Race Car Driver Jessi Combs Posthumously Named Fastest Woman On Earth By Guinness World Records

American TV presenter and race car driver Jessi Combs has been named the 'fastest female land-speed record holder' by Guinness World Records, posthumously. The automotive daredevil died last year while attempting to beat the land speed record on August 27, 2019, in the Alvord Desert, USA. Her previous land speed record attempts from earlier that day were submitted to the institution, which concluded that she had reached an average speed of 522.783 mph (841.338 kmph), making her the fastest woman on Earth.

View this post on Instagram

It may seem a little crazy to walk directly into the line of fire... those who are willing, are those who achieve great things. . . People say I'm crazy. I say thank you ;) . . . #fastestwomanonearth #almost #fasterthanfast #jetcar #afterburner #landpseed @landspeed763 #iwillgofaster #gottabreak512 #aimingfor619 #currentlyat483 #northamericaneagle #iafterburners

A post shared by Jessi Combs (@thejessicombs) on Aug 24, 2019 at 2:22pm PDT

Combs had made two runs in the 52,000 horsepower North American Supersonic Challenger, reaching a speed of 515.346 mph (829.368 kmph) in the first run and 548.432 mph (882.615 kmph) in the second run. Her team submitted an average of the two runs at 531.889 mph (855.992 kmph) to the Guinness officials. However, the official record has been certified at 522.783 mph, but it's unclear how the officials arrived at that number. Nevertheless, it was enough to break the 44-year-old record of 512 mph (823.984 kmph) that was set back in 1976 by Kitty O'Neil.

View this post on Instagram

Sometimes I just gotta push the noise out, turn my head, and get to work! Big things happening... hopefully super fast things ;) #throwbackthursday #landspeed attempting to become #fastestwomanonearth with @landspeed763 #northamericaneagle #prayforhealing #fasterthanfast

A post shared by Jessi Combs (@thejessicombs) on Aug 16, 2019 at 12:19am PDT

Jessi Combs had previously attempted the same run in October 2013 when she had reached speeds up to 398 mph (640.519 kmph) in the first run and 483 mph (777.313 kmph) in the second run. After a lengthy investigation post her death, the local sheriff's office determined that Combs' streamliner crashed after hitting an unknown object nearing speeds of 550 mph (885.139 kmph), which led to the failure of the challenger's wheel assembly.

The 39-year-old was one of the more prominent names in the world of American motorsport and automotive television. A famous welder, she had participated in several motorsport events including the Baja 1000 and King of Hammers off-road race held in the US. According to a statement from her family, Combs always wanted to become the fastest woman on Earth and the confirmation by Guinness World Records honours that wish.

For the latest auto news and reviews, follow carandbike on Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.