Cobb putting Bristol drama behind her

As a mere toddler, Jennifer Jo Cobb fell in love with racing.

Her dad started racing when she was just 3, and she grew up watching him race and absorbing the lessons he taught her. Over the years, he instilled a working man’s ethic into her approach to the sport — one she kept once she began racing on her own.

Cobb carries an old-school approach to racing.

Breaking Limits

She still carries that old-school approach to racing. She works to be respected while being respectful to the sport and those in it. She courts sponsors, has developed her own business interests to help fortify her racing career and is willing to take the steps needed to build a NASCAR career.

She’s breaking barriers for women drivers, slowly carving out a niche in the sport, balancing a variety of career interests and gaining the experience needed to grow through the sport’s ranks.

She gained headlines last weekend when she refused to take the flag and start-and-park the Nationwide Series entry she was driving at Bristol Motor Speedway for team owner Rick Russell. Since then, she’s dealt with a newfound level of attention and, according to published reports, some unwanted commentary and perhaps legal action stemming from the situation.

Yet Cobb has taken it all in stride. She has worked to maintain the positive attitude that has marked her career — and has landed a Nationwide Series ride for at least this weekend’s race at Auto Club Speedway.

It’s why she made the difficult decision last week not to compete at Bristol after she says she found out shortly before the race that Russell planned to have her start and park the car. Russell has told various publications that was the idea all along, but Cobb has said that was not her understanding.

“I have a commitment to my sponsors, my fans, NASCAR that I won't start and park,” Cobb said. “I'm very serious about my career and my performance, and I've worked hard to prove it to everyone . . . I just felt like I owed it to my fans and my sponsors that I'm seeking and to NASCAR that if I say, 'I'm here to race,' that I go out and race."

Since then, her decision has sparked much discussion. She’s appeared on various racing shows to discuss that call and has now joined Rick Ware Racing for this weekend.

Team owner Rick Ware said he didn’t want to discuss the situation directly but spoke well of Cobb.

“What I will comment on is that I have known Jennifer for years and she has worked hard to get where she is today,” he said. “Nothing has been handed to her. She has shown she can race with the best this series can offer and I am glad that we can reach out and help her during this situation.”

Others agree.

Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage points to the start-and-park phenomenon and the amount of money drivers are earning with that process. While he can understand why a driver would allow himself to be put in that position, and how uncomfortable they must be with that role, he sees the trend from the business side. He said the 10 start-and-park drivers at Bristol divvied up $423,342 in purse money.

He does, however, support Cobb’s decision. And while he does not know her on a personal level, he praises her decision.

Cobb will race in the Nationwide Series this weekend’s at Auto Club Speedway.

Breaking Limits

“It showed great courage from her because she’s at a point in her career where she needs to grab everything that comes her way,” Gossage said. Then he paid her the highest compliment he can. “That’s a racer.”

He points out her decision was even more admirable, “particularly considering where she is in the food chain.”

Through all the stages of her career, Cobb has shown the commitment and passion needed to find her own path in the sport.

And she’s shown the impact of those lessons learned watching Joe Cobb race.

“I grew up watching him race, going to races with him at dirt tracks all across the Midwest, so when I was a child, I knew that was what I wanted to do,” Cobb said. “I began racing in 1991 at Lakeside Speedway, which was an asphalt track at the time, and my dad, of course, nurtured my career and helped me and he helped me with my race cars. He said, ‘If you’re going to race, you’re going to work on them,’ and so for 10 years that’s what we did.”

Since then, she has continued to work through the ranks. She finished in the top 10 in championship standings every season she competed in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series at Lakeside and I-70 Speedways in her native Kansas City area. She debuted in the ARCA Series in 2002 and has competed in nine races there, earning three top-10 finishes.

She made her debut in what is now the Nationwide Series in 2004 and has seven starts in that series. She is attempting to run for the Rookie of the Year award there this season. She began racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2008 and ran the full schedule there last season in the truck she owns.

This season, she is racing that circuit only a handful of times, including the season opener at Daytona International Speedway where she finished a career-best sixth. It is one of the top finishes by a female driver in any of NASCAR’s three major national touring series.

She admits there are some vital differences when driving for one’s own team, and working as an involved owner, as opposed to driving for someone else.

“ . . . My dad taught me early on, if you want anything done, be prepared to do it yourself,” she said. “In racing, finding the money to race is really the biggest key, so I’ve always had to do that. It’s just that now, I’m able to control where the money goes a little better, and I really like that because I can be very realistic about what we can offer our sponsors and what we can’t, so it produces a little more stress.

"But in terms of being able to control what happens with the dollar and what happens with employees and what happens with my racing career, I actually prefer it.”

She embraces her sponsors fully. She has carried the logos of Kansas City-based Lilly Cosmetics and uses only their products these days — even when she is on camera at various shows.

Cobb takes her sponsorships to a personal level.

“The thing about working with smaller businesses is the owners, they help your career, you have a vested interest in getting your fans to check them out and it’s as if you become friends along the way,” she said. “And I love cosmetics. I had to give up buying cosmetics for Lent, that’s what I gave up because I enjoy it so much. It’s absolutely wonderful.

"When I got the sponsorship, I transitioned over to make sure I wore the cosmetics from her website every single day and so it’s kind of neat that she sells such affordable things and that’s what I wore on “Anderson Cooper 360” and on “RaceHub,” so it’s kind of a cool testament, too.”

SHORT SPRINT

Bristol is busy with NASCAR action all weekend.

She also has her own clothing line, Driver Boutique, which she is trying to build so that it can one day carry the weight of her racing. And she’s a public speaker who offers motivational messages. With all of those endeavors, she tends to eat up her free time away from the track rather quickly.

“The goal is for the clothing line to be able to financially propel my racing career forward or to one day keep it going,” she said. “With the constant turnover of inventory, that’s what I see as the biggest barrier to profit. However, I see it as a seed that is planted. Everyone that is buying a shirt is wearing it out there, and so 100 more people will see it or be exposed to it. It’s a seed that’s planted where, right now it’s probably more of a hobby than a profit center, but there’s that hope that it will grow one day and hopefully be something that I can really be proud of.”

Being proud of her actions seems important to Cobb. She’s shown that in many ways over her career, especially in the past week.

When addressing the incident, she simply has tried to explain what her understanding was of their racing and how the situation evolved.

Now she wants to put it behind her.

She wants to prove herself on the track, not through the media.

“My focus now is to go racing,” she said. “I can’t wait to hop back in my race car and put everything behind me that happened at Bristol. I just want to get to the track, strap on my helmet and focus on the rest of the season.

“I’m so grateful for Rick Ware Racing giving me the opportunity to race at Auto Club Speedway. I appreciate all of my fans’ support and everyone that’s rallied behind me. It’s truly been a blessing. Now it’s time to buckle up and go racing. I think that’s the best way for us all to move on.”