In an industry filled with individuals that are passionate about what they do, no one wears their passion on their sleeve as much as Brienne Rentz.

I first came across “Brie” in 2005 when she was a student in high school and a BIG fan of Scott Sharp.  I took notice of her passion and photos of her “fantlers” on an online racing forum (TrackForum.com).  I reached out to her to, in a way, brag that I, at one time, actually worked with Scott Sharp (I was an intern at Kelley Racing for the 2003 Indy 500).  We became fast friends.

While working at Panther Racing, later in 2005, I needed to hire someone to do an insane amount of data entry, and without thinking twice, I reached out to Brie knowing that she would jump at the opportunity to have anything to do with racing.  She did a good job, and over the years, we stayed in touch.

In the summer of 2008, while I was working at Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, we needed to hire an intern to do the following: assist our marketing department, assist myself with the PR department, and, most importantly, have someone act as our race shop’s receptionist.  While at the time she was tied up with another internship, she again jumped at the opportunity to be involved in racing.

From that point on, as they say, the rest is history.  As of this writing, she is now in her 10th season of working in the racing industry.  Many around me wondered why I hired “that super fan,” but her passion speaks for itself.  Working in the racing industry involves long hours, a lot of travel, and a dichotomy of emotions from the highest of highs to the absolute lowest of lows.  One must be highly passionate to undergo these abnormal working conditions and stresses involved.

More importantly, she’s turned on the professionalism necessary to do the jobs she’s been hired to do (as evidenced by her several week hesitation to “release” her old “fantler” pictures to the public).  From Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, she was hired to work with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, and then, she landed the job she currently holds at Ed Carpenter Racing.

In the video above, you’ll hear her story, along with wonderful praise from her boss, Ed Carpenter, and of course, a little ribbing about her “fantlers.”

I’ve told her that if I had one regret looking back on my own career in the racing industry, it was not taking the time to enjoy that time as I should have being a “super fan” myself growing up.  As long as you can show the appropriate professionalism when necessary, then it’s okay to every so often to let that inner “super fan” out.

Never stop being a fan!