Motherhood and Racing

Michelle Hutt, center, with her daughter Ashlyn, left and husband and crew chief Mason, right. The Hutts recently had an addition to their family as son Russell was born on May 8.

There is a lot of talk about the influence of fathers in racing, and it’s been written about in this blog in the past. There’s no doubting the influence of fathers on racing.

But there are also some individuals behind the wheel or race who are moms, and since it’s Mother’s Day on May 11, I thought it would be fun to see how some of these women balance racing and being a mom.

Here’s a look at four drivers in the racing community who are moms:

 

Michelle (Lund) Hutt, Boyd

Racing has been a big part of family life for Michelle (Lund) Hutt. She is a member of the Lund family from Brandon, Minn., where her dad, Larry, raced for many years at Viking Speedway. Her brother, William, has raced for several years as well and is a current super stock driver.

Now, her and husband Mason, who live in Boyd, are making their own memories with their 3-year-old daughter, Ashlyn.

In 2022, it was five weeks after Ashlyn’s birth when Michelle returned to driving the race car. The Hutts’ second child, Russell, was just born on May 8.

“I am hoping for about the same time frame after baby #2 comes,” Hutt said earlier this spring.

Hutt raced in the short trackers at I-94 EMR Speedway for several years before moving into the Wissota Midwest Modified class in 2019, where she has been since. She has raced mainly at I-94 EMR Speedway and Madison Speedway but has raced at other tracks regionally.

Hutt is a middle school teacher at Lac Qui Parle Valley school. Her schedule works out well for racing with time off in the summer.

“Ashlyn and I will wash the car, and I will do some of my regular maintenance during the week while Mason is at work and during Ashlyn’s naptime,” Hutt said. “At night we spend it in the garage, Mason will do his area of maintenance and usually I will do tire work.”

A highlight for the Hutt family is spending time in the shop working on the race car, and Ashlyn

 “We spend a lot of time in there and have created so many memories already,” Hutt said. “Plus, crabby kids instantly become happy during garage time!”

 Race nights are busy for the Hutts. Ashlyn often is in the pit area helping her parents.

“Mason and I have a routine down of what he does and what I do to get the car and myself ready to race. Ashlyn is usually in the mix helping us out, whether that be carrying tools, my safety equipment or just playing with tools or tires,” Hutt said. “My parents, his parents or our siblings often come to the races and help out in many ways too.”

Will that change with the addition of a second child?

“This year is going to look a lot different as I am going to be focusing on the baby when I am not strapped in the car,” Hutt said.

Maria Broksieck, left, celebrates with her children at Casino Speedway victory lane (Photo from Casino Speedway)

Maria Broksieck, Goodwin, S.D.

Long-time Wissota Street Stock driver Maria (Konold) Broksieck of Goodwin, S.D., gave birth to her second child, Clay in April 2019.  It wasn’t long before she was back behind the wheel of her #14 machine.

 “Clay was born the end of April, and I was racing two weeks later,” Broksieck said. “I had to bring a ‘permission slip’ from my doctor before one of the promoters would let me race.”

Broksieck, a top competitor in eastern South Dakota street stock racing for several years, has two children with her husband, Tyler, who is the crew chief on the 14 car. Daughter Payton is 10 and Clay recently turned six.

Being a mom, particularly when her children are younger, while racing 2-3 nights a week in the summer wasn’t easy for Broksieck.

“Going racing and finding time to be in the shop with Tyler was a challenge when the kids were younger. I felt a lot of guilt that I wasn't working on the car as much as I should and even more guilt going racing and leaving the kids home,” Broksieck said. “It is getting much easier as the kids get older and want to be involved.”

Payton and Clay are given the option of going to the track with their parents, Broksieck said. Other times, they stay at home with either Maria or Tyler’s parents and watch the stream online.

Keeping racing nights less chaotic with the kids along has much to do with work in the shop during the week.

“I am a true believer that races are won in the shop,” Broksieck said. “Tyler always has the car ready at home so we don't have to worry about getting anything ready at the track. He always has a set of feature tires ready and that is usually the extent of our changes made between heat and feature. My son loves running the impact and changing tires so that has become his main job.”

On the track, the 2024 season was one of the best of Broksieck’s career. She finished a career-best fifth in Wissota national points, won 17 features and won track championships at Casino Speedway in Watertown, Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen and Miller Central Speedway.

Many times, Payton and Clay were able to celebrate with their mom in victory lane.

“It's really an indescribable feeling, knowing my kids are proud of me and our team,” Broksieck said. “They put in the long hours right beside us and it can get pretty emotional meeting them in victory lane.”

Haley Dykhoff with her husband Kyle and son Max.

Haley (Lee) Dykhoff, Starbuck

Racing season is busy for the Dykhoff family. Haley (Lee) Dykhoff pilots the #50H Wissota Midwest Modified and her husband, Kyle, a former Wissota national champion, drives the #11 Wissota Street Stock. The two officially met at a Halloween party hosted by Ryan Satter in 2015.

Their lives changed when their son Maxwell was born in the spring of 2024; he just turned one. That added juggling parenting with their busy summer racing.

“I’d be lying if I said it was easy, but we have an incredible support system always backing us and showing up for us to both be able to do this,” Haley said. “Grandparents and aunties and even our racing family are always there for us."

It didn’t take long after Maxwell was born for Haley to get back in the race car in 2024.  Six weeks postpartum, Haley was back behind the wheel at Viking Speedway’s Memorial Day weekend doubleheader. She finished third the first night and picked up her first-ever Viking Speedway feature win the next night.

Haley had the best season of her racing career in 2024 in her first year of motherhood. She had a career-best four feature wins and had 13 top five finishes in 24 starts. This year, she had two top fives in her first three starts.

Haley and Kyle usually pit next to each other, allowing them to spend time with Max during the night of racing.

“It’s been a lot of fun having Max at the track with us and I think it’s only going to get better with time,” Haley said. “Having him grow up going to the races is really cool. Especially because it’s what we love to do, we hope he continues to love this as much as we do as he grows.”

Alexis Reynolds and her fiance Jake Hagemann and their two children.

Alexis Reynolds, Little Falls

Like the Dykhoffs, Alexis Reynolds and her fiancé, Jake Hagemann of Little Falls balance their racing careers with parenthood. The two were engaged in April 2023, which was also Reynolds’s first season behind the wheel of her IMCA Sport Compact car, which she raced at North Central Speedway in Brainerd.

Alexis learned after the 2023 season she was pregnant with the couple’s second child. Their son Cohen was born on May 1, 2024, joining older sister Paislynn, who is now three.

This year, Alexis is back racing in the Wissota Hornets at Ogilvie and Granite City, with Jake behind the wheel of his Wissota Midwest Modified.

“With both me and Jake racing, things with the kids can be tricky some weekends, but we have a lot of support from family and friends so that we can enjoy our hobby,” Reynolds said. “Our kids love watching the races, our daughter can point out both of our race cars from across the track only seeing the front of it, and our son has been at the racetrack since he was born whether it was watching the races in our motorhome or watching from the stands with his muffs on.”

Often, the two kids are in the shop with their parents working on the race cars and enjoy going to the track.

“Anytime we’re working on the cars in the shop the kids are by our side helping out or hanging out with grandma and grandpa Hagemann,” Reynolds said. “Having our family at the racetrack every weekend is amazing, it brings us closer together and gives us another way to bond.”

Reynolds is a stay-at-home mom with the two children which is a busy full-time job in itself, while Jake works 11-12 shifts Monday through Friday at his job.

“There’s always days that we say we’re done racing but deep down when we step back our family would be lost without racing every weekend all summer long. The joy in our kids faces as we pull into the racetrack and unload the cars is something we could never stop doing,” Reynolds said. “Racing has given myself something to be passionate about outside of being a mom, and the feeling I get knowing my future husband and our kids cheering me on in the stands is the best feeling a mom could ever have.”