they've been actually filming us this entire year myself, and actually just kind of the whole series. So they're called SoCo productions. So he's on YouTube and then he's also on Facebook as well. He's creating some pretty awesome, awesome videos for us.
Speaker 1:I'll bet and you know TikTok has a lot of you're either you're either like TikTok or you don't. I don't think there's a lot of middle ground there, all the press it gets and everything, but there's no better sport than motor sports to be on Tik TOK, yeah, whether it's car racing, boat racing, whatever it might be, because of the action and the speed. And so, you know, be smart just like any other social media platform. But I just think Tik TOK is a great platform to show what you're doing, you're, you're racing, and even to show little short clips of getting in the boat, getting in the water, whatever you do, you know it really explains it. People, a lot of people are visual, they want to see it, you know.
Speaker 3:And so tiktok's great for that, so good for you, you'll yeah, I think tiktok, it gives you a wide, wide range of people and then, yeah, it goes all over the world, so you just got to try to key into that right audience. So, yeah, which is what I'm trying to do right now.
Speaker 1:So that's good. That's good for sure. So, ashley, is there anything that we haven't talked about that you want to share, about yourself or your racing, maybe upcoming you said you're going to be in Oregon in a couple of weeks Anything at all that you want to share so we can keep track of where you are and how you're doing?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we're going to be in Oregon July 19th and 20th, so if you're out in Oregon, come check us out. Otherwise, yeah, you can follow us on our social media platforms. The series also has a Facebook page as well, so you can go check that out, yeah.
Speaker 1:Sounds good. Well, I've enjoyed talking to you. You know I don't get very many boat racers and so I have interviewed a couple couple, but it's been a long time and I always, I always like talking to you because you just you're so calm and like it's not a big deal to race a boat, but it is a big deal. How fast do you go? How, what's the fastest you've gone? Do you know?
Speaker 3:uh, I think it was a few weeks ago, it was 142. So yeah, I mean boat racing it definitely. It evolves more because you're out there on the rope by yourself, so you're holding onto a rope, you're starting your own motor yeah you know you have to close for capsule.
Speaker 3:You have to close the capsule, make sure it's locked, put it in gear. You have to do all that. There's no one out there to help you. You are by yourself, so it's. It's definitely a little bit more than some of the car racing, yeah oh yeah, for sure but, but yeah yeah, well, I just I just think it's so interesting and I would.
Speaker 1:I would let you know michigan is got a lot lakes. I bet there's some good boat racing up here. If you ever get this direction, I'd love to come and watch because, yeah, that's so fun. It reminds me, and I think they're called cigarette boats. Okay, do you know what those are? I'm sure you know what those are. So my husband and I were in Key West Florida several, probably 10 years ago and it happened to be the weekend that they were racing there and the boats were parked on the street where all the bars and restaurants are. But the boats would be parked on the street and you could just walk up and talk to the driver or the people and look at the boat. And I swear they were a block long, they were so big, so big, but that was really those guys are massive yeah wow, so massive.
Speaker 1:So you know, that was kind of my first introduction to people that race boats and what kind of boats. And you know, we we had one guy that really talked to us for quite a while and he was so interesting and for two people, my husband and I, who don't really know anything, you know, he was just happy to share and so that that was pretty, pretty cool. And then I'm like I bet there's some women that race boats. I got to check that out, yeah, oh yeah, we need more and more women out there to race for sure. Well, thanks for being with me today. I appreciate you taking time. Are you sure there's nothing else you want to share?
Speaker 3:I don't. I don't think so. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Oh, I'm happy. I'm happy that you could be on the show. So I'm going to say thank you and and we'll end the recording, and, if you just hang on for a minute, I've got some information for you.
Speaker 3:All right Cool.
Speaker 1:That's it for this episode of the Women's Motorsports Network podcast. We hope you've been inspired by the stories I shared today and feel more connected to the amazing community of women in motorsports today. And feel more connected to the amazing community of women in motorsports. Remember, whether you're behind the wheel in the pits or cheering from the stands, your story matters and together we're driving change and celebrating every milestone. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe, leave us a review and share it with someone who loves motorsports as much as you do, and don't forget to follow us on facebook and instagram for updates, behind the scenes content and more incredible stories. So until next time, stay inspired, stay connected and keep racing through life. This is the women's motorsports network podcast, where every woman's story is worth celebrating.