Jessi Combs: Empowering Enthusiasts For Years to Come

“She lived one helluva life,” writes a fan on one of many tributes to the late, great Jessi Combs. Indeed, as a talented vehicle fabricator, passionate racer, whip-smart entrepreneur, and fearless dreamer, the ‘Fastest Woman on Four Wheels’ accomplished more during her short 39 years on this planet than most humans do in a lifetime twice as long.

What’s more, she did it with an ever-present aura of positivity, punctuated by encouraging words of wisdom and that signature, infectious smile.

Born and raised in South Dakota, Combs acquired more than just a passion for full-throttle adrenaline during her formative years. She developed grit and an indomitable will to always squeeze a little more juice out of life.

“I’ve never strayed from who I am or where I came from,” she told the Rapid City Journal in 2017 when she was honored as the first woman grand marshal of the Mayor’s Ride during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. “Now that I have lived all over, I understand the quality of life we have here and our work ethic. If it needs to get done, we just do it.”

Work Hard, Dream Big

“Jessi Combs was a modern-day motorsports hero in the old-school SEMA mold,” praises a tribute from the aftermarket association. “She was a shining beacon of leadership, creativity, courage, and authenticity. Her spirit, accomplishments, and volunteerism made a tremendous positive impact—and will continue to be an inspiration for so many.”

A trailblazing woman in a male-dominated industry, Jessi Combs did more than denounce stereotypes. She shattered them.

Giving up a full-ride scholarship to a prominent interior design school, Combs instead pursued a career as a professional snowboarder. When she realized she could indulge her need for speed in more creative (and less physically demanding ways), she enrolled in WyoTech and began studying fabrication.

Before graduating top of her class, Combs found herself appearing as a student guest on an episode of Overhaulin’ (Season 1, Episode 6). It didn’t take long for that initial appearance to grow into a regular gig, as well as a co-host position on Xtreme 4×4. After four years and 90+ episodes, she eventually left the show due to a terrible injury that should have left her wheelchair-bound.

But thanks to surgery, therapy, and sheer willpower, only eight months after a 550-pound bandsaw fell on her, pancaking her spine, Combs was back at it, making appearances on shows like 2 Guys Garage, TruckU, SEMA Show Special, Full Throttle TV, and perhaps most notably, as a host/builder on the seventh season of Mythbusters while Kari Byron was on maternity leave.

By 2011, Jessi Combs had developed a true TV personality, recording the award-winning The List: 1001 Car Things To Do Before You Die, joining the cast of All Girls Garage on Velocity, and returning to the relaunched Overhaulin’.

Share Your Gifts

“She was pushing the limit every single day,“ says Dana Williamson, conservator of the Petersen Automotive Museum, which recently hosted “Jessi Combs: Life at Full Speed,” a special temporary exhibit dedicated to Combs’ life and accomplishments.

Somehow, amid a schedule that would send most people into a nervous breakdown, Combs managed to not only inspire women in the industry through her on-screen accomplishments and burgeoning racing career, but also actively participate in their success.

She became a spokesperson for WyoTech, promoting trade education. She participated in an all-women award-winning SEMA Mustang build that received nationwide coverage and raised awareness for women in the industry. And in a move that aimed to both address the perception of trades as well as women’s role in them, Combs founded The Real Deal with her friend Theresa Contreras of LGE-CTS Motorsports. The nonprofit foundation continues to host events and workshops that help tradeswomen hone their craft, establish a career, and chase big dreams.

She worked as a public speaker and brand rep, served as an emcee at SEMA events and was a big supporter of the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network. (An organization which recently renamed its annual scholarship award “The Jessi Combs Rising Star Scholarship Award” in her honor.) Combs also teamed up with Lincoln Electric to launch a ladies-only line of welding apparel and even published a children’s book about a little girl who loves to fix and customize her motorcycle.

Be Yourself

“If I have learned anything from her: the most powerful you is the real you,” writes Comb’s boyfriend Terry Madden. When asked by Hoonigan if she’d rather build or drive, she said “If all I could ever do was become a racecar driver: Mission Accomplished.”

Her preference was evident in her many accomplishments. In 2011—when she was working on three TV shows, mind you—Combs took home a class 10 podium finish in the Baja 1000. Two years later, she claimed the women’s 4-wheel land speed record in the North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger with an official run of 398.954 mph and a top speed of 440.709 mph, earning the moniker “Fastest Woman on Four Wheels.”

The next year? Combs became the first female to ever place at an Ultra 4 event, taking the Ultra 4 Spec Class National Champion with Falken Tire. In 2015, she competed in the grueling 9-day, all-female rally race, the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles. Her team took 10th place overall and a 1st place finish in the First Participation category. And only a year later, she took the crown as Queen of the Hammers, winning first place at KOH with the Savvy Off Road team in the EMC Modified Class.

Half a year after that, on September 7, 2016, Combs set a new top speed of 477.59 mph during a shakedown run of the other American Eagle vehicle. Then, in 2017, she attempted to “ironwoman” the 50th Baja 1000 (i.e. drive all 1200-ish miles solo with no driver replacement.) Unfortunately, due to a mechanical failure, she had to call it quits about a third of the way in. But, by the next year, Combs was celebrating another victory, as she placed first in the stock class at Ultra 4.

Enjoy the Ride

“It may seem a little crazy to walk directly into the line of fire, [but] those who are willing, are those who achieve great things,” Combs wrote mere days before she died attempting to set a new women’s land speed record. “People say I’m crazy. I say thank you.”

On August 27, 2019, Jessi Combs’ promising career was devastatingly cut short when her 52,000-horsepower jet-powered car crashed in Oregon’s Alvord desert. Despite such a tragic end to her life, it’s safe to say that the tenacious light that fueled her passion continues to burn bright, inspiring people everywhere—but especially fellow trailblazing women—to challenge what is possible in their own lives.