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Rosalee Ramers is no ordinary teenage girl. She'll kick your butt in a five-ton Monster Truck called Detour, also known as ‘Princess’.
While her peers might only be learning to drive or parallel park 16-year-old Ramer is the youngest Monster Truck driver in the United States and smashes her rivals with her skills.
MEET 'PRINCESS'...
According to the London Daily Mail, she knows how to make ‘Princess’ go over nine-metre jumps, crush smaller cars and pop wheelies.
Ramer, from Watsonville, California, has been driving in Monster Truck rallies since 2011 and competes in more than 20 competitions a year in a truck nicknamed ‘Princess’. She told the San Francisco Chronicle: "Just being in a truck that loud, feeling it under you, stepping on the throttle, it almost doesn't feel real. You feel like you're in a different world.
"You're taking something that weighs nearly five tons and, with a tiny touch of the throttle, you can just roast the tyres."
But competing in a ‘man’s world’ has had its pratfalls and often Ramer’s has been questioned as to why a teenage girl would be interested in monster trucks, said the Daily Mail.
SILLY BILLIES?
On a track, though, her age and gender works in her favour: "You can tell when they don't want ‘the little girl’ to beat them so they try going for something they wouldn't normally do. And then they crash or break off a wheel."
The Daily Mail says Ramer began entering competitions at 14 but crushed her first car - a Ford Taurus - when she was 13. And, as part of the annual Ramer family tradition, one car from their junkyard was chosen to smash and display on the front lawn with a skeleton and booze bottles scattered around as a warning to potential drunk drivers.
The hubcap of said car now hangs on Ramer’s bedroom wall.
Her father Kelvin told 'Good Morning America' his daughter had had an interest in cars since she was a toddler... "if it had a steering wheel - and she could get in it - she would".
Ramer started helping her dad, a fellow Monster Truck driver, work on engines by shining a flashlight so he could see when she was only three years old. "She understands the machines inside and out. I believe in nurturing my kids and their love."
And she’s not only a ruthless competitor but pretty smart, too. The Daily Mail says Ramer is currently designing the first electronic fuel-injection system for a Monster Truck. She's also building a new truck with her father and plans to name it 'Wild Flower'.
Monster-Truck driving is a bit of a father-daughter hobby for the two. They often compete in synchronised Monster-Truck events, said the news agency.
NO 'BRAINLESS' SPORT
Learning about the mechanics of her truck sparked Ramer's interest in engineering as a career despite most people thinking the sport is "brainless".
"I get judged a lot,' she said. "They think Monster-Truck driving is brainless. They think the trucks are our toys that we just want to go out and smash things. But there's a lot of planning and thinking that goes into it. There's a lot there that people don't see."
The high-school student recently got her SAT scores back with a distinction for maths, making her a good candidate for her future studies.
She might be playing with the big boys but this teenager is still very much a typical schoolgirl at heart: "I love doing my nails. I have a very difficult time keeping my hands clean.
While her peers might only be learning to drive or parallel park 16-year-old Ramer is the youngest Monster Truck driver in the United States and smashes her rivals with her skills.
MEET 'PRINCESS'...
According to the London Daily Mail, she knows how to make ‘Princess’ go over nine-metre jumps, crush smaller cars and pop wheelies.
Ramer, from Watsonville, California, has been driving in Monster Truck rallies since 2011 and competes in more than 20 competitions a year in a truck nicknamed ‘Princess’. She told the San Francisco Chronicle: "Just being in a truck that loud, feeling it under you, stepping on the throttle, it almost doesn't feel real. You feel like you're in a different world.
"You're taking something that weighs nearly five tons and, with a tiny touch of the throttle, you can just roast the tyres."
But competing in a ‘man’s world’ has had its pratfalls and often Ramer’s has been questioned as to why a teenage girl would be interested in monster trucks, said the Daily Mail.
SILLY BILLIES?
On a track, though, her age and gender works in her favour: "You can tell when they don't want ‘the little girl’ to beat them so they try going for something they wouldn't normally do. And then they crash or break off a wheel."
The Daily Mail says Ramer began entering competitions at 14 but crushed her first car - a Ford Taurus - when she was 13. And, as part of the annual Ramer family tradition, one car from their junkyard was chosen to smash and display on the front lawn with a skeleton and booze bottles scattered around as a warning to potential drunk drivers.
The hubcap of said car now hangs on Ramer’s bedroom wall.
Her father Kelvin told 'Good Morning America' his daughter had had an interest in cars since she was a toddler... "if it had a steering wheel - and she could get in it - she would".
Ramer started helping her dad, a fellow Monster Truck driver, work on engines by shining a flashlight so he could see when she was only three years old. "She understands the machines inside and out. I believe in nurturing my kids and their love."
And she’s not only a ruthless competitor but pretty smart, too. The Daily Mail says Ramer is currently designing the first electronic fuel-injection system for a Monster Truck. She's also building a new truck with her father and plans to name it 'Wild Flower'.
Monster-Truck driving is a bit of a father-daughter hobby for the two. They often compete in synchronised Monster-Truck events, said the news agency.
NO 'BRAINLESS' SPORT
Learning about the mechanics of her truck sparked Ramer's interest in engineering as a career despite most people thinking the sport is "brainless".
"I get judged a lot,' she said. "They think Monster-Truck driving is brainless. They think the trucks are our toys that we just want to go out and smash things. But there's a lot of planning and thinking that goes into it. There's a lot there that people don't see."
The high-school student recently got her SAT scores back with a distinction for maths, making her a good candidate for her future studies.
She might be playing with the big boys but this teenager is still very much a typical schoolgirl at heart: "I love doing my nails. I have a very difficult time keeping my hands clean.
