With the retirement of Monica Palumbo, Sprint needed to find a new Miss Sprint Cup to join returning beauties Kim Coon and Jaclyn Roney.

To do so, Sprint turned to the West Coast and found a blonde action sports enthusiast named Kristen Beat.

So who is Kristen Beat?





A Southern California native, Beat has reported on several forms of action sports – including as an on-air talent for Fuel TV. She has covered the X Games and worked with AMA Motocross and Supercross.

She's also a self-described "adrenaline junkie" who hails from the same hometown as five-time NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, Calif.).

"I love nothing more than to be able to spend the day outdoors," she said. "I love wakeboarding, I love surfboarding, I love skateboarding, and every year I feel like I'm picking up another sport and trying something new. This past year, I tried wakesurfing. I'm always interested in something that's new and involves adrenaline."

During Beat's introduction at the 2012 NASCAR Preview on Saturday, video screens showed pictures of her as a young girl wearing a firesuit and riding a dirt bike.

It seems motorsports has always been one of her loves.

"I always wanted to be a part of NASCAR and be a part of racing," she said. "My family grew up racing. To me, making that transition from action sports back to NASCAR feels like coming home because NASCAR is such a family-oriented sport."

Beat will join Coon and Roney, who enter their second seasons as a Miss Sprint Cup.

Coon, the former Bachelor contestant and Carolina Panthers cheerleader, said she always planned on returning for a second season.

"I was looking forward to coming back and was lucky enough to get asked back again," she said. "So I feel blessed to be back here."

Roney, who replaced Paige Duke in the middle of last season, said she was excited to not have her "rookie stripe" anymore ("Kristen's got that now," she said).

"We're just looking forward to this year," Roney said. "It's going to be different in NASCAR with Tony taking over Jimmie's spot. With all the changes that happened last year – all the first time winners – this year is going to be that much more interesting and cool."