SPEED

Much like her racing career, the business remains a family affair. Her father-in-law, Konstantinos “Kosta” Limberios, retains ownership of the Hermantown branch, and her brother-in-law, Apostolos Limberios, owns the west Duluth location.

Limberios, 28, has greatly enjoyed marrying into a lively Greek family. In addition to all that delicious food, “there is a lot of music and dancing,” she noted with a laugh.

Early introduction to racing

Limberios’ father, Tom Treviranus, has long been involved in racing on the local circuit. She realized at an early age that she, too, enjoyed not only the adrenaline of racing, but building engines and working on cars, as well.

“My dad taught me about racing and the mechanicals, and we worked in the garage every day of my childhood,” she said.

Limberios also found a helpful mentor in the form of Kevin Talbot, a Proctor resident who took several young people under his wing to teach them about cars and racing.

“Kevin was into the mechanics of drag racing. He taught me how to build and work on cars, and how to build an engine,” she said.

Despite living in rural Hawthorne, Wisconsin, Limberios made the long drive to Proctor two nights per week throughout high school, in order to learn more about cars.

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Career trajectory

After graduating from Northwestern High School, Limberios attended Northwood Technical College (formerly Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College), where she earned her certified nursing assistant license. She worked in the medical field for seven years until her son, Konstantinos (“Little Kosta”) was born, three years ago. After that, she made the professional transition to working in the family’s restaurant business.

In addition to running the Superior restaurant, Jessie and Angelos operate a Kosta’s mobile food truck, too. And, they enjoy using it to give back.

“Every year, we bring the gyro stand down to Viola, Wisconsin, to sell gyros during hunting season opener,” Limberios said. “The money is donated to a program called Shop with a Cop, where cops take low-income kids shopping. This will be our fifth year doing that, but Kosta has been doing it much longer.”

Racing

While she has been involved in racing her entire life, this is Limberios’ very first season as a race car driver herself. As noted, she races in the pure stock class, and is currently the only woman doing so in Superior.

She explained a bit about her race car.

“My car has a Monte Carlo body, and the engine is a 305,” she said. “It looks like a normal street car from the ’80s.”

Logos for her sponsors, which include Kosta's Gyros, Mikrot Logging (owned by her brother-in-law), and Trev-Trev Trucking (her parents’ business), are prominently displayed on her car.

Limberios’ family remains deeply involved in the racing community, too. Her father, brothers and uncle are fellow race car drivers. And her mom, Christine Treviranus, comes to the track every Friday night to keep an eye on little Kosta while his mom is occupied.

“Even if I come in dead last, it’s fun,” she said. “I enjoy the family time — in the pits, hanging out.”

Limberios regularly maintains her race car herself, with a bit of help.

“I can pull a tranny out. I can pull pistons out. I’m a good laborer, but I’m not necessarily the brains of the operation,” she added with a laugh. “There are a couple things I may not know how to do. My dad will tell me what to do, and then I have to do it. I get no special treatment because I am a girl. Along with my dad, another good family friend, Matt Budnick, helps me out a lot.”

Goals

At this point, Limberios isn’t focused on setting any records on the race track. She enjoys racing in order to learn, spend time with her family, and have fun. But she did mention one particular goal. “My only goal this year is to beat my brother, Danny,” she said with a laugh.

When she isn’t working or at the track, Limberios enjoys the simple life.

“I would say I live a pretty boring life,” she said. “I’m either working on my race car, my house, or the business. I just want to have a simple, happy life. Family is very important to me, and we have a very tight-knit family. If I died tomorrow, I’d be very pleased with my life.”

Advice

Limberios has some useful advice for other women looking to enter the world of racing, and it all starts with listening and observing.

"I would say get in and get your hands dirty," she said. "Even if you don't have a mentor yet, just hang out at the garage or racetrack. There is always something to learn." D

Andrea Busche is a Duluth freelance writer.