Editor in Chief/Photographer
Chloe Hedley
Chloe Hedley is Editor in Chief and co-founder of Speed & Spirit Media, the independent motorsport photography and editorial publication she leads alongside her husband, James, the publication’s Lead Photographer. Together, they cover GT America, IndyCar, IMSA, and GT World Challenge across North America, with Chloe shaping the publication’s editorial direction while overseeing its features, long-form storytelling, and editorial voice.
Instagram: @hope.fueled
Co-Founder and Editor in Chief/Photographer
Every story begins with feeling.
Long before Speed & Spirit Media existed, two lifelong passions were already taking shape.
At the age of 10, Chloe developed a fascination with cars through movies, popular culture, and a curiosity that quickly became something much deeper. Rather than simply admiring the cars she saw, she wanted to understand them. She found herself researching manufacturers, learning about motorsport, and discovering the engineering, history, and personalities that define the sport. That fascination has remained with her ever since and continues to grow with every race weekend.
Writing arrived just as naturally.
From her earliest years at school, Chloe was drawn to storytelling. By high school, she had become known for her ability to transform even the simplest prompt into imaginative, character-driven stories, earning numerous first-place awards for her creative writing. As part of the GATE program, she completed her junior and senior years in a single year and graduated early. The achievement was rewarding, but what remained with her most was her love of writing itself. The ability to take an idea, an emotion, or a moment and shape it into something another person could experience became the creative foundation that continued to guide her through every stage of her education and the work that followed. That same passion for storytelling remains at the heart of everything she writes today.
A shared journey begins
Those two passions would eventually find a home together through an unexpected journey.
In 2020, during a difficult season following Chloe’s serious illness in 2018, James began sharing photographs he had created in Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon. Chloe immediately recognized something he could not yet see in himself: a natural eye for composition and visual storytelling.
Without telling him, she created an Instagram account dedicated to his work and quietly began sharing his photographs. As the audience grew, she eventually revealed what she had done and invited James to take over the account alongside her. That quiet act of belief became the beginning of James’ photography career and, ultimately, the foundation upon which Speed & Spirit Media would later be built.
The feeling of motorsport
There is a moment at every race weekend that Chloe never grows tired of.
It begins in the quiet before the engines fire. Conversations soften, anticipation builds, and an entire paddock seems to pause for a brief moment. Then the first engine comes to life, followed by another, until the circuit fills with a chorus of mechanical voices, each unmistakably its own. Some are deep and resonant, others sharp and aggressive. The unmistakable crack and pop of an exhaust echoes around the circuit, while the sound of a field accelerating toward the first corner becomes something that is felt as much as it is heard.
That feeling is what Chloe loves most about motorsport.
She loves the individuality of every car and the personality each manufacturer brings to the circuit. Multi-class racing holds a special place because it brings so many different machines together, each with its own rhythm, sound, strengths, and story. Every lap offers something new to discover, whether it is a battle for position, a perfectly judged overtake, a strategy unfolding in traffic, or simply the unmistakable sound of different classes sharing the same stretch of asphalt.
The people behind the racing
Yet the greatest part of racing, to Chloe, has never been confined to the cars alone.
It is the people.
Drivers placing their trust in months of preparation. Engineers and mechanics whose work is often invisible once the race begins. Teams celebrating together after every hard-earned success. Marshals, volunteers, photographers, journalists, manufacturers, families, and lifelong fans all arrive for different reasons, yet they are united by the same passion. Motorsport creates a rare sense of community where complete strangers can stand beside one another and instantly understand why the person next to them is smiling as a favourite car thunders past.
Storytelling with purpose
That shared experience shapes the way Chloe approaches every story.
As Editor in Chief, she believes the most meaningful journalism reaches beyond results and statistics. She looks for the moments that reveal character, purpose, preparation, resilience, and humanity. Working closely with James, she collaborates with drivers, teams, manufacturers, and industry professionals to tell stories that reflect not only what happened on the circuit, but why those moments matter. Together, their writing and photography seek to preserve the atmosphere, emotion, and human side of motorsport with honesty, authenticity, and respect.
Faith at the centre
At the centre of Chloe’s life is her faith in God.
She credits Him as the source of her strength, the foundation beneath everything she has accomplished, and the One who carried her through seasons that tested her far beyond what she imagined possible. Those experiences have given her a deep appreciation for compassion, gratitude, and treating every person with dignity. Her guiding principle is simple: no judgment, only love.
More than a publication
For Chloe, Speed & Spirit Media represents far more than a publication.
It is where a lifelong fascination with cars, a passion for writing, a creative partnership with her husband, and an unwavering faith in God have come together with purpose. Whether she is interviewing a driver in the paddock, shaping a feature long after the checkered flag has fallen, or standing trackside beside James as a multi-class field charges toward the first corner, her purpose remains unchanged: to tell stories with integrity, celebrate the people behind the sport, and preserve not only what happened, but what it felt like to be there.
Coverage
- IMSA
- INDYCAR
- GT America
- GT World Challenge America
- Historic and special-event motorsport
Editorial Values
- Honest, human-centered storytelling
- Emotion, atmosphere and experience
- Respect for drivers, teams and partners
- Preparation, resilience and purpose
- Authentic motorsport journalism