Gearing up for Gumball

Debora Blomster describes herself as a motorhead and a bit of a thrill seeker. As she walks to her garage to make some final modifications to her car, a decked-out 1972 Cutlass Supreme she’s dubbed “Penelope,” she details a running list of adventures on which she hopes to embark. But, she crosses items off just as quickly as she adds new ones. This is no bucket list, she’s quick to point out.

“I’m too young to have a bucket list — I call it my ‘lust list,’” she says.

On Thursday, May 24, she’ll cross one more adventure off the list as she departs from Times Square in New York City to drive 3,000 miles across the country alongside the likes of David Hasselhoff, Tony Hawk and other celebrities and car enthusiasts. It’s all part of the Gumball 3000 Rally, an invitiation-only, international car rally, and it’s right up Blomster’s alley.

“I’ve always been a gearhead,” says Blomster. “I like things that move, and move fast. When I was young, I’d look out the window at all the boys having fun with their tractors and dirt bikes, and I told myself that would be me one day.”

Blomster yearns for the American muscle-car era, when she and her friends would spin doughnuts, drag race their cars and often just cruise the town — an activity she hopes to re-live through Gumball.

“I think that’s something that’s been lost,” she says. “We had a whole cruise route. We used to ride down Main Street to Lido and meet up with all the cars in the parking lot and then cruise over to Siesta. I still do that.”

Raising Penelope
Blomster’s search for her dream car started nearly 10 years ago, and she wasn’t even sure it would ever become a reality.

“You just get that nostalgic feeling when you see the first car that you loved,” says Blomster. “I told myself that I’d have it one day.”

She started searching online and in auto magazines, mostly out of curiosity, but as she searched, she started shopping with intention.

“I tried to find one that was already done, but it became obvious I was just going to have to build it,” she says. “It had to have the right rumble.”

Blomster purchased the cherry-red 1972 Cutlass Supreme in 2007 and was determined to restore the car. She spent a little more than four years customizing the car, blending her love for classic cars with an eye for modern gadgets and safety features.

With the restorations complete, the only thing left for the car was an appropriate name. Blomster settled on “Penelope,” paying homage to “Penelope Pitstop,” the lone female character in the 1960s-racing cartoon, “Wacky Races,” which she watched, religiously, as a child.

The road to Gumball
Founded in 1999, the Gumball Rally is an annual 3,000-mile road rally in which 120 cars, ranging from exotic to humorous, embark on a different route around the world. Since its inception, the event has drawn royalty, celebrities and auto enthusiasts with the shared goal of celebrating art, music, cars and adventure.
Blomster’s journey to the rally began in 2010, when her godson sent her a photo of the Gumball cars that were in Boston for that year’s rally.

“I was immediately hooked,” she says. She and a few of her friends watched the movie, “The Gumball Race,” and she knew right away she was meant to participate.

“There’s a woman in the movie who tells her husband and kids goodbye, gets in this Porsche and just takes off,” she says. “As soon as I saw her, I thought, ‘That’s me. I’m a mom, and I’m a wife, but there’s a whole other side to me.’ I think there is for everyone.”

Shortly after, Blomster took her car to Sweden for an American car show, where she won a trophy for traveling the longest distance. The award earned her a fair amount of press and attention in Sweden, and her application to be invited to the 2011 Gumball 3000 was accepted. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend, but she received another invite to the 2012 rally.

“It was like winning Willy Wonka’s Golden ticket twice,” she jokes.

Assembling a team
The Gumball 3000 often takes place in Europe, but given this year’s course is stateside, Blomster thought it would be the perfect opportunity to have three of her friends accompany her without having to pay for international travel.

Blomster and her friends, Terry Martin, Barb Evans and Emily Scott, make up Team “Pink Slip.” Their name is a reference to the pink car title paper that drag racers used to put on the line — it also serves as a subtle reference to the fact that they’re an all-female team in a male-dominated competition.

As the team wraps up its final preparations for the rally, Martin says she’s excited to help Blomster cross another adventure off her lust list.

“Debora said, ‘I’ve got another adventure for you.’ Of course, I said, ‘Let’s go, baby!’” she said. “It’s all about us girls having fun. You never know what’s going to happen when you go out with Debora.”