Jody Jackson has a passion for cars
that has led her to compete in motorsports. By the end of the month her name
could go down in local racing lore.
Jackson, 22, owns two vehicles and
has tried her hand at drag racing and auto-cross action the last few years. She
states becoming a racer was more about overcoming fear than having the proper
cars.
“I have a 2005 Scion Tc which I
bought in January 2008 and a 1996 two-door black Honda Civic which I bought in
the summer of 2008,” Jackson said. “I haven’t really kept track of the years
I’ve been into racing but I’d say around four years. Most of that came before I
had my 11 month-old baby. I’ve always enjoyed racing, cars and bikes. But I
never had the courage.
“Then one day I decided to get
involved. I had a Daihatsu Sirion and I took it for a run down the track at
Breakers and got into racing from there and went at it 100 percent.”
The Tc is practically stock with a
Borla exhaust being the only major upgrade. However the Civic bears witness to
Jackson’s commitment to racing. From a set of coil-overs to drop the car’s
stance to an aftermarket turbo, speed is certainly her focus on the track.
These days Jackson is mostly on the
sidelines with school and the baby on her plate. The full-time University
College of the Cayman Islands student is pursuing an Associate’s degree in
Natural Sciences with the goal of one day becoming a forensic pathologist
stating she “wants to be a doctor and I have an interest in forensics.”
However she is one of many locals
eyeing the next big international meet at Breakers Speedway on 27 November.
Race track owner Robert Campbell has planned for a number of overseas racers to
come here including Jamaican racer Dean Shaw in his white Chevy Camaro and
Miami-based Frank Muniz. Two years ago Muniz brought down a yellow twin-turbo
Toyota Supra that was the first car at Breakers to hit the five-second mark as
it went 5.685 seconds down the 1/8 mile track at 122mph.
The Savannah native, who turns 23
four days before the meet, states Muniz is one of the people she’s looking for
to excel.
“I feel very excited and very
challenged. Because I’m a girl not every race I’m going to win. I have the fear
that I won’t do well though I’ll try my best. As far as the guys coming down I
don’t know too much about them. However I know about Muniz’s Supra and I’m
looking for him to do well.”
Interestingly Muniz is slated to
come to Cayman in a different car. Last month Campbell stated, in addition to
outlining the race formats, that Muniz would be armed with a 1000hp sports
coupe.
“Friday night will see a test and
tune 6-10pm with action taking place on Saturday,” Campbell said. “We’re hoping
for a 3pm start there. At this point racer fees would be CI$25 to cover Friday
and Saturday.
“Dean Shaw is definitely coming and
Frank is coming down. In fact he plans to come with a different car than the
Supra years ago. This one is slated to be a Toyota Soarer, which is similar to
the Lexus SC400, with more power as it allegedly makes 1000hp.”
Jackson hopes to hold her own in
the races, which at this stage will be divided into time categories, in a
borrowed Honda Civic. The black 1995 hatchback belongs to up-and-coming
autocross racer Kirk Fletcher who competed in this year’s Time Attack series
put on by the Cayman Motorsports Association. The Civic is far from stock with
a racing suspension, low-profile tires, a big intercooler and fuel cell among
other goodies. Jackson states the Honda did very well on her first run.
“I won’t be running my Civic before
the big race as hopefully Kirk will allow me to race his Civic. The first time
I ever ran the car I posted a time of either 9.7s or 9.8s.
I tried my best with it. I’m accustomed to left-hand drive car so it felt weird
shifting a right-hand drive car.”
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