INDIANAPOLIS -- It’s Women’s History Month and all month long we will introduce you to some of central Indiana’s most Remarkable Women.
Zionsville’s Jamie Little says she's only a "remarkable woman" because she was born to one.
“She was a single mom, and we were a team,” said Little of her mother. “I had to chop wood when I was 7 and 8 years old. Our fireplace was what kept us warm because honestly my mom didn’t have enough money to turn on the heater every time. So, I would build fires. I would do whatever it would take. I would shovel the snow off the driveway so my mom could get in after work. Life wasn’t easy but it was the best upbringing I could’ve ever asked for.”
The two lived near a ranch in Lake Tahoe and Little said their time spent outdoors with animals was life changing.
“We used to have puppies and kittens at the ranch all the time and I would smuggle them home and put them in the closet and think my mom wouldn’t see them in our 1,000-square-foot house!” she recalled.
“I’m all about being an advocate for the voiceless and those dogs that need a second chance.”
From four legs to four wheels, Little makes an impact.
She has been a broadcaster for more than 25 years and covers NASCAR and IndyCar for FOX Sports.
Breaking into the boys’ club of motorsports required more than just a love for the sport. It demanded perseverance.
“I say yes to everything. I ask for extra. I ask for new opportunities. For FOX, I was actually brave enough to go to them and say I want to try play-by-play. I never thought that was for me. I never thought that a woman could do that,” she said.
“I never imagined that I would stand there as the lead voice of a broadcast for racing because that’s just not what I grew up around. That’s not what I’ve always heard. That’s not what everybody else has heard.”
Little holds the honor of being the first female pit reporter for the television broadcast of the Indy 500 in 2004.
When not holding a mic, she's holding a rescue pup during a "shelter surprise" on race weekends.
She also covers the Westminster Dog Show for FOX each year.
“To date I’ve donated over $125,000 just doing it on my own and I’ve gotten a lot of dogs adopted and that fills me up. That’s my gift back for the life I get to live,” she said.
“I think when I’m working in an all-male dominated world, I know to the outside that must seem really crazy and must be really hard, but I’ve never thought anything of it. Yeah, there are certain people that are a pain in the neck to deal with. You would have that no matter if male or female.”
And all she learned about life from her remarkable mom, she passes on to her children.
“Growing up, I learned about life and I was outside, and that taught me to believe in myself and to have strength. If you’re raising your kids to believe in themselves and that they can do anything that they desire, it is true because I’m a living example of that.”
Little, her husband, their two kids and four dogs live in Zionsville.
You can follow her shelter surprises on her social media accounts and catch her on FOX most weekends covering motorsports.