Ex-stripper bikini mannequin grew to become ‘real-life Fast and Furious’ drag race queen
An ex-stripper turned bikini model opened up about her wild venture as a star of America’s Fast & Furious-era car scene, where she is a drag race queen
A former stripper and bikini model has a shock side passion
A model who became a star of America’s Fast & Furious-era car scene says she’d regularly spend her days winning bikini contests before climbing into her 1,000HP Toyota Supra and beating men on the drag strip.
Jessica Barton, who lives in Orlando, built a reputation for doing what few women in the male-dominated car world could – looking glamorous on stage before proving she could out-drive the competition behind the wheel.
The 42-year-old, who has more than 500,000 followers on Instagram Jess, says competitors often underestimated her because she was a blonde bikini model – until the racing started. Jessica says proving people wrong quickly became one of her favourite parts of the car scene.
Jessica lives a very different life away from the camera
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She said: “I’d go to these huge car meets in Texas and somehow end up doing every part of the event. I’d place in the bikini contest, win the dyno competition and then go drag racing.
“It was hilarious because I’d go straight from standing on stage in a bikini to getting in the car and banging gears with the boys. People never expected it. They’d see the blonde girl and assume I was just there to look pretty. Then I’d get behind the wheel and beat them.
“That was always the best part. I absolutely loved proving people wrong. The boys would laugh at first, but they stopped laughing once the racing started.”
Jessica opened up about her passion
Jessica has an unlikely passion
Jessica’s love of cars came as a surprise even to her family. Growing up, she described herself as a goth teenager obsessed with Marilyn Manson, while her brother was the family’s dedicated petrolhead.
But everything changed when she bought a Toyota Supra around the time The Fast and the Furious became a worldwide phenomenon.
She said: “My brother was always the car guy. I couldn’t have cared less. I was the weird goth kid with black lipstick listening to Marilyn Manson. Cars weren’t really my thing at all.
“Then, eventually, I decided I wanted a cool car and bought a Supra. It happened right when Fast and Furious was becoming huge and all of a sudden I was completely obsessed.
She has more than 500,000 followers on Instagram
“The more I modified it, the more addicted I became. I couldn’t leave anything alone. Every time I upgraded one thing, I wanted to upgrade something else. Before I knew it, the car was making around 1,000 horsepower and had become my baby.”
As Jessica became more involved in the car scene, she found herself travelling around the country for events, competitions and races. She says the atmosphere was unlike anything she’d ever experienced: “Those events were insane.
“You’d have thousands of people there, incredible cars everywhere and everyone partying together. There would be racing, competitions, music and all kinds of crazy stuff going on.
“It genuinely felt like living inside The Fast and the Furious. I got to meet so many amazing people and travel all over the country. It was one of the most fun periods of my entire life.”
Jessica’s dream car was destroyed by thieves
She went through a nightmare ordeal when her car was stolen
But Jessica’s dream car journey came crashing down one morning when she walked outside and discovered her beloved Supra had vanished.
After desperately searching for it, she eventually tracked the vehicle down – only to be met with a devastating sight. She said: “I woke up one morning, walked outside and thought, ‘Didn’t I park my Supra here?’
“The car was gone. We drove all over town looking for it and eventually somebody told us to call a tow yard. When they said they had my car, I was so relieved.
“Then they told me it was hard to tell whether it was even my car because it had been chopped into so many pieces. I couldn’t believe it. My heart absolutely sank. The thing I’d spent years building had basically been dismantled.”
Jessica is certainly not shy
Her hobby was certainly a shock to her loved ones
The thieves were eventually arrested, but rather than walking away from the hobby she loved, Jessica used the setback as motivation. She built another Supra.
And according to Jessica, the replacement was even more extreme: “You can’t keep me down. I wasn’t going to let that be the end of the story.
“I ended up building another Supra and honestly, it was faster, crazier and better than the first one. Looking back now, I think the comeback was even more satisfying. Sometimes the setbacks end up pushing you towards something even bigger.”
While Jessica has since found success in other ventures, she still considers her time in the car scene one of the most exciting chapters of her life.
She said: “I won trophies, travelled the country, met incredible people and beat a lot of boys on the drag strip. I got to live out a real-life Fast and Furious fantasy. When I look back on it now, I just think, what more could a girl want?”
