Jessi Combs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jessi Combs
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Combs in 2012
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| Born | July 27, 1980 |
| Died | August 27, 2019 (aged 39) Alvord Desert, Oregon, U.S.
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Jessica Combs (born July 27, 1980 – died August 27, 2019) was an American professional racer, a TV star, and a skilled metal worker. She was famous for being "the fastest woman on four wheels."
In 2013, Jessi set a world record for the fastest speed by a woman driving a four-wheeled vehicle. She broke her own record again in 2016.
She was a co-host on the Spike TV show Xtreme 4x4 for over 90 episodes from 2005 to 2009. She also appeared on other TV shows like Overhaulin', Mythbusters, and All Girls Garage.
Jessi Combs died in 2019 while trying to break her own land speed record. This happened when her jet-powered race car crashed in the Alvord Desert in Oregon. In June 2020, she was given the official female land-speed world record by Guinness World Records after her death.
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Early Life and Education
Jessi Combs was born in Rockerville, South Dakota, on July 27, 1980. Her parents were Jamie Combs and Nina Darrington. When she was two years old, her family moved to Piedmont, South Dakota.
Jessi had two sisters, Kelly Combs and Danielle Theis. She also had three step-siblings: Rebekah Hall, Arielle Hall, and Austin Darrington. Jessi's great-grandmother, Nina DeBow, was a jazz pianist who also raced Stanley Steamer cars.
Jessi graduated from Stevens High School in 1998. She then went to WyoTech in 2004. There, she studied how to fix and paint cars, build custom street rods, and work on high-performance engines.
After graduating, Jessi's first job was helping WyoTech build a car from scratch. This car was finished in six months and shown at a big auto show called the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association's show.
Jessi Combs' Racing Career
As a professional driver, Jessi Combs competed in many different races. She achieved great success in various events.
- 2011 – SCORE Baja 1000 – 2nd place in Class 10
- 2013 – Set women's land speed record – 398 mph (632 km/h) with a top speed of 440 mph (709 km/h)
- 2014 – Ultra 4 Stampede – 1st place in Legends Class
- 2014 – Ultra 4 Glen Helen Grand Prix – 2nd place in Spec Class
- 2014 – Ultra 4 American Rock Sports Challenge – 3rd place in Spec Class
- 2014 – Ultra 4 Western Region Series – 1st place in Spec Class
- 2014 – Ultra 4 National Championship – 1st place in Spec Class
- 2014 – Ultra 4 King of the Hammers – 1st place in Spec Class
- 2015 – SCORE Baja 1000 – 2nd place in Class 7
- 2015 – Rallye Aicha des Gazelles (off-road rally race) – 1st place for first-time participants, 10th overall
- 2016 – Ultra 4 King of the Hammers – 1st place in EMC Modified Class
- 2017 – Ultra 4 King of the Hammers – 12th place in 4400 Class
Breaking Land Speed Records
On October 9, 2013, Jessi Combs drove the North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger. She was at the Alvord desert and set a new women's four-wheel land speed record. Her official average speed was 398.954 mph (632 km/h), and her fastest speed was 440.709 mph (709 km/h).
By doing this, she broke a record that had stood for 48 years. The old record was 308.506 mph (496.5 kph), set by Lee Breedlove in the Spirit of America - Sonic 1 in 1965. On September 7, 2016, Jessi set an even faster top speed of 477.59 mph (768.6 km/h) in another American Eagle car.
Jessi Combs also won the 2014 Ultra 4 Spec Class National Championship with Falken Tire. In 2016, she came in first place at the King of the Hammers race. She drove with the Savvy Off Road team in the EMC Modified Class. In 2017, she finished 12th in the Unlimited Class using the same Stock Mod car.
Jessi Combs on Television
Jessi Combs hosted the SpikeTV show Xtreme 4x4 for four years. This show was part of the Powerblock. In February 2008, Jessi announced she would leave the show after an accident happened on set.
In 2009, Jessi appeared in 12 episodes of the seventh season of MythBusters. She filled in while Kari Byron was on maternity leave. She also appeared on Overhaulin'.
Starting in 2011, Jessi Combs hosted a web series called The List: 1001 Car Things To Do Before You Die. She hosted this show with Patrick McIntyre.
From 2011 to 2014, Jessi was one of the hosts of All Girls Garage on the Velocity channel (now called Motor Trend network). The show was about women repairing and improving new and classic cars.
In 2012, Jessi became a co-host with Chris Jacobs for the sixth season of Overhaulin'. This show was relaunched on the Velocity and Discovery channels.
In 2018, Jessi Combs was on the Discovery Channel show Break Room. Also in 2018, she appeared on an episode of Jay Leno's Garage. She was a guest driver for Jay Leno, driving a Bugatti Chiron.
A documentary called The Fastest Woman on Earth was released in 2022. It shows her career and her attempts to break land speed records. The filming for this documentary started in 2013 and lasted seven years.
Jessi Combs' Death
Jessi Combs died on August 27, 2019. She was trying to set a new land speed record in a jet-powered car. The crash happened on a dry lake bed in the Alvord Desert, Oregon, as part of the North American Eagle Project.
The crash was caused by a front wheel failing. This likely happened after hitting something in the desert. The front wheel assembly collapsed when the car was going nearly 523 mph (842 km/h). The official cause of her death was a serious head injury that happened before the car caught fire after the crash.
Jessi's final run on August 27 reached 522.783 mph (841.338 km/h) before her crash. This speed broke the previous women's land speed record of 512.71 mph (825.17 km/h). That record was set in 1976 by Kitty O'Neil at the same location. This new record was officially confirmed by Guinness World Records in June 2020.
See also
In Spanish: Jessi Combs para niños
