038 | Women in Motorsports: Building Careers, Community & the Future of Racing with Meredith Burns
Cool Cars with Chris: Car Talk, Driving Tips & Auto Life
038 | Women in Motorsports: Building Careers, Community & the Future of Racing with Meredith BurnsCool Cars with Chris: Car Talk, Driving Tips & Auto Life · Jun 15, 2026
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Car
Porsche Speedster
A Porsche Speedster is a Porsche model style that’s usually open-top and feels more lightweight and “old-school” than a regular coupe. People love them because they look classic and drive like a real sports car.
JDM means “Japanese Domestic Market.” It’s a term car fans use for Japanese cars and parts that were made for the Japanese market, and it often points to a certain look and culture around those vehicles.
The Nissan 300 ZX is a sports car made by Nissan. It’s a two-door car designed to feel fun and quick to drive. People bring it up because it’s a well-known model that many drivers remember from earlier years.
Term
Zs
“Zs” is a nickname for Nissan’s Z lineup of sports cars. When someone says “all the Zs,” they usually mean multiple generations of that same model family.
LIVE
Hey, what's happening? How are you doing today? Thank you so much for being here. I am Chris and
this is cool cars with Chris, the world famous podcast, cool cars with Chris. You clicked on the
right show at the right time. And, um, on today's fantastic episode, we are going back over to Willow
Springs to have a conversation with Meredith Burns, the president of Southern California's
chapter of women in motor sports in North America. Check that out. And if you want to see
everything that's happening in this episode today, it will be in video format. So if you're listening
on audio podcast, hey, that's fine. Audio is great. I love audio podcasts, but today in this
episode, it will be in video form. If you want to check it out on Spotify and on the good old
fashion YouTube, it's always there too. And of course, probably social media too. There you go.
But yeah, we were talking to Meredith about her love for racing and
bringing women back into the motor sport of racing. How do you do that? And what gets a woman
actually excited about motor sports? We're going to talk about that. And of course,
today's episode is brought to you by Podtastic Audio. Hey, look, I know I make this look easy.
Podcasting isn't always easy for everybody. It's, you know, the technology, figuring out what to
say, how to say it, how to deliver, how to edit, all those things. It's a, it's crazy. I get it. So
let me help you out. You can message me directly through my website at coolcarswithchris.com.
Send me a message and I will see what I can do to help you out. There you go. And on that, let's roll.
Okay. We are here with Meredith. And Meredith, what brings you out here to Willow Springs?
So I am out here today to promote WMNA, which is Women in Motorsports North America. I'm the
president of the Southern California chapter. We're all about advancing, connecting, and enabling
women in motor sports. Now, typically, I guess you would say women in motor sports have probably been
not as popular as with the men, I would think. So what is your draw to get women into women into
motorsports? That's an excellent question, Chris. I'm also the editor of Performance Racing
Industry Magazine, and I've been in there for 30 years. So I have seen the changes in motorsports
and women being involved in motorsports, where it's not just a public relations role. More
drivers are coming in, more leadership, pit crew. So what we're doing is we're just letting women know
that no matter what your background is, you can still be involved in motorsports.
You can be an attorney. You can work for a race. That's right. You sure can. Now, do you drive?
What is your role? Have you raced or anything like that? What's your background? They don't
want me on a race track. Oh, come on. No, no. We're just talking. We've got to have you out there
drifting. I would like to drift. That's fun. I used to work with Jim Lowell, and he is an amazing
human being, and he started Formula Drift here with Ryan Sage. So Jim is actually a big proponent
of women in motorsports. Oh, nice, nice. Yes, he helps us out tremendously. That's fantastic. So
where do you guys, where's your headquarters looking at it out of? So our national office is
based in North Carolina, but we have various chapters. So we are also in, in addition to North
Carolina, we're in Detroit, Southern California, Indianapolis, and we have a few other new
eye chapters starting up. Nice, nice. So women in motorsports, what is probably the most popular,
or I would say popular, what's the most favorite like event that women get drawn to when it comes
to motorsports? You know, it's the bigger events that get them interested, I would say, like the
NASCAR, NASCAR definitely. But you know, with the various docu-series about Formula One over the
last several years, that's really brought in the younger generation. And I have friends who have
teenage daughters that now they follow Formula One, and I follow it pretty closely, but they
follow it to the point where I'm like, oh, I didn't know that. So it's challenging me, and I love
that. It's making me elevate my game. Yeah. Have you ever headed out to Vegas to see the Vegas
Formula One? I have not. Okay. It's pretty cool having that kind of close to home now,
even though I, I know it causes a whole stir for the whole city when that happens during that week
or something. And they actually have bridges they built that heads over the, they're like, I think
it's like two or three bridges they built to go over to the, the casinos in the center. I was
wondering like, I see Vegas, like how do you, like, how do you get your way over your hotel if
like, if the track goes around, you know. Exactly. Yeah. I went to the Formula One race back in
Indy years ago. Okay. Okay. Nice. Nice. Nice. Are they loud in person, those cars? It depends on
which kind of cars you're talking about. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. You know, personally, the sound
of a Formula One car today, compared to 20 years ago, you know, with those high RPMs,
oh, music to my ears. Yeah. I understand why they're changing, but it's, it doesn't have the same
feel to these. Is it different? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's a gadgety now these days and computers
and a lot kind of stuff. So thoughts on the F1 movie. On You know what, any movie,
television show that promotes motor sports, I'm on board. Yeah. What about Brad Pitt's role in that
movie? He's Brad Pitt. Oh, well, you know, I mean, you can't argue with that, I guess. The ladies
go to see Brad Pitt. That's true. And if it means that they're going to go to a Formula One race
and now be a Max fan or a Fernando fan or whoever, go for it. Yeah, definitely. Definitely. That's a
good point because Brad Pitt kind of has that ability to like be in a role. But it's a movie,
too. It is a big major movie, too. You got the big role, too. They kind of, you know, I mean,
it wasn't all about racing, entire movie, but other plots, too, kind of going on. That's how
you do it these days. You get women and anybody really into involved with the motor sports and
movies, things like that. So, well, that's fantastic. One thing I was curious about, I might have
kind of touched on it as well, but you know, what ways, I guess, is it more in the sense of connecting
with like different racing teams or companies? Is it more of a connection point or is there like,
you know, are you doing hands-on things where like getting them involved and say like pit crews
and different things like that? Women, you know, what are the ways, I guess, that you're kind of
helping bridge the gap between, I guess, wanting to be more involved and actually getting involved?
So, we have our annual Women with Drives Summit. We have a case competition where we have teams of
four college students and they're doing either, I think last year it was more of a business
component, but this year it's more engineering, where we're trying to get those students involved
to give them those skills. Not only like, we'll say engineering, but they have to put together
projects to get that business background. So, we're trying to give them a more holistic approach
to motor sports and plus all of the different Wimna events that we hold throughout the year,
all the different chapter events. In addition to our summit, the networking is fabulous. Oh,
I bet, I bet. I've already spoken to several folks here at this event that if they want to network,
come to one of our events, men and women. We're just about promoting women in motor sports,
so we appreciate the help from the men. Yeah, well, I support women in motor sports. I support
women in all sports, to tell you the truth. So, but that's fantastic, that's great. Of all the
motor sports events, which one's your favorite? Of all the motor sports events? Yeah. Do you want
the PC answer or the real answer? The PC answer is whichever one I'm at. That's it, that's how you do
it. It's like, whatever car you're driving, which is your favorite? Which car I'm driving right now?
So, my favorite event that I used to attend was Copper Classic, which used to be at Phoenix
International Raceway. When it was PIR, now Phoenix Raceway, that was, they would have a NASCAR
stock car race, a USAC Silver Crown, a super modified, and a USAC Midget. They had four
various types of racing at this event, and what it would do is it would bring fans from different
components of motor sports. Yeah, mix it up, yeah. And in like, a Midget fan would come there and
they'd be like, what's a super modified? Right, right, right. And they immediately looked upon the
world, yeah. Exactly. That was my favorite event that I used to attend annually. Well, it's not like
a big event with like, a bunch of different bodies of people, of different things, and different
car types, and different races all in one place. It's almost like, I want to say, it was like a
Super Bowl, or like, I guess football, and baseball, and soccer, and whatever, hockey all got together
and had their own like, event, you know? Yeah. It's pretty crazy. It's all set around the same
thing. So, exactly. What other cars you've seen today here? What is your favorite?
Where's that little Porsche Speedster? That one right there. It's white. I don't see it right there.
What over there? Oh, it's right there. Yep. I love that car. But our family, we're all big JDM fans.
So, my son is with me. He's 20, and he has been just in heaven looking at all these classic
dots and all he does. Yeah. So cold. Yes, that's mine right there. We both took him
on the track today for the parade lab. It was so much fun. Oh, yeah. That was so much fun.
So, you know, it seems to have been close to my heart. I had a 300ZX when I was back in college,
and you know, seeing some of those, as well as just all of the Zs. I always say, like,
everybody's had like a Z in their life. It feels like, you know, I'd be so many people,
oh, my dad had that, or my, you know, my mom had one, and so it's just, it touches everybody,
I feel like. It does. Exactly. It does. It does. Well, Meredith, this has been so fantastic. Thank
you for sharing women and motor sports. This has been so great, and I appreciate you stopping by
today. All right. Thank you so much.
About this episode
Meredith Burns joins Chris at Willow Springs to talk about Women in Motorsports North America and how to widen career pathways beyond driving. They discuss what draws women into racing—big events like NASCAR, plus Formula One’s growing younger fanbase through docu-series. The conversation also covers how modern F1 cars sound compared with 20 years ago, and how Women with Drive Summit and its case competition connect students to real team roles. Along the way, they share personal motorsports connections, including Meredith’s 300ZX.
In this episode of Cool Cars with Chris, Chris heads to Willow Springs Raceway to sit down with Meredith Burns, President of the Southern California Chapter of Women in Motorsports North America (WIMNA) and Editor of Performance Racing Industry Magazine.
Meredith shares how women are becoming increasingly involved in every aspect of motorsports—from racing and engineering to business leadership and media. The conversation explores how organizations like WIMNA are creating opportunities, building connections, and helping shape the future of the racing industry.
They also discuss the growing influence of Formula 1, NASCAR, motorsports networking, career development, and why racing has never been more accessible to the next generation of fans and professionals.
Whether you're a lifelong gearhead, an aspiring motorsports professional, or simply curious about the future of racing, this episode offers an inside look at one of the fastest-growing movements in the industry.
Connect with Women in Motorsports North America (WIMNA)
Women in Motorsports North America is dedicated to advancing, connecting, and enabling women throughout the motorsports industry through mentorship, networking, education, and career development opportunities.
