ER Nurse Travels the World Driving Monster Trucks, Paving the Way for Women in Motorsports (Exclusive)

Rebecca Schnell is no stranger to high-stakes situations.

Professionally, she treats life-threatening illnesses and injuries as an ER nurse. Recreationally, Schnell drives vehicles weighing more than 12,000 pounds for stadiums packed with fans.

“I take care of people in the hospital on some of their worst days,” Rebecca, 34, tells PEOPLE. “On some of the best days of their lives, I get to create these childhood memories in the monster trucks.”

But she hasn’t always been in the driver’s seat. As a woman in the male-dominated world of motorsports, Rebecca needed to advocate for herself.

“I created an interest and desire to be a female driver because there are very few of us,” she says. “I made that very well known to the bosses that be at BIGFOOT cooperation.”

In 2020, Rebecca debuted in Europe as the first female driver in Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live, but she had to take the long road to get there.

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Rebecca has always been interested in monster trucks. She grew up attending shows, and her affinity for heavy machinery carried with her into adulthood. In 2009, a show came through her hometown in North Carolina. She looked at one of the trucks on display and met one of the team members — her future husband, Darron Schnell.

“[I] might have snuck up in his truck,” Rebecca reveals. “He asked me, politely, to get out of the monster truck and then [we] exchanged phone numbers.”

The couple got married in 2011. At the time, Darron was one of BIGFOOT’s racing drivers. Because of Rebecca's strong interest in the trucks, he let her tag along. As time went on, she found herself with a role on the team. 

“Because I had followed Darron around and he showed me the ropes, I was able to move the trucks in the pit areas from time to time,” she says. “But I’d never been belted into [a] seat that fit me.”

After pushing the company to build a seat fit for a woman, Rebecca strapped in for her first real drive in 2019. 

“I was absolutely terrified that I was going to hate it,” she explains. “But it was quite an exhilarating experience.”

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Practice makes perfect, especially for Rebecca. She kept getting lost in her analytical “nurse brain.” Her teammates kept reminding her to wear her helmet and drive until it became routine. Now, five years later, she is more than comfortable behind the wheel. 

“If I’m not out dancing by my truck before the show starts, something is wrong,” Rebecca tells PEOPLE.

In the years since she joined team BIGFOOT, they have added another female driver.

“We get to be that representation that there is women in our male-dominated sport,” Rebecca says. “Spectators don’t realize that there are so many women working behind the scenes.”

She adds: “We get to be an inspiration and influence for the young women, little girls and little boys too. It’s really cool for them to see this movement of women being able to accomplish the same things that men can do.”

Although it’s been a slow evolution, Rebecca says the monster truck community is welcoming more women.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met a male competitor who has said one negative thing about any of the females in our sport,” she notes. “They are enjoying it as much as we are because it allows for husbands and wives, like Darron and myself, to travel together and get to do a tour together.”

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Spending almost 40 weeks a year on the road comes with its challenges. But being side-by-side with Darron the whole time allows the couple to “take care of each other.”

Plus, there’s one reason why Rebecca keeps getting behind the wheel: the fans. 

“The fans that we get to meet in the pre-shows and during the shows really bring about why we do what we do,” she explains. “It’s really exciting to see the smile that they bring on their faces each time.”

Tickets for the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow-N-Fire Tour are on sale now.

Read the original article on People