LOS ANGELES — Jessi Combs’ attempt to set the record for fastest woman on earth will be submitted for a Guinness World Record at 531.889 mph, it was announced Saturday evening during an event held in her honor at the Petersen Museum. Combs died after her jet car crashed during the record attempt on a dry lake bed in Oregon. She was 39 years old. If certified, it would break the previous record of 512.7 mph set in 1976 by Kitty O’Neil.
The museum is hosting an exhibition “Jessi Combs: Life at Full Speed” Sunday through Wednesday (Sept. 25) that includes some of her helmets, racing medals and memorabilia from her TV career. On Thursday, the creation of the Jessi Combs Foundation was announced to educate, empower and inspire the next generation of female trailblazers and stereotype-breakers.
Combs was one of the most prolific and well-known automotive personalities of the last decade. She co-hosted “The List,” which ran on Autoblog from 2011-2017. She also appeared in several TV shows, including “Overhauling” and “All Girls Garage.”
Combs had set a four-wheeled record in 2013 in the North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger, reaching 398 mph. She went faster than 483 mph during attempts last year, but they didn’t count as records because of mechanical issues.
In announcing her passing, Combs’ family said in a statement: “Jessi’s most notable dream was to become the fastest woman on Earth, a dream she had been chasing since 2012. 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.”
