Former Bikini Model Had an Impressive NASCAR Career

The female race car drivers that compete in the highest levels of racing never cease to amaze me. It’s hard enough to make a career out of racing in general, but a good majority of these women that make it to the big leagues also maintain other professional jobs on the side. Maryeve Dufault is a perfect example of this.

Dufault has certainly created an impressive resume for herself. This Canadian built her career as a motorsports racer and professional model, and she’s even been involved with a wide variety of television programs.

Like most professional drivers, Dufault started getting into racing at a young age. She grew up in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, and started riding dirt bikes by the age of four. By the time she was eight, Maryeve was already racing in motocross events, however, she took more interest in the go-kart track. Competing in karting events in both the United States and Canada, she won multiple championships during this time.

Her success in karting eventually landed her a spot in Formula Racing. She has competed in multiple series events, including Formula BMW USA, Formula 3, Pro Star Mazda, Formula Renault, and Skip Barber Racing Series, bringing home several victories and podium finishes. Additionally, she did extensive testing on Formula cars in China and Great Britain, and performed precision driving for Honda, Yamaha, and Polaris.

Maryeve’s auto racing career continued even further when she got involved with stock car racing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series back in 2010. After she signed a driver development contract with FAZZT Race Team, she became the first female driver selected to be part of the Dodge Motorsport Driver Development Program. In 2011, Dufault made her ARCA Racing Series debut at Daytona International Speedway and NAPA Auto Parts 200 in Montreal, quickly impressing fellow driver Brad Keselowski. By the end of the 2011 racing season, she grabbed a top-10 finish at Chicagoland Speedway along with six other top-13 finishes, despite missing around five races that year.

She then graduated up to the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve driving for MacDonald Motorsports. She became the first Canadian woman to race in the Nationwide Series since it took that name. Maryeve proved her talent on the track, and she was even listed as one of the “Top Female Drivers in Racing Today” by Fox Sports, as well as “Top 12 Up-and-Coming Female Drivers in Motorsports” by Bleacher Report.

After competing with Carter 2 Motorsports in 2012, she joined on with Go Green Racing for 2013. By the time 2014 rolled around, she began racing full-time for Team Stange Racing, as well. Eventually, after a merger deal fell through, mixed with the lack of funding and sponsorship, she ended up taking a break from racing in the series for a while.

Maryeve Dufault has appeared on a wide variety of movies and television programs. While most popularly noticed from her time on The Price Is Right, she’s also been involved with Driven, Relative Strangers, Entourage, Jay Leno’s opening show, and The Bold and the Beautiful. She was even used as a stunt driver for the movie Fast Girl.

On top of her television features, she’s doubles as a model. Dufault won the Miss Hawaiian Tropic International in 2000, beating over 35,000 other competitors in the process. She, along with co-winner Lisa Kessous, both represented Canada at the world competition in Las Vegas. Her participation granted her prizes including a jet ski, motorcycle, and prize money.

She’s noted on multiple occasions that she pursues modeling simply in an attempt at winning prize money so that she can put it back toward her racing career. No designer clothes. No excessive shopping sprees. It all goes toward funding racing. She wishes to be known for what she can accomplish on the track. How awesome is that?!

Maryeve Dufault’s multiple careers has resulted in a sizable net worth. She’s estimated to be worth around $9 million in 2020. While she stays extremely busy with different ventures, it’s good to see that it’s paying off quite well for her.

The race car driver has also done charity work, including raising $10,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. She moved to Los Angeles to pursue her racing career, but now currently resides in Mooresville, North Carolina. I’m sure we’ll see even more out of this woman in the near future!