Ice Road Truckers Lisa Kelly photos, returns for Season 7

Most of the time when a television show is on thin ice it’s a bad thing, but for History’s Ice Road Truckers, which features truck drivers traversing the treacherous frozen roadways (and off-roadways) of Alaska, the formula has been a huge success. The popular reality series returns for a seventh season on Sunday, June 9 at 10/9c, and fans will be happy to see a familiar face return — a very pretty familiar face! That’s right, fan favorite Lisa Kelly will be returning after taking a year off!

Lisa took to Facebook to share her excitement with fans:

Premiere of IRT Season 7 in the US next Sunday! Excited? I am. It was great shooting the show this year and the support from all of you in regard to my return has been very special. Thank you so much. Team LK is back!

According to her updated bio on History’s IRT website, “Lisa is back to settle the score by joining Polar and trying to take [Hugh] down on the Winter Roads.

Lisa Kelly is the perpetual underdog who always seems to pull through. Lisa lives by one rule: challenge herself to be the best she can be in this male-dominated field. Starting out as a rookie driver just a few years ago, it was her steely determination to never quit that propelled her to become one of Alaska’s premier heavy haulers and conquer some of the deadliest roads in the world. No matter how much she has accomplished, however, she has never earned Hugh’s respect. Over the years, that animosity grew into a feud that exploded on South America’s Death Road. After years of putting up with Hugh’s insults, Lisa is back to settle the score by joining Polar and trying to take him down on the Winter Roads.

So why did Lisa Kelly take a year off from Ice Road Truckers? Zap2it’s Kate O’Hare asked show creator Thom Beers that very question back when it was still uncertain if she was coming back. “We offered her a contract to return,” Beers told O’Hare in June of 2012, “and she chose not to. That’s it. We invited her back. Love to have her. She’s taking a year off, realizing that she might not be able to get another show. But she’s an interesting woman. We liked her.

“The thing what we liked about her more than anyone else — she’s the one person of them all that showed real fear.

“I wish her luck, and I wish she was back.”

Thom Beers — and many others — seemed to have gotten their wish for Season 7!

Here’s a profile video just in case you’re new to Ice Road Truckers, or need a refresher course, or else just wanna watch Lisa.

I’m a huge Lisa fan, but not just because I’m a dude and Lisa is trucking hot — although I won’t try to deny that’s part of it. She’s genuinely adventurous with a resume that includes not only being an Ice Road Trucker (and Deadliest Roads trucker) but also a state freestyle motocross champion, skydiver, hang glider and avid horse enthusiast. Actually, I might should broaden that last one to “avid Equus enthusiast” so as to include them stripey horsies too:

There’s just something about a strong, independent woman that thaws out my inner Alaska, if you know what I mean. 🙂 And did I mention she adopted a stray puppy while on the road?

I’m so excited to see Lisa back on the show and showin’ all the gals out there that it’s not a man’s world out there — even on the deadly roads of Alaska or India or Bolivia!

If you want to keep up with Lisa Kelly between episodes and between seasons, here are some links to her website and social media accounts:

Lisa Kelly’s website: www.thelisakelly.com
Lisa Kelly’s Twitter: @LisaKellyIRT
Lisa Kelly’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/lisakellyIRT

In case you missed it, here’s the full press release from History announcing the new season:

HISTORY® ANNOUNCES NEW SEASON OF ICE ROAD TRUCKERS PREMIERING SUNDAY, JUNE 9 AT 10PM ET/PT

NEW SEASON FEATURES ICE COLD RIVALRIES AND THE RETURN OF LISA KELLY

New York, NY – May 20, 2013 – The original hit series ICE ROAD TRUCKERS returns to battle more than just treacherous roads in an all new season premiering, Sunday, June 9 at 10PM ET/PT on HISTORY®. This season, old rivalries hit an all-time high as two different companies with legendary truckers go head-to-head and try to put each other out of business. Also, after a year on hiatus, the queen of the road, Lisa Kelly, returns and chooses a side.

The battle lines are drawn in Manitoba, Canada. Hugh “Polar Bear” Rowland returns after quitting his previous job at Polar Industries and sets up his own shop right down the street. Bound and determined to reclaim his crown as “King of the Road,” he poaches Polar’s dispatcher, intent on landing as many loads as he can to force his old company into submission. Hugh rounds up the toughest truckers he can find and together with these new faces, they hit the winter roads. However, Polar Industries and owner Mark Kohaykewych aren’t about to take this challenge lying down. To counter this threat on their turf, they enlist some of Hugh’s biggest rivals. Ice road legend Alex Debogorski signs on to Polar, anxious for the opportunity to wipe out Hugh’s company before it gets a chance to bloom. After a year hiatus, Alaskan trucking icon Lisa Kelly signs up with Polar as well, looking to conquer the new terrain of the winter roads just like she did on Alaska’s Dalton Highway. Montana Legend Darrell Ward joins the crew at Polar as well, finally getting the chance to drive the deadly ice crossings of Canada.

Throughout the season, the rivalry between the companies reaches a fever pitch as every load delivered means money out of the other team’s pocket. No assignment is off limits, no road is too dangerous and no ice crossing is too thin in this battle for winter roads supremacy.

This season also chronicles an eccentric mechanic way up north who dances to the beat of a completely different drummer. Joey Barnes, nicknamed “The King of Obsolete,” fills his yard with trucks from the 1930’s through the 1970’s. Many of the vehicles are rarities, some he’s re-engineered into his own unique pieces of equipment. And he’s taken it upon himself to use his fleet of trucks to rescue those stuck in the most remote corners of Manitoba.

ICE ROAD TRUCKERS is a classic story of adventure, perseverance, human ingenuity and most importantly, danger. One miscalculation of the road, bad weather or an unseen road hazard can be the difference between life and death. Even the most seasoned drivers will find themselves challenged by the conditions, isolation and lack of creature comforts on the most dangerous roads in North America. Although technology has changed how people deal with the conditions of the Arctic Circle, the people of the region cling to their deep roots and traditions of which ice road trucking has been an integral part for many generations.

ICE ROAD TRUCKERS is produced for HISTORY by Original Productions, a FremantleMedia Company. Executive Producers for Original Productions are Thom Beers, Philip D. Segal and Jeff Conroy. Jeff Meredith produces the series. Executive Producer for HISTORY is Matt Ginsburg.

And how about wrapping things up with a tour of Lisa’s truck?