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Concord, North Carolina – February 1st is the 37th Annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day. This day celebrates and inspires girls and women to be active and reach their full potential. Sport helps develop strong leaders and Hendrik Motorsport is very strong in that regard.
To celebrate the day, HendrickMotorsports.com shares the stories of Laura Doucett, Beth Jones and Lisa Smokstad. These women have worked in areas covering competition, garages, public relations, marketing, event hospitality and more for the organization that has won her 14 NASCAR Cup Series championships.
Lisa Smokstad
Lisa Smokstad joined Hendrick Motorsports in 1999 and worked on Jack Sprague’s No. 24 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN truck series entry. She began working part-time with her No. 17 team in 2000, driven by Ricky Hendrick, and in 2001, was behind the wheel of Hendrick full-time.
Smokstad has several championships with Hendrick Motorsports. She was part of the 2003 Brian She’s Vickers championship crew and is the car that saw young Hendrick win the title as a car owner. She was also part of her crew for one of Jimmie Johnson’s five consecutive titles in her series of NASCAR Cups.
“I had a lot of fun with Ricky, it was very exciting,” Smokstad said. “The 2003 title was our most memorable championship win. To see Ricky win as an owner and see how it goes.There was something different in his eyes.That whole season was a lot of fun, hard work and great people. It was a group of
In 2009, Smokstad finished his full-time role as a traveling crew and moved into the shop. She still spends time on her move as her tire specialist she works on a partial schedule for the No. 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series team. In addition, she is also involved in the Garage 56 project in the same capacity. Smokstad oversees all tires and wheels within the organisation, conducts post-race reports showing tire performance, and assists all team current tire specialists on behalf of her.
While working on the front lines of the track, Smokstad never felt like he was being treated differently. She has earned her respect throughout her garage for her hard work and her willingness to constantly improve.
“I’m aware of the fact that women work in fields dominated by men. I’ve worked hard so far, so I take a little pride,” Smokstad said.
Related: Memories of Smokstad come flooding back as No. 17 returns to the track
Beth Jones
Beth Jones has been a prominent figure in the marketing department since 1998, when team owner Rick Hendrick decided to make Marketing Services part of Hendrick Motorsports’ in-house organization. At the time, Jones was part of his two-man team overseeing management, account services, and events.
“We did everything that all marketing does. We did it back then. We started with contract binders,” says Jones.
As the organization continued to grow and expand, Jones became director of events and oversaw a team of five. Jones and her team are responsible for planning and delivering 200 events a year and tours of her 1,000 campuses.
These events include the 2017 Rick Hendrick NASCAR Hall of Fame induction event, the annual Randy Dorton engine builder challenge, and numerous on-campus and off-campus events for team employees and racing partners. One of Jones’ fondest memories of his career is that of Hendrick, pictured of him in the NASCAR Hall of Fame and now the team’s vice chairman, Jeff Gordon’s victory in his 1997 Daytona 500 Chevrolet. helping to reunite with children who have lost their lives.
Jones had a wealth of experience at Hendrick Motorsport, but never pursued a career in sports in hopes of becoming a women’s pioneer.
“I didn’t see this as an all-male sport, I just liked people and it was a good opportunity,” Jones said. I am delighted and I think we will bring a different perspective to the world of sports.”
Laura Doucet
Laura Doucette joined Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the 2008 season and began working as a publicist for NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wrong.
“At the time, you were trying to be the top of USA Today and the Charlotte Observer. That was a big win,” Doucet said.
Roles within Hendrik Motorsport’s marketing department often worked hand-in-hand, and this support provided Doucet with the opportunity to expand his business within the company. After completing her 2015 season as Earnhardt’s publicist, she moved into her service role for her No. 88 team account at Earnhardt, and in 2018 she took over No. 88. Young driver Alex Her We decided to partner with Bowman. Currently, Doucette is Director of Accounts Her Service and oversees account management for all four Cup Series her teams.
Doucette is grateful to those who have helped pave her way in the industry since beginning her career as an intern at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She strives to do the same for the women who come after her in the world of sports.
“I’ve had some great mentors and I’m forever grateful,” Doucette said. is a bit difficult.I like to see more and more women in the sports industry but there is a long way to go.I think we are smart.We are talented.More women are promoted in the industry I would like to see the
Albacolon
Alba Colon had a 23-year racing career with General Motors. Her engineering background helped her move to Hendrick Motorsports at the start of the 2018 season, where she played the role of program manager in her team’s GM of the company’s Cup Series.
As Director of the Competitive Systems, Colon’s primary responsibility is directing the Team Operations Center. It will be used each race weekend to remotely support the four Cup Series teams. In addition to his race weekend responsibilities, Colón maintains close working relationships with his GM and other partners to assist with tool development. Interacting with different groups and different departments has been a rewarding experience for her in her role.
“It was fun to learn about other areas of the company,” says Colón. “At the end of the day, it’s all about us working together. Either actually touches that car in some way…or they offer something else through different departments and different areas of the company.”
She regularly gives back to the industry’s up-and-comers through her participation in Formula SAE. Most recently, she was named to the board of directors of her STEAM Sports Foundation. An Atlanta-based foundation provides scholarships to minority women in the automotive and motorsports industry.
Related: Appointment to the STEAM board, the latest way Colón is giving back
“Education is the key to getting where we are,” Colon said. “My role model was my father because he had a STEAM-related career as a doctor (MD). ), I wanted to be like her one day, but I didn’t have a role model that I could say I wanted to go to work in a race car. Let me go to. I never had that experience, but the reality is we believe it when we see it.
“It’s important to see it. I want to be a conduit for young girls to show that you can get to me today. You can come here and we can show you the car.” You can go to the racetrack and do anything, but you have to see it to believe it.”
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