Cars Yeah with Mark Greene

Kim Kuzma grew up in a racing family watching her Grandpa Kuzma, her father, Bob, and brothers race circle tracks in the Pacific Northwest. Her Uncle Eddie Kuzma built FIA, USAC, and Indy Car and midget chassis and was inducted into the Indianapolis Hall of Fame posthumously in 2003. Kim is active with three Portland, Oregon based amateur race clubs and serves with Cascade Sports Car Club as Active Chair and their Race Official Division representative. She is an on-track marshal, Assistant Chief Starter and her professional race marshal series experience includes Formula 1, IndyCar, American Le Mans, NASCAR, and Champ Car World series duties. She has been on the Start Team for the past two years at Circuit of the Americas USGP and she is the Team Manager for Lucky Dog Racing Series team Worker’s Revenge. In 2014, Kim was awarded SCCA Worker of the Year for outstanding performance.

Direct download: Ep1243-Kim_Kuzma.mp3
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Cindy Sisson is a sports marketing professional with decades of experience building major sports properties. She is the former partnership Director for the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California. She served as a Board Member, Senior Advisor, and Director of Development to the National Foundation of Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, a congressionally chartered foundation. She was the Co-Founder of ConnectTivity, an agency that assists nonprofits and schools to raise funds through creative fundraising solutions and she served as President of HOPSports, a global health, and wellness network dedicated to fighting childhood obesity. Cindy has worked with the Olympics, the LPGA, NASCAR, the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and PGA and youth sports programming. While in NASCAR, she worked with Roush Racing and Kyle Petty’s Charity Ride Across America.

Direct download: Ep1242-Cindy_Sisson.mp3
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Rachel Blatt is the Founder of Royalty Logistics, an automotive transport and shipping company located in Ferndale, Michigan. Royalty Logistics is a certified, woman-owned company that specializes in moving vehicles for auto auctions, rental car companies, and dealerships. Growing up in Michigan, she was a huge fan of classic cars and attended the Dream Cruise and North American Auto Show every year with her family. Rachel previously worked in the tech sector and decided the auto transport business would be her way into the auto industry, where she could share her passion and love for cars. Rachel excelled as the top transport broker at Wholesale Inc. and United Road before venturing out to start her own company. She is a huge fan of continual self-improvement and is on a mission to help her customers and make everyone around her a huge success. 

Direct download: Ep1241-Rachel_Blatt.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am PDT

Valerie Thompson is the Team Owner and Driver at Valerie Thompson Racing. She is the first female motorcycle rider to go over 300 mph, earning her the title of “World’s Fastest Female Motorcycle Racer.” She posted her best top speed of 328 mph in 2018 at the DLRA Speed Week competition in Southern Australia, piloting Denis Manning’s Team “7” Racing streamliner. Valerie is an 8-time land speed record holder with membership in seven different 200 MPH Clubs, one 300 MPH Club and she is a lifetime member of the famed Bonneville 200 MPH Club. She was inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2018. Valerie’s current quest to become the world’s fastest motorcycle racer is the subject of P-51 Pictures’ and MN8 Films’ upcoming feature documentary, Rockets and Titans. Her many racing accomplishments have earned Valerie the moniker of “America’s Queen of Speed.”

A shout out to past Cars Yeah guest for introducing me to Valerie, a very fast racer in her own rights, the great Lyn St. James.

Direct download: Ep1240-Valerie_Thompson.mp3
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Karen Salvaggio owns and operates Thunder Valley Racing. She is a builder and racer who began her career in 1985 at NASCAR dirt track events in California. She moved to road racing with the Vintage Auto Racing Association and competed in the Women’s Global GT with the American LeMans Series. She’s earned over 200 first place finishes in driving competitions including Top Eliminator at the Pomona Drags in 1999 and the 2011 Western Endurance Racing Championship. Karen served nine years in the U.S. Air Force as an aircraft mechanic and earned a Bachelor’s Degree, a Master’s Degree, and a Doctorate. She’s served as a Select Committee member on the SEMA Businesswomen's Network and has appeared on TV shows as well. She is also a personal driving coach at the track. Today, Karen builds and races Factory Five Racing Daytona Coupes with SOVREN and continues to develop Thunder Valley Racing as a premier source of racing equipment and support for women Racers.

Direct download: Ep1239-Karen_Salvaggio.mp3
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Jay Quail is the Executive Director of the Classic Car Club of America, known as the CCCA, where he has been a member for over 35 years. Jay has held this position since his appointment in 2008 and oversees the day-to-day operations from its Chicago headquarters. Jay also sits on the CCCA and the CCCA Education Foundation Board of Directors, Ex Officio. He is a member of numerous automotive organizations including The Lincoln Owners Club, Society of Auto Historians, Worldwide Automotive Professionals, and the Association of Non-profit Executive Directors. Jay’s passion and year of expertise is pre-war cars built prior to 1939. He is the Master Judge in the CCCA and judges at numerous concours events around the country. A majority of his career, prior to the CCCA, was in investment banking and financial equities, where he retired in 2003.

Direct download: Ep1238-Jay_Quail.mp3
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Matt Teske is a Marketing Director and Brand Strategist with 20 years of experience in the automotive industry. His talents caught the attention of General Motors when he was just 19, which lead to a career managing numerous special projects and marketing campaigns for automotive OEM clients including Chevrolet, Toyota, dealerships, and aftermarket companies. His work has been featured in publications including Forbes, Motor Trend, Newsweek, The Verge, and at major shows including Sema and NYIAS. Matt developed Chargeway after years of research into the electric car industry. His conclusion: in order for electric cars to move beyond early adopters, there needs to be an easier way to explain and enjoy “electric fuel”. Chargeway replaced the technical and engineering based language to a more simple, visual explanation. 

Direct download: Ep1237-Matt_Teske-.mp3
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Alex Littlewood is the Founder and CEO of Motoroso.com, a website for enthusiasts to plan, build and share everything that powers their lifestyles. Alex launched the beta version of Motoroso's site in late 2015, and in January of 2019, he launched the "Motoroso Marketplace", which is the worlds first dedicated auto parts marketplace. The site has over 250,000 products available at launch, sold by hand-selected vendors, and they offer free shipping on all purchases with no minimum. Alex led a 10+ year startup career in the Silicon Valley, including Wildfire which was acquired by Google. He then started Motoroso, and after selling his house to fund the company and going through the TechStars accelerator in Detroit, he decided to move the company to the beautiful Central Coast of California. In conjunction with Motoroso's marketplace launch, they have also begun creating video content in their 2,000 square foot video studio in downtown San Luis Obispo. Alex raced a motorcycle in the AFM and WERA road racing series, and can often be found on the track at Laguna Seca, Sears Point, and Miller Motorsports Park.

Direct download: Ep1236-Alex_Littlewood.mp3
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Jim Krouskop is Managing Partner and Founder of 360Sonar, a boutique recruiting and talent search firm located in Seattle. He has over 20 years of technology management and recruiting experience, primarily for high-tech organizations across the US. Jim is also co-founder of 3 Pedal Posse, a growing community of car enthusiasts who enjoy 3-pedal driving and hanging out with like-minded car enthusiasts. He received a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s degree in Urban Planning from UC, San Diego and the University of Washington. Originally from Southern California, Jim is an avid car and Porsche enthusiast, amateur photographer, aspiring writer, and Scotch drinker. His 3 Pedal Posse Co-Founder, Mauricio Bendana was yesterday’s guest here on Cars Yeah.

Direct download: Ep1235-Jim_Krouskop.mp3
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Tina Smith is a 27-year veteran in the automotive industry. She is a true barrier breaker overcoming adversity and all the stigmas around becoming an automotive technician, especially a woman technician. She was the only female in her high school auto mechanics class and was the first woman to graduate from the Chrysler Apprenticeship program in Automotive Technology.  She has held positions ranging from service, parts, engineering, and sales. Tina is passionate about the automotive industry and now is giving back through her work with the TechForce Foundation. Tina is "paving" the way for tomorrow's technicians. TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit, 501 c3 that champions students to and through their education and into careers as professional technicians. 

Direct download: Ep1234-Tina_Smith.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:00am PDT