Christmas Abbott Is the First Female NASCAR Pit Crew Member
By Andrea Billups 02/22/2013 at 09:15 AM EST Christmas Abbott Jeff Siner/Charlotte Observer/MCT/Getty Her name is Christmas and if auto racing legend Michael Waltrip is right, she will become more than merry asset in the NASCAR pits – she’ll become a racing business goddess.Christmas Abbott, a fierce CrossFit video star and Raleigh, N.C., gym owner who bears a gun tattoo on her hip and who worked for years as a civilian contractor in Bagdad – doing military laundry, no less – was signed this week as a full-time crew member for the Michael Waltrip Racing team and its Sprint Cup operation, making her the first woman to work the pits at NASCAR’s highest level.While racer Danica Patrick offers star power on the track, Abbott, 31 and a Virginia native, will add her own muscled glamour to crews for this Sunday’s Daytona 500, where she will be in the pits with racer Clint Bowyer and will shadow the pit team there in anticipation of her future gig. At 5’3″ and 115 lbs., her weight-lifting workouts will no doubt help Abbott endure the sport’s lightening-fast tire changes, heaving 90-pound gas cans and jacking up stock cars in a very manly operation where seconds can mean the difference between winning and going home Read More
