Ever since Julia Landauer first touched a track, she\u2019s been winning. Julia started racing go karts at 10 years old, and right away she was beating the boys. But even then, racing was more than a talent \u2014 it was a passion. \u201cEarly on, I loved being at the track more than being at school,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As she got older, she continued racing and continued her winning ways. At 14, Julia became the Skip Barber Racing Series\u2019s first-ever and youngest female champion. \u201cThat win confirmed that I was good enough to really do this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which was great, because Julia always wanted to be a race car driver. She grew up watching Formula One and idolizing the likes of Paul Newman, Amelia Earhart, Lyn St. James, and Michael Schumacher. So all the racing, education, and training she\u2019s done has fed into that dream, everything has led to this \u2014 NASCAR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even her time at Stanford University has helped her racing career. When people asked Julia what she was going to do when she graduated, she told them she\u2019s going to move to North Carolina and race cars. Some people got it, others didn\u2019t. \u201cIt was eye opening that not everyone was able to see my vision, that they didn\u2019t think I was going to use my degree as I raced,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I learned a lot in college that easily relates to what I do today, and I wouldn\u2019t trade it for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, Julia drives in the NASCAR Pinty\u2019s Series, the highest level of stock car racing in Canada. She\u2019s moved up the ladder from NASCAR\u2019s K&N West Series, and is now in her fourth consecutive season racing in NASCAR. The next step will be to one of the big three NASCAR pro series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It may not shock you to hear that the world of motorsports does not have a very strong female presence. \u201cFor the most part I\u2019ve been the only woman, throughout my career,\u201d says Julia. \u201cThere were a few races in the K&N series in 2017 where there were three of us, and that was huge.\u201d Julia has noticed some progress over recent years, but \u201cwhen you start from zero, anything feels like a big jump.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since Danica Patrick retired, there are no female drivers in the top three levels of NASCAR. \u201cSo we\u2019re still very rare, but also in the crews. There are no female crew chiefs in any of the pro NASCAR series.\u201d The drivers get all the glory, but having women in the garage and with headsets on also helps shift the culture in racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI do think it\u2019s cool that in the automotive industry at large, there are women leading companies (like Mary Barra at GM), and you see various designers and engineers now. Obviously, the fact that we\u2019re now able to showcase women involved on the consumer side normalizes women and girls being interested in cars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you didn\u2019t know, racing is very expensive. Julia, along with most drivers, often has to get creative about securing sponsors. So she\u2019s become a true renaissance woman, juggling multiple business ventures and partnerships whenever she\u2019s not on the track. \u201cYou really need an entrepreneurial mindset,\u201d she says. \u201cThe goal is always: \u2018how do I build up my brand?\u2019 It sounds cliche, but that\u2019s how we attract people to work with us. So at the end of the day, everything I do is aimed at helping my racing career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Julia is a vocal advocate for STEM education, and serves as an external advisor to Hyundai. She works with TechForce Foundation<\/a> to educate students and their families on technical vocations \u2014 career opportunities that often go overlooked these days. She also has her own watch! The Julia Watch is an automotive-focused watch for women that fits right, looks good, and was co-designed by Julia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Julia is also a busy motivational speaker. She\u2019s found that her experiences in racing and the lessons she\u2019s learned there translate well to many different areas of life. She shares her thoughts on competition and ambition with companies, sports leagues, brands, and at trade shows. \u201cIt\u2019s really cool to be able to tell stories and see it resonate with people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She speaks on topics that people have heard before, but not from her perspective. Most people don\u2019t know any race car drivers, and almost nobody knows any female race car drivers. Julia is out to change that.<\/p>\n\n\n