Local Mom Shifts into Overdrive for Hollister Truck Competition

Everybody faces daily obstacles and in Jennifer Smith's case those obstacles tend to include boulders and mud bogs.

The San Martin resident has been driving enormous trucks up hills and through river beds in off-road competitions for the past 22 years.

"They're like obstacle courses for 4-wheelers," Smith said.

The competition includes truck pulling, rock crawling and more, with drivers trying to drive farther and faster than the rest of the field.

Smith will be in her own backyard for the Four Wheeler’s Top Truck Challenge at the Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area in June. She was the only woman chosen to join the field.

"There's a little something to prove," Smith said. "In this type of thing, it's something you don't usually think of women doing."

Smith's been offroading most of her life, though. It was just something that she grew up doing in Paso Robles with her friends.

Jennifer and her husband Chris Smith have formed a tough team ever since she drove his super-crawler in a competition in Northern California.

"It was big and loud," she said of the diesel truck and its 42-inch wheels. "It was such an adrenaline rush."

Chris modified the 1968 Ford Bronco she'll be driving during the competition in Hollister. He's even busy building cars for the kids.

"It's a great sport to get kids into," Jennifer said. "People don't realize how much fun it is."

The Hollister event is closed to the public, however fans can get daily updates at www.fourwheeler.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fourwheelermag.