Women Shifting Gears with Amanda Busick

Latest Episodes:

Season 1, Episode 11: Lyn Hiner - Automotive Fine Artist Jun 02, 2021

Show notes

“Beauty from Ashes”-- Amanda Busick explores automotive artist Lyn Hiner’s remarkable journey, from her formative years with her dad’s car, to her horrific 2012 accident that galvanized her artistic career, to the light and happiness her acclaimed work creates today with collectors worldwide. Lyn’s story of family, life and navigating her personal journey, including ”building monuments to remember I survived” give remarkable insight into her drive to create.

Season 1, Episode 10: Judy Stropus - Legendary Professional Timer/Scorer & 2021 Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee May 25, 2021

Show notes

Legendary professional Timer/Scorer and 2021 Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee Judy Stropus takes host Amanda Busick for a heck of a ride through her career, spanning five decades. Judy honed her skills in the 60s and 70s, and created bulletproof results for racers in nearly every discipline. In the era before computers, she twice kept times and scores for 100 cars in a single race, tracking results entirely by hand. “All I ever wanted in my life is respect”. Judy reminisces about working with Roger Penske when women working in the pits was forbidden, why ovals are”hell!’ to score, and why the instant results of timing and scoring are so gratifying. Adrienne Barbeau may have played Judy in ‘CannonballRun’, but she would have been equally happy with Ann Margaret -- another iconic car girl!

Season 1, Episode 9: Courtney Force - NHRA Funny Car Winner, Daughter, Sister, Wife & Mother May 19, 2021

Show notes

This week, Amanda Busick talks with Courtney Force about the pressure of growing up as John Force’s daughter and explores how Courtney has embraced each chapter of her personal evolution - daughter, winning NHRA racer, wife of IndyCar racer Graham Rahal, and now, a mom and committed fundraiser for veterans’ services non-profit Soldier Strong. Courtney discusses the importance of her close bond with her sisters, her decision to follow in her dad’s footsteps, and mastering the intensity of those 3.7 seconds (“at first everything would go black…”). Courtney shares how growing up in a racing family prepared her for her nomadic racing life and why she’d love to see her daughter follow in her footsteps. And maybe, to race again?

Season 1, Episode 8: Shay Hoelscher - CEO and Owner, privé products May 12, 2021

Show notes

Amanda Busick connects with privé products CEO and dedicated Porsche racer Shay Hoelscher. Shay shares stories about her lifelong love of scary rides, her first powder puff demolition derby sparking her love of racing, and her belief that if you think you can you will, if you think you can’t, you won’t. Shay’s commitment to personal growth for herself and the women she impacts through PCA driver coaching, and her lifetime dedication to community, manifest themselves in her career as a change agent. Shay brings teamwork and confidence developed through racing to her passion for Project Beauty Share, to support women moving through challenging circumstances.

Season 1, Episode 7: Sabré Cook - Professional Race Driver, Mechanical Engineer and Driver Coach May 05, 2021

Show notes

Podcast host Amanda Busick takes some high speed laps around race car driver Sabré Cook’s life, education, motivations and career. Sabré tells it like it is-- the hard work, why losing can be more valuable than winning, her extraordinary experience of being selected to race in the international W Series. Sabré talks about “weaponizing being uncomfortable” and shares her advice to today’s thirteen year old aspiring racers.

Season 1, Episode 6: Christi Schimpke - Owner/Designer CRASH Jewelry Apr 28, 2021

Show notes

Amanda Busick talks with master metalworker and CRASH Jewelry founder Christi Schimpke about the power of mid-life career pivots, her a-ha moment looking at crashed exotic cars, and her love of the arts reflecting in the depth of automotive paint.
Christi speaks about founding CRASH and the trials of building a start-up company in a traditionally masculine hobby. Christi and Amanda explore the creative process of finding and working with metal, paint, power tools, and the creative rush, as Amanda celebrates her first CRASH.

Season 1, Episode 5: Karen Brown - Vice President, Experiential Marketing & Events for Motor Trend Group, Part of the Discovery Networks Apr 21, 2021

Show notes

Amanda and Motor Trend’s VP of Experiential Marketing & Events, Karen Brown, have a candid conversation about life, perseverance, and how Karen has carried her love and appreciation for her Dad’s life lessons with her through her twenty-five years in the automotive and experiential marketing space.
Karen shares her career high point, including a major activation around Paul McCartney’s World Tour, and shares her goals for her career and how she envisions impactful marketing activation creating social change.

Season 1, Episode 4: Deb Pollack - Luxury Automotive Marketing/PR Executive | Founder - Drive Toward a Cure Apr 14, 2021

Show notes

Deb Pollack’s enviable career in automotive public relations and marketing has immersed her in projects for the world’s most famous marques, including Ferrari and Maserati. She has contributed her PR talent to concours and rallies around the world.

To honor her mother’s 90th birthday, Deb founded “Drive Toward a Cure”, a non-profit that raises funds to combat Parkinson’s Disease through car rallies, track days, concours, and fundraisers. Deb’s mother suffered from Parkinsons, and Deb’s goal is to eradicate the disease.

Deb is known for her passionate work for Singer Vehicle Design, whose bespoke designs and craftsmanship resonate with Porsche fans. Her work for Singer has connected Deb to some of the world’s finest car collectors and grown her immense network of car people.

To Deb, car people are her extended family, and she treats each person she knows as such. Host Amanda Busick and Deb bring Deb’s love of cars and car people full circle as they talk about Deb’s life work elevating the conversation around car people and great car events.

Season 1, Episode 3: Lyn St. James - Professional Race Car Driver, Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, Philanthropist and Motivational Speaker Apr 07, 2021

Show notes

Amanda talks with the legendary Lyn St James in an extraordinarily candid interview, covering topics as wide ranging as Lyn’s first meeting with Roger Penske, the core of a good race strategy, and how empowering it is to step into a race car.
Lyn shares what it’s like to mentor up-and-coming racers and some of her proudest career moments. Amanda explores what it means to Lyn to be celebrated, and how Lyn is wearing her Amelia Island Concours 2021 Honoree mantle.
As always, Lyn steps up to demonstrate to her friends, her teammates, her mentees and to her efforts at the FIA/ACCUS what it means to demonstrate the Spirit of the American Woman.

Season 1, Episode 2: Mercedes Lilienthal - Owner/Founder Crankshaft Consulting | The New York Times Contributing Writer | Freelance Journalist Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

Mercedes Lilienthal uses her writer’s podium to shine a light on “women who are unseen and notable” in the automotive world through her stories for the New York Times, Tread magazine, Toyota Cruisers, and Trucks, and the communication platform “Crankshaft Culture” she shares with her husband, Andy Lilienthal. Her Twitter handle, “@WriterWithGrit”, captures her determination to focus on life’s great journey. Her travels include the Alcan5000 Arctic rally in a RHD diesel through -40 degree temps, the grueling and competitive Rebelle Rally, and a pandemic-2020 thirteen-state cross-country journey.

She shines a light on women who inspire seizing opportunity, including one of her she-roes, Jessie Combs, whose “go get ‘em” attitude and competitive spirit she came to greatly admire during their interview conversations.

Mercedes chooses to focus on women who wrench cars, work in diesel, rally, and get out there in the left seat -- oftentimes behind the scenes but mission-critical roles.

Mercedes believes that “if you aren’t uncomfortable, you aren’t learning”.

Her faithful and loyal travel companions include her husband Andy Lilienthal and her beloved stuffed bunny, Bert, who’s traveled the world with Mercedes. Their choice of road trip music: “we let the road speak to us”. What a perfect motto for this engaging and strong woman who uses her positive energy to develop her life story.

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