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
448 episodes
Everything Comes With Time: Ava Boundy on Racing, Resilience and Proving Girls Belong
For Ava Boundy, the dream of becoming a race car driver didn't require years of convincing.It took about one lap.Growing up around motorsports with her father, Ava was familiar with go-karting and oval-track racing from an ...
Alexis DeJoria on Racing, Motherhood and Her NHRA Championship Dream
In this Women’s Motorsports Network conversation, Alexis DeJoria shares the story behind her journey from a motorsports-loving young girl with no family racing background to a professional Nitro Funny Car driver.Alexis discusses beginnin...
Erica Sietsma & Megan Meyer-Lingner: Proving Your Value Beyond the Racetrack
Erica Sietsma, Founder and CEO of Autofluencer, and Megan Meyer-Lingner, Head of Motorsports and Creator Strategy, join the Women’s Motorsports Network Podcast to discuss how data, authentic content, and long-term relationships can transform mo...
Jade Avedisian on ARCA Racing, Toyota Development and Her NASCAR Cup Series Dream
Jade Avedisian's racing story began unexpectedly. Her father bought her a quarter midget when she was four, but Jade initially didn't enjoy racing. When she tried again at seven, everything changed.Years of quarter midgets, micros and di...
Ashley Finney: Behind the Scenes, Building Community and Creating a Place for Women in Drag Racing
What does it mean to truly have a place in motorsports?For Ashley Finney, the answer has very little to do with sitting behind the wheel.Ashley didn't grow up in a racing family. She entered the world of drag racing through her hu...
Anissa Bezanson: How Loud Is Racing? The Truth About Hearing Damage
Hearing protection in motorsports can make the difference between enjoying race day for a lifetime and living with preventable hearing loss. In this conversation, Melinda Russell talks with audiologist Anissa Bezanson about what really h...
From Spectator to Racer: How Tiffany Towns Built Confidence One Lap at a Time
Tiffany Towns shares what it’s like to build a racing life later in adulthood, compete in a male-dominated class, and grow into her own identity on the track. From first-time nerves to first-place finishes, this conversation highlights how dirt...
Why Right to Race Matters: Tierra Hubbard Explains the Fight to Protect America's Race Tracks
Women’s motorsports and the fight for the right to race take center stage in this conversation with Tierra Hubbard, Director of Government Affairs for Racing at SEMA and PRI. She breaks down what advocacy looks like in real life, why legislatio...
Olivia Grimes on Family, Racing, and Never Giving Up
Olivia Grimes shares how a family racing tradition turned into a growing dirt-track career, from quarter midgets to winged outlaw karts and sprint cars. At just 15, she’s already learning the speed, skill, and resilience it takes to keep improv...
Maddi Gordon: Racing as a family tradition and a shared passion
Women’s motorsports is built on family, grit, and the relentless pursuit of excellence — and this conversation with Maddi Gordon brings all of that to life. From junior dragsters to Top Fuel aspirations, Maddi shares how a racing family, strong...
What Youth Racing Is Teaching Athena Rose Webster About Life
Athena Rose Webster shares what it’s like to fall in love with racing at just four years old and keep building skill, confidence, and speed as a young kart driver. From her first NASCAR experience to competing at tracks across Missouri and Kans...
Girls Belong in Racing: Zoey Smith Is Proving It Every Weekend
Racing is built in the shop just as much as it is on the track, and this conversation with 15-year-old legend car driver Zoey Smith shows exactly why that matters. From her first kart at age eight to competing in the Summer Shootout, Zoe...
The Racing Movie PONY That Could Inspire Thousands of Girls
Rebecca joined the Women's Motorsports Network to discuss her starring role as Amanda Marchetti in the upcoming feature film Pony, a story centered around two sisters competing in dirt modified racing. Although she entered the project ...
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...
