Driven by a deep passion for motorsports and a commitment to excellence, Brienne Davis’ legacy remains strong throughout the motorsports community. That same community still pays homage to the former NASCAR technical inspector, who died on April 8, 2008, at 28 years old as a result of a car accident.
The fifth annual “Jail & Bail” charity event, scheduled for Oct. 27, will continue to honor her. Swapping the race track for a jail cell, 23 drivers, owners, crew chiefs and spotters — spanning from the NASCAR Cup Series to the ARCA Menards Series — will be “locked up” and challenged to raise bail, with proceeds supporting the Brienne Davis Memorial Scholarship, a pathway for women to pursue motorsports careers.
Determination and drive characterized Davis’ journey into the field.
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“It’s very important because that’s how she got into the industry,” John Sacco, a NASCAR technical inspector who knew Davis, told NASCAR.com. “She went through school. She wrote a letter. She went to the UTI [Universal Technical Institute] in Texas, and when she was there, she told everybody she was going to work for Dale Earnhardt, and of course the boys laughed at her, told her no way, whatever. So about the time she finished school there, she wrote a letter to Tony Eury Sr. at DEI [Dale Earnhardt, Inc.] — it basically said, ‘I’ll do whatever you need me to do. This is my dream. I want to come there and work. I’ll do whatever. Nothing’s beneath me. Just let me know.’
“So the important part is that’s how she found a way to get here and how she made all that happen. So now we have women that apply for those scholarships; they have to write a letter about why they want to do it, what it means to them. That’s kind of how we connect it all together with her.”
Davis relocated to North Carolina in 2002 as an engine builder for DEI. She then joined NASCAR in 2004 and traveled every race weekend as an engine inspector, examining carburetors and manifolds.
Sacco, 61, first met Davis while she worked at DEI. From DEI to NASCAR, Sacco described her headstrong persona and eagerness to learn as traits that made her excel.
“She was a no-nonsense, matter-of-fact person. You always knew where she stood, and you always knew that she knew what she was talking about,” Sacco said. “She was very confident. She wouldn’t go into a place or anything she didn’t know. She’s very good with competitors and very stern, very fair.”
From the drivers behind bars to the courtroom cast trying the cases, “Jail & Bail” helps fund the $10,000 Brienne Davis Memorial Scholarship. Fifty-three scholarships have been awarded since December 2008. The financial aid helps recipients pursue their dreams of entering the motorsports industry.
Administered by TechForce Foundation, the Brienne Davis Memorial Scholarship helps women pursue technical education and careers in motorsports. Aspiring technicians can learn more about scholarship opportunities and apply at TechForce.org.
Opportunities continue to grow. From female drivers paving the way on the track — such as Danica Patrick, Katherine Legge, Toni Breidinger and Dystany Spurlock — to female workers off the track, diversity and inclusion remain a focal point across the motorsports community.
“When you see somebody that is at home and thinks, ‘Man, I would love to do that, but I don’t know how. And I could go to these schools, these trade schools, and learn a trade, but how do I get there? I don’t have the money.’ So, what it does is it just makes it an avenue for them to get in,” Sacco said. “Obviously, it’s been so much easier all these years for males that worked on cars and came in and became a mechanic, stayed here for 30 years, or came in as an official, stayed here for that long time, and just hasn’t been as clear-cut of a path.”
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Whether through past stories or through future opportunities, Davis’ impact remains strong, with plenty more memories to be made in her honor.
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“There’s a lot of people that work in any industry. You don’t really know them. … The whole industry knew her and respected what she did,” Sacco said. “So there’s still a lot of that going on. Obviously, as time goes, people move on, and you have less and less they know about her. And this also serves the purpose of nobody can forget about her. We’re doing this so that she won’t be forgotten. And then these girls that are hearing her story, that are getting scholarships or applying to scholarships, they learn a little bit about her, too, and that maybe it eases their mind a bit about coming into NASCAR or the automotive trade industry in any capacity.”
