On the track with the new Miss Coors Light

Climbing the flag stand at Daytona for her first race working for Coors Light, Amanda Mertz realized how good she had it.

“I just remember climbing my first flag stand at Daytona, and just was like, Is this a real job? I mean, it’s a dream job, it really is, especially if you’re a fan of NASCAR,” said Mertz, who has one of the cooler job titles out there, Miss Coors Light.

On the eve of the big racing weekend at Richmond International Raceway, Mertz, the 2012 Miss Kentucky, will be making her debut as Miss Coors Light, which will have her busy on Friday waving the flags for qualifying and giving out the Coors Light Pole Award, and the rest of the time conducting interviews with drivers and crew members.

“That’s the cool part about the job. I kind of get to be the insight for a NASCAR fan,” said Mertz, a Louisville native and lifelong NASCAR fan.

The last three years have been a whirlwind for Mertz, who was a registered nurse before winning the Miss Kentucky title. After her year as Miss Kentucky, she served as a correspondent for Got Country Online before surviving the four-month selection process to be the new Miss Coors Light, which included a competition among a group of finalists that was decided by a fan vote.

Mertz calls being the new Miss Coors Light a “dream job,” and hearing her talk NASCAR, you can tell this is something she has been gearing up for, so to speak, since childhood.

An avid sports fan who has season tickets to University of Louisville basketball and football, she brings a fan’s perspective to her interviews with drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and others.

Her own personal favorite growing up was Dale Jr., in part because her father was a huge Dale Sr. and Dale Jr. fan, but now that she has access to the whole roster, she’s having a hard time picking favorites.

“This is Jeff Gordon’s retirement year, and so I’d like to see him do well. Denny Hamlin will probably have a good weekend here. We’ll see. That’s a hard question, because I feel at the end of the season that it may change, just as I get to know everyone better,” Mertz said.

Her job has her on the front lines of interacting with NAACAR fans, which she loves to be able to do.

“That’s the best part about it. NASCAR has the best fans there are,” Mertz said. “When we’re out there, that’s what we’re doing. We’re just trying to get everyone excited about the race. We have appearances throughout the whole weekend, so you can come see me, get an autograph and drink a cold Coors Light.”

Mertz is truly living a dream.

“Every time I think something cool has happened, I just get something better,” she said. “I just pray and thank God for every blessing that He’s given me. I thought it would stop at Miss Kentucky, then I got a cool country music job, and then I just landed my dream job now as Miss Coors Light. It just keeps getting better.”

– Story by Chris Graham