On the main firing line for industry-leading motorcycle air suspension manufacturer, Shotgun Shock, Jessica Kennedy blows away customers with her hands-on technical skill and knowledgeable customer service.
Ready.
Growing up, Jessica Kennedy wasn’t afraid to dig into the family business and get dirty. The Riverside, California native spent her childhood around the family’s machine shop, where they crafted bullets and ammunition.
Aim.
Motorcycles have always been a part of her life, and Jessica has always enjoyed the Harley scene. Her first experience in the industry was working with JD over 15 years ago in a custom build shop they worked. She handled mostly the office side of the business, but loved the industry and riding culture. Though the two would move on to other ventures, they remained friends.
It wasn’t until their paths would cross again in 2010, that Jessica and JD would team up and solidify their bond. JD had been working on the development of Shotgun Shocks for a number of years, but with Jessica’s support, the duo have turned the family business into the premiere air suspension manufacturer for Harley Davidson Softtail and Bagger motorcycles.
Jessica didn’t start with the firm understanding of the products. She took it upon herself to familiarize herself with the technology and really learning the ropes behind all aspects of the business.
When I first started going to shows (with Shotgun Shock), I would just talk to people and show them the buttons and demo unit. For technical stuff, I would hand them over to JD, because I didn’t know all the other things that made up the shock, much less installation. But, I got in there and learned every little detail about them, and before long I could answer any of the questions.”
Fire.
Jessica now handles all aspects of the South El Monte, California business. She regularly attends shows, handles material procurement, installations, customer support and warranty administration as the ‘Go-To’ gal for Shotgun. The family business is her passion, and something that she is happy to involve her children and other family in, adding that they intend to always keep Shotgun family-owned, despite opportunities to go corporate with their rapid success.
It has been great to share with the kids and all of our family. My nephew is the CnC programmer, the kids are always around in all that we do- we fully intend to keep Shotgun a family owned and operated business, we never want to sell out.”
Customers have grown accustomed to interacting with Jessica at shows and in Shotgun’s social outreach, being the leading voice that offers support to customers worldwide. Yet still, when installation time comes around, Jessica enjoys seeing the look of surprise on customer faces when she rolls up on the garage creeper.
I love seeing the shock on their faces when I pull a jack out and start lifting their motorcycles for the install. The look of disbelief that I am the one completing the install really catches them off-guard. By the end though, they are all expressing how impressed and happy they are with the results.”
On average, installs can take about 3 hours to complete, ranging in complexity by the model and year of the bike. Jessica has performed hundreds of installs to date, and takes great pride in her work, adding that her record install was completed in under 45 minutes.
I’ve done hundreds of these, and have the process down. Some take longer than others, but my record is 41 minutes on a softtail. That turns some heads.”
The self-taught entrepreneur is proud of the success she shares with JD and Shotgun Shock. The experience has been especially meaningful personally to Jessica, given the hardships she endured early in life. Overcoming great adversity and instances of personal abuse, her story is a more personal one of perseverance and victory over her struggles. Her dedication to the company and her customers has been instrumental in the booming success, and she has no intention of slowing down.
We can’t wait to see what the future holds for hard-working Jessica Kennedy and Shotgun Shocks!
Much like her other siblings, Sondra would spend her teenage years at NMRA events across the country, helping and learning from her brother. Before she was even old enough to drive, Sondra knew that she wanted to race herself. She was dedicated to learning everything it took to be successful- from the upkeep and mechanical aspect, to the responsibilities of being a team owner and driver.
At the end of her sophomore season, Sondra had the urge to move away from the index racing format of Super Stang and into a heads-up category. With so much family experience in the Factory Stock class, she felt it would be a fitting match. Together with her team and family’s input, the car was completely rebuilt for the 2012 season meeting the Factory Stock rule requirements.
For Sondra, continuing the family tradition of drag racing has been a rewarding adventure she cherishes with her family. Not only has she added another branch to the Leslie family racing tree, but she also gets the pleasure of teaching the next generation of racer the ropes, involving her two nieces as much as possible at the racetrack.
Pritchett enters the event after recording the quickest elapsed time of her 18-year racing career with a sensational 3.736-second clocking at Englishtown. This is on the heels of advancing to her first Top Fuel final round at Atlanta Dragway last month.
