{"id":1042,"date":"2017-11-01T20:11:19","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T20:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lee-associates.com\/houston-dev\/?p=1042"},"modified":"2017-11-01T20:11:20","modified_gmt":"2017-11-01T20:11:20","slug":"shifting-gears-raised-in-fast-company-kendall-haechten-is-ready-to-give-lee-associates-houston-office-an-extra-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lee-associates.com\/houston\/2017\/11\/01\/shifting-gears-raised-in-fast-company-kendall-haechten-is-ready-to-give-lee-associates-houston-office-an-extra-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"Shifting Gears \u2013 Raised in Fast Company, Kendall Haechten Is Ready to Give Lee & Associates\u2019 Houston Office an Extra Edge"},"content":{"rendered":"
When your parents are well-known in NASCAR circles, and you\u2019re named for a brand of oil, chances are that your destiny at some point will be fixed around motor racing \u2013 as a sport and business.<\/p>\n
Until two years ago, Kendall Haechten<\/a> was enjoying that role, working as a NASCAR-licensed driver and one half of the Bumbera Sisters racing team. Haechten \u2013 now a Marketing Specialist at Lee & Associates in Houston, Texas, and recently married \u2013 spent five years scorching race tracks around the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cI started racing at 13. People thought my parents were crazy for allowing their 15-year-old daughter to get her NASCAR license before her driver\u2019s license,\u201d she said. \u201cI went on to win Rookie of the Year that season, making me the third female NASCAR driver to do so in Texas. The others were my mom and sister.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> At 13 years old, Kendall Haechten was driving at Houston Motorsports Park in a car borrowed from a family friend.\u00a0 A photographer caught part of the action:\u00a0 \u201cI was hit from the right rear coming out of a turn and it sent me rolling down the front stretch,\u201d Haechten recalls, adding that she received most of her bruises from being pulled from the car.\u00a0 \u201cMy mom was my spotter on the radio \u2013 which I mistakenly thought had flown out of the car \u2013 and she could hear me breathing. That helped, but she still was freaked out.\u201d<\/p>\n At 17, Haechten (left) and her sister, Kristin Bumbera (right), competed in NASCAR\u2019s K&N Pro Series, a step away from the premier NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series.\u00a0 Their dad, Kenny Bumbera, a respected classic car restorer, hot rod builder, NASCAR and NHRA driver, is crew chief with mom, Cheri, as radio spotter. They raced 75- to 200-lap events on three-eighths to half-mile ovals. Cars ran at speeds topping 150 miles per hour.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re racing, you\u2019re watching the engine temp and oil pressure gauges.\u00a0 You don\u2019t think about how fast you\u2019re going.\u00a0 These cars don\u2019t have speedometers, anyway,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The cost to campaign a team of two race cars, a spare car, spare motor, tires and tools, requiring a large truck and trailer, can exceed $1 million per season after adding the costs of a pit crew, hotels, meals and entertainment.<\/p>\n Growing up in the family\u2019s specialty automotive business \u2013 Bumbera\u2019s Performance Associates in Houston and now on Highway Boulevard in Katy, Texas \u2013 gave Haechten a good look at the commercial side of racing and relationships with customers, sponsors and fans. Past and present sponsors of Bumbera\u2019s race cars include local merchants No Label Brewery and Wide Open Energy Drinks and national brands like Shell Oil and, of course, Kendall Motor Oil. \u00a0Haechten continues to help the family business, which has added services for electronic fuel injection engines.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad was trained as a mechanic by the engine builder to A.J. Foyt and is the only guy in Texas or in the country who knows how to build and repair carburetors.\u00a0 He\u2019s had his business 25 years. People ship him cars from all over the world. But with the racing industry moving toward EFI, many of our current and future customers will want these services.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been producing videos to promote that specialty and I love the video production process.\u00a0 It\u2019s as much fun as driving.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Haechten took her hiatus from driving while finishing her sports marketing degree at Texas A&M before joining Lee & Associates<\/a>.\u00a0 Her sister and 19-year-old brother, Boyd, continue racing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen my senior year came around, it was time for me to buckle down. \u00a0After graduating, life started moving really fast: new job, new husband and new house.\u00a0 But you\u2019ll always find me at the racetrack when my brother and sister are driving,\u201d she said, adding that she \u201cmay be getting back into the seat soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n
\n
\n