Robyn Douthit on Running a Jet Car Team & RV Life

Robyn Douthit didn’t grow up in drag racing—until life (and love) brought her into it. In this episode, she shares how reconnecting with her husband in 2009 led to a wild, rewarding motorsports lifestyle: a full-time RV family traveling across the country to put on jet-car exhibition shows. Robyn explains how JetCarsRock books events, why relationship-building with tracks matters, and what fans don’t see behind the scenes—maintenance, logistics, blip sheets, interviews, and constant content creation. She also addresses safety myths about jet cars, how their team prioritizes being good partners to tracks and racers, and why engagement on social media is a make-or-break factor for sponsors and venues. If you’ve ever wondered where you fit in motorsports without driving, Robyn’s story will light a fire.

Transcript

Welcome & Mission Of The Show

SPEAKER_00 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 trail risers, 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. Hello everyone. This is Melinda Russell with the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast. And Robin is my guest today, and I'm gonna let her tell us more about herself. So, Robin, I want to welcome you to the show. And would you start by sharing about yourself?

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Yes, thank you so much for having me, Melinda. I appreciate it. My name is Robin, and I was born and raised in San Diego, California. And when I was 21, I moved to Colorado, and that's where I had been for a very, very long time. I wasn't in the business of racing until I met my husband. And so I don't here I am. Like I we travel on the road, we do all these things. We are a full-time RV family and we entertain people with our jet-powered cars.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Exactly. And so, you know, totally different lifestyle than most people have, but one that works for you guys, which is great, and and your little doggy back there that we can see in the background. If if you're watching it, we do record video as well. But if you're if you're just listening, she has a beautiful little dog that's laying in his bed and and loves his mama and so has to stay close close by. So when about what year did you meet your husband and get interested in motorsports or get thrown into the motorsports world?

From Facebook Reunion To Racing Life

SPEAKER_01 2:32

Right. So in 2009, when Facebook was just coming around, I was single, he was single. We went to high school together, graduated the same year, same school. So we knew each other. We actually met in eighth grade on a trip to Washington, DC. We knew of each other our whole lives, and we pretty much ran in the same circles, but we never really hung out with each other. We never had any classes together. It was just the weirdest thing. But in 2009, when Facebook was coming around, we met each other on Facebook, and the rest is history. So that's been about 17 years now. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Isn't that interesting? And you know, there's good and bad, obviously, about social media, but isn't that a great, a great way because there's kids like I went to a really small school, there were only about maybe 40 or 50 kids in our class. So we everybody knew everybody, but you lose track. Like I live in Michigan now, I grew up in Illinois, and so to be able to reconnect that way and then end up, you know, getting married and having this wonderful life together, it's really cool, actually.

SPEAKER_01 3:39

It is, it is, and I kind of got thrown into it because when we first met each other, he said I because he was married previously, and he and his and his wife assumed that he would stop racing after they had children. But as we all know, a lot of men and some women, I have not met a lot of women that have the same craziness and craziness in a good way, yeah, the obsession that racing is in the blood. It is it is from an outsider looking in, it is phenomenal. So he said that that will never get in the way of his relationship with anyone else again. And here I am doing doing the thing, you know.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Yeah. So did you really know anything at all about racing or any any of that? Did you ever watch it on television? Your family liked it, or this was all brand new?

Learning Drag Racing And The RV Shift

SPEAKER_01 4:36

I really knew nothing about drag racing. I've I saw like the big cars on TV with the flames coming out the side, and like kind of am able to use that to describe what we do now to people that have no idea. But other than that, I I grew up in circle track, just regular circle track racing, going on Saturday nights and stuff like that with my dad. We never really did any, we never got in the cars, we never went into the pits, was never really immersed into that industry at all.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

So yeah, yeah. So in 2009, you you know, you found this relationship, you found this lifestyle. How long have you been living it like doing the RV life?

SPEAKER_01 5:17

We sold our house about four years ago, just over four years ago. So we've been full-time RVers for four years, and I think we put a little different twist onto the RV life of things when we were working with the RV industry on certain things, and then another one with the racing industry. So it's kind of a unique situation, and I know there's only a couple other racers that do that. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

A lot, I mean, you don't hear a lot about racers living in their RV full time. They travel with it, they take it to the racetrack, but then they go home somewhere. And so when it's not race season, then do you have like a home base where you go and stay, which is kind of your home?

Jet Car Legacy And Family Roots

SPEAKER_01 6:02

No, and we're working on that. We are working on that. We have a lot of friends around the country. You we've been racing cars. Well, I say we I've only been doing this for 17 years, so I feel like I'm just be kind of coming into my own and understanding things better. And my mental capacity for learning things is not really up there when it comes to keeping up with all the different types of cars that are out there and stuff. I'm just kind of immersed in my own little world, but you know, it it's it's a learning curve, and I'm just I just I don't know, it's just exciting to be here, but I just don't understand sometimes some of the semantics, and I'm just beginning to understand more.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

So okay, all right. So your husband was a was or is a drag racer, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:50

Yeah, and exhibition drag drag racing only. The company got their first or us, our business started in 1985. They got their first jet-powered funny car or jet car. Sorry, it wasn't a funny car, it was a jet car. So we've been in this industry entertaining fans with the jet cars for 41 years. And before that, his dad had a wheel stander, and he's extremely well known across this country as an entertainer. Smoky Joe Doth is his name. He's still alive, he's 86 years old. He travels with us still. He goes to some of our events every summer. Him and his wife do. He's 86 and she's 81. And so 41 years in the business, and that's that's all David knows. That's all he knows. He's he's had jobs over the years, but he has continued the exhibition thing since he was 18 years old. He's had his license. Yeah, so for 32 years this summer, he's been driving jet cars. That's all he's ever driven down the track, with the exception of a wheelstander.

Booking Tracks And Building Trust

SPEAKER_00 7:51

So that is amazing. That is just amazing. So tell me some uh first of all, I want to know how do you get like scheduled? I'm sure you have tracks that just every year they want you to come for certain things. Is that how it works? You know, you've been doing this a long time, and so that you're well known. They they want you to come for those certain big events. Do you get new tracks that want you to come? How does that part of it all work? The scheduling.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

David is really good at uh keeping the tracks. I I he is so good at it. He he he's such a uh nice guy, right? So every time he'll call and he talks to the tracks and he gets the right phone numbers, he does a lot of research, he builds connections, he builds trust with these tracks, and so yeah, it is they they if a track has ever had a jet car, they've probably had one of our cars there before. So he's I give him a lot of credit because he just does, he keeps an even keel with the tracks, and they seem to really, I think they seem to love him. Oh yeah, they he's just he just goes with the flow. We do get rehired back at many of the tracks over and over and over again. So and things are growing out there, so it's really nice to see.

Fleet Size, Themes, And Drivers

SPEAKER_00 9:15

It is nice to see, and I can see where the exhibition cars would be a big draw to get people to come, you know, to the track. So, how many cars do you have?

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Out of all honesty, we have four, and most teams have one or two or just one, and we started off with one and kind of worked our way up to where he's at right now, and he's not done. But right now, this is about what we can handle. So uh we have four jet funny cars, and we have a pirate theme with these jet funny cars, so and we have six drivers, six or seven drivers. I I didn't even put that number together before we came on, but yeah, we have a few drivers that we work with, and it just keeps growing and growing, and I'm along for the ride, and I'm here to help, obviously.

Robin’s Role: Ops And Media

SPEAKER_00 10:07

So I'm gonna put you on the spot. What is your main role in the business or to keep things running?

SPEAKER_01 10:15

His main role is to do make sure the cars are maintained and to book ours, and I do everything else. So I do all the social media, I do, I set up all of the pre-events. We actually work together with a lot of that stuff. We are working, we work together daily. We're in the same space as each other all day, every day. So we we do we work together with all of that, but I do all the behind the scenes stuff as as much as humanly possible, all the writing, all the social media, setting up his interviews, making sure that the tower has the blip sheets that they can read off to talk about the cars. You name it. I do it all. And yeah, it takes it's I feel like I could use a couple of assistants.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

Yeah. Because that's more than a full-time job.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

It really is. It really is. And then having to deal with anything personal, you know, being away from family, all the different things that we deal with, being on the road, not being able to be able to work on the cars where we need to, when we need to, because we don't have like that home base. So hopefully we're gonna we're working on that. We're we've been all over the country, and I just haven't been able to find a city that is perfect for us. Yeah. And maybe it's just not we're not ready. We found a couple that we really love, but they get snow, and we do not do snow. We'll do a little snow, we're not gonna do a lot of snow.

Chasing A Home Base And Warmer Winters

SPEAKER_00 11:43

No, and I live in Michigan, and and so we have had about eight to ten inches pretty pretty consistently until the last couple of days, and it's warmed up like into the almost 40s, and it's gonna be in the 40s this weekend, so we're gonna lose some of it, which is fine. You know, I had back surgery as I told you, so I can't drive or really go anywhere anyway. And riding in the car is one of the worst things that I can do. So I don't really care how much snow there is right now or how cold it is because I'm stuck inside. But if I had my choice, I would be somewhere where it was warm and sunny. Like my daughters live in Arizona, two of them. I would be there full time because I I could care less about the snow.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

Yeah, we would be in San Diego if if the racing industry and drag racing was prominent in the western side of our country, but it's not. So we kind of stick to the eastern side, and and wintering in Florida has been an amazing option. It's gonna be 76 degrees today, and it's February 11th. Yeah, so I'm excited about that. We do have some clouds today, so yeah.

Season Schedule And Nationwide Travel

SPEAKER_00 12:56

But but right now, Florida is the hot, hot spot to be, as uh the uh Daytona race uh is this weekend, and this week has been in evolution, all those places. There's been a lot of racing, and so you yeah, this time of year, Florida is really where you want to be if you're involved in racing. So when does your do you have like a season? Like when does it kind of start and and when does it, you know, kind of you know, when's the end of it? And tell me about that, and then where all do you travel to? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

Well, our schedule is always updated at jetcarsrock.com. And I just posted that on Groundhog's Day, which is February 2nd, and we we start this year, we'll start on May 14th, I believe, in Panama City, just north of Panama City at the North Florida Motorplex. We love that little place, and then from there, it just we're all over the place. We're as far north as Canada, and we go as far east, we're going to Epping, New Hampshire, twice this year. It's their 60th anniversary for the track being open. So we're excited to be at two of their events this year. Uh, it's a long haul for us, but we're excited. We're going to Wisconsin, we have a few in Ohio, we have one in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area in Ringold, Georgia. We are just all over the place. Tulsa, Oklahoma, as far west as we go this year. Okay. And we do book, we have a bookend. We're bookend with uh the North Florida Motorplex. So the first and last race is in Panama City, and then the first, second, and second to last race is in Tulsa. So we're excited for both of those.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

Yeah. Do you come to US 131 Motorsports park in Michigan?

Miles, Machines, And Logistical Hurdles

SPEAKER_01 14:46

We not not this year. We're not booked there this year. There's lots of changes in the tracks and track management and track ownership, as we know. And so a lot of this stuff is kind of the jet cars are kind of put to the back end of things until they can get things figured out. I I feel that way. We're booked. We have 18 shows this year, so we're not balking at any of that. We're very grateful for what we have for sure. Yeah, that's a lot, that's a lot of travel. It is. We do about 18 to 20,000 miles um in about a six-month period.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Wow. And so you drive you have your RV, and then does it pull something, or do you have a truck and something else that pulls the cars, or somebody else brings the cars? How does that work?

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Well, right now we have uh an NRC conversion coach. Um, it's a beautiful coach. I love this thing. It's 19 years old, it's got 250,000 miles on it. It's just an amazing coach. I could I we've we've talked to them several times. They're such such an amazing company. Uh, so we're very grateful to have this. We got it used. And then um we pull behind a 40-foot, 45-foot trailer that we're uh uh it's um we've never had a new trailer before, and a company reached out to us and we're working with them to uh get a new trailer because ours was in an accident this last summer. So um the cars were fine for the most part, but the trailer was not. So there's that.

SPEAKER_00 16:20

Those things are bound to happen. They're Robin. There's always something. I said there's always something.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

There is, there is, and it's not. Um, I mean, it's we all know that racing takes massive amounts of dollars, and um, even though we get paid to show up and put on an event, it's still we still we do struggle the same as any other racer out there. So yeah, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:47

So do you have any sponsors like on your cars or anything that um like when you go to these shows, it helps sponsor a certain company. I would think that would be something that maybe you do.

Sponsorship Realities And Wins

SPEAKER_01 17:01

We have a few that we're working with, um, nothing giant. Uh they're just amazing little companies that are some of them are local. Uh we have amazing gunsmith in Ohio. They're like a they do a lot of transfers for people across the country, and they're they've kind of turned into friends. And so they've been following us around. That's lighthouse gunsmiths. And then um we have RJS Racing, they've been supporting us from the very beginning. Um, we don't do a lot of exchanges with them, they don't ex they have no expectations. Um, RJS racing equipment. We have um just a few other little ones and we're working on some bigger ones. We we're always working on bigger ones, but um, as you know, it's not easy getting sponsorship in in racing. And what I what I feel is different between us and other racers is that we do have an attention getter, and so we try to teach companies that this is an attention getter, but um, it's still very difficult to get uh sponsorship for jet cars, even so right.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

I'm sure it is, but I I just am sitting here thinking that what you have is unique and it does draw people to the track for sure. Um and a sponsor, you know, even somebody who um you know supplies parts for jet cars or parts for dragsters or whatever would be crazy not to be a sponsor because people are gonna be going to the concessions or whatever, but when that when you guys come on the track, they want to be in their seat because you're like the special event of of the weekend, and so yeah, it's you know, a lot of it is it's all about us teaching those people the importance and and what they could get out of it, and they don't always understand, plus the social media that you provide, yeah.

Why Jet Cars Are Powerful Marketing

SPEAKER_01 19:03

The social media is huge for us, and a lot of the people that have come on board with us over the last couple of years um don't understand their own social media, and that is the hardest thing because we we in social media is all about engagement, yeah. And we we post and there's no engagement from our sponsors, and it's like okay, we need engagement. Oh, another one is Optima. Optima has given us batteries. It takes about it takes three batteries to start a jet car, at least ours. And Optima has given us batteries over the years, and we we love their batteries.

SPEAKER_00 19:38

Yeah, we do so so see that's a great that's a great company to be a sponsor for you because not only do you use and love their product, but you're gonna talk about it, you're gonna share on social media about it, and there's other companies that could benefit from all that, but we have to educate those people, and it's hard. I think getting them to the track to see and experience is probably number one, and that's hard too, because you might be in Tulsa and the company is in New Hampshire or something, you know. And so, you know, it's hard, but don't give up, Robin, because I think I think I know motorsports is growing just from the interactions and and the things that I do, and women in motorsports is really growing. Just I I come across hundreds, literally, hundreds of names every week. If I had the time to sit down and keep track of all those names in that, and I do the best I can, but but I could spend, you know, I could spend 12 hours a day, seven days a week, just going on to track websites or whatever and finding the names of women that are involved in motorsports.

Social Media Gaps At Local Tracks

SPEAKER_01 21:03

It's it's amazing to see, it's awesome to see. I see that not only are they excelling in social media, but they're also excelling on the track. And I love that these major television networks are not just in motorsports, but in general, are choosing women as announcers and also knowledgeable drivers. These these women are just they they have that same a lot. I I have a jealousy for them because they have that same thing that my husband has, that obsession to go racing. And there's really not much else besides uh, I mean, their family and racing. And if you can find a couple that loves doing it together, those are the ones that are just the power couple because they can they can excel each other and push each other to go in that same direction if they're both focused in that same direction. So I feel that we're at that point now, and as a couple, that we are. He's understanding that there's a different place for me as as well for him. So I'm I appreciate it. I really do. I I talked to you last year about this. I said, I'm not a driver. And you're like, it's not just about driving. You know, I don't ever want to drive. I don't have I get to go down the track every single day in my little car. Every time the jet car goes down the track, I go in front of it in our little car and wait for the drivers at the end to help with their parachutes so they don't burn off. And I I miss the show, I miss everything. And so yeah, there is a place, there is definitely a place in this world for me and for all women. And and I say that in general because without men, we wouldn't have a sport, but uh it's definitely taking a little bit of a turn. And I I I really like it.

Teaching Sponsors And Tracks Engagement

SPEAKER_00 22:50

Yeah, and and you know, when when you say, you know, a couple, he has his role, you have your role, but together you're you're on the same path, you're going down the same direction. And he couldn't succeed without the things that you do, and you wouldn't need to do those things without you know the the exhibition cars and the other drivers and everything. So I I love that it's you know kind of a a business where you need each other and you help each other and you're just growing, growing, growing, because the more that you're at these events, and then somebody somebody's like, oh, you know, talks to a an owner in a different track and said, Oh, you should have these guys at your event, and that's how that's how it works. And so, and building those relationships. I know you said, you know, he's really good at that, and that and that's what it takes. It takes building the relationships with these track owners, promoters, etc.

Where To Follow: Jet Cars Rock

SPEAKER_01 23:53

Yeah, I I really I appreciate them. And and and every track is different, and every track treats us different differently. Some tracks are way more welcoming, and some tracks, you know, they listen to some of the the generations that maybe don't like jet cars, but usually we're we're treated extremely well, and we will we usually get booked back in. There's so many tracks that we keep going back to. I love that the tracks are improving their improving their grandstand and improving everything. There's so many different things that they could be also doing for themselves to promote themselves. So as a little bit of insight coming coming off of like live social media that I do almost every single day, I keep asking these tracks, hey, you need to do this or you need to do that, and they're not helping themselves. So um hopefully they will because uh there's value in it.

NHRA Exhibitions And Costs

SPEAKER_00 24:48

Oh, there's so much value in it. And and I think you know, like I'm thinking of three racetracks close around to me. And they're small tracks and there's their circle tracks, asphalt, but it's all you know, they all kind of work the same. And they don't do themselves any favors because there's so many things they could be doing. And in in fact, I reached out last year to three these three tracks and said, Hey, I'm willing to do this for you, this, this, and this, you know. Do do a podcast, do a thing in the off-season where you interview your drivers, keep your track and name in front of uh your followers even during the off season. You know, there's so many things they could do. And they all said, Yeah, that's a really good idea, and you know, and but they don't do it. And then they wonder why people are going somewhere else on a Friday or Saturday night instead of coming to their track.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

Yep. You have a three second, you have three seconds, like keep putting your three seconds out there in front of them. Let people see your brand, you know, absolutely. So when they when they call us to perform and then no one shows up to their event and they've done nothing to educate the general public about an event happening, that it makes us feel really guilty because we still get paid to put on a show in front of one person or 20,000 people.

Big Dreams: More Cars, A Series

SPEAKER_00 26:19

So and but you know, Robin, that's on them. And if they can't, if they can't at some point figure that out, I mean every track doesn't have to have a paid social media person. No, you know, there's a lot of there's a lot of people out there who are good at social media who would love to just get in free for the whole year to the races at that track and we'll do their social media. Absolutely, they don't take advantage of that or they don't reach out to find that. And so, you know, like I said, last year I reached out to three different tracks, all three of them need help as far as getting people to come, promoting their events, etc. And if they're not willing to do that, then why should I care? I mean, I do, I do care, but why should I? Right, they have to be the ones to care.

SPEAKER_01 27:15

So I agree, I agree. They should be absolutely using their social social media to to the fullest extent. And you can even find people in college who want to do internships. I saw another track do that recently, and yeah, their page went through the roof, and it was so amazing, but it was a temporary thing, and they didn't want to pay afterwards. And I and I I just like really, you really need to invest in your social media, but yeah, they just don't they don't know how, they don't know what to do. And honestly, I I teach how to do that on social media every single day. So uh if anybody ever wants to learn, you just go find me on social media. I go live on TikTok every single day teaching about how to do social media, how to how to be an affiliate, how to get try to get sponsors, things like that. I get sponsors for my own self. I just don't have the major sponsors for the jet cars yet.

Fans First: Access, Autographs, Moments

SPEAKER_00 28:10

Yeah. But you know, it's a it's a learning curve and it's a step by step by step. And so, you know, at some point it'll probably happen. And somebody that would support you on your podcast, your TikTok, your whatever, who would also support the jet car. So, you know, you've got to just you have to just keep working at it. And I think I think, and like you said, we love the men, we couldn't do it stuff without them. And I always say, I I love the men, but I'm all about the women because the women have not been supported or promoted as much as they deserve, I think. And so that's what I try to do. But I think a lot of the men that run these tracks don't they don't understand the social media part, and especially if they're older. I'm you know, I can say that I'm 70 years old, so I think a lot of the track owners, some of them tend to be older, and it's just one more thing that they have to get to. And so, you know, I'd encourage them to follow you, and and you can learn by watching what somebody else is doing. Absolutely, absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

That's how I've learned that I I mean, yeah, I went to school for it back in the early 2000s, no late 90s. I went to school for that, and everything's changed. It was analog back then, now everything's digital. I absolutely love editing content. Do I have a lot of time for that? No, but I love editing so and putting a different spin on things and watching our social media grow like a weed lately. So it's been really nice.

SPEAKER_00 29:49

It is nice, yeah. So, where would somebody go if they wanted to follow you? How do how would they follow you?

Creators At The Track Initiative

Safety, Myths, And Jet Car Standards

SPEAKER_01 29:56

On on Facebook is our biggest avenue, and it's because of our age. We are Facebookers through and through. Yeah, me too. Um, we've we do put stuff out on Instagram, but we are because no one knows how to say our last name, it's Dawit. Um, it's Dothit Motorsports, but we go by Jet Cars Rock, and it's JetcarsRock.com at Jet Cars Rock on Facebook, on Instagram, on YouTube. YouTube is slacking. We have some major growing pains with the YouTube stuff, but there's some old videos on there of David when he was young and had the squeaky voice and still learning how to do the jet car stuff and being interviewed by Don Perdome. So um when he was little. So there's a lot of cool things on there, but we're gonna be working on that YouTube page this year. Yeah, then on TikTok, I found social media on TikTok last year, started my page, have been growing it, which is amazing because I'm introducing people that have no idea what drag racing is in general to what we do. And I the same thing as what you were saying is you got to come to the event to feel it. If you've never ever seen a jet car in person, you can't really say anything about the experience because there's nothing like it. And there's a lot of a lot of people can say that about the sport, especially the top fuel cars and the professional guys out there. Well, we're considered professional exhibitions, so we do get to go to those uh major events. NHRA does not pay us to be there, so so yeah, NHRA classifies us as exhibitions, so we're not allowed to race for money, but they also won't pay the jet cars to be there, so that's difficult because that can cost you know four or five thousand dollars a weekend. So if we ever have a sponsor on board that wants to go to an event, we just have to contact NHRA and and uh see if they won't host us. But yeah, they get a lot of they they they want us there, they just can't, they just won't pay for it.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

Yeah, and I would think that when you get to the NHRA level, there's surely somebody out there, Robin, that will pay for it. You just haven't found them yet, right?

Women’s Roles Beyond Driving

SPEAKER_01 32:10

We're working on it. We found a couple this past year, but things happen a little bit too late in our season, so we weren't able to go. You really have to work ahead of time with NHRA, anyways. So we're working on it. We have had some really great sponsorships on board over the years, and I we're working on a really big one right now, and I don't know if it's gonna come to fruition or not. It just, you know how it goes with sponsorships. They have to build trust, they want to watch your social media, make sure things are cohesive, and we try to keep things professional, no politics, things like that. Yeah, but it's it's coming, it's coming. And my husband's got these major dreams, and people are like, What's your dream? And I said, I really always wanted just to travel, so I get to travel all over, yeah, all over the country, and I don't have to work a big kid job anymore. So that's you know, it's a win-win situation. And then once once a sponsor, a major sponsor comes on board, it will just be bigger and badder. His goal is to is to have eight jet cars and a jet truck. I mean, that's what he wants, and he wants to put on a series and he wants to bring the series to small tracks that maybe can't afford jet cars. Yeah, you know it's he's he's got he's got huge huge dreams, and I'm along for the ride. And uh, if I can help, oh, I told him I said social media, because he feels the same way about social media as some of the other people do, they don't understand the value of it, but watching our page grow over the last couple of years, we've had it for 13, 17 years, we've had it that since 2009, and over the last couple of years, it's just it's X it's doubled in followers and more and more people are coming on board and seeing what we're doing. And yeah, so it's hard, it's hard.

Family, Next Gen, And Boundaries

SPEAKER_00 34:01

It's hard, but it's it's fun, but it's fun, it's good. There's a lot of lot of benefits to what you're doing, and so I I would love, you know, I'm I'm the sports person in my house. My husband has a motorcycle. He we used to go to the motorcycle races all the time in Ohio. He likes sports, he's gotten into football on TV a little bit more this year than in the past, but I'm really the sports fan in the house. I would be the one who would want to be have all the big ideas and the traveling, and he would be driving us, driving me around. But it just, you know, as we've gotten older, it just hasn't worked out that way. So I do the best I can, go as much as I can, and just isn't it, isn't it? I think the best part is all the people I've met and the friends I've made.

Closing Thanks And Community CTA

SPEAKER_01 34:59

Absolutely, and and the look of the fans. I mean, our cars are in hundreds of in hundred thousands and thousands of people's camera rolls because they are they bring their kids to the event. And my mother-in-law was one of the first ones uh woman that I ever saw with the fans at my very first event. And she got involved and they stand out, we stand out with our cars all day long, every single day at every event. Yeah. So even if one person walks in at noon, we're out there and we try to, we will answer any questions people have. And if they look timid, then they're afraid to ask questions. We reach out and and say, Hey, you know, come see the cars, come get up close. And when they take a picture, we we bring the kids up and we let them put their hands on the cars and and we get them to put their thumbs up and we get a picture of them, and we have different flags and different little things that they can have, and we get the driver's signatures and we offer free signatures and all the types of things. You can walk right up to the cars, we don't have them roped off. It's it's getting to know the fans has been really amazing. And I really love when I get to do my own social media, I I get behind the scenes with the fans and behind the scenes with the cars. I do miss a lot of other stuff because I'm on the track, so that is uh my biggest right now. That's our biggest issue is trying to get content from the cars actually putting on their show.

SPEAKER_00 36:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:26

Because I'm not there to do it. I'm at the end of the track and I don't get to see it. So that's our biggest downfall right now.

SPEAKER_00 36:33

It'll you'll find somebody that'll help you or whatever, it'll it'll happen.

SPEAKER_01 36:37

We need someone consistent. We are looking right now. It's just for you know, if someone wants to grow their social media and use us as their platform, I've watched other photographers do that and have just kind of pushed themselves to the limit. And I love that. So if anybody's wanting to do that and wants to come to an event, we can work something out, but yeah, um, it's four pennies, you know, at this point, because it would be nice to have someone sponsored to do that social media, not social media, someone to take footage. I just need raw footage.

SPEAKER_00 37:13

Yeah. So and you know, it putting it out there. There's it might not be at every track or every event, but if you could at least have a handful of people who'd be willing to do that, you know, just like I mean, that's something that if you came to an a track close to me, I'd do that in a heartbeat. Because to me, that's fun.

SPEAKER_01 37:33

Yeah, you know, and we have a creators at the track campaign that we put together last year. Actually, it came out before NHRAs did, but we're just this little. And basically, basically, we invite creators who want to boost their own social media to come to an event. We take care of their tickets, and we also get approval from the track, and we teach them where they can stand. And if they've never been to an event before, they're not allowed to be on the track until after the first run is done because watching a jet car for the first time and then being on the track next to it is like two different things. Yes, absolutely, and there's a safety concern there. So we uh we do we run creators at the track, and we also do that with the RV industry. So when uh our fellow RVers that have never been to an event before, but they have their big family and they travel and they're gonna be in the same area as us all at different times, whichever event we're at, we invite them to come to the track. And all I want from them is raw footage of the cars going down the track from their point of view. And they've stepped up last year. We had about six or seven different creators step up and do that who had never been to an event before. So I really like that concept. But if anybody else is interested, you can come camp with us, or you can just come for the day. And yeah, I just need a little, I just need that two minutes of raw footage of those cars going down the track. Other than that, they can go and have fun and do whatever.

SPEAKER_00 39:02

So well, and the other piece of that is if they haven't ever been there before, it would be great to do some little interviews. What did you think of the event? You know, what did you like the most? And have little short, that'd be great for your YouTube page, and and gives you more content, and that's something that you can do after they've seen the cars run. And so, yeah, that I can see there'd be a lot, a lot of good content that could come out of those interactions. So great.

SPEAKER_01 39:32

We have a lot of great ideas. We have a couple, we have a lot of great ideas to have things set up. So maybe like a photo or like a video booth where people can walk up to it and tell us what they think, just in case, because not always am I able to like, hey, go, go, go tell us about what you thought, you know what I mean? We're out there talking to somebody, and you know what it's like when you go out there and you might end up talking to somebody for 15 minutes, and you lost 15 other people wanted to talk to you, so right, right. This way we could do that, and we also have like a little coloring table. One of our spread our friends is sponsoring that this year with jet cars, and he'll have a jet car on the on a coloring page, and they can take it with them, and that's all gonna be free. So yeah, we're excited.

SPEAKER_00 40:14

I we're excited to put on a show this year, and every year you just add a little something, and and you grow your business and you grow your you know, your exposure to other people, and yeah, it's I I envy you in in the fact that you get to travel and do all those things, and I know it's not a perfect life, there is no perfect life, but to me that would be a lot of fun to be able to go to all those tracks. That would that was kind of my dream at one point when I was younger that we would have the RV. And my husband could stay in the air-conditioned RV and do whatever he wanted to do, and I could go do my thing on the track, but it just it just didn't work out the way we thought illness, different things, but but I I just love I just love motorsports and the people you meet in it, and I know you do too, Rob, and I can tell.

SPEAKER_01 41:06

Absolutely. I mean, my first track experience was Bandomere Raceway. Oh my god. I know Tammy. Yeah. Tammy. That was yeah, they the Bandomere family puts on an excellent jet car event, a couple of them they did every year, and we got to go and we got to do several of those before they closed down. And what an honor to to see it and see all those people. I mean, that that is probably the most people we've ever performed in front of. I believe there was at one time 20,000 people in the grandstands. Well, I'll never mind. I I did I do say that we we did a couple of national events as well, so yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:47

Yeah, I did uh I had Tammy on my podcast, and then she had me on on her show. So yeah, I really, I really like her. That that's fun to know that you did a show there. So Robin, is there anything we haven't talked about that we need to share with my listeners about Jet Cars Rock or anything at all?

SPEAKER_01 42:11

One of the things is if you see our social medias and you see anything on social media about us, just engage in the content and uh and lift each other up in your in your comments for both Facebook and all socials, really. You know, let's let's try to keep things positive. We do know that we get a lot of flack because of jet cars, but a lot of a lot has changed for safety and for the jet cars in general over the years, just like all race cars have evolved when it comes to safety. We are safe. We uh we love what we do. And yes, we blow a little stuff around the track, but we basically clean up the track. We don't drip, we you know, there's a lot of old faux pas about jet car racing. And honestly, most of us, actually, all of us, we talk amongst each other. There's only about 28 people who have jet car licenses in the United States, and we my husband's friends with almost every single last one of them, and they've known each other for years and they help each other out. But we we do we hold each other accountable. We don't, we do not leave a mess on the track. We try our best to, well, if the track asks us to burn something down, we're gonna burn it down. You know what I mean? But we we do our best to make sure that we are being conscientious to other racers. And hopefully when you see a jet car at your event, instead of turning your nose at us, come up and talk to us. We love learning what you do. We want to know what you do. We love supporting people when they come up and say, Oh, I I I'm in the semifinals. I'm like, we'll be down at the fence watching you during your event. We we try to support other racers, and we don't we know that we're not there just for ourselves, you know. Racers bring on other people too. So yeah, we're just happy to be there. We're just we're happy to put on a show. We try to put on the biggest and best fire show that we we can for every single event. And then we go down the track. And to us, it's not about speed, it's about putting on an amazing show and keeping the fans happy over going 300 miles an hour. However, David has been 300 miles an hour. He's been 304. His dad's been 322 miles an hour. They these guys have done it. Dialing it back to the funny cars has been his dream. So that's why we have funny cars right now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:33

So cool, Robin. So you start in in May. I know you're gonna have a great summer. It's basically through the summer. I hope you stay in touch and and tag Women's Motorsports Network when you post things because that way I'll see them faster and I can engage better. We do that. I'd absolutely do that. I get so many things to my social media that it would crowd you out if you don't tag me. So if you if you tag me, I'd love to share what you're doing and and gosh, I I hope you'll come back to US 131 Motorsports Park because that's only 30 minutes away.

SPEAKER_01 45:12

You know, it's it's uh it's not up to us sometimes. Some of the tracks have their favorites and and we understand that. So right now they I think they only do one show a year, and the Larsons jets are usually there for the US 31 show. We've been there, I think we were there a couple of years ago, and yeah, and so it it all the tracks change. Some of the tracks stay the same every year, but uh but you know, life is evolving, people come and go in this industry. So we're excited. Things will change and and hopefully we'll be booked into more events and be able to put on a show for more people for sure, especially with social media growing. I mean, absolutely it's a win-win situation for the tracks and for us, so it is.

SPEAKER_00 45:58

Well, Robin, I've really enjoyed talking to you today. This has been a pleasure to have you on the show. Is there any last words or anything that you want to share before we go?

SPEAKER_01 46:11

I I don't. I just I feel that if anybody else wants to learn how to do social media or how to do how to put your best foot forward in the limelight, I'm always trying to redirect myself and make sure that I'm doing all the things right. But it's a learning curve for all of us. So if you see me out there, uh just come up and say hi to us. Don't be afraid to come up and say hi. We we love meeting new fans and seeing our old fans and people keeping up with us. So uh I just really appreciate you having me and have thanks for the time to do this today. And I do, I plan on keeping in touch, and I appreciate all you do for women in motorsports. I just never really thought that I had a place to stand because I didn't drive. And but now I've I've been in this industry for 17 years, and and darn it, I think that there is a place for me. And so here we are, and we'll see what's happening.

SPEAKER_00 47:06

It it takes it takes a village. It's it can't just be about the drivers. And I love talking to people who are not drivers to get a perspective on what else it takes to keep the motorsports world going. And there's so many women in so many roles that we don't even think about. And then once we connect and we tell your story, you know, there's maybe other women that are like, oh, you know, that's interesting. I could do the social media and the promotion for such and such. And so it gives people encouragement and ideas of what they can do because everybody can't be the driver. It just I I could never be the driver. I drove my son's sports, I drove my son's uh street stock once on a track where there was no other cars because that's just not my thing. Now, I think had I gotten involved in motorsports when I was younger, much younger, I think I could have done it. I think I could have driven, you know, maybe a four-cylinder or something.

SPEAKER_01 48:20

But I agree. My daughter is 14 years old, she travels with us, she's homeschooled in a way. She's homeschooled through Colorado, so it's like a really cool program. Well, she'll have her associate's degree when she graduates uh high school. And she's telling she tells people that her daddy drives her jet cars, so she wants to drive. And I was I've always been that square when it comes to safety, and so that's that's a little that's gonna be a different thing. She's 14, so we got it four more years, but she's really pushing herself out there and getting to know the fans a little bit and and becoming less timid around people. And I'm very happy for her, but uh the same as you. I wasn't raised with it. I I did try to drive our wheel stander. Uh I was gonna get licensed in our wheel stander. David crashed that wheel stander two years ago in Wisconsin and had to take a flight to the burn center in Milwaukee. And so that is no longer, but I did get in that thing and I did do some test runs and the noise that diminishes when you put on the head sock and then you put on the helmet, and then you get in the car and you're with yourself. I couldn't handle it. I couldn't handle it. I can't. And so now I I have a little idea of what what people and I'm sure people can get used to it and maybe they embrace the silence, but in that given time I could not. And I'm like, I don't get me out of this thing, I'm not doing it. And you know, popping a wheelie and going down the track with a wheelie at 80 miles an hour, 90 miles an hour was just a little too intimidating for me. So for people who do that, I I'm I clap for you. I don't know for people that drive jet cars. I clap for you. I mean, it's absolutely insane. And I'm here for the ride.

SPEAKER_00 50:09

Yeah, me too. I'm here, I'm here to support those people, what they do, and to promote and encourage them.

SPEAKER_01 50:16

So I appreciate you. I really do. I'm looking forward to seeing how how this all pans out in the next couple of years with everything that's happening in our lives. So I do too.

SPEAKER_00 50:26

Well, Robin, thanks again for being on. And thank you. Yeah, we're gonna stay in touch for sure.

SPEAKER_01 50:32

Absolutely, absolutely. I'm I'm here, man. And I think you and I have the same values and the same same goals and the same and same views, and we're on the same frequency now. So I think sky's the limit. Absolutely. Hold on. If there's anything that I can do for you, you please please do reach out. I will I wholeheartedly believe that uh there should be more representation here. Thank you for that.

SPEAKER_00 50:57

Hold on just a second. Okay. 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.