At first glance, Jessica Rose Conway seemed like any other typical All American Girl. Born in Winston-Salem, NC, as the youngest child of James and Roberta Conway she was the breath of fresh air her parents had been waiting for. The sugar and spice to off set four snips and snails and puppy dog tails they'd had before her. She grew up in a nice home, went to church every Sunday, and was a Daddy's little girl. The apple of James Conway's eye. But, that was where the similarity between her and most other little girls differed. Because James Conway wasn't like most other fathers....he was a team owner on the NASCAR Winston (now Sprint) Cup and NASCAR Busch (now Nationwide) circuit. So, while most little girls grew up playing with dolls and going to the ballet, Jessi grew up playing with toy cars and going to the race track every weekend.
In high school, Jessica was every parent's dream, and every other child's nightmare. Her brothers were often heard celebrating the fact that she was younger than they were. They heard the words "Why can't you be more like your sister?" often enough, had she been older they knew it would be even worse. It wasn't that she was TRYING to be better than them, or to have their parents on their asses, it was just the way things worked out. From the time she started the ninth grade, she was an A and B student...without even trying. Sure, she'd skim over her school books from time to time, and she did her homework, but she didn't put in hours of obsessive studying. There were more important things to do, like be the social butterfly of the school. But, school came easy for Jessica and she usually managed to be near the top of her classes without the extra effort, something that always frustrated not only her brothers, but also her fellow classmates.
In the time she wasn't using to study, Jessica kept herself busy with a variety of extra curricular pursuits. She kept up with the dance lessons her parents had enrolled her in as a little girl and eventually added in gymnastics and diving. In fact, her freshman year of high school she made the varsity diving team, a feat that only a few could boast.
The fact that Jessi was usually such a good girl and rarely got into trouble, made what happened to her in her Sophomore year that much more surprising to everyone who knew her.
From the time she could walk, and even before that on occasion, Jessica was in her dad's shop and the garage on a nearly daily basis. She grew up to the sounds of air guns and the smell of motor oil. Before she even started kindergarten, Jessica knew the meaning of words like loose and tight and knew what one might do to change either condition. All of the guys in her dad's shop looked at her like a niece as she was growing up and all of them were "Uncle So-and-so" to her. At least while she was young. As she started growing up, she started noticing them more and some of them started to notice her as well. Though she was still a tomboy at heart, as she grew older she started becoming more conscious about what she was wearing when she'd visit her dad's shop or when she would be at the track with him. The jeans got tighter and the shirts got more form fitting. Her hair would be done up and her make up just right. By the time she was sixteen, she found herself involved in a relationship with one of her dad's drivers. A young 21 year old upstart who was just starting to make a name for himself in the circuits. Jessi was smitten...head over heels in love and convinced it would last forever but, as young love often is, their relationship was doomed to fail.
Only six months into their relationship, in March of 2002, James Conway walked into his shop to find his up and coming star driver and his fifteen year old daughter fooling around. In a fit of rage, and a desperate attempt to keep the two of them apart, Jessica was sent to live with her aunt in Phoenix, Arizona. Unfortunately, the damage was already done. Shortly after arriving in Phoenix, Jessica discovered that she was pregnant. For awhile she entertained thoughts of keeping the baby and raising it, but eventually logic and common sense won out. She knew that at the age of 16 she was no where near ready to be a mother and, at the point in his career that he was at, the father was no way ready to be a father. So, Jessica made the toughest decision that a young mother could ever make and, when she gave birth to her son on November 18, 2002, she gave the baby up for adoption.
Rather than come back to North Carolina after the baby was born, Jessica chose to finish out high school in Phoenix and it wasn't until after her graduation she came back to be with her parents in August of 2004. She took a year off to regroup herself before beginning classes in the fall of 2005 at UNC where she majored in Public Relations. Following her graduation in December of 2009, Jessi came home and went to work for her father, alternating between P.R. for the company, and also for his drivers as needed.
In high school, Jessica was every parent's dream, and every other child's nightmare. Her brothers were often heard celebrating the fact that she was younger than they were. They heard the words "Why can't you be more like your sister?" often enough, had she been older they knew it would be even worse. It wasn't that she was TRYING to be better than them, or to have their parents on their asses, it was just the way things worked out. From the time she started the ninth grade, she was an A and B student...without even trying. Sure, she'd skim over her school books from time to time, and she did her homework, but she didn't put in hours of obsessive studying. There were more important things to do, like be the social butterfly of the school. But, school came easy for Jessica and she usually managed to be near the top of her classes without the extra effort, something that always frustrated not only her brothers, but also her fellow classmates.
In the time she wasn't using to study, Jessica kept herself busy with a variety of extra curricular pursuits. She kept up with the dance lessons her parents had enrolled her in as a little girl and eventually added in gymnastics and diving. In fact, her freshman year of high school she made the varsity diving team, a feat that only a few could boast.
The fact that Jessi was usually such a good girl and rarely got into trouble, made what happened to her in her Sophomore year that much more surprising to everyone who knew her.
From the time she could walk, and even before that on occasion, Jessica was in her dad's shop and the garage on a nearly daily basis. She grew up to the sounds of air guns and the smell of motor oil. Before she even started kindergarten, Jessica knew the meaning of words like loose and tight and knew what one might do to change either condition. All of the guys in her dad's shop looked at her like a niece as she was growing up and all of them were "Uncle So-and-so" to her. At least while she was young. As she started growing up, she started noticing them more and some of them started to notice her as well. Though she was still a tomboy at heart, as she grew older she started becoming more conscious about what she was wearing when she'd visit her dad's shop or when she would be at the track with him. The jeans got tighter and the shirts got more form fitting. Her hair would be done up and her make up just right. By the time she was sixteen, she found herself involved in a relationship with one of her dad's drivers. A young 21 year old upstart who was just starting to make a name for himself in the circuits. Jessi was smitten...head over heels in love and convinced it would last forever but, as young love often is, their relationship was doomed to fail.
Only six months into their relationship, in March of 2002, James Conway walked into his shop to find his up and coming star driver and his fifteen year old daughter fooling around. In a fit of rage, and a desperate attempt to keep the two of them apart, Jessica was sent to live with her aunt in Phoenix, Arizona. Unfortunately, the damage was already done. Shortly after arriving in Phoenix, Jessica discovered that she was pregnant. For awhile she entertained thoughts of keeping the baby and raising it, but eventually logic and common sense won out. She knew that at the age of 16 she was no where near ready to be a mother and, at the point in his career that he was at, the father was no way ready to be a father. So, Jessica made the toughest decision that a young mother could ever make and, when she gave birth to her son on November 18, 2002, she gave the baby up for adoption.
Rather than come back to North Carolina after the baby was born, Jessica chose to finish out high school in Phoenix and it wasn't until after her graduation she came back to be with her parents in August of 2004. She took a year off to regroup herself before beginning classes in the fall of 2005 at UNC where she majored in Public Relations. Following her graduation in December of 2009, Jessi came home and went to work for her father, alternating between P.R. for the company, and also for his drivers as needed.