Mckaylee Meyerhofer: Snow, Speed, And Grit

The throttle snaps, the snow flies, and a 21-year-old rider decides to trust herself over the voice of doubt. That’s the heartbeat of our conversation with Mckaylee, a snowcross racer who started at five years old and climbed from 120s to 600s, stacking national starts and hard-won podiums along the way. She brings the kind of clear-eyed honesty that motorsports rarely show on highlight reels: the joy, the costs, and the stubborn choice to keep going.

Transcript

Welcome And Show Mission

Melinda Russell 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 trailbizers, 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, this is Melinda Russell with the Women's Motorsports Network Podcast. And Mikhail is my guest today. So, McKay, welcome to the show. And first, I want to start by having you share a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

I am 21 years old, and I like to be active and go outdoors and travel and stuff. And I am the youngest in my family, and I have two brothers and two sisters. Okay. And do they all still live at home or just you?

Melinda Russell 1:34

Uh, just I do. Well, I did.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

I don't live at home anymore.

Melinda Russell 1:38

But all right. And do you have any pets? I have two dogs. Okay. All right. We love our dogs, don't we? So many people I talk to have dogs. It just amazes me, but that's awesome. So you're 21 years old. Do you go to school? Do you work? What do you do when you're not racing?

SPEAKER_00 1:58

I work. I actually work for Amzoil and I work for my boyfriend's business. He owns a construction company. Okay. All right.

Starting At Five On A Sled

Melinda Russell 2:07

Sounds good. So tell me your motorsports story. How did you get started? And take me back to the beginning. When did you first get introduced to motorsports and take me to where you are today?

SPEAKER_00 2:20

So I first started when I was five years old, and it was actually a family friend that my mom knew. His son did it, and then my dad saw like what he did and stuff, and he got interested into it. So then he bought me a snowmobile, and then I just went from there. Yeah.

Melinda Russell 2:40

So it gets in your blood, doesn't it? Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So how long ago was that that you got started?

SPEAKER_00 2:49

I was five, so I'm 21 now, probably. Okay.

Melinda Russell 2:53

So when you started at five years old, you weren't driving what you drive now. So kind of take me down the path. What all have you raced?

SPEAKER_00 3:02

So I raced a 120, and then I raced a 120 champ, and then a 500, and then now I'm on 600s.

Melinda Russell 3:11

Okay.

Classes And Progression

SPEAKER_00 3:12

All right.

Melinda Russell 3:13

And what what uh where do you race? Do you travel? Are you in a series? Tell me about where you race.

Racing Series And Travel

SPEAKER_00 3:20

So I race the Amsoil Championship Snow Cross series, which that is traveling all over for where they are located. And then I also race the Hartford Snow Cross series, so that's just in Hartford, Wisconsin. And then sometimes I'll do other regionals that are located in like Michigan or Minnesota or random spots. So you're all over the place. Yeah. Yeah. And so are you racing this weekend? Yes, I am. I'm actually going to New York this weekend for Amsoil.

Melinda Russell 3:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

All right.

Melinda Russell 3:55

So that has to be like a national race, right? Yep. Yeah. Yeah. So what keeps you going, traveling, and doing all this, okay. What what do you love about all of this racing deal?

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Um, honestly, I just love doing it and I've always done it. So I don't know, it's just kind of fun for me to do, and I just like doing it. So until I get sick of it, I guess I'm gonna do it.

Melinda Russell 4:20

Yeah. And were were your parents, you know, did they encourage you to do it when you were young?

SPEAKER_00 4:27

My dad always has. My mom was iffy about it back and forth, but yeah, mainly it's just my dad and all that supports me in doing it.

Melinda Russell 4:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

And obviously, like friends and family, and like my boyfriend and my dad's new wife. So Okay.

Melinda Russell 4:48

Moms have a harder time watching their little race, I think. So that's different. Yeah. So what's your favorite thing about it? You know?

Why She Races And Family Support

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Honestly, it's probably the traveling and going into different states and doing it. But sometimes it's also not the traveling. So I would say it's between traveling and just just what it is, like what you do and how it is and everything.

Melinda Russell 5:15

Yeah, the whole experience.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

Yeah.

Melinda Russell 5:18

The people, the going fast, the jumps, all of it put together. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So what are some things that maybe you've you've started at a young age? So what are some things that you've learned maybe about life by being involved in motorsports that maybe you wouldn't have learned already so far?

SPEAKER_00 5:42

Um it's kind of a hard question.

Melinda Russell 5:45

Well, or what are some things that you know you feel like maybe you got better at because of motorsports? Like a lot of times it's confidence or it's patience.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

Yeah, probably I'd say probably like confidence and stuff like that, or being more aggressive, not in like not in like a personality way of being more aggressive, just like being more aggressive like in the sport and obviously knowing more stuff than like some people would about like a snowmobile versus like just a random other person. I feel like is something else that I've also learned from it too.

Life Lessons And Confidence

Melinda Russell 6:27

Yeah. And the traveling and all the meeting people, you know, if if you're if as a person, if you're not involved in those kind of things, there's a lot to learn about traveling, not getting upset and things like that. And so I just think it it gives especially younger girls an all-around good experience of of life lessons, is is what I like to call them for sure.

SPEAKER_00 6:55

Yes. So if something is hard with school though, like when I was in school, it was hard because they would end up uh getting like mad of how many days you missed because of how much you have to travel. So that was always the thing.

Melinda Russell 7:11

Yeah, and you went to a regular school, not homeschooled.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

Yeah, I went to a regular school all the way up until freshman year, and then sophomore year I did online, and from there I just did sophomore and junior year online, and then I ended up graduating in junior year like a whole year early because of online school. I just was able to get everything done right away. Yeah, that's good. That's that's good for sure.

Melinda Russell 7:40

So if if I Googled you, would there be anything that I would learn about you that most people don't know?

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Um, you'd probably see a lot of snow cross stuff is about it. I don't know. I've never really Googled myself, but I feel like snow cross stuff.

Melinda Russell 7:58

You know, when you went to school and you were racing, did your friends understand it? Did they know about it? Did they come and watch any of any of that?

School, Online Shift, Early Graduation

SPEAKER_00 8:08

A lot of them knew about it, but they didn't really understand it. Obviously, you're not gonna understand everything to do with racing if you're just like not there involved. But a few of them would come and watch here and there, but that's about it. It's hard to explain it, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, I always explain it that it's just like motocross, but with the snowmobile on snow, but then you gotta try to like explain like oh, you have practice, and then you'll do heat one, heat two, and then there might be an LCQ if there's over a certain amount of people, and then there's a final. And it's just some of them just didn't really understand that or how you would like qualify for a final. So if you went like one-one, you'd obviously get first pick on the final, but a lot of them like really wouldn't understand that either.

Melinda Russell 8:58

Yeah, and it is I get it, it's hard to understand if you haven't really ever seen it. But yeah. So when you're not racing, what's your favorite thing to do when you're not at the track or racing?

SPEAKER_00 9:12

Um honestly probably hang out with like my dogs and friends and family, and I like to travel, but obviously during snow cross, that's a little hard because it is so expensive that you can't just go and travel. Yeah, but yeah, just mainly hanging out with friends, family, and like my pets, obviously.

Explaining Snocross Format To Friends

Melinda Russell 9:31

Okay. So um, what are you most proud of as far as your racing or maybe your favorite memory? Something along that line.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

Definitely the national podiums that I've gotten. It's not been as many as I would like, but definitely that and winning like championships throughout the years of snowcross and stuff, and all the trophies that I have, they're all around my room, or they're in big boxes, just full. Or we have a basement at my dad's house, so there's like a railing that goes down all the way down it. It's like a wall type of thing, and we have just trophies all lined up throughout it.

Off-Track Life And Favorite Moments

Melinda Russell 10:14

Okay, all right. Yeah, those those trophies, and one one day, Michaelie. I promise you, you're gonna look at them and you're gonna be like, okay, I'm keeping this one, I'm throwing this one away. So my daughter's played a lot of Gus Macker basketball in the summer, and it's it's like a series that travels and you go to different towns if you want. And anyway, they were pretty successful. Both of both of my girls had different teams, and they were pretty successful. And we had so many Gus Macker trophies for winning and sportsmanship and all these different things. And I finally, you know, my daughters grew up, and I and I said, What do you want to do with these? And they're like, just throw them away. And I was thinking they were so proud of them when they got them. But I mean, what are you gonna do? You know, after a while, you have to do something with them. So your dad's happy to keep them for you, then that's a good thing. Yeah, yeah, for sure. So who helps you with your your do you call it a sled, a snowmobile? What do you call it? We call it a sled. Okay, what who helps you with it? Who maintains it and and helps you keep it up to you know, so that it's in good racing condition?

SPEAKER_00 11:28

So there's a handful of people, not like a handful, there's a few. So it's my boyfriend and I. We like keep it maintained throughout like the weeks and stuff in between the races, and obviously my dad will help too. And during the weekends, my dad also helps, and then sometimes we'll send it off to like our mechanic. His name is Mike, and I'll send it to him and he'll fully go through it before the year starts and stuff to make sure everything's good. But yeah.

Melinda Russell 11:54

Yeah, so you have help. And do you work on it at all ever or does Mike do it?

Trophies, Pride, And Perspective

SPEAKER_00 11:59

I work on it here and there, but when it gets sent down to him before and after the season starts, it's just him. But like through the weeks, us having it in between the races, I'll do stuff here and there, but mainly it's just like my boyfriend or my dad. Okay, all right.

Melinda Russell 12:16

So on a on a day when things maybe haven't gone very well at the race, how do you handle that? What do you what do you do? How do you you know overcome that?

SPEAKER_00 12:28

Um, I mean, I'll get upset obviously and mad, but I'll just say there's nothing I can do about it, so I just gotta move on. Yeah.

Melinda Russell 12:37

Yeah. It it's hard, you know. That's one of the things I think that girls in motor well, boys learn it too, but we're talking about women in motorsports learn is how to deal with adversity, how to overcome it, how to put it at the back of your mind, how not to think about it when you get back on the track for the next race, all those things, right? Yeah. Yeah. So tell me what your did you have you ever had a wreck or an accident, a flip, anything like that, or have you maintained a pretty steady course?

Sled Maintenance Team

SPEAKER_00 13:14

Um yeah, there's been plenty of times where I've crashed or fallen off or flipped the sled and stuff like that. And actually last year I actually broke my foot racing stone cross, so I was out for the rest of the season, and then I had to get three surgeries just to even fix that. So Yeah, that stays. Yeah, it does.

Melinda Russell 13:35

It was a long, long recovery time. Yeah. And is everything better back to back together now and good to go?

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Yeah, it's good to go now. It wasn't a few months ago, but it was just because that was so fresh out of surgery and stuff like that.

Melinda Russell 13:51

But I mean, you know, that's that's pretty typical when I talk to someone either in a a car or a motorcycle or whatever, you know. I don't think I've ever spoken to anybody that hasn't had some kind of uh accident or a flip or something, and it's just part of it, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 14:10

Yeah, yeah, it is. It sucks, but yeah.

Handling Bad Days And Mindset

Melinda Russell 14:14

So what kind of condition do you have to stay in in order to handle that sled? Because I would think they'd be pretty heavy.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

Yeah, they are pretty heavy. I don't know how much they weigh exactly, but you just basically gotta like stay in shape somewhat. I mean, obviously I work out and stuff, but you just gotta stay in shape enough that you're able to hang on or move it if you need to, or start it and stuff like that.

Melinda Russell 14:42

Yeah. And you know, I would and I would think that would be the hardest part is uh the weight of it and trying to manage it. Yeah, yeah. So do your arms get sore, your legs, what's what's the the hardest part of your body?

Crashes, Injury, And Recovery

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Um it's honestly probably my back, to be honest. It gets sore a lot. Um other than that, no, nothing really. I mean, sometimes it is your arms, your legs here and there if you hit something wrong or like crash or something, but mainly you just are in good enough shape already that you really won't get that sore in those areas, but sometimes you will get like arm pump and stuff.

Melinda Russell 15:22

Okay. I to me it's so I have a bad back, and I just had back surgery in January, and so I'm still recovering from that. And so thinking about doing that is yeah, that wouldn't be my thing for sure, but I also think with was thinking it maybe it would make your arms and your shoulders you know sore from hanging on.

SPEAKER_00 15:43

Definitely can.

Melinda Russell 15:45

Yeah. So when people come to the races, do a lot of I know you race against the same people over and over, but do you have like fans that come and show up, or do you have like little girls that come and want to talk to you, get your autograph, anything like that along the fan, fan uh people?

Fitness, Soreness, And Back Strain

SPEAKER_00 16:06

Fans are mainly just people that I know that will show up, but every once in a while here or there, a little kid will come up to you and ask for like a signature or want to say hi or stuff like that. So yeah, is that pretty cool? Yeah, it's pretty cool, but a lot of them get like scared if you're fully suited up, like with your help and stuff on it and goggles, they'll like have to have their parents bring them up to you, and then their parents will be like, Oh, they wanted to say hi, and you say hi, and they kind of just like back up a little bit.

Melinda Russell 16:35

Yeah, it's kind of funny, but it's kind of like when little ones see Santa Claus or the Easter bunny, they're not sure. Yeah, for sure. So do you have sponsors, McKay? And if so, do you you know, are you the one that talks to them? Your dad, how do you get sponsors?

SPEAKER_00 16:55

Mainly I asked for sponsors, but this year I'm on a team, which is called Green Mountain Racing. So I have all of his sponsors plus some of my own. But with those, he talks to them and gets them. But with any sponsors that I have by myself, I normally like get a hold of them and talk to them and stuff like that.

Melinda Russell 17:14

Okay. As you've gotten older, has it gotten easier for you to call or talk to people?

Fans, Little Kids, And Autographs

SPEAKER_00 17:20

Yeah, it's definitely gotten easier just because like you know what to kind of say and what to expect. And obviously, like you have to give them a resume. So like it it's just a lot easier the more that you have on the resume and the more like points like you have, like, towards like championships and stuff. Like if you have a lot of first place like championships or a lot of podiums and stuff like that is easy, and like you also have to stay pretty active on social media, like you gotta post like updates and stuff throughout the weekend, and obviously tag them. So if you do that, it's pretty easy to get them for like the next season and stuff.

Melinda Russell 17:59

Yeah. So okay, tell me how do you use social media? What platforms do you use and and how do you use it? What do you what do you post?

Sponsors, Team, And Social Media

SPEAKER_00 18:10

So I use Facebook and Instagram, and I just post updates throughout the season. So it's like just pictures of me racing and like where I raced and stuff and like the results and what I got.

Melinda Russell 18:20

Okay. And then I I know we we talked earlier about that you share too and and tag your sponsors, and I'm sure they appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Yeah, yes, they do.

Melinda Russell 18:34

Yeah, for sure. So when when do you think about or what do you think about the fact that you're a brand? Have you tried tried to create a brand for yourself as far as in the racing community?

SPEAKER_00 18:50

Yeah, so I a brand, like, do you mean like sweatshirts and stuff like that?

Personal Branding And Merch

Melinda Russell 18:56

And shirts or yeah, that and like, you know, when people think about you, you know, like you say, like women motorsports is my brand. And so your brand would be Mikhaile Meyerhoffer racing. And so, you know, yeah, you you have shirts and you do the social media and you promote yourself as more maybe than just a racer. You know, I'm a racer, I do this and and share about your life and stuff so that people can get interested in you and follow you. Do you do you know that kind of thing?

SPEAKER_00 19:34

Mainly I just share about racing, to be honest, nothing else really about my life. And then I do I did sell sweatshirts and shirts at one point, but I only did it one time, one year, and that was about it.

Doubt, Confidence, And Learning

Melinda Russell 19:48

Okay, right, yeah. So do you ever when you when you get ready to race, do you ever have that little bit of doubt creep in? Like, oh, I don't know, that I haven't ever done well at this track or whatever it might be. Does that little little doubt person sit on your shoulder, or are you able to pretty much just block all that out?

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Yeah, sometimes it does. It like I'll be like, oh, like that looks hard, or that looks really like sketchy, like that looks like a sketchy jump. Sometimes I'll think about it, but then like I'll like see somebody else do it, or I'll like just say, Well, I can do it. So sometimes you do second guess yourself. Well, I do second guess myself, but I normally get over it pretty quick.

Post-Race Debrief And Dad’s Coaching

Melinda Russell 20:36

Okay, that's good. Yeah, especially I think if you've maybe had a hard time at a certain track, and then if you can get that little confidence to come back, and you can be like, you know what, that was just one time, I know I can do better this time, then sometimes you can overcome all that, you know, before you even start the race. So that's important, I think, for sure. When you take the helmet off and you're done with the race, what what are the things that go through your mind? Are you thinking about the race that you just had? Are you relaxed and ready to move on and do something else? What is what does it look like once you're done with a race?

SPEAKER_00 21:21

Um, yeah, so obviously I think about it and think about the race. And normally my dad is always watching, so like he'll like give me pointers or tell me what I should try to do to like get either faster or better in like a certain area. So like I'll just think about that and stuff now. Honestly, just think about the entire thing and think about how I can like better it for the next time.

Melinda Russell 21:45

Yeah. And you know, there's always things, I don't care what you do in life, there's always things that you can do to improve. And so it is your dad a good coach? Is he helpful? Some dads are hard on their daughters. How's your dad?

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Sometimes he's hard, sometimes he's helpful, but it really just depends on the situation and what it is, to be honest. Yeah, yeah.

Is Snocross Good For Women

Melinda Russell 22:08

I've I've seen dads, you know, they I think they in fact my son-in-law, he, you know, was hard on my granddaughter one night at a race, and and she started to cry, which made Mamma not very happy. And so I walked over to him and I said, Bob, when racing is not fun anymore, then we need to stop. And that's all I had to say. And he kind of he, you know, he it's just that he knew she could do better. And so I think that's where dads are coming from. They know you can do better and they want you to do that, and so sometimes they're a little hard on you.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

Yeah, that's for sure.

Melinda Russell 22:45

Yeah, yeah. So do you think racing in general, the snow cross, driving a sled, is that a good sport for a woman to get involved in?

Future Plans And Flow Racing Info

SPEAKER_00 22:56

Um, personally, I think so if you like that type of stuff, but obviously it's not for everybody. But I mean, if you're into that type of stuff, then yeah.

Melinda Russell 23:06

Yeah, if you like to go fast and take some chances, it's it's a good sport, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. So where do you see yourself in the next, let's say, five years? Do you want to keep racing?

SPEAKER_00 23:20

I want to keep racing. I don't know if I'll keep racing for five years, but obviously I want to race for a couple more years, but I guess we'll just see where it goes.

Melinda Russell 23:30

All right. Yeah, that sounds good. And and then racing's on flow. I know that, right? Your races you'll be you're in New York, you'll be on flow racing. What days will you be racing this weekend?

SPEAKER_00 23:44

Friday and Saturday is when we racing.

Costs, Rewards, And Joy

Melinda Russell 23:48

All right. So if anybody wants to watch, they can get on flow racing and and it'll show you right where the that's that's at, and they can watch it and and cheer you on on for sure. Is there anything that we haven't talked about that we should have? Because there's been there's so much to your story, Michaely. I feel like I'm missing something.

SPEAKER_00 24:11

I I don't really think so. I mean, obviously it takes a lot to do it and it is costly and stuff, but I mean it's more so just the fun out of it and what you get to experience doing it. I mean, you don't really ever get that much in return from it unless like you are winning, then you do get like money for winning and stuff, but I mean I guess trophies, but so it's really not like it is a good sport to do, but it's also not a sport that's like really like a hundred percent worth it, I'd say. But I mean, I like doing it, I look forward to it every single year and like the experience, but that's just me.

Closing And Audience CTA

Melinda Russell 24:57

So well, and you know, er i it's not a hobby really, but yet anything that we do that's not necessarily a job, job, you know, like I like to I like to craft and do different things. It's not necessarily something that is gonna pay me to do, but it's something I enjoy and that I like doing, and that's kind of the same for you, you know. You're not gonna be a world-renowned sled racer because that's just not a thing. But the fact that you're enjoying it, you're doing it with your family, you're making memories, those things are all important. Yeah, yeah, sure. Well, I'll give you one anything else you want to share before we hang up.

SPEAKER_00 25:43

I don't think so.

Melinda Russell 25:44

Okay, okay. All right, well, you hang on here just for a second and then uh we'll we'll talk.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

Okay.

Melinda Russell 25:55

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.