Written by Mercedes Lilienthal
One of Jessi Combs’ missions in life was helping women pursue their automotive dreams. A talented welder, fabricator, off-road racer, and television personality, Combs also dreamed of going fast. Really fast.
Almost two years ago, she set a land speed record for women, 522.783 mph, on a dry lake bed in Oregon. But her 56-foot-long jet car crashed during the feat and killed her. She was 39 years old.
Combs was “a pioneering goddess,” said Sana Anderson, who fought stereotypes and skeptics in her life to follow her own dream working as a diesel technician focusing on heavy trucks and trailers.
Combs was a hero to Anderson and many other women.
“He was such a natural fit for the trades, as he should be,” added Anderson, 27, who lives in Beach Park, Illinois, north of Chicago. “He tried so many different things and had so many skills. Isn’t that all we want for our youth?
An undated photo provided by Priscilla Leon shows Eliza Leon setting up the frame in a 1953 Jeep. (Priscilla Leon via The New York Times)
Heather Holler had her eyes on semi-professional soccer, a dream derailed by surgery. When he competed in an autocross event for the first time in 2009, a whole new world opened up.
She got over her boyfriend at the time, and “I sold my SUV two weeks later and bought my car,” she said.
Holler, a native of Nevada who now lives in Germany, added: “However, knowing nothing about cars, I bought a car with a blown engine.” He went to the Universal Technical Institute in Sacramento, California, to learn how to fix it.
I would watch Combs on the “Xtreme 4X4” TV show every morning before work.
“I first knew who Jessi was when I started getting in cars,” he said.
Upon graduation in 2012, Holler became a full-time mechanic for Subaru Motorsports USA. Between events, he helped build a rally car for Bucky Lasek, a world-class racer. She was also the best mechanic at the DirtFish rally school and called in 2021 by becoming a mechanic for the Hyundai Motorsport GmbH World Rally Championship test team in Germany.
Eliza Leon, a concierge specialist at Manheim Auto Auction in El Paso, Texas, comes from a long line of blue-collar traders. His father was a diesel mechanic for heavy machinery and excavators. His maternal grandfather and uncles were also diesel mechanics and four-wheel drive enthusiasts. Leon grew up in Texas “helping my grandfather and uncles with their ATVs or tractors,” he said.
Combs “was everything I wanted to become,” Leon said. “She was smart, intelligent, educated in the automotive field, a talented manufacturer, hard-working and very personable.”
In 2002, Leon was 17 when he completed automotive technology courses at his high school. Her best friend told her about Combs, who debuted on “Xtreme 4 × 4” in 2001.
A little over a decade later, in 2014, Leon met his television mentor at the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show in Las Vegas, better known as SEMA.
“She was everything I expected her to be: kind, kind and genuinely interested in what I had to say,” he said.
They reconnected five years later through Instagram and phone calls.
“His work ethic, his drive, his love of the trades is unrivaled,” said Leon. “She changed the industry for the better and, furthermore, inspired many more to keep working. That is a true testament to what she stood for. “
A photo provided by Subaru Motorsports USA shows Heather Holler at a rally in Canada. He has helped build a rally car for a racer. (Subaru Motorsports USA via The New York Times)
During Leon’s 14-year career, she has been a technician, shop service writer, auto damage appraiser, off-road vehicle builder, manufacturer and television personality on “Xtreme Off-Road.”
“The more you work on vehicles, the more you learn,” he said. “Technology is always evolving, so it’s an endless classroom.”
And so the Combs legacy lives on, in women like Leon, Holler, and Anderson and in organizations like the Real Deal Revolution and the Jessi Combs Foundation.
Beyond the Combs automotive family tree are a variety of programs, trade groups, and social media pages that support women pursuing automotive careers, from welding to ripping to fabricating and painting.
Anderson, a first-generation American with a Polish mother and Pakistani father, intends to inspire other women. She is quick to offer advice on the “ups and downs” of being a woman in the industry.
“All the hard times have been and will be worth it,” he said.
While she has some education, she said, hands-on experience makes the best teacher.
“I have learned more during my time in the shop,” Anderson said.
All the women said that it was necessary to have thick skin and to be able to adapt to uncomfortable situations, which are unfortunately not uncommon, as can be in any workplace.
According to a survey by Deloitte and Automotive News, women make up only a quarter of US auto manufacturing workers.That field is also very white, according to federal statistics. In auto repair and maintenance, not even 10% of the million workers are women.
Leon found that if he armed himself with education and more credentials, he could stand his ground. The jokes fell silent when he asked the criminals if they would say discriminatory things to their male co-workers or tolerate harassment from their daughter, mother or wife. Navigating tough situations carefully, trusting your work, and “looking for that store that stops bullies,” she said, will give women confidence in their careers.
For Anderson, “the biggest challenge was for me,” he said. “There were so many opportunities that I passed up when I was younger because I didn’t have a spine.” Every mistake she made, she felt it was magnified because she was a woman. “I didn’t want to let anyone down, especially as a child.”
The unofficial help that women give each other is inspiring, but there are also scholarships in the field. The Jessi Combs Foundation recently awarded a total of $ 30,000 to seven women, including Anderson and Holler.
“Those of us who came together to carry out his mission knew that individually none of us could carry his torch, but together we had a chance,” said Steven Elmes, chairman of the foundation’s board and a friend of Combs. “Jessi was extremely proud of her experience in the trades and the doors that were opened for her, or that she kicked in.”
Another board member and friend, Dana Wilke, said: “Jessi’s brand of female empowerment was ahead of its time. Jessi was not enough with ‘winning’. She made it her mission to be successful while taking others with her. “
Each year, the SEMA Entrepreneur Network awards a Jessi Combs Rising Star Scholarship to a woman under the age of 30. The group also organizes webinars for all levels of women in the industry, and makes resources available through social media and its website.
Throughout the year, events and workshops are held for women in the sector. Real Deal Revolution teaches women and girls about automotive trades like welding and pinstripes. Founded by Combs and Theresa Contreras (President, Designer, and Custom Painter at LGE-CTS Motorsports), this non-profit organization provides training to help women gain confidence.
Women in the industry are generous with their advice. Sarah Lateiner from MotorTrend’s “All Girls Garage” is active on social media. On Instagram, her Bogi’s Garage page features weekly happy hours interviewing women from across the industry.
Pa’Trice Frazier, whose website Weld Jointed calls her the only black welding instructor in the Philadelphia area, educates people from all walks of life about welding. People can attend its seminars, enroll in full semester welding programs, and learn about career opportunities.
“Welding is a dying craft that people like me can save,” said Frazier. “Being a black woman in this industry is showing that times are changing.”
Women inspired by Jessi Combs wouldn’t want any other career, but they are aware of the obstacles for women.
“Knowledge is your foundation, your credentials, your armor and your value,” Leon said. “That’s what helps you get through the fight and, well, it’s worth it.”
Holler had this advice: “Sometimes it will be scary. Sometimes you will feel ashamed. Get uncomfortable. Go learn. Don’t be afraid to tell someone you don’t know something. Accept the fact that you are human. Learn from your mistakes. Oh, and if you have to borrow a tool more than twice, buy it. “
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She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.