Jay: Firstly Pam, thanks for the time to do this interview. Let's begin with an obvious question, why?

Pam: Well, there's a group of us women that hang around together at the races that I called the Wenches with Wrenches. I was doing some drag race writing (site) and would always end up spending an inordinate amount of time in the pits with the Wenches terrorizing all the drag race teams. After sitting on my butt watching the show, saying "Jeez, WE could do that." I called up the girls, got them lined up to do it, then called up JYW and said, "I've got an all-female team" and they said, "Come on down!"

J: I thought you were on Junkyard Wars, not The Price is Right! Anyway, how did your family react when they found out you'd be on the show?

P: My husband was "Yeah! You go, girl!" He's never surprised by anything I cook up. My family too. At this point they probably are just thrilled that I'm not doing something that will permanently disfigure me. My life is an ongoing "I Love Lucy" episode - the only difference being that the no-talent heroine actually *does* get to star at the Tropicana and her husband is laughing and saying, "I'm not surprised!"

J: I think that's a good thing (laughs). So, you're there, you're welding and cutting and whatnot...whas it more difficult than you thought it would be?

P: Well, difficult is in the muscles of the beholder - the build day was exhausting! I came back to the hotel completely and utterly spent! All of us were. And the next day I saw that I had so many bruises on my legs I looked like a leopard. I'll bet if you ask the guys that they'll say "ahh.. it was a piece of cake." But they're LYING!

I'd made the foolish mistake that probably everyone makes when they're watching the show of saying to myself, "Why didn't the team do *that*? Duh! *I* could do better than that!" So, to all of the armchair quarterbacks out there who think it's a piece of cake, I'm here to tell you it's not! We had an amazing amount of fun, but afterwards I called my husband and said, "I feel like I just gave birth to my third kid!"

As far as the actual mental difficulty, our team worked really, really well together, so that part was easy. The only part that was stressful was not finding the parts that we needed and the actual RACE. I was amped for that! I feel like my big moment of glory was running with that 40 pound suitcase and making it to the first set-up point so far ahead of the Custom Cruisers. I was running on pure adrenaline!

J: What about that team and expert? Did they measure up?

P: Hans was so great! Just the best! He was smart, fun, funny - we had a great time with him. He was an honorary Wench from the first minute we met him. He fit right into our girl gang! Like I said before, we all worked really well together. It was as if we'd known him for years!

J: That's good to hear. Sometimes there are personality clashes which can make it painful to watch. Now, I assume you got to see what the other team had built at the end of the day. Was that confidence inspiring or ego-deflating?

P: When I saw their chainsaw motors, I thought, "They're done for!" I really thought we had the better design, it was just in the execution, the makeshift parts that we had to work with...but after all, the show *is* called "Junkyard Wars" not "Hardware Store Wars," isn't it?

J: Maybe they can get a Loew's sponsorship or something? You talk about the design and execution...where did your design fail, in your opinion?

P: We didn't have the wheels that we needed - there was no matched pair of wheels that were made out of metal.We found plenty of single wheels and plenty of pairs that were the wrong size. We had to settle for plastic wheels, and they just couldn't support the weight of four people and the vehicle. Other than that, we had an awesome car. But for want of a wheel, the battle was lost. All it takes is one part to fail and you're done, right?

J: Exactly. Now, part way through the race, it was obvious to everyone that neither design was going to work. The judge ran out and made a rule change from motors to people-power. Were you happy with that desicion?

P: The judge's decision to change the rules was really made on the fly. One of the things I don't think he put into consideration was the fact that he said that we had to maintain the same position that we had when we were motorized. That gave the Custom Cruisers the obvious advantage.They had four sets of feet and hands to move themselves and full freedom of movement for their arms. We had my one leg pushing like a skateboard. Have you ever tried to push a 600+ pound skateboard? It ain't easy! In fact, I don't think it's possible. If we had known that propelling ourselves manually was a possible outcome, we would have changed the design or, at the very least, had everyone sitting backwards so that we could push with our feet. If we had been able to all stand up and push like a skateboard, we could have at the very least given them a good run for the money. And if we had the right front wheels, we could have gone the entire course motorized. So, was I satisfied with the judge's decision to change the rules? No, but my team lost, so of course I'm not!

J: Perhaps you and the judge could have it out on Pay-Per-View or something. OK, you've taped the show and the race. How did your family react after it was all said and done?

P: We had a big party at a sushi bar to watch the show and everyone had a great time. Everyone's reaction was "You were on the screen too much! It was the Pammy show!" And I was like, "Well, what did you expect?"

J: You *ARE* the captain, right? I mean, hello! One thing I gotta ask...is Geri really a wrestler?

P: She's in the "farm team" for the WWE. I'm not sure what they call it, but it's like the minor leagues working your way up to the majors in baseball. Her wrestling name is Jamie James and she plays some guy's manager.

J: OK, thanks for comfirming that. Sometimes those Hollywood types like to embellish a little bit. One final question, the regulars can say it woth me, would you do it all over again?

P: Absolutely! In a minute! I had so much fun! Such a good time. But if I had to do it all over again, I'd bring my own wheels!