If you Google “women off-road racing”, the chances are very good that the first thing to pop up will be the Rebelle Rally and its founder, Emily Miller. I’ve covered the Rebelle for years– as many of my badass women have raced it. For all its hype, the woman behind the Rebelle Rally has always remained somewhat of a mystery, so I decided to figure out what kind of person undertakes such a herculean task and why. What did I find? Of course, a Badass Woman of Automotive.
Who Is Emily Miller?
A native of Crusted Butte, Colorado, Emily Miller is an avid outdoor sportswoman–mountain biking, snowboarding, and skiing. When she started dabbling in automotive, she was quickly scooped up by the legendary Rod Hall, who not only taught her to race but also eventually hired her to run for his team. In time, Emily became the first woman to solo drive the country’s longest off-road race from Vegas to Reno.
What Is The Rebelle Rally?
The Rebelle is described as “the first and only all-women, off-road navigation rally in the United States, which emphasizes navigation skills over speed.”
When I asked Emily why she started the Rebelle, I anticipated her responses “to empower women”, “for women to feel safe and challenged while racing”, etc. But the answer I got was anything but predictable:
“I set out to create a world-class rally in the US that I wanted to compete in. I wasn’t thinking of catering it towards women.” So what happened? When Miller pitched to the notoriously prickly Bureau of Land Management, a female-only race was the most appealing to them. Why? “They believed that women would be respectful of the land.” And the Rebelle Rally was born. But to say that the Rebelle hasn’t empowered women or changed the narrative around women off-roading is to misunderstand the impact of this ambitious effort.
What’s Next For This Badass Woman of Automotive
This year, the Rebelle celebrates its 10th Anniversary, a fact that Miller says, “If I got hit by a bus today– Mission Accomplished.” But that certainly doesn’t mean she’s slowing down. We can expect a new race from Miller in 2026, one you may even see me racing… but that’s all top secret for now. In the meantime, here’s more from Emily:
When you’re at a cocktail party with non-industry people, what do you tell people you do?
I tell them I own an endurance off-road car rally. They have no idea how to respond, so I tell them I own a sports marketing company. Or that I manage farms (which is also true and much more understandable by a person at a cocktail party.)
What do they ALWAYS ask?
What is a car rally?
And then, “what else do you do? Or “what else do you do for work?” Because they clearly don’t believe it is a job.
And on the topic of sports marketing, they ask “what does ‘marketing’ REALLY mean.”
What’s the biggest misconception about your job?
That it’s easy. It is NOT.
Did you get into this business by choice or by accident? How?
Accident and choice!
I got into automotive thanks to off-road legend Rod Hall. That was an “accident” as a chance meeting at the National Automobile Museum (from owning a sports marketing business). I do what I do now from the experiences in sports marketing combined with experience coaching and throughout my career in the sports marketing world and then with what I have learned in automotive, off-road and competing. It is actually the perfect blending of life and work experiences and I feel extremely fortunate. It’s been a wild ride.
What’s the wackiest thing you’ve ever done on the job?
Wacky is an interesting word…But a couple things come to mind. What I do is all about solving problems. Actually extreme problem solving. But probably the wackiest is figuring out how to turn back over porta-potties in a windstorm. Production and promotion is clearly not glamorous!
Emily Miller
And, shutting down the access to downtown Reno for about 6 days for Red Bull Supermoto and filling it up with dirt jumps. I had to move a bus station, and make access plans that affected dozens of businesses and major casinos. No one believed it could be done. But when there’s will there’s a way, and Red Bull always threw the best challenges.
What’s the most ridiculous thing someone has said to you on the job?
I need to talk to your boss. (Because they didn’t like my response.)
I told them the boss would tell them the same thing.
What’s your proudest achievement on the job? (Now’s your time to brag, baby!)
My proudest achievement is the team that has been assembled to run the Rebelle. And my ability to grow and meet the challenge to manage them. On the rally, we have a staff of 126 people. What we do is challenging, exhausting and reveals our strengths and weaknesses quickly and in real time. They are all amazing humans. And our leads have big personalities and miles of experience, so hence, clear opinions. Our ability to work together as a team has been wonderful to lead, experience, and watch. Not always easy, but extremely rewarding.
If you weren’t in the car business, you’d be…
An architect or full-time traveler/adventurer.
What’s your automotive pet peeve?
Here’s my list:
- TRAFFIC!
- Drivers texting and driving 20 mph under the speed limit and weaving in my lane.
- Designers that seem to worry more about cup holders than where important buttons and levers are.
- Lack of great paint colors on cars. (White, black and shades of silver/gray is just plain boring.)
- Trending to more and more screens in cars. I spend too many hours on screens and it nice to escape them when I drive.
2 Truths and a Lie
I am actually a “flat earther.”
I drove across remote southern Morocco using a Chapstick as a dashboard compass.
My secret realistic dream car is a restored BMW 3.0CS.
(For those interested, Emily loves vintage BMWs and is fully fluent in Chapstick navigation.)