Never Settle with Jimmie Johnson and Marty Smith: Why NASCAR NEEDS Alignment, PLUS Former IndyCar Driver Lyn St. James
April 2, 2025
Episode 4
This episode starts to peel the onion of how teams work and how hard it is to be a racer, whether as a driver, crew member, or team owner. It emphasizes how important teamwork is in racing. I’ve always said racing is a hybrid sport – the driver is the athlete competing and delivering results, so it’s like an individual sport. But it takes a whole team of people to put the car on the racetrack and work with the driver throughout the race, which makes it a team sport. Every team member is important and impacts the driver’s performance and the race results. The Mazda MX-5 Cup Race Series is a “spec” series because all the cars are virtually alike, with minor adjustments for handling, so teamwork (even with your competitors) is critical. It clearly emphasizes “to finish first. First, you have to finish.” Confirms what a great title is for this docuseries: “First to the Finish”!
Both drivers talk about marketing, sponsorship, and the social media needed to not only be successful but also to keep going. It’s tough because everyone’s personality is different, and it can be difficult to find your authentic self and find the support you need. Heather has been supported by ShiftUp Now, which does a great job of supporting talented female racers.
It’s at the halfway point of the season. The racetrack featured in this episode is Mid-Ohio, a challenging track to learn. It has elevation changes and blind corners. I’ve raced at Mid-Ohio numerous times and always found it difficult. Both Heather and Sally are in a pretty good mindset considering the difficulties they’ve been experiencing, and both had a good Race 1. Sally qualified well and finished 12th. She was happy with her car in the race after they fixed a problem with the engine after qualifying. Heather didn’t get a good qualifying time, so she ran towards the back without teammates to help her find a drafting partner to make any passes. She ran a solid race but could only finish 20th, and BSI racing teammate Connor Zillich, one of the most talented young racers, had a win for the team. It was tough for her to stay positive while the team celebrated a victory, and she’s back in 20th. Heather gets down on herself, which is normal but isn’t good if you want to progress. She wants to race and works hard but is tough on herself.
Episode 5
This episode gives some insight into drivers as people and outside of racing. It introduces us to Sally’s new boyfriend, and we get to watch Heather graduate from college. There’s some great footage that had to be taken from a helicopter, so lovely storytelling with great filming. There’s some fun interaction between Sally and her crew chief, Brad. I don’t want to be a spoiler on this.
The racetrack featured is Canadian Tire Motorsports Parks (CTMP), which for a long time was known as Mosport International Raceway. It has a rich history in motorsports dating back to the early 1960s when well-known racers such as Bruce McLaren, A. J. Foyt, Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Dennis Hulme, Parnelli Jones, and Gilles Villeneuve raced. Many of the corners are named after some of these motorsports heroes.
Both drivers did some of their best racing. Sally had one of her best finishes – 6th place. Heather was having a great run in Race 2 when a tire came off on the last lap, causing one of her worst crashes.
The next race is at Virginia International Raceway (known as VIR). It is one of the oldest road course tracks in the country (opened in 1957) and one of the most revered. It was closed for many years and brought back to life in 2000, bigger and better.
After the horrific crash at Mosport, Heather shows up with the perfect mindset. Sally has great confidence after her 6th-place finish in Mosport. It’s great to see both of them interacting with fans, especially inspiring young girls who can see themselves as racers! I love that this episode includes a spot on the panel discussion organized by Women in Motorsports North America (WIMNA), helping tell the stories of the many different roles women have in motorsports.
Things seem to have turned the corner – but not really – as there’s a big crash between Heather and Sally. It’s Sally’s fault. She owns it and gets a time penalty, yet still earns the top-finishing female award for the race. We take two steps forward and one step backward.
This episode is one of the most heartfelt, showing family spirit, love, and support.
Episode 6
The season’s last race is at the IMSA Petit LeMans race weekend at Road Atlanta. There’s some deep emotional digging between drivers, their families, and crew members. You can feel both drivers’ tension and pressure at this point in their race season and careers. Shea continues to give insight, such as “Don’t overthink it,” which we all tend to do. Sally crashes alone in Race 1 and must retire. She keeps watching the footage of her crash and gets down on herself. It reminds me of a crash I had at Road Atlanta in the early 1980s when I was racing an Aston Martin Nimrod Prototype. It was an IMSA endurance race, and I put in a significant segment. I crashed just before I was scheduled to come in for a pitstop/driver change. I couldn’t figure out what happened/why it happened. It bugged me for the longest time. I finally figured out that I was in such a rhythm that it was going so well, but I didn’t adjust my driving to the tires’ wear and weight change due to the lighter fuel load. Experience is so valuable! And sometimes, you have to shake it off!
Since it’s the end of the season, there’s the year-end banquet, where celebrations happen and awards are given. Sally finishes 12th overall in the standings and is the top-finishing female for the year. She also shares that she has funding for 2025 and is going with a different team. She captures what the season has been like. And congratulations to Westin Workman for winning Rookie of the Year honors for the BSI team!
“First to the Finish” delves into the journey of two female racing drivers and team owners and gives you a behind-the-scenes look into the passion everyone has in motorsports! The footage of the races and interviews is great, and they did an excellent job of editing these stories that show the people, passion, hard work, and great places around the country that host the Mazda MX5 Cup Series. It’s a “must-watch” series, and I’m looking forward to the 2025 season!!
