Lindsay Brewer on rise as a race car driver and social media star

Lindsay Brewer knew she belonged behind the wheel when she was 11 years old.

From the moment she slid into the seat of a go-kart at a childhood birthday party, Brewer knew she had discovered her passion — one that’s “only amplified” as her career has continued to blossom in the racing and influencing spaces.

“I’m from Colorado and I’ve always grown up snowmobiling, four-wheeling, driving anything I could get my hands on,” Brewer, who currently races internationally in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series, said in an interview with The Post. “I’ve always loved driving, and I really didn’t know you could do it as a sport.”

Born into a family with “no racing background,” Brewer’s father decided to purchase his daughter a go-kart following that fateful day at the track, paving the way to competitions at the regional and national levels.

“I loved competing with the other drivers on the track, beating all of them, and it immediately sparked my passion,” she said. “… It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do since I was a kid.”

It’s a goal Brewer, now 27, has never wavered from, even when she took a four-year break to study at San Diego State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Despite a lengthy absence from the sport — “It was tough not being in the [racing] world, not really having any connections” — Brewer’s future was always top of mind as she looked to build a social media following in hopes of attracting sponsors to help ease the financial burden racing often carries.

“It’s always going to be an obstacle for drivers to get enough seat time and practice,” Brewer said. “It’s one of those sports where you can’t just pick up a basketball and play outside, it costs $25,000 a day to test the car.”

Upon racing in Skip Barber, the legendary racing academy that counts IndyCar stars Colton Herta and Josef Newgarden as alumni, Brewer experienced “some bumps along the way” as she transitioned back into the seat and competed in the TC America Series in 2021.

“After being out of the seat for so many years, it’s tough cause everyone who I was competing against that’s my age had all been racing the past four years,” Brewer said.

Beyond the pressure of measuring up to her standards as she progressed professionally — Brewer’s “Road to Indy” has featured stops on the Indy Pro 2000 Series in 2022, followed by Indy NXT two years later — she has also combatted the noise of detractors who have “looked down upon” her, not just as a female in the sport, but as a rising online star.

“I feel like if I don’t do well, then it’s like, ‘Oh, she’s too worried on content creation, she needs to be worrying about other things to get better,’ but little do they realize it doesn’t really correlate that much, there’s always going to be pressure for sure, I would say I try not to let it get to me,” Brewer said.

“When I first got back into the sport, it really bothered me and the comments would bother me, and I was like, ‘Ugh, I’m not just an influencer, I’m also a race car driver. I’ve been racing since I was 11.’ I grew a big chunk of my following when I wasn’t racing, so once I started to race again, they were like, ‘This influencer’s pretending to be a race car driver,’ and I’m like, ‘No!’

“But then I realized everyone is going to have their opinion whether it’s right or wrong, and you can’t control how other people perceive you, they’re going to have their opinion no matter what, so I’ve really tried to get past it.”