“I often heard, ‘Kelley, the shop isn’t a place for girls,’” Kelley Earnhardt once recalled. As much as she would’ve loved to follow in her legendary father’s footsteps, the circumstances just didn’t allow it. And it all came down to a choice: “Was I going to race or work?” That’s a choice many in the motorsports world have had to make because that’s the thing about the industry: it’s very limited. And doing well enough to make it to the very top is something only a select few have the privilege of attesting to.

In a conversation with Kyle Petty, fellow NASCAR insiders shared their insights on what it truly takes to succeed in a sport where the odds are stacked against you. Their candid reflections reveal the often unseen struggles and the unwavering dedication required to navigate the demanding path toward professional racing.

Kelley Earnhardt Miller, co-owner of JR Motorsports, has been a trailblazer in the male-dominated world of NASCAR racing. As a female racer, she faced unique challenges in her journey to the top. When Kyle Petty said, “[The Cup Series] is rare air. It’s rare air to get to the Xfinity Series. But is there any way just to get kids interested and try to identify talent and move forward?” Upward mobility plays a crucial role in a driver’s success – if they’re doing well in Trucks, they should have the opportunity to move to Xfinity, and the same goes for the jump from Xfinity to Cup. However, that’s where NASCAR’s limitation comes in.

Kelley Earnhardt said, “As a female racer coming up, I was always asked, ‘How do you get to the top?’ I always said the same thing: ‘There’s 36 people at the Cup Series, and there’s 3000 of us out here [who are] short track racing. We’re all not going to get there.’” But that’s the gap Kelley and Dale Earnhardt Jr are trying to bridge with JR Motorsports – helping up-and-coming talent make a breakthrough in the national series.

The No. 88 car has seen new faces make their debut in the Xfinity Series. In Richmond earlier this year, late model veteran Bubba Pollard made his first start. As for young drivers, Junior and Kelley gave 21-year-old Carson Kvapil his first shot at Martinsville. And they also have 17-year-old Connor Zilisch in the pipeline to drive this year (after he turns 18 in September). Giving promising drivers is what JR Motorsports strives to do, and Dale Jr revealed what he would do with the team in a “perfect world.”

“In a perfect world, I would love to run this car with all kinds of Bubbas and Carsons. I would love to give Carson a full season. I think he’s ready to go… His dad works really, really hard, trying to find opportunities and money,” Junior said of Kvapil. “Chevrolet is being more and more supportive and seeing, really, that he is a true talent.” But that’s the other thing about motorsport. It’s expensive. Without financial backing, making it to the very top can become extra difficult.

Coming back to Kelley Earnhardt. Growing up as the daughter of the legendary Dale Earnhardt, she has faced unique challenges from the start, including the constant discrimination she faced as a female racer, which only added to the grind of weekly racing. “You felt that you weren’t strong enough, fast enough, or good enough because you were a girl,” she revealed. But despite the obstacles, she made a name for herself as a talented, hard-charging driver in late models during a time when the sport was not as welcoming to women as it is now.

As for the Cup Series, the difficulty of breaking into it is further emphasized by the experiences of other NASCAR insiders, where all of them confirmed that if you think you can make it, you will have to put in more than just regular hard work to make it count!

Affluent NASCAR personalities concur with Kelley Earnhardt

“Do you ever have that conversation with a 14-year-old and their parents when they say, ‘What’s it like to run a cars tour?’ What kind od advice do you give them?” This question by Kyle Petty prompted Carson Kvapil to share personal experiences.

Kvapil revealed that when young fans reach out to him, eager to follow in his footsteps, he offers a sobering dose of reality. “If you think you’re working 100%, you gotta work harder. It’s one of those things where you kind of got to have a really hard work ethic to have a good shot at making it,” he admitted. Yikes, that’s some brutal honesty! The challenges of breaking into the top levels of NASCAR are tough and complicated, and the journey is as demanding as it can get.

Joey Dennewitz, another NASCAR insider, identified two key barriers aspiring drivers must overcome: education and upward mobility. “It’s one thing to get you in the door, but if you’re successful and you win, you should have the opportunity to move up and move up again and again,” he explained.

So, in the end, the road to achieving your dreams in racing is filled with challenges. However, for those passionate, dedicated, and willing to persevere, the chance to compete at the highest level of stock car racing is still possible, even if the odds are against you. And Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Carson Kvapil, Joey Dennewitz, and many other NASCAR drivers can attest to that!