About Wendy

Wendy Venturini has become one of the most recognizable faces on FOX Cable Networks’ brain-child, SPEED.  Wendy brings experience from both in front of and behind the camera to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on SPEED’s highest-rated program.  She is a correspondent on NASCAR Raceday with noted drivers Kenny Wallace and Jimmy Spencer and SPEED enthusiast anchor John Roberts.  It has become apparent the addition of Wendy is exactly what Speed had hoped it would be.

No stranger to the sport, Wendy is considered to be one of the most dynamic and knowledgeable women in the industry today.

Known for pushing her limits, Wendy took on the challenge of double-duty Sundays as pit reporter for DirecTV’s NASCAR Hot Pass in addition to her duties on NASCAR Raceday. TV executives took notice and in 2007, Wendy made NASCAR history by becoming the first female ever to call an entire race broadcast from the booth.

Her latest undertaking, The Real Deal, is a high-profile and often controversial segment airing weekly on NASCAR Raceday, where she takes the time to do her homework and probe a little deeper into the world of NASCAR to give her viewers that extra edge they have been looking for.

Wendy isn’t new to NASCAR or to television.  In fact, her entire life has been preparing her for what she now calls her “dream job”.

With virtually a lifetime of motorsports experience, Wendy’s passion for racing came naturally as she was born and raised into a family of dedicated drivers.  Her father, Bill Venturini, is a two-time ARCA Champion and retired NASCAR Winston Cup competitor.  Bill Sr. also spent some time on then-called Speed Vision to help put Wendy through college. While her older brother, Billy,  decided to follow in their father’s racing footsteps (driving in the ARCA Re/Max Series), Wendy decided to make her mark in television.
And so she has.

Wendy’s broadcasting career began in 1998 working both in front of the camera as well as the control room as a producer at UNC-Chapel Hill.  Passionate about gaining knowledge and skills, she also commuted every week as a sports intern at the NBC affiliate in Charlotte.  Wendy spent her 1999 summer between seven countries, studying International Television & Film mostly in Norway and England.  Graduating from Carolina in three short years, with 2 degrees (Media Production & Psychology) and a minor (Journalism), Wendy was clearly already proving herself in the professional world.

A quick-learning understudy, Wendy soon found herself in front of the camera full-time as a reporter for a local news station in Mooresville, North Carolina where she convinced her General Manager to let her host her own racing show on top of her regular daily reporting duties.  Before long, Wendy went onto Wheeler Television as an Associate Producer for their NASCAR related program airing on TNN.  Her goal was to gain more experience behind the camera.  And her background in motorsports made her an ideal candidate.
As her skills matured, Wendy was chosen to join the NASCAR Images family, a place she forever calls home.  Wendy worked as a Feature Producer for NASCAR This Morning airing on FOX Sports Net until her unique vision and experience earned her title of Producer for NASCAR Victory Lane on SPEED.

Wendy’s relationship with SPEED continued to grow, eventually pushing her back to the front of the camera as the youngest Pit Reporter on their premier live event in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.  Now the time spent as a child in the garage with her family was apparent.  Her easy conversation with drivers and crew members was obvious and her ability to ask the right questions at the right time was a natural talent, not a learned skill.  She never lost sight of those roots, and was both honored and pleased to also return to the ARCA Re/Max Series as a Pit Reporter.  Ironically, the year Wendy went on-air for SPEED, her father was replaced on the network for “younger talent“. A now family joke, her dad has never been happier about the switch.

Wendy’s vibrant personality , dedication to the motorsports industry and professional accomplishments has allowed her to represent several charitable causes.  She is on the Board of Directors for WAM, the Women’s Auxiliary of Motorsports.  WAM, a designated proud charity of NASCAR, helps racing families requiring medical or financial assistance through fund-raising efforts and wellness programs.  She is also a spokesperson for the NASCAR Foundation which supports a wide-range of charitable initiatives that reflect the core values of the NASCAR Family.

Wendy has been fortunate enough to combine her career in television with her first-hand love and knowledge of motorsports.  Her proven level of dedication and natural talent has made her an instant success and a well-respected favorite among her colleagues and friends in the garage.  With her obvious diligence, Wendy Venturini is clearly on the fast track and beyond.