A former beauty queen has left pageants behind and taken up a new hobby. The racing season in El Paso came to a close Friday night. Drivers had one last chance to compete for a championship and among those vying for a win was a former Miss Teen Las Cruces. And this queen is nothing less than a fierce competitor.
Holly Jones, a former Miss Teen Las Cruces, who’s been racing since she was old enough to get a driver’s license loves the modified GRT she races in. But before getting behind the wheel, Holly had to get her dad, also a race car driver, on board with the idea. “It took a lot of convincing, a lot of convincing, because he thought, ‘Oh she’s so girly. Why would she want to get dirty and do stuff like that?’ But, I finally convinced him and I got the opportunity when I was 16,” said Holly.
Holly, who’s also a former Southern New Mexico Fair Queen has raced hundreds of drivers over the years. It’s a hobby that runs in the family. “If they don’t race a car, they know someone who or they’re married to someone who does, so every weekend, it’s kind of what we do. It’s like a family gathering. We go race together,” said Holly. In fact, during one competition her brother came in first, Holly second and their dad third. Even though that day her brother won the competition, she’s got plenty to show for her wins. During her 11 years racing cars, Holly has won more than 200 trophies and she says, she’s running out of room. “I have too many. I have so many trophies that I had to start, after I would win something, I would just start giving it away to a kid in the crowd,” said Holly.
The trophy she’s proudest of, “The Copper on Dirt” in Tucson, Arizona where she competed against 75 other drivers. “There were only two female drivers there and the first night, I got first place and the second night, I got second place,” said Holly. Even though she’s got the trophies to prove it, some find it hard to believe that this beauty queen is actually their competition. “There was one race that I showed up to in California and I was standing next to my car and some of the opponents walked up to me and they were like, ‘Oh are you our trophy girl for tonight?’ and I was like, ‘No, but wait until I kick your butt out on the track’,” said Holly.
Holly says although she’d like to go pro, she does not want to constantly be on the road, but she says it’s a hobby that she plans to keep around. “I’m going to do this till probably I’m in the grave. I think this is something I could probably do forever,” said Holly. At Friday’s race, which was the last of the El Paso race season, Holly won the overall championship for the 2011 El Paso Speedway Park Championship. That means that for this year, she was the best race car driver in her class.
