Kelley Earnhardt Miller, JR Motorsports

Miller is co-owner, vice president and general manager of JR Motorsports, which competes in the Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series and whose other owners are Earnhardt Jr. and auto titan Rick Hendrick. JR Motorsports won a team-best nine races last year en route to driver Chase Elliott winning the Xfinity Series championship, and both Elliott and teammate Regan Smith are near the top of the Xfinity Series leaderboard this year. The team has worked hard to foster a stable sponsorship portfolio, having scored an extension this year from TaxSlayer. It also created a popular JR Motorsports-focused set of online radio shows that comprise what is called Dirty Mo Radio.

While recent years have seen more women ascending to senior roles in the industry, Miller remains a rarity as a female team owner. She said that while she is cognizant of the fact that she occasionally might be one of only a few women (if not the only one) in a boardroom, it’s an observation that’s always been more of an afterthought.

“It can be intimidating to be one of the few females in a room full of owners in a NASCAR owners’ meeting or something like that,” she said. “I look around, and sometimes it’s just three or four females including myself, and that’s a little intimidating. But it’s also pretty rewarding to say, ‘Gosh, look what we’re doing and look how we can stand against others.’”

— Adam Stern