Inspirational Women in the Automotive Industry
I grew up in a household with a strong female role model. My mom worked full-time at a career in which she started at the bottom and moved upward. She worked hard and was proud of what she accomplished in her 36 year career.
For much of my life, 24 years this May, I’ve worked for a company with a strong female presence and female role models. They worked really hard, making something from nothing, working with the tools they had and again, putting in the time and energy to be successful.
Witnessing all this, my young view of life in general was that if you work hard, you will find success. That nothing stood between me and my goal, especially the fact that I was a girl.
Looking back, I now understand that I was lucky. Lucky to have female role models. Lucky to work in a place where it didn’t much matter my gender. Lucky that in the male dominated car industry, that it didn’t really come up at all. Ever.
In my 24 years in this industry, I’ve run across all types of people and car people are generally the best in the world. In honor of International Women’s Day, I’ve been thinking about the women in our industry that have been an inspiration for me. The following women have impacted my world directly. And in some small way, this is my thank you to them.
Joyce Smith
The first person I think of is Joyce. She and Bill Smith founded Speedway Motors 71 years ago. Without her initial loan of $300 to Bill, Speedway Motors might not have ever existed. She believed in her husband, she worked hard for her family, she quietly worked behind the scenes and out of the spotlight so that Bill could shine. She spent countless hours building a business, while keeping a house, raising four sons, managing workers, vendors and accounts and on and on and on.
In the late 90’s, she became a teacher of sorts to two young twin girls. My sister and I worked for Joyce on Saturdays and during our summer vacations. She shared a kind word, a fun story, she led by example. A true matriarch. She built a family at Speedway Motors. The employees worked hard so they wouldn’t let her down. Bill could sometimes be scary for a tween-age me, but Joyce was always welcoming.
Joyce was inspirational for me. I keep her photo at my desk so I see her every day. I’m still working hard for her and her family.
Jessi Combs
I remember back in my college days watching a young Jessi Combs host a show called Xtreme 4x4 on PowerBlock. She was smart, funny, could talk the viewer through the process and then do the welding herself. Up until then, it was hard to think anybody in the hobby took women seriously with magazine covers featuring a bombshell welding in short-shorts. With No PPE. I mean, come on.
Jessi was real. Then toss in the race rallies and Baja races and the land speed record attempts in the North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger. In 2014, our family took the MacKichan/Schulz streamliner to the Grand National Roadster Show. There we saw the behemoth land speed car. My siblings got to meet Jessi, the lucky ducks, while I was working the Speedway Motors booth.
The film The Fastest Woman on Earth, debuted in 2022 and chronicles her life. I watched in tears. Happy tears to see so much of her amazing life documented, and sad tears because I knew what was coming.
After her tragic death, the community rallied to do good. The Jessi Combs Foundation was founded in 2019 to “Educate, Inspire and Empower the next generation of female trailblazers and stereo-type-breakers.” Scholarship recipients are young women who want to enter a male-dominated industry via a skilled trade. All-female builds are featured at SEMA. All in her name.
I carry a red and white polka dot bandana in my coupe as my little tribute to her. So I remember how much she inspired me to have courage.
Betty Burkland
Bonneville is this wonderful place where you meet lifelong friends. It can also be a place in which you’re so bloody busy, you never get the chance to walk across the pits to meet your idols. My family raced land speed for 22 years but it wasn’t until recently that I had the chance to sit down and get to know Betty Burkland when she and her son Tom and their crew chief Rex, recently delivered the Burkland #411 land speed record holding streamliner to the Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed.
Betty has nearly 55 years of Bonneville stories. Betty and her husband Gene first went to Bonneville in 1969 as spectators and soon started work on their own car, a 1953 Studebaker Commander that eventually held a 255.863 MPH record from 1978. Then Betty raced their 1975 Datsun Comp Coupe until 1989. They started building the #411 streamliner in 1991.
In the year 2000, the streamliner reached speeds of 450 MPH, but the parachutes failed and the car was unable to make a return run for the official record. In 2001, after a 435 MPH run and as Tom was slowing, the car hit a partially sunk oil drum and was totaled. In 2003, while the streamliner was still being repaired, Betty drove George Field’s “Texas Comp Coupe” to a record speed of 263.887 MPH, putting her in the 200 MPH club, in the company of her husband and her son. She was just a month shy of turning 63. Betty spoke of how Gene was happy for her when she went faster than him. In 2008, the streamliner made a record of 415.896 MPH.
The Burkland family was seriously into speed. Even after they retired their race cars, Betty continues to support the Bonneville events by working in the timing tower, impound, as a course worker, and working the 200 MPH club booth. “I love being part of an event where it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female… Once you get in that fire suit and the helmet and the boots and the gloves… nobody knows whether you’re a boy or a girl… If you’ve got the drive… and pay the dues… you’ll get there.”
Betty and Tom were both recently featured on a podcast called “Land Speed Racing Legends,” hosted by Allison Volk Dean. Allison, who also races land speed and is in the 200 MPH club, is recording conversations with the men and women who race at the Bonneville salt flats. It’s currently my go-to podcast.
Linda Vaughn
Linda Vaughn has a special place in my heart and in Speedway Motors history. A good friend of Bill’s, she hosted the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2009, the year my dad was inducted. I ran into her at SEMA in 2016 and she talked to me for a long time, warm, glowing and so proud of me for being in the industry and still working for her old friend “Speedy” Bill Smith.
“The First Lady of Motorsports” has been a lifelong promoter of various forms of racing, among the most memorable as “Miss Hurst Golden Shifter.” Linda was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2019. Her book, Linda Vaughn: The First Lady of Motorsports, uses her remarkable memory to detail her personal photo archive.
And holy smokes, at 80, Linda keeps a crazy schedule, doing meet and greets with fans at the Indy 500, SEMA, PRI, NHRA Nationals events, the Daytona 500 so many more events. She is truly a legend.
Jennifer Turner
Over the years, I’ve gotten to know the Turner family through car stuff and road-trips to Vintage Torque Fest. They are members of the Kingsmen of Lincoln. They’re from a supportive family of tri-five enthusiasts. One of the brothers hit the jackpot when he met the gal that would become his wife, Jennifer.
She’s a badass, fearless and gets things done. The photos she posts to social media are usually of her sporting a mask, covered in body dust, or paint spray, or working on one of her many Cadillacs. Always smiling. Always proud of her accomplishments.
You can read more about Jennifer and her Cadillacs in the Toolbox article Built with Speedway Motors Jennifers 60 Cadillac.
I take inspiration from a gal that’s not afraid to get her hands dirty.
Amanda Busick
During 2021, I became a tiny bit obsessed with Amanda Busick and her podcast, “Women Shifting Gears.” It’s a podcast that “aims to introduce you to the inspirational women who showcase their talents and leadership across the automotive and motorsports worlds.” Weekly it features a woman from the automotive industry, asking what drives them and who influences them.
Amanda is an award-winning sports broadcast reporter with a focus on motorsports. Her many titles include reporting for the NHRA on Fox Sports, a presenter, host and pit lane reporter for SRO America GT World Challenge on CBS Sports, FIA Formula E on CBS, Ferrari Challenge on CBS, Formula 1, Discovery and MotorTrend. You’ll definitely recognize her.
This podcast is a great listen and underlines the importance of helping one another learn and succeed. Every podcast introduction includes the line, “And even when I have my own moments of doubt and uncertainty, it is with this community of women that I am reminded of what is possible.” A not-so subtle reminder to me that I’m capable.
Cindy Sisson and Theresa Gilpatrick
Because I was so attached to the “Women Shifting Gears” podcast, I looked into the organization behind it. GSEvents is a communication platform formed by Cindy Sisson and Theresa Gilpatrick in 2020 after asking the questions, “If not us, who? If not now, when?” GSEvents creates opportunities and amplifies women to grow their voices in motorsports and car culture. Their tagline is “Cars are for everyone.”
They hold weekly virtual meetups, networking opportunities, driving experiences and rallies. All ages have been involved with the goal to expand opportunities for women to break down the barriers of “I can’t” or “I’m not sure” or “I don’t know who” or “I don’t know how.”
GSEvents went on to hold two sold out in-person forums called “Women with Drive, Driven by Mobil 1.” 330 enthusiasts came together to discuss the issues and needs to advance opportunities for a more diverse and inclusive environment that will help the motorsports industry grow. The network these two women have built makes a positive difference to the industry.
Julia Aschenberg
For years I’ve subscribed to a quarterly magazine called LIA, Ladies in Autosports. It’s a fantastic read with a ton of show coverage and articles featuring everyday women involved in the automotive industry and hobby. Articles include auto cross, show car features, and show coverage from the Frog Follies all the way to the Detroit Autorama.
Julia Aschenberg is a photographer and journalist, and the owner, publisher and editor of LIA Magazine, out of Indiana. In 2009, she started the magazine to feature women in the automotive industry. She doesn’t make herself front and center. I actually had to dig a little to figure out who was behind the magazine I had been receiving for years.
Julia was a freelance writer for tons of automotive magazines like Street Rodder, Popular Hot Rodding, Super Rod, Street Rod Builder, Super Chevy, Trucking, and Classic Trucks. She has been working diligently for years to build up and encourage other women in the automotive scene through LIA Magazine. Building others up has become her specialty.
Lindsey Fisher
Another gal that worked to build up other women in the industry is Lindsey Fisher. Lindsey is a freelance writer as well. Her “Leading Ladies” series, on the late great Rod Authority website, featured women working in and around the automotive world. She dove into the challenges and successes of working in a male dominated industry.
You’ll recognize her name, because you’ve more than likely read her features. She has tons of contributing articles. Currently, Lindsey is a freelance writer and photographer for Nitto DrivingLine Magazine, an online publication specializing in off-road racing and events.
She wrote an article about our very own Joyce Smith “Leading Ladies Mrs. Speedway Joyce Smith.”
Mary Pozzi
In racing championships that are won by hundredths of a second, Mary Pozzi comes out on top as a fixture in autocross racing.
Mary Pozzi had a love for cars early in life. In 1975, she borrowed her then-boyfriend's Camaro to cut her teeth on an autocross course. She bought a Datsun 240Z and made it into an autocross car winning national titles just a few short years later.
When asked if she had felt treated differently in a male dominated hobby, her response was, "The car has no clue if you have testicles or ovaries... I was brought up that if somebody else can do it, there's no reason that I can't."
Mary built her autocross expertise by driving all types of cars. When she builds cars, she looks at how they react when they go into the corners. As an ASE Master Technician she says, "Understanding how they work is also key."
Valuing mentors, coaches and continual learning, Mary happily shares tons of advice on how to get into autocross. You can hear all of Mary's tips for getting into autocross racing in her conversation with Speedway Motors' Joe McCollough in the podcast “40 Years Building, Racing & Winning Autocross: Mary Pozzi.”