Car Chix advancing women’s movement in male-dominated motorsports industry
March 14, 2019
Danica Patrick may be the most well-known woman in motorsports, but Jeanette DesJardins is doing her part to advance the women’s movement in the male-dominated industry.
DesJardins founded Car Chix in 2009 in order to recognize, inspire, and encourage women that are involved or interested in motorsports and the automotive industry worldwide. Since then, she has built a social media following that exceeds 100,000 and a subscriber base of 3,500 – no small feat for a suburban Chicago girl.
“Car Chix started off as a fun way for us local gals to share our racing photos and stories on a forum I built in my studio apartment in college,” DesJardins said. “Now we travel the country hosting ladies only drag races and have become the number one resource for women in motorsports and the automotive industry.”
The Car Chix following was built at the grassroots level with blood, sweat, and tears, as DesJardins traveled the country hawking CarChix merchandise and spreading the word at races and industry events. Eventually, the grind of setting up tents, being exposed to the elements, and stuffing her car with bins full of shirts became too much, so she sought a more efficient solution.
That’s when she turned to Advantage Trailer.
“Initially, I considered building a trailer down South, but I decided on Advantage because they’re right in my back yard,” DesJardins said. “They came highly recommended and I knew that if I ever had any issues with it or needed to make any changes Advantage could get it done.”
That was proven in February when her trailer was backed into before leaving the Lights Out 10 event at the South Georgia Motorsports Park in February. It just so happened that Dan Rocco, one of Advantage Trailer’s service leads, was attending the event, and when he noticed the damage to the trailer’s bumper he fixed it on the spot, no questions asked.
“It was crazy enough to run into one of the guys who built my trailer at an event 1,000 miles away,” DesJardins explained. “But then for him to go out of his way to fix it before I hit the road, it just speaks volumes about Advantage Trailer. That’s the kind of people they are, and if I ever decide to get another trailer I know who I’ll go with again.”
The trailer is a 7-foot by 12-foot concession trailer that Advantage had custom-built with a larger window and a higher ground clearance. DesJardins chose to customize the interior herself, utilizing milk crates as t-shirt storage, adjustable garment racks and mannequins for product display, and rope lighting to augment the trailer’s interior lighting.
Although she wishes she had opted to include air conditioning, which at the time she didn’t think she would need, DesJardins doesn’t have any regrets about making the investment.
“It has been a life saver. Instead of spending hours setting up pop-up tents and all the product display items, carrying bins full oft-shirts from my car to the tent, and trying to keep everything organized while selling products – all while potentially standing in the mud or trying to stay dry – I can just pull up my trailer, pop open the window, and be ready to sell.
“If the rain is coming in sideways, maybe I’ll have to close the window a bit, but other than that, it’s a game-changer. I can leave all the product displayed while traveling, I can haul my bike with me inside the trailer when I travel, and usually I even have my dog in here with me during events.”
DesJardins spent International Women’s Day working the CarChix trailer at World of Wheels Chicago and will support the Hot Rod Racing Expo in Detroit, Mich. and the 3rd Annual Autos for Autism event in Bonne Terre, Mo. next month before spending most of the summer at races throughout Wisconsin and Illinois.
If you run a small business that could benefit from a trailer, take DesJardins’ advice and make the investment. Not only did thetrailer significantly improve her physical and mental well-being before, during, and after events, it also allowed her to expand her product line from a handful of shirt designs to well over 20.
Give Advantage Trailer a call at 630-584-5840 today or send us an email at marketing@advantagetrailer.com to start the conversation about your custom trailer.
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Car Chix is based in Streamwood, Ill. You can join Team Car Chix or volunteer at a Car Chix event and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest.
