Car Chix is Driving the Car World Forward

Jeanette DesJardins was destined for a life in the car world.

From automotive technology classes, to working at shops to getting involved with Great Lakes Dragaway, the car world has been a constant throughout her life, including the days in her early teens when she first bought the domain CarChix.com.

DesJardins, 30, Founder and President of Car Chix, didn’t go on to create the all girls garage she had first envisioned for the site at the young age of 13. Since its launch in 2010, Car Chix has been much larger than that. It calls itself “The Premier Motorsports Organization for Women”, a claim proven time and again, as the group works towards making racing more accessible, interesting and comfortable for women.

“The ladies only drag races –  it’s like a confidence booster. There’s been a lot of gals that have come out to race at our events that never really raced before,” DesJardins says, “Now all of a sudden I see them on Facebook and they’re racing every weekend. They’re having arguments with their husband about who’s racing the race car on Saturday.”

While the focus of Car Chix is on creating an environment for women racers and enthusiasts where they feel welcome, it is not an exclusive organization. DesJardins emphasizes the importance of drawing in next generation racers to help keep the sport alive, as well as providing resources for all enthusiasts, regardless of age or gender, to have easy access to the motorsports world.

Car Chix is excelling in spades. They host a myriad events, from car shows to ladies only drag racing nights, where female enthusiasts can feel comfortable getting out on the track. Their charity events have raised money for causes such as breast cancer awareness, 4H Children Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis and others. Drag Racing for Life™ (formerly Racing for a Cure a Quarter Mile at a Time) Breast Cancer Fundraiser has raised over $50,000 dollars in just a few years.

But Car Chix is really about the women of the motorsport world. With programs like the Women of Motorsports, the organization has cultivated a following of enthusiasts who both are and like supporting car gals. The contest ultimately culminates with twelve ladies of motorsports winners, who are featured in the following year’s Car Chix calendar. They receive other perks as well, including involvement in local car shows, racing events, signing booths and more.

“Since I started Car Chix eight years ago, it was hard to find information about other female racers and now there’s just an overabundance of it,” DesJardins says. “So I kind of think that the women in the automotive and motorsport and racing industries…there’s a big shift that’s growing.”

Or perhaps it’s been there all along. When DesJardins first launched the site in 2010, a year after its inception, it was intended as a forum for female car enthusiasts and their supporters to get together and talk shop, speed and track times. Within three days of launch, the website had crashed because of too much traffic, prompting DesJardins to do a full site relaunch.

Four years ago, the Car Chix team made the move from forum to full working website, providing resources like press release templates, racer request databases and news to any and all interested enthusiasts. Now, the team is putting on more events than ever, traveling with the organization and planning a large announcement within the month.

It has not necessarily been an easy trip. Like many young companies, Car Chix struggled with finding sponsorships and funding opportunities, a particularly cutthroat endeavor in the world of motorsport. DesJardins says they’ve been lucky with their early sponsors, but finding the time to run such an intensive project and work full-time has been a challenge. But it’s obviously been worth the fight.

“I got an email from a father a couple months back that was just saying, thank you, thank you. My daughter discovered you guys and it’s changed her whole life,” DesJardins says, “So she finds validation and comfort through Car Chix which is great, which is what we’re trying to do.”

And they plan to continue. With a social media presence of nearly 100,000 followers, DesJardins says their demographic has very clearly shifted to a larger female base. When Car Chix was first launched, there were few or no similar organizations for women racers and enthusiasts, but now the resources have grown and expanded. Car Chix wants to continue being that resource – for women racers, young racers and grassroots racers, inspiring a community vibe that helps to keep the sport alive for many generations to come.

“[They’re] just average people out there, trying to live the dream, trying to make the dream and making it happen,” DesJardins says, “So I think organizations like Car Chix and some other ones are important on all levels.”

Because racing and cars, at their core, are human stories – be it DesJardin’s, the young female car enthusiasts or the lady racers who find their home on the quarter mile track. Car Chix wants to be there for all of them.

“Hands down, the best part about being involved with Car Chix is the people that we have met over the years,” DesJardins says. She urges fans not to stay away just because they’re scared or intimidated, telling them they’re not alone.  “If you love cars, if you think that you love cars, if there’s even a small little chance that you might like cars, just go out there and do it.” With an organization like Car Chix on your side, there’s no reason to stay away.

For more information, visit CarChix.com! 

Images provided by Car Chix.