​INDIANAPOLIS — Kaylee Bryson didn’t grow up dreaming of racing. She wasn’t the kid who spent weekends watching NASCAR or IndyCar or could name every driver on the track. Her motorsports introduction came at age nine when she climbed into a dirt go-kart for the first time, and she never looked back. “I got in a little dirt go kart for the first time, and absolutely just fell in love with the adrenaline rush of racing,” Bryson said. That initial spark has blossomed into one of the most accomplished careers by a woman in midget racing. Bryson became the first woman to qualify for the Chili Bowl Nationals A-Main and the first to win a USAC National Series feature race, milestones that have helped redefine what’s possible in the sport. Yet when she straps into the race car, history isn’t her focus. “It’s funny because we just went up and did the driver intros, and it was the first time I actually noticed I was the only girl,” she said. “Whenever I put on my helmet, I feel like everybody else.” Bryson has also noticed the sport changing. What once was a space where she was almost always the only woman in the pit area is now welcoming more female drivers. “We’re growing a community,” she said. “I’m not just the only one at the track anymore, so it’s cool seeing other girls coming to the sport.” Bryson measures herself by speed, the same standard every driver uses. “I know all of our equipment is kind of the same, so we’re all in race cars, and it doesn’t matter who’s driving them as long as you’re fast,” she explained. That mindset has carried her beyond dirt racing, with stints in USAC Late Models, the ARCA Menards Series and the Trans Am Series. Just weeks ago, she raced on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, becoming one of only two drivers in this year’s BC39 field — alongside J.J. Yeley — to compete both on the road course and the temporary dirt track inside IMS. Bryson returns for her fourth BC39 appearance after a career-best seventh-place finish in the 2024 A-Main. The event carries extra meaning as it honors late USAC midget champion Bryan Clauson, whose legacy resonates throughout the dirt racing community. “This track is so historic, and to be able to have a dirt track inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway … and do it in Bryan’s honor is honestly so cool,” Bryson said. “We all looked up to him as a driver.” The BC39 is the only race each season where the USAC National Midget championship competes on the dirt oval inside IMS, giving drivers just one opportunity each year to tackle the track. “Whenever you only come here once a year, it’s a pretty level playing field, so we all have to figure it out whenever we hit the track for the first time,” she noted. Whether she’s making history or chasing another strong BC39 finish, Bryson’s focus remains the same as that first ride in a dirt go-kart: “I want to be really competitive in anything I get in.”