Popcorn! Meet Taylor Bedell

Popcorn! Meet Taylor Bedell

Taylor Bedell is the Marketing Communication Manager in year two of her time with SRO Motorsports America. Bedell has aided in developing and deploying both marketing and social media policies.

Bedell, 26, holds more motorsport experience than her age leads others to believe. Her mother and father found work in the sport, with her mother organizing hospitality for teams and partners and her father becoming a well-trusted team manager. Her parent's interest continually placed Bedell at the racetrack throughout her childhood, giving her a natural inclination to chase a job in motorsport.

“I don’t think there’s ever really been a point in my life where I didn’t want to work in motorsports in some capacity,” Bedell said. “Of course, when I was younger, I had dreams of all sorts of random professions I would cycle through, but motorsports was always in the background, holding steady.

“Aside from growing up in the sport, I’m a fan as well, and I feel really grateful that I get to help push that passion forward.  Through the years, I tried on a few different roles before landing in marketing, which I think resonated with me because it was the field where I could so directly share my love for the sport and introduce new people to it.” 

Bedell tried her hand at many avenues in racing, including go-kart driver, engineering intern, and press officer, before landing on marketing.

“Even though I’ve been in motorsports my whole life, my work history is not very linear,” Bedell said. “I actually originally wanted to be a mechanical engineer. I have a mechanical engineering and marketing degree. So, my first few jobs at the track were more geared toward that route. I took on my first marketing job in 2014 on a whim and was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it.

“I pursued marketing and engineering with a few teams in the sports car paddock for a few years, but by 2016 had decided marketing was ultimately the path I wanted to take. Once I made that decision, I started freelancing under the banner of Misfit Media Interactive. I joined forces with Lindsay Lindsey, our new awesome Press Officer, in 2017 to grow MFM into a proper business.

“We worked with tons of fun teams, manufacturers and sponsors over the years, then took a short hiatus from one another when we focused our attention on separate projects for a couple of years. I teamed up with SRO in 2022 when I was looking to expand my horizons in motorsports and haven’t looked back since.”

Bedell enjoyed the prospect of being able to grow alongside SRO Motorsports America. The freedom to continue to learn and expand her strength brought her to a point of being offered a full-time job. Each race weekend brought emerging ideas and new highlights. Like the race teams, the pinnacle came during the Indianapolis 8 Hour weekend.

“The highlight of my year last year was definitely the Indy 8 Hour,” Bedell said. “When I came on board, we were already planning toward the event, so I could take on season-long projects and see them through. We had a lot of really fun activities that I think many other small marketing teams wouldn’t have been able to pull off as successfully as we did. Our team was one of the biggest motivators for me to continue working with SRO. I’ve never felt as accepted or supported as I do with this group; we all want to succeed together and are able to have so much fun while working.”

Now setting her sights on 2023, Bedell has high hopes and big aspirations. She feels more connected to her team and position, allowing her to dream bigger and achieve bigger goals. 

“In 2023 and beyond, I want to help showcase what an accessible, innovative and diverse paddock SRO has to offer,” Bedell said. “Last year was my first year with the group, and I was blown away by how many unique opportunities and experiences we could offer to all parties, from teams to partners and fans.

“Such incredible people are working behind the scenes to better the paddock and, in turn, the motorsports world. I’m excited to jump head-first into as many expansion efforts as possible and keep the process transparent so everyone can follow along and see the leaps and bounds we’re making.”

Bedell hits the ground running at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg March 3-5 with the GT America powered by AWS.  The weekend takes place along the INDYCAR SERIES. The opening race for all other SRO Motorsports America series takes place in wine country at Sonoma Raceway from March 30 through April 2. Live stream the race action on the GT World YouTube channel.