by Matt Konkle
Torque Editor-in-Chief
With an engaging personality and limitless energy that pretty much rubbed off on everyone she met, legendary race car driver, fabricator and television personality Jessi Combs certainly made her mark on the automotive industry.
And the industry absolutely noticed. Specifically, the Specialty Equipment Market Association.
SEMA recently named Combs as one of its 2021 Hall of Fame inductees, and will honor her as well as three others during the organization’s annual Installation & Gala event on July 30 in Las Vegas.
Combs built an accomplished career in the automotive industry as the host of several television programs, founder of a variety of businesses, and a renown fabricator and race car driver.
She died in an August 2019 accident while setting a new land speed record in the southeastern Oregon desert. Combs clocked an average of 522.783 miles-per-hour in two successful jet-powered car runs, and aimed to push that amount even higher in a third attempt before the accident that claimed her life. She was 39.
Behind the strength of those first two runs, Guinness World Records posthumously awarded Combs a new world speed record last June — beating the previous 512.710 mph mark set by Kitty O'Neil in 1976.
Combs also achieved the title of 'Fastest Woman on Four Wheels' after breaking 398 mph in her jet-powered North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger back in 2013.
While Combs may be best known for her appearances on the TV shows ‘Xtreme 4x4’, ‘Mythbusters’, ‘All Girls Garage', ‘Overhaulin', as well as many others, she also competed in numerous motorsports events—including the Baja 1000 and King of the Hammers. Her first-place finish at the 2016 King of the Hammers earned her the nickname ‘Queen of Hammers.’
Not only was Combs a driving force in the racing and motorsports community, but she also served as a role model to both men and women throughout the industry—traveling around the country to many events such as SEMA in Las Vegas to interact with her fans.
Combs served as a host for numerous SEMA gatherings, including the SEMA Installation & Gala and the SEMA Awards Banquet at the SEMA Show. As a lead in the historic 2012 SEMA Businesswomen’s Network (SBN) All-Female Ford Mustang Build, Combs served as a role-model for women in the industry and continued to inspire women through the launch of The Real Deal, a collaboration with fellow SBN member Theresa Contreras designed to inspire confidence, break stereotypes, and motivate other women to pursue their passions.
"Jessi was known for her bright smile, positivity, and tenacious pursuit of the fulfillment of her dreams," Combs’ family said in a statement following her death. "Her drive was infectious, and she served as a role model for young Girls, and Women around the world. People that loved her and followed her became family, all bonded together by adventure and passion. Her fans adored her, and she lived to inspire them. Jessi’s most notable dream was to become the fastest woman on Earth, a dream she had been chasing since 2012.
"Combs was one of the rare dreamers with the bravery to turn those possibilities into reality, and she left this earth driving faster than any other woman in history."
Rick Love, former SEMA Hot Rod Industry Alliance Chairman; Bob Moore, co-founder and chairman of the SEMA Business Technology Committee; and Carl Schiefer, founder of Schiefer Media — one of the first marketing agencies dedicated to automotive brands — are the other three 2021 SEMA Hall of Fame nominees.
