Jamie Little one of ESPN’s busiest and toughest pit reporters

Just like racing, life never slows down for ESPN pit reporter Jamie Little.

Whether it’s running up and down pit road at a NASCAR race, jumping over to the IndyCar Series or enjoying the excitement of the Winter X Games, Little is all over the country. From one track to another, one series to the next or completely away from racing, that’s just the way she likes it.

“I’m not one of those people who does well sitting still,” Little said during race weekend in Atlanta. “So being busy is very beneficial to me. I have the perfect job for that.”

Little is one of the few at ESPN who can do NASCAR as well as IndyCar, while plugging in wherever else she’s needed. She does five IndyCar races throughout a season while covering the Nationwide Series full-time then the Sprint Cup Series during the second half of their season.

“You get used to it, you do it enough. It’s like second nature,” she said about always being on the go. “Say bye to the family and I  come home two or three nights later. It is a lot, I’d like to travel a little bit less if I had a perfect world and I think most people in NASCAR would say that’s because it’s crazy schedule, lasts all year basically. But yeah, I love to travel. I don’t mind it.”

Late last year Little gave birth to her and husband Cody Selman’s first child, son Carter. While pregnant Little continued fulfilling all work responsibilities, traveling and working up until 36 weeks, which earned her many stares, but she had a great pregnancy by staying active and having the right mentality.

And many might remember that stretching ESPN firesuit she donned the entire time. It became as big – no pun intended – an attraction as the cars on the track. Carter, who just recently turned a year old, has been to a few races this season including the Indianapolis 500.

“I’m gone three to four days and I’m home the rest of the week. I’m home, home,” Little said. “We always have a conference call on Tuesday’s and then I’m always checking Twitter, I’m talking to people in the industry, reading things and staying on top of the news for the weekend.”

When at the track Little is focused on the job, professional and still as hardcore. Before finding her way to the media center for our chat, she was in the garage making her rounds. Talking to crew chiefs and drivers, getting a feel for the weekend ahead. The access she has, walking right up in team haulers and shooting the breeze about racing, is one of the coolest parts of Little’s job.

In front of the camera however, the atmosphere is completely different. She knows what her job is and sometimes that might mean asking the difficult questions. Questions a reporter can’t be afraid to ask on top of knowing exactly what to ask.

“One thing because ESPN has groomed me, I started working for them when I was in college, and something that they preach for all their announcers and we’ve gone to classes for this, is asking a question,” Little revealed. “Don’t make a statement. Don’t ask double barrel questions. Don’t ask open-ended questions. In NASCAR is it tougher because we talk to these guys so much and a lot of times it is conversational, you want to make a statement.”

For Little, she tries to aim for what would elicit answers the fans would be interested in. Every time she approaches a driver it’s with that in mind, as well as the fact that certain drivers – such as Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick – are always a little tougher and in order to get a good answer regardless, she must ask the right question.

Over the years Little has earned a reputation for not being afraid to get the story. It was rough at first, she acknowledged, and some drivers blasted her on national television, but she’s learned the timing of things and especially to trust her gut. If something doesn’t feel right and might turn out to make everyone look bad, Little will change direction. It’ll never be enough though, to keep her away.

“I’m just inclined that when I see stuff happening I want to be in the middle of it. If there’s a crash and there’s a fight, there’s conflict, I’m usually the first one there,” she said.

“My crew, we sprint. [Bristol] Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick: Harvick’s car is in Hamlin’s pit box; I was in the spot when Kevin got out and got the interview right away. You just stay onboard because that’s the coolest thing about our job and why I’m appreciative of it because I’m in the middle of it, I have access to all that, firsthand. We don’t have to sit there and wonder what’s going on or what was said. I’m there and I have the ability to ask, straight up.”

And Little could be said to be a well rounded motorsports analyst. That coming not only with her years of pit road experience but as someone who has her own racing past: when Little was a teenager she dabbled in supercross bikes and in 2008 she won the Toyota Pro / Celebrity race in Long Beach. Which might make it surprising that the notoriety of everything around her will never wear off and neither will the fun.

“I’d say getting to go to Victory Lane when your driver wins and you get to cover them from the beginning of the race until the end and you see how it progressed,” revealed Little on her favorite times at the track.

“Especially when you get a first time winner or it’s a popular win. Ryan Newman winning at the Brickyard? That was huge, that was as big a win that he could possibly get and that track means so much to me having covered the Indy 500 ten times, I love that place. So to get Victory Lane with him and get to document and cover his pit all day long and how they got that win, that was awesome.

“That’s when it’s so much fun and I just sit back afterwards and pinch myself like, ‘this is the job I get to do.’”