Hugh Rowland Says Lisa Kelly Was Brought On Ice Road Truckers For The Ratings

If you ever think your job is tough, just imagine what it must be like to be one of those featured on History's "Ice Road Truckers." It's not for the faint of heart, as these motorists must maneuver long vehicles across frozen lakes and rivers, facing peril at almost every step of the journey. As such, it should come as no surprise that most of the truckers featured throughout the series are veterans in the industry with years of experience under their belt, like Hugh Rowland, who was featured on the series for many years.

Lisa Kelly also had a fair amount of experience trucking before being featured on the reality series, even saying on "The Late Show with David Letterman" how she worked as a trucker for years before joining the show. But some of her other truckers believed she was brought onto the show for another reason. In an interview, Rowland was asked about what he thought about Kelly, to which he responded, "Lisa brought a lot of ratings to the show; well, they're trying to make a trucker out of her. They're teaching her how to do heavy haul and do this and bringing her along. She'll be a pretty good little trucker when they're done with her."

Despite Kelly having ample experience in the field, Rowland just seems to think she was brought on for being a woman. 

The way Hugh Rowland talks about Lisa Kelly, one would think she didn't have any trucking experience before joining "Ice Road Truckers." However, that's clearly not the case. In the 2010 "David Letterman" episode, she said she had worked for Carlile Transportation for seven years, meaning she was well-versed with the rules of the road before becoming a cast member. 

Kelly does bring something different to the table. Anyone who's watched the show for any amount of time could tell you that most of the truckers featured are men. This was especially true in the first couple of seasons, with Kelly not joining the crew until Season 3. Rowland seems to think this was done so that guys like him would tune into the show to watch a pretty woman get featured prominently.

Rowland went on to talk about how he doesn't care all that much about how Kelly landed the gig, saying, "That's show business. I couldn't care less ... I carry on hauling my loads and making my money." As time has gone on, Kelly has proven she has what it takes to drive with the best of them. She was even brought on for the spin-off series, "Ice Road Truckers: Deadliest Roads." The first season saw her travel through treacherous roads in India, while Season 2 brought everyone to South America to drive through the toughest terrain in pairs. All those years of training have really paid off for Kelly in a big way.