Seeking solace in speed

Local salon owner hits track in search of thrills

BY SCOTT AKANEWICH STAFF WRITER

(TOP PHOTO) Jamie Amezquita participates in what are known as High Performance Driving Events, during which the Indigo Salon owner challenges herself on race tracks in her Porsche GT 4. PHOTO BY JESSIE ORNELAS (THIS PHOTO) Liberty Hill business owner Jamie Amezquita hits speeds of nearly 150 miles-per-hour on straightaways, while needing to slow enough to successfully navigate tight corners. PHOTO BY PHOTOMOTION

Since she was a young girl, Jamie Amezquita has had a fascination with speed.

The daughter of a drag racer – who was also a mechanic – she quickly became immersed in a world of gears, pistons and cylinders.

In addition, she climbed into the saddle and became an accomplished mountain bike racer, specializing primarily in cross-country races across rugged terrain in various elements – think of it as a Spartan race on wheels.

For Amezquita, the need for speed has always been something she has been drawn to.

“I’ve always been one of those people,” she said. “Looking for an adrenaline rush, something that’s physical.”

Amezquita owns the Indigo Salon in downtown Liberty Hill, which she has been the proprietor of for the past five years after spending the previous 15 as a hair stylist in various other establishments.

She said she decided to finally strike out on her own in order to provide herself with the freedom to more fully pursue her highspeed interests.

“To me, the most important thing is time,” said Amezquita. “It’s the one thing you can’t buy more of and I wanted to be able to do what I wanted, when I wanted, have nobody to answer to and not have to abide by anybody else’s rules.”

Getting up to speed

These days, much of that newfound freedom is spent speeding around racetracks in her 2021 Porsche GT 4 Cayman 718 – most notably at Circuit of the Americas, the renowned track on the outskirts of Austin where world-class racing takes place, including the U.S. Grand Prix, which is part of the Formula One World Championship.

Amezquita participates in what are known as High Performance Driving Events – commonly referred to by enthusiasts simply as “Track Day” – a chance for gearheads of all varieties to take to the corners and straightaways and push their cars to the limits of both driver and vehicle.

On a given day, approximately 40 cars take on the challenging, 3.426-mile, 20-turn layout full of twists and elevation changes that provide even the world’s greatest drivers with fits as they attempt to negotiate the high-speed sections and hairpin turns.

According to Amezquita, despite the fact what she and her fellow drivers do is known as “tracking” – not racing, but simply doing laps without being timed – some decide to try to channel their inner racer regardless.

“I lot of people just want to think it’s a race,” said Amezquita, who has been tracking since 2020. “But, that can make it kind of dangerous.”

No limits

Amezquita will hit upwards of 150 milesper-hour down the infamous back straightaway of the track, but it’s not how fast you can go, but rather how fast you can slow down, she said.

“It’s not just about speed – that’s crazy,” said Amezquita. “It’s about the brakes when you come down that back straight right into a hairpin.”

Sessions are divided into different skill levels – including blue (rookie), yellow (novice), red (intermediate) and white (expert) – with drivers advancing through the ranks based on evaluations from instructors that monitor their progress and determine when they are ready to hit the track with more experienced drivers.

Currently, Amezquita drives in the yellow class, meaning she can be behind the wheel without the presence of her instructor, which makes it a one-on-one battle between man – or in this case, woman – and road.

At that point, it’s a matter of driver and car becoming one with the track in order to maximize performance, with each lap providing additional insight as to how best attack it, said Amezquita.

“The more times you see the track, the further you can push yourself and the faster the car can go,” she said. “Every lap, you learn about the car.”

However, sometimes things can still go sideways – quite literally.

“When you end up going around a corner sideways, you tend to go a bit slower next time,” said Amezquita. “I just want to go out there and have fun.”

The first time Amezquita found herself on a racetrack, though, was for therapeutic reasons, she said.

“When I was 16, I broke up with my boyfriend,” said Amezquita. “So, my dad gave me the keys to his Suburban and I took it to the drag strip – it made me feel better.”

Living with pain

When Amezquita was still racing mountain bikes at age 13, she suffered a horrific setback in the form of a crash during a training run on a course near her San Antonio home.

“I was going down a culvert that curved around when I hit a big rock that had been recently exposed by rainfall,” she said. “My bike stopped and I kept going.”

Amezquita suffered a broken right arm and severe facial injuries.

“I was basically a bruise from my forehead all the way to my knees,” she said. “When I fell, I rolled over on my side.”

Little did she know at the time it would be 25 years until the injuries from the mishap stopped plaguing her with pain – a condition known as temporomandibular joint dysfunction – in which her jaw would simply stop working.

“It really started up when I was in my mid-20s,” said Amezquita. “I couldn’t open my mouth or talk.”

After physical therapy and various other healing methods failed to cure her ills over the years, the last resort was surgery in which her temporomandibular joints were replaced with titanium implants to restore proper working order.

Finally, Amezquita had relief.

“I had really good results and was able to open my mouth again pretty quickly,” she said. “But, I still have a lot of nerve damage.”

High Performance Driving Events are held at Circuit of the Americas on the outskirts of Austin, where the Formula One World Championship’s U.S. Grand Prix is held. PHOTOS BY PHOTOMOTION

Feeling alive

Before acquiring her current ride, Amezquita had a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, but the bulky muscle car proved to not be agile enough for her liking and husband Jason just happened to provide inspiration in the form of what he was already driving.

“Jason has a Porsche GT 3 rear-engine,” she said. “Once I drove that, I wanted one myself.”

However, it’s not as easy as just picking out the car you want when it comes to exotic sports cars, as actually getting your hands on the model you desire takes some serious effort, said Amezquita, who found her car in Florida.

One feature that was non-negotiable during her vehicle search was a “PDK” automatic transmission, which provides all the responsiveness and aggression of a manual transmission without the need to shift with a stick and clutch.

“I just want to go out there and fly without having to worry about shifting gears or anything,” said Amezquita. “Be able to really enjoy it without thinking too much.”

When she’s not burning up the track, Amezquita drives her dream car on local roads with Jason in his for a more relaxed ride.

“My husband is my best friend – we’re both free spirits,” she said. “I just love going cruising in the Hill Country – it makes me feel alive.”

At the end of the day, her lifelong pursuit of speed and adrenaline is a product of a desire to not simply exist, but to live to the fullest.

“People should find something they love and do it – make it happen somehow,” said Amezquita. “Enjoy your time here because it’s finite.”