Beyond the Finish Line: Finding Balance in Speed and Life with Karyl Bell

Women's Motorsports Network Podcast

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Karyl Bell's motorsports journey is the perfect blend of family legacy, entrepreneurial spirit, and unwavering determination. From her earliest memories at Lebanon Valley Dragway in upstate New York, where her mother serves as assistant track manager and her father races, Karyl has turned a childhood passion into both a competitive career and innovative business ventures.
Beginning in junior dragsters at age eight, Karyl quickly proved her talent by capturing a track championship in just her second year. Today, she competes at the highest levels of bracket racing, seamlessly switching between Super Pro and Super Comp divisions - sometimes within the same weekend. Her mechanical knowledge runs deep, working alongside her father to maintain their race cars and understand every aspect of vehicle performance.
What truly sets Karyl apart is her response to adversity. After surviving a dramatic barrel-roll crash that destroyed her Nova, she returned to racing with renewed perspective rather than fear. This experience directly influenced her decision to establish KB Performance Center, a trackside business at Lebanon Valley Dragway selling essential safety equipment from helmets to fire jackets. This brilliant innovation means racers who fail technical inspection can purchase required safety gear immediately rather than missing competition.
Perhaps most remarkably, Karyl balances her racing life with owning a dance studio - two worlds that couldn't seem more different yet complement each other perfectly through their seasonal schedules. This diversity in her professional life reveals a multi-faceted woman who refuses to be limited by conventional expectations.
Throughout her career, Karyl has encountered gender discrimination but transformed these challenges into motivation. When a professional racer once dismissed her with "girls don't race," she responded by proving him wrong repeatedly on the track. Her racing philosophy combines strategic planning with mental discipline: "Don't overthink" and "Always have plans A, B, and C" for each run down the quarter-mile.
Follow Karyl's continuing journey on Instagram @buckwild198 or Facebook as she pursues her passion for racing while building businesses that support and strengthen the motorsports community. Her story reminds us that with dedication and perseverance, we create our own definitions of success both on and off the track.

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Chapters

1. Welcome to Women's Motorsports Network (00:00:00)

2. Meet Carol Bell: Family Racing Legacy (00:02:35)

3. From Junior Champion to Super Pro (00:09:17)

4. Business at the Track: KB Performance (00:14:56)

5. Finding Balance Between Racing and Life (00:18:01)

6. Women in Racing: Breaking Barriers (00:22:48)

7. Race Day Memories and Strategies (00:31:38)

8. Social Media and Future Racing Plans (00:37:58)