The résumé of Fox motor sports reporter Jamie Little is full of firsts. The first woman to cover an Indianapolis 500 flag-to-flag. The first woman to be the play-by-play announcer for a national racing series. The first woman to do play-by-play for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. There are many more—Little’s career has seemingly always been in high gear.
But Little never set out to be a trailblazer. She loves motor sports, and has from a very young age. Her firsts have all been the result of doing the job she loves—and being in the right place at the right time. She spent more than a decade covering racing for ABC and ESPN before moving to Fox in 2015. This year marked her return to the pits at the Brickyard for last month’s Indianapolis 500—just a short drive from the Indiana home she shares with her husband, two children and four rescue dogs.
SI: What was your “Welcome to Racing” moment?
Jamie Little: One that pops out was my first Indianapolis 500. It was in 2004, and I had already been covering supercross and motocross and X Games for four years. My bosses called me up to their office and said, “What do you know about auto racing?” And I said, “Well, I’ve never covered four wheels, I’ve only done two, but I'm willing to give it a shot.” It’s a racing mentality. I was sure I could figure it out.
Two months later I went to my first test for IndyCar and then started covering that series at the beginning of ’04, calling my first ever pit stop. But the moment that hit me was in May, they had me covering practices in qualifying in Indy. I did all those shows, but I wasn’t supposed to be part of the Indy 500 team. That was its own jewel. They had men that had been covering it for 20, 25, 30 years. That was who got to do that show. And that was fine. I was 25.
Well, the very same boss who’d asked me to come to Indy car said, “You’re gonna be part of the 500, you’re gonna be on pit road.”
On Saturday, the afternoon before the 500, we took photos for ABC, and we’re all in our fire suits and we’re lined up. And there were like six or seven men around me that, combined, had like 400 years of experience at the Indy 500. And there I was, this 25-year-old girl standing right in the middle.
And I went out there and put the nerves in check and did what I knew I could do. I was on air for eight and a half hours. It was the longest live broadcast ever on ABC. We had rain delays and all kinds of things. And afterwards, I remember thinking that if I could get through that and pull it off, I could pull off anything. And that was the moment that I knew I belonged in auto racing. I’ve never looked back.
SI: You grew up in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe?
J.L.: Yes, I was born in Lake Tahoe and lived there until I was 12. I was born a tomboy, and it was just natural, living in Tahoe and the mountains, that you gravitate toward anything with a motor. I rode horses up there, too. But my mom got a job in Vegas—single mom, I’m an only child—and we moved to Vegas when I was just turning 13. And that was when I met some friends who I think were in high school, a few years older than me. They raced supercross and introduced me to it. I’d hang out with them and watch the shows and watch the racing, and I was like, This is the coolest thing ever. And how do I get involved? And I’d sneak over the fence and go to the racetrack and that did it. I mean, I realized then that there were no women covering it. I remember thinking this as an 18-year-old. I didn't know what I was going to do with my life and I thought, There’s something here. I love this sport, and why can’t I be the one doing these interviews? Why can't I be that person? And that’s how this all began.
SI: What was it about motors that attracted you more than stick-and-ball sports?
J.L.: Yeah, it's interesting because my real dad, he was in my life, always. But he was with my mom, living under the same roof, till I was like five. And he had a dirt bike, and I remember him taking me for rides on it in Tahoe. I can still remember the smell, like the fuel smell, and that freedom that I felt riding on that dirt bike. It’s just so hard to explain because it’s not something that was learned. It was just a feeling that I loved so much. And then when I started learning about these riders, 10, 12 years later, and the sacrifices, what happened to their bodies, and the things they did for their love, for sport, that’s what made me love it so much.
And why not stick and ball? Well, growing up in Tahoe and Vegas, there was nothing. My dad was a big 49ers fan, and I watched football games with him, but there wasn’t anything locally. And then, because my mom was a single mom, she couldn’t drive me to practices, so I didn’t play sports. I actually didn’t compete ever until I was 21, and I started racing downhill mountain bikes. But I was a very competitive person, and I could feel something and relate to something in these riders, and that's what I wanted to showcase and what I wanted to share with the world.
SI: Did you ever want to race or did you have your sights set on journalism from the time you went to San Diego State?
J.L.: I don't think I ever really wanted to race. I did a little bit. I’d race in minibike races and stuff with the guys, just to fit in. And it was fun, but I never thought, This is something I want to do. Now, I did race in the Toyota Pro-Celebrity race in Long Beach [in 2008], and I loved it. [Little won the race, the second female driver to ever do so.]
But when I started covering auto racing, I sent myself to four or five racing schools. I learned about road courses, I learned about ovals. I even got my racing license in SCCA [Sports Car Club of America] in California. People asked me, “Do you want to try this? Do you want to drive? Like, do you want to talk about it?” But I was loving journalism so much, I was already going to school for it, and I just felt like that was my calling.
But I think that for me, racing a few times that I did, going to racing school just got me inside what the drivers feel and what they think, and I felt that feeling of winning. Even though it wasn’t a major race, it was a pretty big race for me to win over professionals, over Mike Skinner. Right? That I got that feeling enough that I'm like, I get it. Being in Victory Lane with a driver, there’s nothing better or more rewarding in my job.
SI: You were working with ESPN2 while you were at San Diego State? How did that come about?
J.L.: When I was in high school, I wasn’t a big fan of school—I’m not going to lie. I just wanted to move to L.A., wanted to go out on my own. But the one thing that I did know was that I loved supercross. I loved racing, and I wanted to stick with that. So, when I moved to California I quickly realized people were passing me by. I needed to go to college. I needed to get a degree. And I really liked journalism.
Meanwhile, I was live-announcing for supercross. It had all started because I went to a race when I was 19. I went up to this guy who had a microphone that had an ESPN flag on it. And I said, “Hey, this is what I want to do, how do I get started?” And he was a really nice guy. He was a freelancer that lived in San Diego, and he was like, “Listen, you could tag along with me and cover the local races in San Diego.” So, I said O.K., I moved to San Diego, and I literally would tag along with him. And he worked for ESPN2, a show called MotoWorld. So, from there I learned how to write questions, I learned how to write stories. He’d let me do it on camera, so I would kind of get my reps in and edit things together. And it was just desert racing. Or we’d go to the local supercross race.
I started getting to know people, and when I went in and met with the bosses I said, “Can I be a live announcer for the supercross series?” And I got the job. I was 21. I did that for four years, but in the meantime, I got to do ESPN2 stuff. My first real gig on camera was rock crawling. I didn’t even get paid for it. They paid my expenses. And then the executives at ESPN that were part of motocross and all the automotive stuff that they did, they got to know who I was and knew that I was paying my dues and gave me a shot with X Games, and then let me do motocross and supercross. And the rest is history.
SI: Do you have any advice for someone who is trying to do what you do?
J.L.: There are a couple things. First, find something you’re passionate about. It could be field hockey, it could be ice hockey or football. Whatever it is, find something you really love and go for it. Learn everything about it. Offer your services, to write stories, to do interviews. Once you find something that you really love, and if you focus on that—I mean, it sounds so cliche, but it doesn’t ever feel like work, because you’re so excited about doing it.
SI: There have been so many firsts in your career. But it seems like the most important thing to you is that you like what you do. Would you like to do other stuff? Have you had opportunities?
J.L.: That goes back to finding something you're passionate about. I had opportunities to do football. I think I still have an opportunity now at Fox. I was just talking to one of our executives after the Indy 500, and he was like, “You know, if you want to do a Colts game, let me know.” And part of me wants to do at least one, because I love football now so much. But that’s never been my true passion. Growing up that wasn’t part of my life. And I feel like there are so many people for whom that is their passion. But my lane has always been racing, and it’s because that’s what got me excited. That was something I looked forward to. And I worked so hard at it that I feel like, you know, all of those firsts that I’ve had the honor of doing and being that person is because I was there, because it was authentic. I love it so much, and that’s been my passion.
SI: You've been doing play-by-play for a couple of years. How is that going?
J.L.: Pit reporting and play-by-play are two very different skill sets. I went into the booth with the Arca Menards series in 2021, and I remember thinking, Well, I’m going to cover it like I do as a pit reporter. But it’s so different. You’re the traffic control cop, you’re talking the whole time. As a pit reporter, you’re doing interviews, but then you’re doing 30-second updates and reports throughout a race. You’re not talking the whole time. Play-by-play is a lot.
So it’s very different. Pit reporting, that’s always been my jam. I hope that it’s always part of my life. I never want to give up pit reporting on Sundays. It’s interacting with the people. It’s those relationships that you built over all those years. It’s taking that breaking news, and you’re telling the stories. Nobody’s telling me what to say. I love that. But play-by-play is like hanging with your buddies watching a race and you’re having fun doing it—with a lot of technicality mixed in. [Laughs.]
SI: Do you have a favorite track? Do you have a favorite race?
J.L.: When it comes to overall racing, I would say the Indy 500, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for all things, not just the racing. It’s just simply the history and the prestige and the feeling and all those things. But I’ve always said Talladega is my favorite race. If people have never been to a NASCAR race, I tell them, “You have to go to Talladega!” It is Americana at its finest. It is so much fun. It’s a huge party. And I love pack racing. It’s not for everybody, but I love the speed, the intensity and the danger aspect of it.
SI: Do you have a favorite broadcasting memory?
J.L.: My first Indy 500—I was the first woman to ever cover the Indy 500 flag-to-flag. That was a big moment for me, and it becomes a bigger moment, I think, personally, as I get older. When I was in the moment, it was like, O.K., cool. But that’s not ever what I set out to be: The first to do this or the first to do that. There are things that you do because you’re in the position and you’ve earned your right to do it, and then afterwards you look back and it’s like, I don't know how I was so ballsy, but we did it, and we're moving forward.
There was interviewing Michael Jordan, too. That was so cool. And he does not talk to much media. …At Darlington, we sat there and I asked him three or four questions, like two buddies talking racing. This man is just incredible, and he’s such a race fan. So that was a pretty cool moment, too.
SI: How did you get involved in animal rescue?
J.L.: That’s been kind of a lifelong thing as far as my love for animals and dogs in particular. When I lived in Lake Tahoe, and I worked at a ranch, I was a tour guide. I started at nine years old. I would take people out that wanted to ride. And so that was when it kind of started for me. And there were always puppies and kittens and things there, and I would smuggle a puppy home and put them in the closet, and I’d think my mom wouldn’t find them or hear them whining. We lived in a tiny 1,000-square-foot house. I did that multiple times. I just had this compassion for animals.
In my 20s, I couldn’t have animals. I was gone all the time. And then when I was with my husband [Cody Selman] and I signed with Fox, my schedule got a lot easier, and I started volunteering at the Animal Foundation in Las Vegas, and I did that for a year. I would go there, walk dogs, help people take a look at dogs that they wanted to adopt, or cats.
I’ve continued that now. I’ve lived in Indianapolis for seven years. But back in 2017, I started something just on my own called Shelter Surprise. We had a snow-out at Martinsville, and I thought, I’m gonna find a local shelter and see what kind of things that they need, food, leashes, whatever. And I showed up there and gave them these things and made a donation and walked some dogs. And I thought, I’m gonna start doing this at any town that we go to when I have that opportunity. So I've done that at, I think, 30 shelters across the country now. And I’ve personally donated $130,000, and it’s just organic. I don’t have a 501(c)(3). I don't have a company behind me. I would love that, but it’s just because that fills my heart. That’s what I have to do to give back for this great life I get to live.
SI: And you and Cody have a young family?
J.L.: We have two children. They are eight and 12. Carter, my son, is the oldest. And then my daughter is Sierra.
SI: And there are dogs, too, I assume.
J.L.: Yes, I have four dogs all laying around me from different rescues. I rescued my dog from Austin, Texas, right after the Cup race. I drove straight there, picked him up, drove 18 hours home. The seven-month-old dog that was a stranger and I drove home to Indiana, and I named him Austin. He’s sitting right over here on the couch.
Dogs love you no matter what, no matter how good your stories are or if somebody thinks your stories are bad. Your dog always loves you the same.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NASCAR Play-by-Play Announcer and Pit Reporter Jamie Little Reflects on Her Trailblazing Career.