Reproduced with permission from Business Insider

IT’S NOT EVERY day that models make the switch from catwalk to racetrack.

In truth, Maryeve Dufault was racing long before she ever appeared as a model on The Price is Right or before she won the 2000 Miss Hawaiian Tropic International title. It turns out the title was just a bonus. The real prize came in the shape of a motorcycle and a jet ski courtesy of the sponsors.

Dufault grew up racing motocross, snowmobiles, motorcycles and go-karts; pretty much anything that went fast. She only ended up in modeling as  means to pay the bills brought about by her passion for speed.

In the past, I’ve used the money I earned from modeling and photo shoots to buy tyres and other things I needed to go racing.

She grew up in Quebec, which is where she will begin her NASCAR career, racing in the Nationwide series at the Circuiut Giles Villeneuve in Montreal.

Sure, some people think it is crazy, but I know where my heart is. I’m a race car driver, and I want to be known first for what I accomplish on the track.

Dufault will become the first Canadian woman to race in the Nascar Nationwide series when she drives in the Napa Auto Parts 200 on August 20th.

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