All the buzz in the world of "sports" is 15th seed Florida Gulf Coast University making it to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament, the first 15th seed to do so. It's this month's sports feel good story. And who is FGCU's most famous graduate? According to Wikipedia it might be former beauty queen AND a monster truck driver Courtney Jolly. Hell yes.
Jolly has been racing for years, much like everyone else in her family. She started off in go-karts when she was seven and then worked her way up to monster trucks, as one does, by the time she was 19. She drove the Pastrana 199 truck during her tenure at FGCU, a gig she got after singing the national anthem when Monster Jam was out by the university. She wanted to try one out and discovered a natural aptitude.
Jolly would take classes through Wednesday, jet off to a monster truck event on Thursday, and be back on Sunday for more school. That doesn't leave a lot of time for studying.
As for that beauty queen title? Jolly won "Swamp Buggy Queen" at Florida Sports Park, making her the "sweetheart of the Florida Sports Park." A reporter hypothesized that she'd also become "Queen of the Monster Trucks."
That didn't quite happen. Jolly left the monster truck circuit a few years ago and has taken up a more lucrative career: She's now selling real estate in Naples, Florida.
Real estate is a lot like driving a monster truck in many ways, I'm sure.