Driver Spotlight: Amanda Brickley

 

Amanda Brickley

 

Amanda Brickley is 6 years old. This girl may be young but she has plenty of race experience. She began racing when she turned 5 in the summer of 2011. She is currently racing kid karts and is a member at East Lansing Kart Track and has 3 feature wins this season. She also participated at her first Great Lakes Sprint Series event this spring at New Castle Motorsports Park where she placed 4th.

 

Amanda is a motivated and talented young driver. Each race she strives to beat her best time and the records set by other racers before her. A few weeks ago she accomplished this goal at Jet Karting at Michiana Raceway Park in South Bend, Indiana. She had the fastest qualifying time for the club this year and was able to mark the occasion by posting the time and signing the wall.

 

There are many things she loves about racing. When asked what were her favorites she said, "I like going fast! Most of all I like finishing 1st." She also says she likes spending time with her friends at the track. Amanda's favorite track that she's raced at is Jet Karting, she said she likes that track because, "they have a starting light like a traffic light." 

 

Amanda plans to race the rest of the season at East Lansing Kart Track and also continue to compete with the Great Lakes Sprint Series. Amanda Brickley is definitely a name to watch in the racing circuit. She's got the drive and ambition to succeed.

 

 

 



Our Wacky Race Weekend

Our Race Weekend June 8th & 9th, 2013

It was a normal race weekend. We were looking forward to going to MRP in South Bend, IN. Friends of ours from our home track were traveling down to race as well.

On the way down my allergies progressively got worse. I was miserable. So miserable I wish I could have just gone to bed and hid under the covers. I got some allergy pills at a gas station and hoped they would work. No such luck. My friend was nice enough to drive me to get some more meds and luckily they worked.

Next we hooked up our generator on our motor home. It started to make strange noises then completely died. Lucky us!! We did solve that problem by hooking up to the electrical service. We'll deal with fixing the generator another day.

Then my nephew went out to practice. Jim had the Go Pro camera hooked up on his kart. Apparently not that well because the camera flew off during practice. After a while of searching it was recovered. That was a relief.

The night went well. The kids went to bed easily and slept all night. The dog behaved as well. I wish I could say I slept that night but my mind was racing. Maybe it was all the allergy meds I had taken that day. Early that morning I was ready to roll. (Anyone who knows me knows that I love my sleep so this is definitely out of my character. I love sleep!!)

I was worried about rain. There was a high percentage chance of rain for that day, but luckily it held off. That was one of the positives for the day. The kids went out for practice before the race. Ashlee's air filter fell off and she ran it over during the first practice. Jim fixed it as best as he could. It held up for qualifying, pre-quals and the beginning of the race. But sure enough the filter fell off again and she ended up getting disqualified. Ashlee's friend also had some unfortunate luck. She qualified 1st, won the heat race and was leading the feature and all the sudden her engine failed. We felt so bad for her as well!!

Positives for the weekend: We had fun and spent time with family and friends, Ashlee improved on some of the bad habits we've been talking to her about, track time is always good, the weather was great, my nephew had a great race weekend finishing 2nd in the Rookie Sportsman class, Ashlee's friend Amanda set the track record for qualifying in Kid Karts, we met some great people, and there's always the next race to get it right and improve :-)

Driver Spotlight: Miranda Gallagher

Miranda Gallagher

GirlsRace2: What type of racing do you currently do?

Miranda: Currently I'm a kart racer in Jr2 super can class.

GirlsRace2: How long have you been racing?

Miranda: I started racing when I was 11 years old, this is my 5th year.  

GirlsRace2: How did you get your start in racing?

Miranda: My family was driving through Franklin, IN and noticed something was going on downtown. My step dad pulled over so we could stop to watch and I knew I had to get a kart and start racing! It wasn't difficult to talk my dad and stepdad into it. Within just a few short weeks they had bought a kart and we started practicing right away.

GirlsRace2: What is your proudest moment in your racing career so far?

Miranda: My proudest moment so far was being named Jr driver of the year my first season with SIRA. When they called my name I was speechless (I'm never at a loss for words.)

GirlsRace2: What is your goal for this season?

Miranda: My goal for this season is to race hard and drive fast and have fun!

GirlsRace2: What is your goal for your career in racing?

Miranda: My career goal in racing would be to run open wheel. 

GirlsRace2: Who do you look up to/admire in racing?

Miranda: Oh I admire SO many in racing!!! I've worked closely with Pippa Mann at The Glass Hammer Experience; she's taught me so much! I also admire Charlie Kimble; like Charlie I am a Type 1 Diabetic. Knowing that he's not allowing T1D to control him and stop him from his dream is an inspiration.  

GirlsRace2: What challenges in your racing career have you faced?

Miranda: I'm challenged in racing, first off I'm a girl in a primarily guy sport. Most of the guys I'm competitive with have many more years of experience than I do. One way of overcoming both of those issues is to develop a friendship. We talk in the pits, give pointers, and push each other to get better. 

To learn more about Miranda Gallagher follow her on Twitter @MirandaRacer11 or her Facebook Page


 

Radio Interview

Racing Diva Radio

Racing Diva Radio airs live on Tuesdays from 6-8pm central on blogtalkradio.com . On Racing Diva Radio we cover all types of talent within the many different racing industries. If you miss a show, you can always go back and listen, we archive them. We are also on iTunes, facebook, and twitter. 

Here is the link to my radio interview with hostess Tiffany Welch: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/racingdivaradio/2013/05/28/girls-race-2-with-blogger-liz-opatic

Custom Suits- What We've Learned

Custom Suits

Last year we went with the standard black suit for our daughter. She was really hoping for something a little more stylish however the standard choices did not include anything geared towards girls. After her first season we chose to go a different route for her suit. Overall the end result is good but we wish we would have thought it out a little more. Here are some tips that I learned through this experience.

1. Check with more than one company as to pricing and product details. Talk to other drivers who have used the company and ask them questions about their experience. Referrals are helpful.
2. When ordering suits for younger children make sure to discuss with the manufacturer how to measure current sizing but make room to grow. This is something we wish we would have done. Both girls' suits fit but they will only last one season. Custom suits are expensive and we wish we would have taken this into consideration.
3. When ordering ask what their time frames for completion are. We were told a minimum of 6 weeks. We assumed it would take the full 6 weeks maybe 8 weeks, but that wasn't the case. We ordered at the beginning of the busy season and had to wait 13 weeks for them to arrive. We were definitely disappointed with this timing. Ashlee raced the first 4 races of the season with her old suit. This isn't a big deal but since the new suit will only fit this season, it was kind of a bummer not to get a full seasons use out of it.
4. Check out other suits designed by the company you chose. Get design ideas and give the designer examples of what you are looking for. The design process of the suits went really well. We took a pre-designed suit and modified it. Axcel Sports was really helpful as to recommending what would and wouldn't look good. They also had great design ideas. Overall we are really happy with the design and look of the suits.

Design Stage 

Finished Project

Suits on the Girls

The company we used was Axcel Sports. Check out their Facebook Page for more info. They have some really awesome designs and options. https://www.facebook.com/AxcelSports