Meet the UNC Charlotte grad featured in new Prime Video docuseries
A UNC Charlotte grad is featured in Prime Video's " First to the Finish," a racing docuseries that premiered last week.
Why it matters: Heather Hadley, driver No. 54, filmed the series while a student last year.
The show follows two female drivers and a female team owner through the 2024 MX-5 Cup Championship season.
Zoom in: Hadley grew up in Northern California but wanted to be around racing culture during college.
"Moving to Charlotte and attending UNC Charlotte helped me in more ways than I could have ever imagined," Hadley tells Axios. "It was the best thing that could have happened to my racing career."
"I was able to work out at PitFit training gym (a gym for race car drivers), racing stores were suddenly an hour away vs. across the country, and I lived close to various racing shops like Penske, JR Motorsports and HMS. I even took classes at college with NASCAR drivers and sports car drivers who I still see at the track."
She says she found peace on campus while competing and being a full-time student. She graduated in December.
"I used to love just walking around and finding new hidden spots on campus to study. There was a time when I was taking 18 credits and my biggest stress reliever was just going on campus to study rather than at home, because you simply couldn't be upset or overwhelmed while at such a beautiful place.
"I lived off campus on Lake Norman, and some of my favorite memories away from UNC Charlotte were those days in the summer spent on the lake. We would bring the dog and go to the rope swing, or just end the day by parking at a restaurant on the lake and enjoying dinner on the water. That was something I never did growing up that I came to love very much."
Fun fact: The show also features Charlotte native and 2024 MX-5 Cup Championship Rookie of the Year Westin Workman.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
8 Ways Prime Video Is Revolutionizing NASCAR Broadcasting
This season, Prime Video is changing how we watch NASCAR. For the first time ever 5 Cup Series races are streaming only on Prime, a big change from TV. Prime is bringing new features, expert analysis and smarter ways to watch the action, for new fans and old. Here's how Prime is revolutionizing NASCAR broadcasting. 8. Exclusive Five-Race Package Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images Prime Video has the exclusive rights to stream five NASCAR Cup Series races this season , starting with the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25 and running through Pocono on June 22nd. This is the first time in NASCAR history that Cup Series races are only on a streaming platform, a big shift in how sports are delivered. 7. Seamless Integration with NBC Production Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Prime Video uses NBC Sports' experienced production team and its technical expertise to maintain broadcast standards and innovation for streaming. Familiarity and new tech mean quality stays high and the format moves forward. 6. Comprehensive Practice & Qualifying Access Credit: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Beyond race days, Prime Video also streams almost the entire first half of practice and qualifying sessions, so you get to see more behind the scenes. You get to see team prep and driver form, previously only on linear TV or premium sports apps. Advertisement Also Read:: 5 Drivers Who Attempted the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in One Day 5. Double‑Box Commercial Format During Live Racing Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images To never miss a lap, Prime uses a dual-screen 'double-box' format during green-flag racing. This minimizes interruption and maximizes race-time engagement, redefining how ads fit into sports coverage. 4. Highlight Packages Mid‑Race Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images Prime has in-race highlight recaps, so you can catch up quickly if you join mid-stream. This real-time storytelling keeps casual and hardcore fans engaged, even if you can't watch from start to finish. 2. Expert-Led Studio Coverage Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images Prime Video's live feed is backed by a full studio team: pre- and post-race shows are hosted by Danielle Trotta with analysts Carl Edwards, Corey LaJoie and Trevor Bayne , fresh voices with race-proven credentials. By using respected names with on-track cred, the coverage gets authenticity and elevates the overall experience. 2. Carl Edwards Brings NASCAR Champion Perspective Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images Hall-of-Famer Carl Edwards joins the booth, sharing his racing expertise. Edwards said he wasn't sure fans would follow the switch to streaming , until an 85-year-old neighbor with Prime told him they would. He attracts longtime fans and helps explain race strategy and culture to a newer, digital audience. 1. Streamlined Explanation of Complex Strategy Credit: Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Building on their NFL success, Prime Video is figuring out how to explain complex race strategy in a way that's easy to understand. It makes the sport more accessible to new fans and deeper for longtime fans, turning passive viewers into informed followers. Advertisement Also Read:: 10 Drivers Making Waves in the 2025 NASCAR Season Related Headlines
Axios
17 hours ago
- Axios
Exclusive: Lyft launches new ad formats
Lyft is ramping up its ad business with new formats, the ride-hailing company exclusively tells Axios. Why it matters: Beyond traditional publishers, more companies with consumer attention and first-party data have looked to advertising to diversify and grow revenue. Driving the news: Lyft's updated ad portfolio includes three formats. Sponsored Map Vehicles, now available to all brands, offers a full-day takeover of the Lyft map including custom vehicle icons and optional real-world car wraps and branding. Sponsored Rides by Mode lets brands subsidize standard or priority rides with their branding featured on the Lyft homepage and during the ride. Vertical Video is a full-screen, non-skippable video format that plays when riders select the Wait and Save option and are waiting for a car. This week, Lyft also announced measurement deals with IAS and DoubleVerify to verify media quality. The big picture: Lyft is one of many tech and retail companies building ad businesses on top of their platforms. Uber launched ads in its Uber Eats app in 2020 and later expanded ads to its ride-hailing app. Last month, it reported an annualized ad revenue run rate of $1.5 billion. DoorDash this week announced it surpassed an annualized ad revenue run rate of more than $1 billion and acquired ad tech platform Symbiosys. Zoom in: Lyft is on a smaller scale. CEO David Risher said earlier this month the company is on track to reach a $100 million annualized ad revenue run rate by year's end. But it's aiming to grow with new hires and products. Suzie Reider, who founded YouTube's revenue and marketing team and later worked as Waze's global chief revenue officer, joined in December as executive vice president of Lyft Media and Lyft Business. She told Axios that her team has embraced being a challenger. "Given that we do not have the scale that Meta or Google have, we hustle in the mindset of 'necessity is the mother of innovation,'" Reider said. "In this era of AI, algorithmic, massively scaled and programmatic media, our team will eagerly engage in creative solutions." Between the lines: The strength of these new ad sellers is a trove of first-party data, including real-time location, destination and intent, alongside an engaged customer spending meaningful time on the platform. Reider said a rider spends 24 minutes, on average, with Lyft between waiting and riding. Lyft has attracted brands with specific marketing objectives, including driving store traffic and raising awareness at events and conferences, Reider said.
Axios
21 hours ago
- Axios
Utah mermaids win gold with Team USA at "Merlympics"
While Utah prepares to host the Winter Olympics in 2034, two of the state's athletes are already winning gold under the sea. The big picture: Two Utah mermaid performers represented the U.S. last month at the Official Merlympics 2025 in Wolfsburg, Germany. Team USA won the gold medal, besting more than a dozen other countries. How it works: Individual mermaids, mermen and teams compete in events like synchronized swimming, races, an underwater photo shoot to test poise and showmanship without air — and even a rescue event, à la Ariel and Prince Eric. As nature intended, athletes compete while wearing mermaid tails. Zoom in: Mia Sim of Provo and Aurora Miller of South Salt Lake auditioned to join four other merfolk from the U.S. in intense, mostly online video training to learn the synchronized routine. Catch up quick: Mia, who's known online as The Provo Mermaid, donned her first tail when she was a 12-year-old theater kid, learning costume design and special effects. Once she saw the beautiful tails, she was hooked. "I was fishing around Joann's, where I used up all my gift cards as a kid," she told Axios. She'd been performing at kids' birthday parties in pools and splashpads for years when she learned about the fight-to-the-finish, no-holds-barred, shark-eat-shark universe of competitive mermaiding — just in time for the Swiss Merlympics last year. What they're saying:"I'm like, 'I don't know if this is a scam, but I'm just gonna do it,'" Mia said. She won the title of " World's Fastest Mermaid." Meanwhile, Aurora — whose "mersona" is Siren Tephra — joined a friend who wanted to take up mermaiding about five years ago. After some renaissance faire performances, she wanted to up her athletic game. She earned certification as an "advanced mermaid diver" alongside her open-water scuba training. But as for the Merlympics — "this year, I'm a rookie," she told Axios.
