"Ten women that will destroy your mechanics ego by knowing his job better than he does”
Females making a name for themselves in motorsports are becoming more prevalent, and we love that. People like Danica Patrick that transitioned from Indy to NASCAR gain a lot of attention, but what about the females behind the scenes? This is a list of ten women involved in the motorsports industry that will embarrass your local mechanic with their car knowledge and know-how, let alone some of their driving skills.
Jessica Barton
A car fanatic and lingerie/swimsuit model. The 29-year-old, Georgian-born beauty has been appearing in magazines and print campaigns since 2000, and is widely recognized for her appearances in car-related publications. When not posing for cameras in Florida, Jessica is tearing up the drag strip in her 1,165 whp Supra; said to be one of the fastest cars in the world. Think she just pilots this monster from time-to-time? You’re wrong. It took her eight months to build her current Supra, in which she designed her own turbo system with Turbonetics. http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/celebrity-cars/jessica-bartons-car-models-custom-toyota-supra-swiped/
Maryeve Dufault
A 31-year-old Canadian-American racing driver, model, and advertising spokeswoman that now resides in “Race City, USA” Mooresville, NC.
Maryeve grew up in Quebec racing motocross, and later raced karts nationally winning several championships. She left Quebec in the early 2000s to pursue her racing career with a focus on stock car racing, eventually impressing NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski, and has been listed as one of the “Top female drivers in racing today” by Fox Sports.
She’s not just a pretty face that has been handed sponsorship after sponsorship, but says she models to earn money to be a racecar driver. “I wasn’t buying myself clothes. I was buying tires. I am a racer who uses modeling jobs to pay my bills.” (http://www.toledoblade.com/Pro/2011/05/12/Modeling-used-to-fuel-career.html)
Jessi Combs
If you have ever watched Overhaulin’ or Extreme 4x4, you have probably heard of Jessi Combs. Jessi didn’t squeeze her way onto these shows by good looks alone, but through knowledge and passion of metal fabrication and motorsports in general.
She graduated WyoTech in the Collision and Refinishing Core program at the top of her class. Lately, you can catch Jessi touring with Bilstein as their premier spokesperson for the “Lower it Right” campaign. (http://www.jessicombs.com/Awesomenss/Whats_Up.html)
Madalena Antas
A Portuguese 35-year-old that is as hot as the deserts she races in. Madalena is a competing driver in the Dakar Rally and other rally raid events.
One does not become a competitive driver in the desert because of a pretty face, but rather through hard work and knowing a thing or two about the Nissan pickup your jumping dunes in at 120+ mph. (http://www.mycarheaven.com/2011/08/talented-and-beautiful-female-car-racing-drivers/)
Sarah “Bogi” Lateiner
Bogi graduated Phi Beta Kappa and did it in three years with a double major in pre-law and women’s studies. So, what was after pre-law? She became a mechanic to “fix the world by fixing cars.”
She bought her first car at the age of 16, a Volkswagen Beetle, but it needed a lot of work. After feeling like local automotive shops were taking advantage of her, she decided to fix the car herself, and she did, leaving a lasting impression. Today, she works at her own shop, 180 Degree Automotive, in Phoenix where she mainly hires women. (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500617_162-7123714.html)
Sarah Forst
Sarah Forst aka “The Queen of Questions” served as Nissan Performance Magazine’s Tech Editor since its inception. She grew up preferring rebellious skateboards and BMX bikes eventually leading to street racing in which she was caught and arrested.
This experience made her interests turn towards the technical side of performance and real motorsports. She builds her own Nissan cars that she competitively races, and answers Nissan tech questions monthly. She has also authored a book on Nissan tuning, “How to Build Performance Nissan Sport Compacts 1991-2006” with HP books. (http://www.motoiq.com/about.aspx)
Cristy Lee
A motorcycle road racer, TV host, and reporter hailing from Daytona Beach, FL. She has been a motorsports reporter, arena host, race commentator, and live emcee for many different medias for the majority of her adulthood.
Most recently, Cristy was part of the show All Girls Garage on Discovery Channel’s Velocity Network along with Jessi Combs and Bogi. This is one female wrencher that cannot only tell you what’s wrong with your GTO, but will also fix it for you. (http://www.cristy-lee.com/)
Gill Jones
The majority of you may not have heard of Gill, but she was recently put on the podium in F1 by Red Bull to collect their constructor’s trophy after Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Gill is the team’s head of trackside electronics with responsibility for all the electronics in the cars and garage.
Formula One has no female drivers, and the only women on the podium are usually grid girls. She is probably the first woman ever to stand on the podium in F1 to collect a constructor’s trophy. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/21/us-motor-racing-prix-redbull-female-idUSBRE93K0CZ20130421)
So, what is a guest post? It's when someone else wants to make content for a blog, but isn't part of the blog or the blog team. They do the leg work, and get the link to their website in exchange. It's important in the Google world to increase the number of links, as that increases your Google page range, or something like that. Why do I have a guest post after all these years? I put out the challenge to writers who ask to get their material on my site, that they do a post worth the effort, and one that is good enough to make me happy to have on my blog. I'm picky, as you already know, and only post the stuff I like. http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-get-solicited-often-to-post-someones.html
and now 10 women that will destroy your mechanics ego by knowing his job better than he does is off the list of topics that I'm looking to see written
Grease Girl
Kristin lives in LA and started her own blog (greasegirl.wordpress.com) to commentate her adventures of working on her ’55 Studebaker Champion.
Growing up, her father was always under the hood of classics, and the majority of her time with him was spent harassing him while he worked. Now, however, the love for classics has finally passed on.
After a long Craigslist search, she finally came across her Studebaker that she picked up promptly and has been working on since. Implanted in the old engine bay is a 383 stroker Chevy V8, 700R4 transmission, Ford 9” rear, and she has even redone the upholstery herself. (http://greasegirl.wordpress.com/howdy/)
Christine L. Alaniz
The Chief Engineer of the Dodge Grand Caravan, the vehicle Dodge needed to stay atop the minivan market.
Christine was born in Dearborn, MI, which is actually the home of Ford, but said she grew up a secret MOPAR fan.
If minivans don’t get your heart racing, listen to what’s in Christine’s private garage. A 1970 Orange HEMI Charger R/T (yes, a real one), a 1972 Challenger 340 4-speed she says is “not exactly stock,” a 1979 Lil red Express restored by her husband and son while she earned her MBA, and her current project, a 1970 Plum Crazy Challenger convertible. (http://blog.chryslergroupllc.com/blog.do?p=entry&id=155)
Notable Mentions:
My Cousin Vinny expert witness: Mona Lisa Vito
Dustin Wilson and Jim Dodge, authors
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So, what is a guest post? It's when someone else wants to make content for a blog, but isn't part of the blog or the blog team. They do the leg work, and get the link to their website in exchange. It's important in the Google world to increase the number of links, as that increases your Google page range, or something like that. Why do I have a guest post after all these years? I put out the challenge to writers who ask to get their material on my site, that they do a post worth the effort, and one that is good enough to make me happy to have on my blog. I'm picky, as you already know, and only post the stuff I like. http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-get-solicited-often-to-post-someones.html
and now 10 women that will destroy your mechanics ego by knowing his job better than he does is off the list of topics that I'm looking to see written