Two For The Road
A Family that Plays Together and Stays Together
by Jim Evans

The Baja 500 is not for the timid as Jennifer and John Krempp know all too well.

Jennifer Krempp admits to being a "high-adrenaline" personality, so it probably didn’t surprise anyone who knows her when she took up — of all things — auto racing!

"It’s actually my husband’s thing," Jennifer acknowledged, "but I call it ‘relationship building.’

"You see, my husband’s a pretty smart guy. When he took up racing a little over a year ago, it was taking up so much of his time — and our money — that he thought it might be something that we could do together. So, smart guy that he is, he asked me to be his co-driver, and we’ve been driving together ever since."

The Krempps recently returned from the Baja 500 in Mexico, where they finished a commendable 8th place in the 1600 class. Just 183 out of more than 300 starters even finished the race.

As Jennifer describes it, "...we were pushing pretty hard, but... we had no front brakes, so we couldn’t slow down enough as we turned too sharply in the dust and hit a boulder, then over we rolled. We landed on my side and the gas was flooding out like a river. I was soaked on my right side. Good thing there wasn’t a spark — I would have been a torch!"

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? There’s more.

"Lucky for us, a family from San Diego wasn’t too far down the hill, and they had brought 7 gallons of gas from the States with them. So, off we went again, and the car wasn’t in too bad of shape except for a CV boot, a wheel, and the lights. Our chase truck caught up to us at the third freeway crossing and wrapped rags around what was left of the boot and greased it up, changed the tire, and off we went into the setting sun!"

She continued her tale of racing nonstop, cross country, in the dark:

"Now, the lights on the roof were useless, and the two in front were pointing across each other and anywhere (except) where we needed to go. There were times when we literally weaved back and forth looking for reflective markers or following camfires, or pulling over and asking people on the side of the road if we were going the right way.

"We had fun, though, and can say that we finished the 500 — which says a lot in itself!"

Whew! I think we get the picture, Jennifer!

Originally from Hawaii but a graduate of La Jolla High School, Jennifer met her future husband, John Krempps Jr. — now a superintendent for a La Jolla-based construction company — while in high school.

They have been married more than nine years and have three children — daughters Jannettie, 9, and Jessie 5, and son AJ, 2.

Any future race car drivers in the family?

"It’s probably too early to tell whether the kids have any interest in racing," Jennifer said, "but they seem to enjoy watching us."

But Jannettie recently completed her first bungee jump at the Del Mar Fair, an early indicator that she might have inherited the same adventurous spirit as her parents.

"We take the car to various community events," Jennifer said, "and it is always an immediate attraction. It just seems to draw people like a magnet, and the youngsters enjoy sitting behind the wheel."

The Krempps believe that racing will only strengthen their relationship. "We were already close as a married couple, but racing as a husband and wife team has brought us even closer together," Jennifer said. "And, it’s really nice to have support from a great community like Ramona — there really isn’t any other place like it in San Diego!"

For information about scheduling an appearance by the Krempp/Countrywide race car at your special event or fund raiser, contact Jennifer Krempp at (760) 788-3535 or visit http://home.countrywide.com/jenniferkrempp.

A real estate and mortgage broker for the past 12 years, Jennifer took over the Ramona office of Countrywide Home Loans as a home-loan consultant in February, 2004.