Turbocharged Life: The Lisa Kubo Story

From street racing at age four to making history as the first driver to break the seven-second barrier in a front-wheel drive car, Lisa Kubo's motorsports journey embodies the revolutionary spirit that transformed import racing from underground gatherings to professional competition.

Lisa's story begins with motorsports in her blood – her baby book even documents her two-week-old self watching her father win street races. That early exposure blossomed into a pioneering career that helped define an entire motorsport category. During our conversation, she vividly recounts the transition from being part of the "red-headed stepchildren" of racing to becoming a professional competitor overnight when organizations like Battle of the Imports, IDRC, and NHRA created platforms for import racers.

The most captivating chapter in Lisa's career came when Saturn Motorsports recruited her to challenge corporate General Motors in the quest to be the first front-wheel drive to break the seven-second barrier. "Here's us, a bunch of kids from the Honda world, going up against corporate GM," she recalls. The underdog story culminated in a historic 7.96-second pass at West Palm Beach's Moroso track – a record that earned her recognition, championship jackets, and a $10,000 bounty.

Beyond the trophies and records, Lisa reflects on how motorsports shaped her character, teaching her to be what she calls a "chameleon" who could navigate any environment from corporate sponsors to pit areas. These life lessons – emotional control, financial management, professional poise – came during her formative years when most peers were in college.

Today, Lisa manages a performance shop in Florida while rebuilding her iconic Civic race car after a 20-year hiatus. Her goal isn't necessarily to dominate again but to honor her legacy and the supporters who've encouraged her return. Follow her comeback journey on Instagram and TikTok @lisaKuboracing and witness the next chapter of this remarkable motorsports pioneer.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Women's Motorsports Network
• 1:29 Lisa's Pioneer Journey in Import Racing
• 4:21 From Street Racing to Sanctioned Events
• 9:35 Going Pro Overnight and Building a Career
• 15:17 Breaking the Seven-Second Barrier
• 21:33 Life Lessons from Motorsports
• 29:40 The Comeback Plans and Future Racing

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

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.

Speaker 1: 0:47

This is the Women's Motorsports Network podcast, connecting and celebrating women in motorsports. One story at a time. Let's hit the track. Hello everyone, this is Melinda Russell, with the Women's Motorsports Network podcast, and my guest today is Lisa. Lisa's here with me and she's going to share about herself, which, Lisa, is what I always want you to do, because nobody can tell your story like you can. So I want to welcome you to the show and would you start by telling us a little bit about yourself, whatever you're comfortable sharing.

Speaker 2: 1:29

Well, first I want to thank you for having me To get into my story. I come or actually who I am. I actually come from the professional side of, if you think, import racing, front wheel drive cars. So I was one of the pioneers over in California when we were amateurs, when we were just the kids on the streets. We came together. We actually banded with NHRA as well and had our own series. So I do have plenty of Wally's, but I'm one of the pioneers that started this front-wheel drive and import game and we made it nationwide.

Speaker 2: 2:10

Gosh, I've been all around the country. I've been to Antigua, I've been to Puerto Rico, I've been on their track, I've been everywhere. I am proud to own four world championships, two runner-up championships and when there was an elusive seven second front wheel drive because nobody thinks of hondas or anything with a big tire on the front to run sevens, that was the the big uh bounty and I took that bounty. So I am also in nhra's timeline. History books is the very first front wheel drive in history. So I I I had a very colorful past.

Speaker 1: 2:44

That's exciting though.

Speaker 2: 2:46

Oh yeah, it was great.

Speaker 1: 2:48

Yeah, absolutely so. Where did that love of motorsports start? How did you get interested and even know anything about motorsports?

Speaker 2: 2:57

Well, from motorsports I grew up. My family was very big. It's bad to say, but I'm going to have to say say it's the truth. My father was a big street racer. So, being that, I moved from California. I'm now in Kissimmee, florida. I still have everything over in my house in California, but I have my baby book that my mother had made. You know when you make? You know first steps, first this. I was two weeks old at the street races and it said Lisa saw daddy win $20 against a Chevy.

Speaker 1: 3:26

Oh, that's so cool.

Speaker 2: 3:28

So it started like that and then as I got older, they would take me to the street races. There used to be over in um off of it. I grew up in California, so down in the Alhambra area there was a zoo, it was called Zody's, and that's where everybody would meet up and the street races would start and I I would be there, obviously with my family, and they weren't able to get me out of the car, so they my father was forced to get me a helmet and and I'd sit in the back seat. My father was street race. So now you know, I'm like four or five years old and I just took on the love you know of just. I think I'm more of the. I'm not a. There's some that love to work on the love you know of just. I think I'm more of the. I'm not a. There's some that love to work on the cars.

Speaker 2: 4:07

That was never something I mean I could do it. However, I always say that there's better people that can surround you to make a great team. So I had better that worked on cars or worked on my vehicle. So I never picked up the. I could change brakes type of thing, change tires I can fix a flat. I could change brakes type of thing, change tires, I can fix a flat.

Speaker 2: 4:28

I could do that, but I was more of the adrenaline junkie. I don't know how to say it any better. I still am, to this day, an adrenaline junkie.

Speaker 1: 4:33

Wow, that's awesome. So you're four years old. You're riding in the back of your dad's car for a street race. What else have you done? Tell me your story from there to where we are today.

Speaker 2: 4:46

Well, my story started back when, you know, all that happened. We did a lot of because the generation like where we started with the Hondas and stuff like that it was. It was, you know, everybody thought it was like this revolution of of these import kids and it was always a domestic import rivalry. So, as, growing up, 18 years old, I bought my first car, I put an Itrus on my first, I had a Volkswagen Fox. I put an Itrus on it. So we had our own portion of the street races that we'd go to. We wouldn't go hang out with the domestic cars, we had the import side. So you now have us all you know, intermingling, mixing, with a lot of issues, because it was still not accepted that's something that would put the, the big tire on the front, would be on the streets with any kind of a power adder of any sort. So a lot of times, like we would go, they had car hop, like they called them, car hops we would bring, I would bring my civic amongst all the domestic guys. But because my father was so good friends and it was, you know, because a lot of people went to high school to cruise, you know so my parents would do that and they saw me grow up so they would accept me to come in. So I made a lot of domestic at the time when it was unacceptable domestic friends and I would be the only import there, I'd be the only front wheel drive. So then they started getting you know. More and more questions started coming out because now you got this four cylinder that's turbocharged and they don't understand turbocharging. It wasn't a big thing back in the late 90s. It wasn't a big thing for any any cars and the import crowd, which was us, had pretty much we were either nitrous or we were. We were turbocharged. Turbo charge was like high-end right there. And I was a turbocharged streetcar thing ran 13s on the streets and then we're talking like 30 years ago. So it was that's how that started and involved.

Speaker 2: 6:37

And then we got into racing. We used to go to Palmdale. Palmdale was up in Lancaster in California. So everybody go up there. You mix the domestics, the imports, stuff like that. You mix them and then people just started becoming friends.

Speaker 2: 6:51

But there was such a revolution of imports coming in, so many coming in, that there was somebody that said okay, because we would go to the streets right after. So there was somebody that says you know what we're going gonna make a sanctioning. You know we're gonna try this out it you, the line was clear down the street. So we were still amateur, we were, this was just kids stuff, you know, we'd have fun, we'd go go to the, the track and go race. And then, you know, meet a bunch of people and like-minded individuals that we were at the street races, that we'd see, and you know, you just it kind of like a band, it was very weird, it was like a big family, and then we would go racing and then, when you know, we'd go to the street races and then we we'd have another place on saturdays we'd go race and and that was down in carlsbad, which is down by san diego, so we'd go down there and race and a lot of the tracks.

Speaker 2: 7:41

Actually, we would go to, um, uh, big willie's stuff and that was long beach la um not lacr uh terminal island. So we would, we would kind of travel, we knew where all these guys were, so we'd go to those tracks too. So fast forward back up to where they decided they wanted to make a sanctioning event. It was because the imports were kind of, you know, we were. We were the red-headed stepchildren, not gonna lie so we made our own sanctioning. You know, frank had made Battle of the Imports, which was our own sanctioning.

Speaker 1: 8:09

And it was only for import cars, you know.

Speaker 2: 8:11

So we could have fun. So we did that, and it was so wild, it was just a bunch of 20-year-old kids running around with no supervision, so we did that and then from there it just started growing and growing. It was like wildfire at the time. So you're talking, this is like 1992, three 1994. So around 1990, it was at SEMA, because there was, you know, there was other.

Speaker 2: 8:44

Now, since Frank had started Battle of the Imports, there was other guys that opened up sanction section, events that people would go to. So now you have guys over in, you know, say, new York Jersey, where you had English Town ATCO. You'd have guys down in Texas, so you had Dallas Motorsports Motorplex, you had Houston Raceway Park, you had like that. So now we're all starting to meet each other because now you've got the magazines out there and I can remember I wish it was as fast as it is right now, because it would take three months for us to see what somebody's car ran, you know. So we all started a band together was when Mike Ferrara, who was IDRC, came in, had a meeting with us all the racers at SEMA, and said well, we got a big package for you guys. Basically, we have TV coverage. Now we're going to go and we're going to have a full sanctioning event and you're going to travel around the country and race for a championship. So, therefore, you guys will now be professional.

Speaker 2: 9:44

When I tell you you go from an amateur to professional overnight, it really did happen. So I mean it just gives you more drive to go out there and do what you have to do, to go chase your dream. We're still chasing our dream. At this time we're like, wow, we're going to go racing, you know. And to find money to do you know all that at the last minute, sema is not. And to find money to do, you know all that at the last minute, sema's not the place to be looking for a sponsorship for that year. And and we, we managed to hold it down. We had some great sponsors at the time that that really believed in us, that were there from amateur days, which was extrude hone.

Speaker 2: 10:15

And even now, you know, because I'm I'm re my original oe, like my original car, um, they I'll have extrude home with me as well, so I'll have a lot of my original sponsors because they were just there for me from day one, like when I was, when I was an amateur, overnight a pro, and then, and then, you know, now back into being an amateur, but with a pro's mindset, I guess yeah, wow, what a what an experience.

Speaker 1: 10:46

I can't even imagine the stories you could tell.

Speaker 2: 10:50

Oh, when you got a bunch of 20 something year olds running around the country with no parental supervision, you have the West coast. Then you, you know West coast is, we were wild. Then you get the East coast and mid States down South. You get us all together and we were crazy because we all just found it was like, like I said, from it's not like any other industry, because it was an industry that was formed from the bottom. So the people that were in the stands that would do, you know, would be, you know, the spectators or the fans. They were doing it just like you, like we all banded together.

Speaker 2: 11:24

So it's almost like when you say a whole industry was built and everybody is family, it made no separation between, say, me as a professional racer and you know, the guy that was up in the stands with his wife and kids, because we all were there in the very beginning. So when people say, oh gee, you know somebody from back in the day will say, oh gee, and I'm like no, but you were there. You know somebody from back in the day will say, oh gee, and I'm like no, but you were there, you helped form this industry to what it was. So therefore, all of us from back in those days would be considered the original. You know, builders of this industry.

Speaker 1: 11:55

Yeah, wow, okay, that was up to about 2000. What's been happening in the last 25 years?

Speaker 2: 12:03

Well, 2000 was my first championship, my first IDRC, and then now you got NHRA. That steps in. So NHRA came in. So we have different sanctioning bodies. There was a lot of different sanctioning bodies. So I wanted to go run with NHRA because I grew up around that as well. Right, my family obviously being into the domestic side of things. We would go to the Winter Nationals, the World Finals. So I was around nitro cars, I was around all those cars, so I would go and it seemed a very you seemed a very different. You're on a different pedestal if you have a Wally in your hand. So when NHRA stepped in they told us hey, we're going to do a sanctioning event with you guys, we're going to do 12 events. We said okay. So we committed We'll be there, we'll be there at all 12. There's a championship.

Speaker 2: 12:55

My sponsors wanted championships, so I had no choice but to go. You know, do as my sponsors said. So we chose that. And then you also had Naira, which had turned into no P. So I had taken I was doing two different sanctioning bodies professionally, you know, two different sanctioning bodies. I couldn't do battle the imports anymore because my sponsors wanted with the commitments. They wanted the TV time they wanted where there was gonna be more exposure for the ROI for them. So I followed Nopi and Naira and.

Speaker 2: 13:28

NHRA for their year. So I took home with NHRA. I took home two runner-up championships. Now, mind you, this spans into 2005, because I had jumped from my my Civic, which was my original car In 2003,. I wrecked in San Antonio, wrecked the car, and then that's when a company called Saturn Motorsports approached me and asked me if I just wanted to be just a pilot, just a shoe. And that's it. You know, a pilot, just a shoe. And that's it. They said we've got the budget.

Speaker 2: 14:00

The class that they wanted to go for was for that seven-second, you know, first front-wheel drive, because now manufacturers are jumping in. You had manufacturer Ford Mazda, you had manufacturer a little bit of Honda, but General Motors was heavily involved, heavily. So Saturn Motorsports wanted to, because there was a big Saturn crowd that had no, you know, they didn't have a flagship. So they wanted somebody that was going to be a flagship for them, because General Motors had, you know, all their guys out there racing, whether it was in, you know, any kind of other form of discipline in motorsports and then also in drag racing. So they wanted to do that. Laird had. Laird owned a few saturn dealerships and then gmc pontiac, like those as well. So he wanted to make parts for the saturn cars and have those. You know where people could now purchase product for their saturn so they can upgrade them-wide, like body style, wise stuff, like that for car shows, drag racing.

Speaker 2: 15:05

So they approached me and we basically said, hey, you know, this is here's, here's an open credit card and have at it. So this is the only stipulation was you'd be the first to run sevens. We're gonna beat corporate General Motors. Here's us, a bunch of kids from the Honda thinking, oh, my goodness, we have to go up against corporate General Motors. That is no joke. Like you are not like we are just a Saturn dealership, you know, representing a Saturn dealership. And they put the pressure on us and you know, we said we'll do it, we can do it. And we said we'll do it, we could do it.

Speaker 2: 15:39

And actually it happened down here. The first seven-second pass was me. Down here at West Palm Beach. Moroso was the first seven-second pass. I ran 7.96. And then the next day, because you have to back it up within 2% of the record within that event, so I ran an 8.00 something. So I had backed it up within the 2%, so I was able to take the record. Now, mind you, general Motors. During qualifying I ran out first qualifier I ran 7. General Motors had an issue. General Motors came back. Second round of qualifying ran 7-9. So now him and I were battling to who was going to back up this 7-second pass. So Nelson and I battled and battled who was going to back up this, this seven second pass? So Nelson and I battled and battled.

Speaker 2: 16:24

I took for that event. I was so hard pressed to make sure that I was going to do everything right that I was. I reset the track record, reset the speed record, qualified number one took, you know, took all the points, won the event. I wanted everything to do with trying to take it. But I was the first one to actually back it up. And Nelson and I were in the finals together and that's when I ran 8-0 and he didn't back it up. I think he ran like 8-1 or something like that.

Speaker 2: 16:49

You're talking 20-something 21 years ago. So I knew that I was the first one to back it up. So it was a big deal. You know, nhra presented me with a jacket of the first seven second front wheel drive. Um, mickey Thompson gave me a jacket of first seven second front wheel drive. A week after that we went to Nopi, which was another sanction event that we ran, and they had a bounty of $10,000. Who ran the first sevens you know cause these pro front wheel drives were were the hot ticket. So we went up there, we ran sevens all weekend, you know, and backed it up. So we got to take home not only the winning paycheck, we took home $10,000 as a bounty.

Speaker 2: 17:32

I liked it Glorious when they said I had it, we had to do it. We had to do it against general motors and we had to, you know, run sevens before corporate GM and we said we do it. We had to do it against General Motors, we had to run sevens before corporate GM and we said we'd do it. We said it, we did it.

Speaker 1: 17:46

Yeah, what an amazing adventure you've been on. I'm just sitting here just listening because I can't even think of what to say to ask you.

Speaker 2: 18:04

I just think it's so cool what you've done. It was awesome, easy it was. But like I was taught from my sponsors, you know, you just I guess you learn that sometimes you have to be smoke and mirrors Don't let nobody see, nobody, you know, don't let anybody see the frown. You just go out there and you just keep pushing, keep pushing, and that's all we did. We just I myself kept pushing. I didn't think at any point. You know that I would be at, you know, back then, as successful Heck. I would have thought that even 20 years later I still have an opportunity to say come on a podcast. You know you don't think that, but it's great because I did leave great, memorable impressions to people out in the motorsport community. So I'm always humbled by that and I'm always very thankful for that.

Speaker 1: 18:49

Yeah, so what are you up to now, lisa?

Speaker 2: 18:53

I actually I moved down here because the motorsport is huge. My race car, my original Civic, is down here. He's on a very slow because I'm adapting to life. It still takes a little bit to adapt to life down here. I run a shop over here in Kissimmee, onj Performance. So I I manage the shop. I I go to certain events you know where we have selling events so I go do that while I'm still building my car slowly so I could come out and just have some fun.

Speaker 1: 19:20

There's you know there's no money on the table.

Speaker 2: 19:22

There's no, nothing. It's more of a like I like to say, it's more of the appreciation and the love that I have for the industry. That's why I would bring my Civic. After I wrecked it, I didn't think he would be able to be fixed and after I wrecked him, I put him away for 20 years and people kept telling me please, come back, please. I have so many people that begged me, please come back, please come back. And I was like, okay, well, if this is possible, I'll do it. And they said your car is fixable, it's repairable. Just, we're going to pull a dent and we'll put a new cage in there. I'm like that's it. Okay, you know, slowly doing that, but I have a lot of fun meeting.

Speaker 2: 19:59

Remember, all the racers, all the. The ones that I'm surrounded with now are not about 95 of them are not the ones that I grew up racing with. So it's it's still trying to. You know figure them and you know get used to them because I can, uh, they're. You know I'll be. I'm very, very loud the way I talk, so I don't want to. They're very, not quiet, but they're just a little more reserved than me.

Speaker 2: 20:27

I'm like boy. The boys trained me well back when I was racing. I have to be, you know, unapologetically myself.

Speaker 1: 20:37

Well, you had to hold your own at that time.

Speaker 2: 20:40

Yes, oh yes, they knew better, everything was done behind you. Had to hold your own at that time. Yes, oh yes, they knew better. Everything was done behind you. Know, it was squashed real quick.

Speaker 1: 20:49

So, Lisa, how would your life be different if you had not been involved in motorsports? I mean, it's been your love and your life. What do you think you would have been doing had that not happened?

Speaker 2: 21:03

You know my my. When I was in high school, I was in AP courses. I actually wanted to be a lawyer. I wanted to be a defense attorney.

Speaker 1: 21:13

Really, but that would be an interesting life as well.

Speaker 2: 21:18

Yeah, you can see how I am very interesting. Uh, I wanted to do it like the pharmaceutical side you know to, to represent, like on the pharmaceutical side of things. So yeah, that was that was something I wanted to do and I'm glad my friends told me I was just too stupid to go and do that.

Speaker 1: 21:36

I doubt that that's true at all.

Speaker 2: 21:38

Well, I turned to something else and I was able to put like and I would have never thought that racing like I dreamt of, like I dreamed I wanted to go drag racing. I knew you know, but that was something I mean, you know, as a child. You thought you watched. Like I said, when I would go to winter nationals and the finals. I have a, I have a sister, so Stephanie and I used to go over because we used to see Shirley Mo Downey, so we used to go over and we were little girls, like I probably was 10. So that would make Stephanie like seven or eight and we would go over there just to get her autograph. To this day I think Shirley thinks I'm crazy because I call her mom and she like looks at me but I don't think she understands an impact that she made as a child. So that inner self that you don't think about shines through. I guess it came through. I wanted to be a lawyer but it never.

Speaker 1: 22:32

It didn't pan out for me and I ended up in so what are some things that you think you've learned life I call them life lessons, that from motorsports that maybe you wouldn't have learned either as early or even at all, because I think motorsports teaches so many things, especially to younger kids. I talked to so many young, young gals and they're all you know, 90% of them are so much more mature for their age and and things, and it's because of being involved in motorsports. What do you, what do you think that you've learned and you know as part of you now, because of your involvement in motorsports?

Speaker 2: 23:20

you know, I I learned actually because, again, we were young kids and we were dealing with people that were older than us and training us to be a certain way. So I think I've learned how to, I guess, say the right words. You know, sometimes words come out of your mouth or you want to do something. You, you want to act out on something because you find it unfair. I've learned that I. I I just watch and I keep an eye and then I see how I could fix things like how can I fix this? I, I take everything into account. So I, the maturity level, yes, absolutely. I want to say that it taught me so much.

Speaker 2: 24:00

I mean, when you're thrown into just having to learn, like even to learning how to work with a sponsor, you know you're walking in and and and you've got these people that are going to give you money but you don't know how. Do you know how to act? It's not even like a job interview that you go into. They're either going to hire you or they're not. So you got to going to be a chameleon or they're not. So you got to learn to be a chameleon is what it is. That's the word that I always used was chameleon. I could fit into any situation. I could any situation. You could put me inside of a room full of corporate people and I could adhere. And you could also put me into a room with all the you know the guys and I could adhere.

Speaker 2: 24:41

So I learned to be a chameleon in motorsports and I learned just how to value and how to keep an eye on everything, a very close, watchful eye on everything, because you're learning how to do your own budget. You're learning how to drive across country. At that time we didn't have phones, so I had to learn how to read a map so I could read a Thomas guide. You have phones, so I had to learn how to read a map so I could read a Thomas guide. You have to, you know, with the budgeting you have to buy a truck. So now you're going to learn about insurance. You're going to learn about the specialty insurance that you had for your race car. You're going to learn about you know every single thing Like. There's so much that you learn and I guess I would never, ever, ever, ever say I would trade this for anything, because I even what I can't think of right now off the top of my head so much that I've learned in thrown in because it's sink or swim.

Speaker 2: 25:33

So when it's fight or flight, sink or swim, you're either gonna sink, you swim, and yeah that I'm still here. So I'm, I swam. I I might've, you know, dipped under a couple of times, but there was a lot of people that would pull down and grab me and pull me out of the water. You know what I mean. There was. You learn with what friendships are, you learn the value of friendships, you learn the value of sportsmanship and how not to be a sore loser. You know, I did that in the beginning. It wasn't a loser. I wasn't mad because I lost. I was mad because my car didn't fire up on the line and I was actually pulled aside. This happened twice.

Speaker 2: 26:08

I was actually pulled aside by not even a sponsor, I was still an amateur and his name was kirk miller. He ran aem or he was one of the owners of aem. He told me. He said, lisa, never let anybody see your emotions. And I didn't understand. Well, I remember I was so mad, my car didn't fire up before going in the water box, I threw my helmet inside the car. I was angry, angry. So I I learned, you got to control your emotions. Never let anybody see your cards. I'm very like when I have to be. I'm very good at that, very good at not letting anybody see my cards.

Speaker 2: 26:42

Chameleon, I could, I'll blend into anything if I't even if I didn't say, for example, if I didn't like somebody, I could still stand and talk to them without them even knowing that I'm.

Speaker 1: 26:52

I'm not a fan of theirs.

Speaker 2: 26:53

You know, I, I, I just don't rock with them.

Speaker 1: 26:55

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 26:56

So I I've learned there was a lot of things. I grew up quick and I do not take that for granted. I I try to always use that. You know I may not be a professional driver now, but I was doing that in my 20s and those are. Those are still impressionable years of your life. You know most people were in college. I wasn't, I was racing around the country you know, learning valuable lessons how to act in front of of.

Speaker 2: 27:24

You know Matco tools. You know they pulled me aside. I didn't know that you don't wear blue jeans with your uniform, that you need to wear black pants. You are representing Matco tools and you have all of all of. You know all of their, their, their people out there in Las Vegas we had to do a Madco Tools event. I didn't know this. I didn't know this. So you learn the hard way. And sponsors and people knew that they could talk to me and they didn't have to worry about my feelings being hurt. If they were going to say it, if they had to use the chew-out words, they were going to use them. I didn't take any heart to it or offense, I just took it as okay. This is a lesson never do it again. And it never happened again. Even to this day, people laugh that no, because I, still to this day, still when I have to go to an event, we'll wear black pants mm-hmm you learned you learned well, that's for sure.

Speaker 2: 28:22

I picked up and you know it's what they want, then you do it. You know that you're representing them, so never let them down because they they aren't letting you know. So I. It was a respect. I guess it's mutual respect as well yeah.

Speaker 1: 28:37

So do you have an unforgettable moment? I, I know the seven second thing had to be yeah at the top. Do you have any other like moments that come to mind right away, that that are just you know, like at the top, things that just really mean a lot to you, or that that you'll never forget how you felt when something happened?

Speaker 2: 29:00

my goodness, there's a few that would be my wreck. Never forget my wreck.

Speaker 1: 29:03

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 29:04

First championship and I think the first time when I run. I always say it was very. It was a different feeling. It hit differently I when they they brought my car as the first car from the you know United States down to Puerto Rico to race and there weren't women doing it, so it was a very. That was you didn't. Tears never came from my eyes except for when I was down there because it was just a welcoming, the way it was. The whole event hands down was just unforgettable. I wish that we had more cameras, I wish it was more like now it would have been. I can only if I try to explain it. There's people that that remember seeing me race down there and they're like that event was crazy.

Speaker 2: 29:54

I says oh my, it was so crazy that they had to bring me through the side gate because I couldn't go through the normal staging lanes. There was so many people on top of me and I was scared, being a female, and I'm over here male dominated industry to begin with, and then I'm going into someone else's territory. So I told my team do not put stanchion posts, do not do nothing. You let they want to stand on the roof of the car. You let these guys stand on the roof of my car, I don't care. So we did that and you know it was different from being, like, say, english town at co, down here in Florida it was. It was different down in Puerto Rico, racing physically. So I think that's one because I want to go back as well. I definitely want, I want to when the car is done, I think I want to go to different countries to race him. I've raced throughout the entire United States, so I'm definitely going to put it up for where he would be able to travel to different countries to go race.

Speaker 1: 30:53

So what's your timeline look like? When will we see you back on track?

Speaker 2: 30:58

If all goes well, it'll probably be, I would say mid mid late next season.

Speaker 1: 31:05

Okay.

Speaker 2: 31:06

I'm just waiting on one part. It's just literally one part I'm waiting on to be made. So therefore I could drop the engine in. Engine's ready to go, drop the engine in and start doing all the fab work. I could get my turbo, I could get everything rolling. You know, with the, with the, what I've worked out with people, I can get all that going and instantly boom, just hit the track, go testing, relicense, everything. Cause the car, my car, in its body right now, is really defining its, its physics. It's a non-chassis car and they run sevens. I would be happy to run eight O's and if I dip into a seven I'd be happy, but the last time the car ran it ran 880. So if it ran 870, he's still done better than what he did when he retired himself into a wall and brought me.

Speaker 1: 31:58

So Absolutely so, not far away.

Speaker 2: 32:03

No, no, I just went for that one part and then after that it's, it's just rocking and rolling. You know what I mean. Like we got, I got guys on deck ready to go that are like one week, get everything there, we'll just assemble the car, we're gonna, we'll start it, we'll go, you know, day one to day seven. We're testing and I'm I'm ready.

Speaker 2: 32:22

I'm ready. You know, we're just gonna have a few things, like I have to go through the transmission, but everything else, as soon as I can get the mid-plate because I'm having that mid-plate cut as soon as we can do that fit it, we can actually, you know, get the mid-plate in and then we can, we can mount the transmission and then drop the engine in, get the axles will be no problem measure up the axles, get the axles in and then boom, fabrication. And then you start going from there because everything hard part wise, engine wise done yeah the car sits.

Speaker 2: 32:54

He's sitting in storage, basically like mom, what are you doing I? You come visit me every couple months like you own apartment.

Speaker 1: 33:01

Son, we're grown now so how will, how can we keep track if somebody's listening to this and they're like they want to keep track of you and and how the progress is going? Where would we go to do that?

Speaker 2: 33:16

well, I do have my. My main uh hangout is ig, so that's uh, at least the cuba. And then I'm trying to get you know playing on the, the, the Tik TOK. So I go on Tik TOK as well, and that's the same thing. All my handles are all uh, lisa Kubo racing. So everybody find me across that, I find me popping up somewhere.

Speaker 1: 33:37

Yeah, awesome. Well, lisa, I've just I've just been so interested in your story. I'm so glad we could connect and you could be on the show. You know there's so many women that have fallen in love. They're passionate about motorsports and they all have a great story, and yours is one of them. And it's funny because I've had a couple different people who have said well, aren't you know? I said oh, I, you know, I interview women that are involved in mother sports and they think the stories are all the same their moms, their wives, their this, their that, their dad raced, whatever it is and I'll be like, oh no, I said a lot of stories. That might be true of the facts, but the story is still always different. Everybody's story is different when they started, how they started, who helped them, where they are now, all those things, and yours is as unique as anyone else's and I just appreciate that. You took the time to be on and share with my listeners.

Speaker 2: 34:43

Oh, I appreciate it, I really do. I was so excited. I was like, oh my goodness, yes, appreciate that you took the time to be on and and share with my listeners. Oh, I appreciate, I really do. I was so excited. I was like, oh my goodness, yes, and you know anything to to always, no matter what discipline in motorsports, we're still in motorsports we all, you know right we all stand up for each other.

Speaker 2: 34:58

If there's a girl that's over in road racing that's having an issue, well, us girls in drag racing are still going to see it. We're still going to jump. You know, jump to her defense, so true.

Speaker 1: 35:09

Well, thank you so much again for being on and taking time to be with me. I really appreciate it and I hope you get that card put together very quickly so that you can get started at the beginning of the season, not the middle.

Speaker 2: 35:26

Yes, and I do appreciate you know you doing this for us women out there, just keeping our voices out there, keeping our voices heard. Us ladies are in motorsports, we're not going nowhere.

Speaker 1: 35:37

That's right, absolutely Well, thank you, lisa. Hang on while I end the recording. Okay, thanks, melinda. Well, thank you, Lisa.

Speaker 2: 35:42

Hang on while I end the recording. Okay, Thanks.

Speaker 1: 35:45

Melinda. 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. 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.