In the frigid cold corner of northeast Wyoming, in the town of Gillette, lives a down-to-earth strong-headed woman with an amazing 2019 F250 6.7L Power Stroke diesel. Kara Story is a devoted wife and mother with a passion for turning wrenches. And she has had plenty of opportunities for doing just that with all the custom work she herself has done to her truck. And with her objective and practical mindset, she knows diesel is the way to go.

“Honestly, sometimes when I want to have some power and quit messing around, that’s why I have a diesel. Gas is fun. Gas is reliable. But there’s just something about driving that diesel that puts the power to the steering wheel for me,” Kara said.

Where It Began

Kara’s interest in diesel trucks began with her husband, Matt. Together, they run their own ecommerce business, Blessed Performance, where they specialize in diesel trucks and enhancing their performance, whether the truck is a daily driver, tow rig, or even a race rig. Their business is all about peak diesel performance, as well as ingenuity as they offer custom modifications. And from there, Kara’s curiosity was piqued.

“I just wanted to be involved in what he was doing, become more knowledgeable, know how to change my own tire if I need to and whatnot,” Kara said when asked how she got into diesels.

Though her husband has led her into the world of custom work, she has done all of the custom work for the truck herself, and she plans to install two turbos on her truck at some point. However, the 6.7L isn’t her first diesel.

“I originally started on a 7.3L Power Stroke and that’s how I got involved with diesels, went into a 6 liters—love my 6 liters—and knew I wanted something that had more of a slim design than your average ‘03 to ‘07 body style. I wanted something that was slick and beautiful, but also something that could preach for itself,” Kara said, describing how she ultimately chose her 6.7L Power Stroke.

Daily Driver’s Daily Use

“It’s a beautiful grocery getter and great in the snow, but it’s just my everyday truck.”

Kara is a realistic country woman. Especially living in northern Wyoming, she knows that she needs a reliable truck that can handle any and all of the rugged state’s harsh conditions, which is why she looked to upgrading what was under her hood rather than just slapping on a new coat of paint or giving it a fancy wrap.

“It really comes down to the reliability. I just wanted to have a little bit more power under the hood. Everything outside is all cosmetic, but what I really need is something that is going to take me from point A to point B at any time,” Kara said.

Because she’s in Wyoming, you might think her truck is a work or ranch truck, but this is just Kara’s normal street-use daily driver. And don’t worry, the typical everyday harsh weather conditions of Wyoming are more than enough reason to both want and need a souped-up diesel truck such as this.

“I’ll tow my boat in the summer. I’ll tow my camper if I need to. So I know it can do the work when I need it to. But for the most part, it’s getting all the kids in and going to have a good day at the park and normal recreational use.”

And in the Wyoming winter?

“In the snow, it’s rare that I get stuck. I’m usually the one pulling everyone else out,” Kara emphasized.

Though she really focuses on the reliability, that doesn’t mean Kara disregards the actual look of her truck. She does in fact love minor cosmetics, and her truck is gorgeous as it currently sits. With the slick white, having a little bit of a sparkle somewhat matching her personality, this F250 really is the ice crystal of Wyoming’s one and only Frostbite Queen. But despite her personal taste for a sleek and clean design, she’s not that big a fan of decking out her diesel with a bunch of lights.

“So, I originally wanted to have rock lights, but to be honest, I didn’t really want the spaceship look for my truck.”

Her Special Touch

As her truck currently sits, she has modded it by slapping on some Bodyguard front and rear bumpers, putting a Pusher S475 compound kit and a Pusher piping kit under the hood, giving it a bit more height with an Any Level lift, rotating on some new Forgiato Terra 35xr14 26-inch wheels, and brightening it up with some wheel lights and just a few rock lights as well as a starlight in the cab. And of course she had to add her own home brand’s signature with a custom Blessed Performance lit logo grille.

Just A Woman With A Truck

For Kara, owning a diesel truck and doing the custom work herself makes her feel like she’s part of something bigger. The diesel community is huge, and there is always something new to learn. Doing her custom work means she gets to be in the shop learning from the best, which is her husband. She doesn’t necessarily like to think of herself as someone who should stand out just because she’s a woman who does her own mechanical work on her diesel. For Kara, she’s just doing what she finds enjoyable. But when asked what it means for her to be a woman who works on her own truck, she gave what is possibly one of the greatest answers ever given on the subject: “I want to be a part of peeling away the stereotype,” Kara said.

What’s Next?

“The only thing that I’m going to change cosmetically is I’m going to color-match the mirrors to try and get away from that chrome-split and get into the black that most of these trucks already have. And we are going to mix more of the chestnut orange color that matches the interior, and that’s what most of the colors are going to be under the truck and under the hood.”

What comes next is yet to be determined but we’ll just have to wait and see what Kara decides is best for her truck.