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LATEMODELRACER >> DRIVER PRESS RELEASES >> Hollywood Stuntwoman Turned Dirt Track Racer in Grand Rapids
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Message started by LMR on 05/25/11 at 4:44pm

Title: Hollywood Stuntwoman Turned Dirt Track Racer in Grand Rapids
Post by LMR on 05/25/11 at 4:44pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 25, 2011
________________________________________

Hollywood Stuntwoman Turned Dirt Track Racer in Grand Rapids
Inspires Women During Her 2011 Rookie Season

Grand Rapids, MI – Hollywood Stuntwoman Kathy Jarvis gives one of her easy, enthusiastic smiles and confidently lowers herself into the driver’s seat of a 2010 Rayburn racecar. Firing up the 500hp engine, she will soon be pushing it to the limits at speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour. She’ll also be pushing herself to the limits. This is the kick-off of her 40-race rookie season as a late model dirt track racer, a grueling enterprise continuing for the next five months. With Western Michigan as her base, Jarvis will be having a busy Memorial Day weekend, racing at Winston Speedway in Muskegon on Friday, May 27th, at the I-96 Speedway near Grand Rapids on Saturday, May 28st and Cherry Speedway in Flat Lake on Sunday, May 29th. Jarvis, who has stunt-doubled for Kate Hudson, Hillary Swank, Charlize Theron, Meg Ryan, Meryl Streep and Teri Garr, delighted audiences with her gutsy jump off of an 80-foot cliff into eight feet of water for Anne Heche in Six Days Seven Nights. She also loves to race cars.

But there’s another, far more important, reason Kathy is taking time off from her daily life as an in-demand stuntwoman to pit her racing skills against 40 other drivers. Kathy Jarvis wants to inspire and empower women and girls to do gutsy things. “This isn’t about whether or not I win although that would be great. It’s about doing something that excites me and pushes me beyond my comfort zone,” explains Kathy, who was asked to start racing by Andy Stebbins, the owner of the late model dirt car she now drives. At the time, Jarvis didn’t know anything about late model race cars. But she knew that she had skills and a promising knack of hitting her marks as a veteran stunt driver for movies, like in The Italian Job. So she agreed.

“I want women to be empowered and to start thinking about participating in activities they normally would not. This is new to me. But I won’t let that hold me back,” Jarvis enthuses, smiling another one of her toothy grins. And it’s because she is not easily intimidated that Kathy named her company “FemmeFatale Motorsports,” expressly set up to be encouraging to women so that they will “nurture their femme while embracing their fatale.” Articles written about Kathy in Sports Illustrated, Delta’s Sky magazine and Driver are posted at www.ffmotorsports.com. She goes on to explain: “A femmefatale is an intuitive, confident, dynamic woman who takes risks to create a life she loves. There is no real thriving without taking risks.”

And that’s exactly what Kathy is doing. It’s already been noticed by commercial sponsors, one of which approached Jarvis after one of her first races. Tim O’Reilly of Renegade Racing Fuels and Lubes says: “I think it’s great to have her out there competing. It’s good for the sport.”

Jarvis encourages mothers, daughters and any dirt car racing enthusiasts to come see her “take on the big boys.” The first 10 fans during the Memorial Day weekend to show up at her pit will receive free FemmeFatale Motorsports t-shirts. In addition, Kathy will be signing free driver’s hero cards whenever she is approached for an autograph at the race track. Grandstands open at 4:30 p.m. Her supportive husband, John Corser, a film producer, will be filming the action for an upcoming piece. As Corser, President of Corser, Inc. (www.corser.com), says: “A woman on the track challenging not only her own limits, but the tradition of this as a testosterone-dominated sport is interesting to watch. Whatever happens, it’ll be fun and exciting!”

Footage of Kathy in the driver’s seat is posted on the KathylJarvis Channel on You Tube at www.youtube.com/user/kathyljarvis?feature=mhsn. She may also be visited on her Face Book fan page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kathy-Jarvis/173530046022974 or Twitter at femmefatalmoto. Her profile on IMDb is at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0419080/.

Bio for Hollywood Stuntwoman Kathy Jarvis

As a Hollywood stuntwoman, Kathy found she had a knack for hitting her marks, ramps, other vehicles - and even people - both accurately and safely when she landed driving stunt jobs in a variety of movies, including Torque, BikerBoyz, Chill Factor, The Italian Job, World’s Fastest Indian, Unearthed, Yes Man, in addition to TV shows and commercials.

The FemmeFatale Motorsports mission is set up to empower women to expand their horizons and to pursue their dreams. Kathy founded it with the express purpose of encouraging more women to become actively involved in motorsports, either as drivers, co-drivers, crew members, team managers or sponsors. Kathy has been a fan of motorsports from the first time she pre-ran the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race in 1999. But it was not only the trophy trucks, Protrucks or motorcycles she drove and loved. Inspiration also came from being encouraged, as well as challenged, by some of the most notorious off-road racers: Larry Rossler, Larry Ragland, Ivan Stewart, Brian Stewart, Bob Gordon and Robbie Gordon.