Jamie Ruiz: “You don't need to know everything about motorsports to work there”

Jamie Ruiz is the Vice President of Marketing at 23XI Racing in NASCAR. She joined 23XI in 2022, bringing over 15 years of experience in the entertainment industry, including roles at Warner Bros. and Universal. She oversees Intersect - a consumer and community engagement event aimed at reaching diverse audiences within the sport through unique fan experiences and content creation. At 23XI, she leads initiatives across branding, digital, and communications.

She initially began her career in the sales department but soon discovered that marketing was her true strength.

“I’m good at getting work done,” Jamie tells Females in Motorsport. “That is my biggest skill set. Shifting from the sales to the marketing department has done wonders for me.”

Working in entertainment and motorsport connects across different areas of interest, similar in some ways, yet vastly different in others. Coming from an entertainment background, Jamie takes us through her journey.

When she joined 23XI, the team was only in its second year and had very few established processes or systems in place. It was a completely new challenge for her to set the groundwork.

“It required me to push beyond my areas of expertise and put my best foot forward all the time,” she says. “Sometimes I had to start from scratch, even building the brand guidelines. But it was a great challenge to take on.

“I still have so many things I don’t know how to do, but what I do know is that I’ll get things done.”

When it comes specifically to motorsport marketing, it’s a very niche field that requires understanding two different audiences and catering to them: new fans entering the sport and long-time, die-hard motorsport followers.

“That’s exactly where the challenge to balance both comes in for me,” she says. “You want to continuously engage those fans and learn what’s important to them.

“We do that through research and by understanding how best to communicate with them. But at the same time, at 23XI, we’re still building our brand and defining who we are.

“Right now, we experiment with various ideas and try to do what works the best for us."

When you wear many hats, the marketing industry is consistently inconsistent. It’s ever-evolving, and to navigate it successfully, one needs both leadership skills and discipline to do things the right way.

“My days at 23XI are fun,” she says. “Mondays are usually the lightest since everyone’s just getting back from race weekends. But from Tuesday onward, there’s no time to relax; we’re constantly planning for the next race weekend.

“It gets even more hectic when we’re at the track because we have to send live updates and keep everyone informed. “So, if you really think about it, we’re never truly free; we’re working both at the office and at the race track.”

Before joining 23XI, Jamie knew nothing about NASCAR.

“In my interview, I even asked them why they were talking to me since I knew nothing about the sport,” she says. “They told me, ‘We need people who know marketing, the motorsport knowledge comes along the way.’”

That, she says, is the beauty of motorsports in general. Sometimes, teams want people with an outside perspective, someone who can bring fresh ideas and new ways of thinking. But that also means the learning curve is much longer and steeper, especially in an environment where there’s little time to pause and figure things out.

“Once you’re in the team, you need to trust that everyone will deliver,” she says. “It’s about giving them the right motivation and clear guidance to grow. “With the right resources, they will succeed.”

Jamie has been part of 23XI’s journey since its second year and has seen it grow tremendously. Motorsport, like any industry, thrives on passion and perseverance. You don’t need to know everything to be part of it; what truly matters is the willingness to learn, adapt, and keep moving forward. With the right motivation, you’ll always find your place in the fast-paced world of racing.