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Peter F. Meier |
Courtney Hansen is the host of SPIKE TV's "Powerblock" and the Velocity TV show "Vinsetta Garage." But she knows what she's talking about when it comes to working under the hood. Hansen appeared at the VISION Hi-Tech Training and Expo event in Overland Park, Kan., last month, and spoke with Motor Age. You can see the complete video in our Workshop, or by scanning the QR code to the right.
MA: You've met a lot of your fans here at VISION.
CH: Yes, I've met a lot of my fans. This is a great crowd. I'm feeling the passion for the automotive world in this room at Expo. I had a great time. This is my first time in Kansas City, Missouri, and I had a blast. And the weather's warm!
MA: You're from Minnesota, and that's where your car background came from. Your dad was an accomplished racer; tell us a little bit about that.
CH: My dad raced SCCA, Sports Car Clubs of America, of course, and he won 27 national titles, a pretty great record. I spent my time traveling from racetrack to racetrack growing up, and hanging in the pits and watching the mechanics at work in the garages. We used to own Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota. I'm a track kid and the automotive thing is in my blood.
MA: Not only are you an accomplished TV host and spokesperson, but also you are a writer. Tell us what all you do.
CH: I wrote a book for women in 2005. It's for women and first time car enthusiasts. It basically talks about how to care for your daily driver. I do a column for the newspaper; it's in about 150 newspapers throughout the U.S. and Canada. It's called Courtney Hansen Full Throttle, and in that column I just talk about different automotive-related topics. So I could discuss NASCAR or why tech training is important, why formal automotive training like this is essential or I could talk about the women who influence the automotive space. So that's kind of fun. Or tell stories; I can tell stories about road trips or a day at the races.
MA: Do you have any other projects coming up that we should know about?
CH: We just launched a campaign and I'm the spokesperson for Endurance. It's Endurance Warranty Services. I play a super hero in the commercials. There's some fun videos online. So that's exciting. And I'm working on another project that's top secret for a little while, but I'll be more hands-on with cars, let's just put it that way. I'm thrilled about that. "Powerblock" is going strong. This is my seventh year, it's hard to believe. But I have a blast working on that show and being part of the SPIKE family. Then "Vinsetta Garage" will hopefully be going for season two; we just wrapped season one, so I'm really excited about that.
