Lisa Smokstad

Lisa Jones Smokstad (born September 6, 1969) is an American tire specialist. She has been employed by multiple-champion NASCAR race car team Hendrick Motorsports since 1999, and has worked for various drivers.

Biography

Early life Smokstad was born on September 6, 1969, in Shakopee, Minnesota. She is the daughter of Ellis and Pat Jones. Smokstad began participating in gymnastics and competed in the sport until her early teenage years. While enrolled at the University of Minnesota on a psychology course, Smokstad found work doing concessions at Raceway Park in 1990 which she did during the weekends. The job was secured by one of her friends with whom she attended gymnastic class with. Smokstad said in 2006 that she had not originally intended for an auto racing career: "When I went to college I didn't think I'd be dirty four days a week." It was where she met her husband Craig, whom she married in 1993. She later overheard that race car driver Ken Schrader was planning to start a new short-track team and required a tire specialist. Smokstad and her husband accepted the position and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1996. When the two race teams merged in 1999, she was required to look for a new job because Schrader wanted a tire specialist with more experience. He advised her not to send a résumé to Hendrick Motorsports because of her gender. She gave birth to her daughter, RaElla, on August 30, 2007. Smokstad was promoted by Hendrick Motorsports in 2010 to focus on strategizing and tire testing.