DGTL Voices with Ed Marx - One Hundred Percent Gut (ft. Sabré Cook)

Episode Date: September 24, 2026

Sabré Cook is a professional racing driver and a mechanical engineer. She was the first woman to compete in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America, won a world karting championship at 13, and worked as a suspension composite design engineer for the Renault F1 team while racing in W Series. Edward Marx steps outside healthcare for this one. In this episode of DGTL Voices, Sabré tells him about growing up at a go-kart track in Grand Junction, winning that first championship with her dad as her mechanic, and why the engineer in her runs on gut once she's in the car. She also talks about the season she raced injured, what she agreed to that she shouldn't have, and the lesson it took a year of surgery and rehab to learn. Connect with Marx Advisory at https://bio.marxadvisory.com/

How do you balance data versus guts? So when you're in the car, it's 100% gut. Your conscious mind is never going to come to an answer or a conclusion as fast as your subconscious and as fast as you need to. I got really injured in 2021 during my last year of W series, and it was absolutely miserable. That for me was like a lesson that the universe was kind of like trying to teach me. You are valuable. You need to set boundaries for yourself and you've got to like create space for you to be able to perform it.

your best. That was a lesson, a hard lesson to learn, but it was one that I definitely needed to learn. Welcome to Digital Voices, where healthcare and life science leaders explore the real work behind transformation. This podcast is about people, leadership, and the conversations that move healthcare forward. Now your host, Ed Marks. Welcome to another edition of Digital Voices. I like to change things up every once in a while. Go outside of healthcare just a little bit. And I have with me as my guest this week, Sabra Cook. Sabra, welcome to digital voices. Thanks so much for having me, Ed. I'm excited to chat with you. No, this is going to be great. I got a chance to meet you. So we met, we were both speakers at an event around F1, and I thought you were like amazing and I love the

insights you were bringing. You even talked about health care and you were very specific in your messaging, which was cool. And I was like, man, I want to have Sabra on my show. But Sabra, the most important question anyone has, beyond racing, is what songs are in your playlist? Like, what kind of music do you like? It depends on my mood. I would say it varies. A new thing that I've been into lately is kind of manifestation music. So it's like positive mantras or manifestation, but in song form. And then I love, like, I'm a, you know, like a punk kind of alternative rock. girl for like as a millennial like Fallout boy pink stuff like that is stuff that I really like Paramore that's what I grew up with some 41 but then you know I'm I

dally and all kinds of different things depending on my mood I'm from Colorado so you know sometimes you got to throw in the country songs there and or sometimes you want to get amped up for a race and you've got some more like rock or rap so I I'm kind of all over the board but yeah I would say at at heart more of the alternative alternative rock. Yeah. No, I recognize some of the bands you mentioned because

I have a couple daughters, one of them is probably around your age, and so whatever she was listening to, you know, I was listening to as well. So I recognize some of that. And what about when you when you drive, you're probably not listening to music, but yeah, do you have a pump up song? Yeah, I mean, well, when I'm

regular driving, I feel like I want to make sure I'm chilled out and I'm not trying to race around on the street. I actually really love to listen to podcasts when I'm driving on the street. But for pre-race, every driver has their own pre-performance routine that they do. Part of mine is I do tend to listen to music while I'm doing a physical warm-up. I have a couple of playlists that's a mix, whether it's like kind of a zone playlist where it feels like it puts me in like that really specific focused, positive mindset. Or I do have a playlist called Kick But, but it's not But.

Got it. So I play that one. I need a little bit more amped up. Yeah. I love it. And I was sharing off the studio that I was recently going pretty fast on the Audubon. And I was listening to a song called Red Bartchetta. Do you know Red Bartchetta?

If you don't, I do not. I'm going to send it to you. So Red Barchetta, it's the ultimate, I think it's the ultimate racing car song. Okay. I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, when I was going super, super fast, that was the song playing in the background. So what about life message and mantra?

Like, are there words that you live by or kind of guide you? I would say the biggest things that I use kind of on a daily basis is something that came, was very powerful for me, especially when I was like more earlier in my career was to enjoy the process.

And a big one I use a lot is a so what now, what. So always trying to be like, okay, this happened. We can't control that. You know, now, now what are we going to actively do to move forward? I would say those are probably the big ones. And then I remember ever since I was a kid, so I was super lucky because I had a really cool dad who used to race motocross the supercross professionally. And he passed along one of his old motocross posters to me, and I used to have it hanging up in my room. And it was like a motorcycle jumping over the mountains or something like that.

And it was the quote that was on it is like if you've never, if you never fail, you'll never succeed. So just kind of encouraging to go out of your comfort zone. Nothing's ever going to be perfect. But you learn the most from failure. Yeah. Yeah, that's a great dad. That's good.

That's good word. You know, I just jumped right in expecting everyone would know exactly who you are. So as we get into kind of your life. life. Tell us, this is a chance for you to just like tell us. I could tell them, but I'd rather hear from your voice. Like, you're this amazing race car driver, like one of the top women drivers on the circuit. Tell us a little bit about that. So I, as I mentioned, had a very cool dad. And so I was kind of born into a family that was acquainted with racing, but not car racing. And so from a young age, my mom and dad were like absolutely no motorcycles. So

they let me get into go-karts, which was much safer, and I appreciate it now. I have much less broken bones than I would have if I would have gone on two wheels. So we started doing that when I was just before I was eight years old, and I started taking it a little bit more seriously around 10 years old, and then I went on to win my first World Championship when I was 13 in the junior category. And after that, I was like, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. And this is pretty cool. This is special. And from then on, I just worked my way up through the carding ranks. I have 14 championships in total from my years in carding. I don't think this is a secret, but not everybody maybe knows this about racing. It is incredibly expensive. It is not very

accessible. And the problem is to go from go-carts to cars. It is a large jump in the amount of funding and resources that it takes to do that. So I was still racing carts for a lot longer than I intended to, but really struggle to get that budget to make that next jump in sponsorship dollars to make it into cars. But I finally did that in 2017, which directly aligned. I do have another side to my life where I am an engineer. And I, from a young age, really loved math and science, really loved, like, understanding how things worked, being able to build things and like just understand it from A to Z how things function together. So it made it absolutely natural for me to go into engineering. I went to Carls School of Mines

in Golden, Colorado and got my undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from there and graduated in 2017. The same year I raced a car for the first time. So 2017 was a big year for me. And then my racing career and my engineering career kind of went in tandem together from that point. In 2018, I moved into pro categories in the car racing world. So I raced on the road to Indy, which is like the ladder to Indy car. And then I won the Infinity Engineering Academy at the end of 2018, which then secured me a spot to go. I moved and worked in the UK as a vehicle test engineer. for Infinity and Nissan.

And then after that, I went to work for Renault F1, which everybody now knows as Alpine F1 in suspension composite design and did that and worked on the 2020 car. And then at the same time, I also qualified for W series, which a lot of people maybe don't know what it is, but it was like the precursor to what F1 Academy is now. And for those who that really don't know racing, racing is co-ed. So I'm not racing against other women. I'm just racing against other drivers, period, whether they're men are women. But yes, the majority is men, and most of the time I am the only woman.

But sometimes you can encounter where there is a couple other females on the grid. But W-Series and F1 Academy are specifically only female. So with W-Series, you had to qualify to get into the series, and then you won prize money based on where you finished in the championship. So I did that for three years, and then eventually moved back. to the U.S. realized I couldn't work full-time in Formula One and race. It was a little bit too much, even for me who tries to be very efficient with my days. It was a lot. And then I raced anything and everything I had the opportunity to do. So whether that was, I raced like at MX5 race at Daytona, I've raced on the Nurembergring and won at the Nurebergring. I know that was a big story this

year. A lot of more people were interested in the Nurebergh because Max Ristappen went and raced the 24-hour. And then I raced like a touring car with Brian Herda. I raced more things on the road to Indy, F3, F4, and ultimately ended up in the Porsche Career Cup, North America, starting in 2023 as the first female to do so. So until that point, we unfortunately had no women in the series. And we did have a couple others join. But sadly, I'm the only one again this year, which is a bummer. But it's been a great journey with Porsche so far. And, um, and, um, and, um, for the last three years, I've been a Portional 1 female driver development driver. So it's been a really cool place to grow and grow my partnerships.

And yeah, it's been a good place. And that's where I'm at right now. Yeah, that's awesome. I'll say the word that you didn't say earlier. That's like badassery right there. Like, you're a great. I didn't know if I was allowed to say that word. Yeah, it's pretty good.

Yeah, they'll probably stamp, I don't know with NC17 or whatever. I don't know what they do with podcasts. But anyways, That's pretty cool. Yeah, so that kind of leads me to this question, like, how fast have you ever gone? Like, what's the high speed? So, for, like, that's always one of the first questions we get asked is, like, how fast do you go? And for us, we're not drag racers, so we don't really pay attention that much to top speed.

I mean, yes, it does matter. But for us on road courses, we are mostly focused on average speed. My top speed that I've probably ever gone is, like, maybe 180 miles an hour. but where, like, cars that are racing on road courses, like, where the excitement and the thrill and, like, the real edge of performance is pushed is it how fast the cars can actually go through the corners. Right. Yeah.

So tell us a little bit more about yourself growing up, like, outside of cars. So, like, you grew up in Colorado. Yes, I was super lucky that I, you know, grew up at a racetrack at the go-kart track that was in Grand Junction. And I had no idea at the time that that wasn't a normal childhood, being able to, like, run around and like look see how my dad was building things and get to like you know learn see how heavy machinery was being run like watch the tractors and the skid steers and um just like the ins and outs of that and then also seeing like how a small business runs as well like i i think that is definitely

carried over into i kind of have an entrepreneurial journey in the middle of all this because as i mention, you know, it takes a lot of funding and resources to race cars. So on the side, basically, I am a small business that brings in sponsorship every year and makes the racing program happen. So my entrepreneurial side got cultivated as well, thanks to both my parents who were entrepreneurs. And so I was just, yeah, super lucky to grow up in a place where I could be outside and be building things and learning about business and racing and all of that all in one. Yeah. And you already mentioned it, but like school of mines for those you don't know, that's like

one of the top engineering schools in the country. That's a great school. They pride themselves on crushing your soul. They're like happy that they, uh, uh, I think they actually have like that, you know, how they do water tests. And I think mines has, uh, the highest amount of antidepressants in the water, apparently. Just, I mean, they seemed pretty proud about that, but they definitely, and I appreciate it. Like, now after like post-grad, like, they push you incredibly hard and they want you to, you know,

really know your stuff and be pushed to a level so that way, like, you can really be reliable and dependable and work hard after you go out into the industry. So it definitely wasn't easy to make it through. but we did do it. And we'll put your website on the show notes, and that way, if anyone's interested in sponsorship, right, they could make a connection with you. Yeah, absolutely.

We're hopefully having it. We have a new website look that is going to be launched, actually, later this week. So there'll be tons of good information for everybody to go check out. And yeah, when you can see all the different events that we get up to, there might be in a photo or two

from the Fuse event where we met and share a little bit about that event. So, yeah, definitely go check it out. It's SabraCookRacing.com. Yeah. Yeah, we're definitely posted, encourage people to sponsor you. You're a great person,

and I think a great example for many others. And we're going to keep chatting. Was there a pivotal moment other than what you shared already, but was there a pivotal moment in your life that fundamentally change your trajectory, like as a person or profession? I would say there's maybe three that kind of stand out for me. The first one, I kind of already mentioned when I won my first

carding world championship, it was a tough weekend. We had been dealing with a lot of engine problems. We couldn't figure it out. And at the time, like, my dad was my mechanic. So it was, like, still, like, a very much, like, you know, the kind of a grassroots feeling where it was me and my dad up against these big factory teams that, like, came down from Canada and, like, other parts of the US and here was this little girl with her dad, you know, and we'd really struggled technically trying to figure out what was going on. And, you know, you start to doubt yourself, like, as a driver too. You're like, man, can I really do this? And turns out we had an issue with one of the carburetors. And my dad was like, you know, whatever, I'm just going to put the old one back on,

go with what I know, stop listening to these big factor teams, and we're just going to run it. So we did that. And then we ended up. up, like, qualify on pole and then, like, winning every single session on track from then on. And so that was kind of a pivotal, that was, like, a definitely a really, like, I guess a pivotal and also, like, it helped reinforce an identity for me of, like, you know, my dad's behind me. He believes in me. We can do hard things together. And even though it starts out hard, we push through and we achieved this success together and ended up achieving what we wanted to achieve because, you know, we didn't give up and we just trusted ourselves and went with what we knew. So that was definitely

a moment for me. And then I would say after that in 2012, I became the first female to win a pro-Shifter cart national championship. I don't think that had been done anywhere globally before. And at that moment, like, I never really like, I'd grown up being one of either the only girl or one of the only girls. And so I didn't really understand until that point the impact that it can make. And, you know, the whatever glass ceiling existed, you know, at the day, I was just focused on going fast and, like, winning race. Seeing, like, the impact that that moment had and, like, the other girls and karting that were younger at the time that, like, you know, they felt inspired because of it. And it just felt like that was kind of like a, almost a step forward to just say, like,

hey, we can compete in this space. And so I feel like at that moment, another thing got, you know, bred for me was like my passion for supporting maybe minorities in the space or other women in the space and realizing that, hey, it does matter how you show up and how you are, you know, putting your best foot forward to inspire these other young women that are coming up behind you. So that was, I would say, another one. And then the next one isn't maybe what you think it is. It wasn't necessarily a positive experience. There was a terrible experience.

But I got really injured in 2021 during my last year of W Series, and it was absolutely miserable. Like, I was in a ton of pain all year because I'd gotten injured at the first race of the season, and then I raced the whole rest of the year with the injury. And it was not enjoyable. Wouldn't recommend. it to anybody. But that challenge and that, you know, pain and frustration that I had to go through,

had a terrible season, plus the injuries, that for me was like a lesson that the universe was kind of like trying to teach me again and again and again that like, hey, you are valuable. You need to set boundaries for yourself and you've got to like create space for you to be able to perform at your best and like what you need is valuable. Because I'm definitely more of like a, you know, I don't want to upset anybody. I don't want to ruffle any feathers. Like, whatever it is, I'll just figure, you know, I'll figure it out my own way. And I don't need, like, to draw too much attention or make a big deal about things. And I had agreed to race the car with a seat and shirt that was broken. And for those that don't know how a single seat at work, so like that was

a Formula 3 car. And any open wheel formula car, like that you see, whether that's F4 all the way to Formula One in any car. The cars are just like a, it's just a tub. There's no like actual seat inside. So you have to make a seat insert that is made out of this foam that forms around your body and is like specifically custom to you that then sits inside of the shell of the tub and that's what supports you. So mine had fallen apart and they were like, we're not going to make you a new one. And I was like, if I say no, they're going to put another driver in. So it's like the typical problem like to, well, I better take my opportunity. It's like, okay, I'll figure. it out, no worries, like, I got this. It was not a good idea because as soon as you get hit,

if you don't have that support, that's what ended up injuring my back and my hip. And so that moment of like the ultimate repercussions of not standing up for myself and saying, no, like, what I need and I'm of value enough to like to have these resources to be able to perform just like everybody else. That was a lesson, a hard lesson to learn, but it was one that I definitely needed to learn. In some ways, I feel like I still end up having to learn it again. But it was a really, it was a pivotal moment for me. And I ended up having to take like a year, a year or so off of racing to, you know, have surgery and rehab back. But the great thing is, is when I came back, that's what opened the door for me to pivot into sports cars full time and start building the

relationship with Portia. Yeah, that's very cool. So what would be your ultimate our driving goal today if you had all the sponsorship that you needed. Like what would be the ideal? So next phase of the plan is to go full time into INSA weather tech. So right now I'm in some of the support races for INSA as well as Formula One. And so INSA weather tech is the North American series that you hear races like 24 hours of Daytona. Petit Le Ma, six hours of the Glen, that's those like really big

endurance races that you see and hear of in North America. So in a perfect world, if I had all the funding, we would go full time with a manufacturer in INSA weather tech

as well as adding on if we're shooting for the stars, adding on the 24 hours of Nervagring as well as the 24 hours of Lamont. Like that would be the perfect the perfect scenario.

Yeah, well, I hope it happens for you. So you also coached. So tell us about that. What kind of coaching do you do? So I do driver coaching and sim coaching. So, you know, everything's online now. So that was something that actually came out of the pandemic. So there's, you know, there's driver coaches just like there's soccer coaches and basketball coaches.

So I will coach either a group of students or in an individual basis at the track, whether you get to right seat with them or you're coaching them with data and video track side. And then also on the simulator, because there's platforms like ir racing, a set of course where you can drive with each other online and coach very effectively in the virtual world. So those are those are the two ways usually that I coach. I do, I do sometimes like kind of consult or give advice. I guess this isn't as much an official coaching capacity, but young drivers coming up that are still trying to figure out the sponsorship side of things because it's incredibly difficult and there's not a lot of like resources and like, hey, this is how you do it, right? Like you have to, the way I've figured it out is by doing it absolutely wrong and continuing. and to do it again and again and again and to figure out what works. And so being able to just like, I literally just before this, I did have a meeting with a young driver who's like not sure how to proceed forward with sponsorship. So I do try to provide some mentorship in that space as well. Yeah. Well, you mentioned a little bit about data. So how do you balance like personally data versus gut? So when you're racing, I know you have all sorts of data and you're an engineer. Like how much

of it is data at that point or how much is it gut? So when you're in the car, it's 100% gut. It has to be because otherwise you're never going, your conscious mind is never going to come to an answer or a conclusion as fast as your subconscious and as fast as you need to. So like there, yes, there is some thought process that goes through like consciously, right? Like if you want to try something different, you like you'll make a mental note like, okay, let's try this technique next lap or this setting of the car next lap. That goes into it. But when you're in the car, things are happening so quickly, you really just have to rely on your experience, your gut feeling, and what you're feeling through your butt, honestly. That's you've got to trust.

Now, you also speak, and you're a brand ambassador. Tell us a little bit about that. And again, we'll post your website so people can find out more. Yeah, well, I guess I wear many hats. Whatever hat needs to be worn to be able to make the roasting program happen, I guess is what we do. So for like the speaking side of things, I will do keynote speeches, speak on panels, Q&As, maybe like hosting events. So I've gotten asked to do a variety of different things. And then I also commentate more recently for like the F1 track TV stuff. So like the Mexico GP, Las Vegas GP, and Miami GP are ones that I've most recently worked at. I'm very introverted actually naturally, so it's kind of funny.

This is definitely not where my mom or would have thought I end up in life is like speaking in front of people. But I guess the good news is it's been a big growth and challenge area for me that it's not maybe not something I'm necessarily like attracted to or inclined or like natural. Well, maybe I am natural at it, but it's definitely like a big growth. a big, you know, if I could just stay quiet and go look at data and not talk to anybody, I would much more refer that. But that's not the reality of like being a successful driver, building a business, building a brand, and doing media for your partners. So it is, it is something that spawned out of necessity, but now I do really enjoy it. And I love that it allows me to make a bigger impact and meet so many other people that I wouldn't have otherwise.

Well, you're great at it. And what I appreciated when I saw, you customized everything to your client, which is cool, right? A lot of times people just generically speak, say the same thing to everyone. But the fact that you took that time to really learn healthcare, I was really impressed by that. Well, I feel you're so much more I need to learn. It's still like a space that I'm definitely no expert in. And I would love to learn more because it was very interesting. I love listening to your panel, especially during the fuse event. I thought I learned a lot from that. Yeah. Well, and the other thing, you inspire a lot of people, not just, you know, the obvious thing would be women, but I think anyone, both men and women and as you mentioned, minorities, and just the fact you're doing what you're doing and you're blazing new trail. a lot of times you're the only female in the bunch. And so I think people really look up to that, can learn a lot from that. So that's pretty cool. Hey, what's one thing that your parents made you do? They sound like great people. But one thing they made you do, you rolls your eyes, you know, when you were a kid. But now you look back and you're like, hmm, kind of glad they did that. I think my parents were great at holding me accountable to my level of capabilities so that they

would definitely I don't want to say put pressure but kind of like put pressure that if they knew that I wasn't doing something to the best of my abilities they would definitely be like you know is this your best? Is this like and they would just kind of like

encourage me to lean into like my strengths and what I can truly achieve and not let let me just do things to check a box and I think also my my dad was very adamant about like you give your word for something and you do it. And if you

give your word and say you're going to do something, like you do it. And if you aren't able to fulfill that, like communicating that and being really open and honest that like, hey, I'm actually not going to be able to fulfill this. And this is why. Just like, because I know a lot of us commit to a lot of things because we, you know, we want to and we think we're like in our best idea. We're like, I can totally do all these things. But if you're going to say you're going to do something, better do it. And if you can't do it, you need to, you need to just be open and honest. Yeah, I love that. Sabra, we talk about a lot of things, talked a lot about music and then your life growing up, and then all the different races that you, that you've won and all the different things that you've done.

We talk some about your life mantras and, you know, never fail. If you don't fail, you know, you don't succeed. You got to push the boundaries, got to push the limits, enjoy the process. And then just the things that you talked about, like some of the lessons learn, like setting boundaries for yourself, you know, and the messaging to other girls, young people, women that they can accomplish things, even in male-dominated areas. And then I just picked up on things like the belief that your dad had in you and be able to do some cool things and my parents just seem like great people. What did I miss?

Or is there anything you want to double down on? I'll give you the last word. Oh, I mean, I think you summarized all that super well. And yeah, just want to express that I'm super grateful for all the opportunities that I've been given. And I've been able to be in the places that I am because I have amazing people supporting me and amazing partners behind me. So, yeah, just definitely if you get a chance, go check out who my partners are. They are all incredible and amazing. And it allows me to be in rooms and places where I get to meet more cool people like Ed.

Yeah, you're so kind. Thank you for being our guests. Thanks for having me. Thank you for listening to Digital Voices. We hope today's conversation sparked ideas, reflection, and connection. Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify Podcasts so you don't miss an episode.