Since then Gracie ... went over the wall as a tire changer for Juan Pablo Montoya at the Indy 500.
ok, that right there is pretty badass.
Photography Credit: Tony Neste
From the $2000 Challenge to the Indy 500? Yep. Gracie Hackenberg (in front of the car) and her Smith College Racing crew–Aly de Silva and Jess Wert formed the team’s nucleus–joined us in 2017 with a salvage-title 1999 Miata. They kept the build simple–mostly sticky tires, upgraded suspension and the spoiler–but still finished seventh overall.
Why the strong finish? A terrific story. When their school didn’t offer the team a dedicated workspace, they built their own roll cage out on a loading dock.
Since then Gracie has been working in motorsports, with stints at Lux Performance, Peerless Pattern Works and Donovan Motorcar Service. She now works as a damper specialist for Arrow McLaren SP and went over the wall as a tire changer for Juan Pablo Montoya at the Indy 500.
Make your own low-buck memories at the Grassroots Motorsports $2000 Challenge Presented by Tire Rack, held March 29-30, 2025.
The Grassroots Motorsports $2000 Challenge is Presented by Tire Rack and Powered by Autobidmaster.com, in Association with HPX Show, A&A Manufacturing, BendPak and CRC Industries.
Since then Gracie ... went over the wall as a tire changer for Juan Pablo Montoya at the Indy 500.
ok, that right there is pretty badass.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Absolutely badass
Sending to my 1st year engineering school daughter now...
Displaying 1-3 of 3 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
