Photo: Facebook / Jessi Combs
Race car driver, television personality, builder and fabricator Jessi Combs was also known as the fastest woman on 4 wheels after breaking the record in 2013. She was attempting to become the fastest woman on earth, and she died trying.
Combs’ team and family confirm for the media that the 39-year-old daredevil and pioneered died in a terrible crash that occurred in the Alvord Desert in Oregon, where she was trying to set a new land-speed record in a jet-powered car. Only two days before the tragedy, she posted to social media, informing her fans that she was getting ready to break her own record.
In 2013, at the wheel of a North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger, Combs reached speeds of 398 mph. She broke her own record several times in following years, reaching speeds of 483 mph, but it was never made official because of mechanical issues. She was hoping to be able to do that now, in the same Challenger, aiming to reach a speed of 619 mph. The current world record of 512 mph was set by Kitty O’Neil in 1976, in a rocket-powered three-wheeled SM1 Motivator.
“Jessi’s most notable dream was to become the fastest woman on Earth, a dream she had been chasing since 2012,” her family says in a statement. “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.”
Specifics on the crash have not been released as of the time of writing, but the statement notes she died surrounded by family and friends. Members of her team said everything the could be done to save her was done.
Combs was a pioneer in a male-dominated industry, a daredevil and a perfectionist. She loved to drive and ride, but also to build: in addition to the jet-car she used to break the land-speed record, she also created a line of welding gear for women, after she became a member of the American Welding Society.
When she wasn’t breaking records, Combs was a part-time host on the famous “Mythbusters” series on Discovery Channel, “All Girls Garage”, “Overhaulin’,” and hosted “The List” video series on Autoblog.
In 2013, at the wheel of a North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger, Combs reached speeds of 398 mph. She broke her own record several times in following years, reaching speeds of 483 mph, but it was never made official because of mechanical issues. She was hoping to be able to do that now, in the same Challenger, aiming to reach a speed of 619 mph. The current world record of 512 mph was set by Kitty O’Neil in 1976, in a rocket-powered three-wheeled SM1 Motivator.
“Jessi’s most notable dream was to become the fastest woman on Earth, a dream she had been chasing since 2012,” her family says in a statement. “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.”
Specifics on the crash have not been released as of the time of writing, but the statement notes she died surrounded by family and friends. Members of her team said everything the could be done to save her was done.
Combs was a pioneer in a male-dominated industry, a daredevil and a perfectionist. She loved to drive and ride, but also to build: in addition to the jet-car she used to break the land-speed record, she also created a line of welding gear for women, after she became a member of the American Welding Society.
When she wasn’t breaking records, Combs was a part-time host on the famous “Mythbusters” series on Discovery Channel, “All Girls Garage”, “Overhaulin’,” and hosted “The List” video series on Autoblog.
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