Celebrating, promoting and supporting women in motorsports and Moto Enthusiasts

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Win $150 Gift Certificate from Mishimoto

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We have another great giveaway for our readers!

This one comes from mishimoto.com, a great company that makes all kinds of cool products from replacement/aluminum racing radiators, intercoolers, silcone hoses, thermostats and other cooling system products for a wide variety of makes and model vehicles.

Thanks to MishiMoto, you can win a gift certificate for $150 towards any purchase on their website!

Here’s what you need to do to enter:

  1. Let’s be Facebook Friends!
    Like MishiMoto on Facebook, and be sure to Like Horsepower & Heels while you’re there too!
  2. Tweet That!
    Follow @GoMishiMoto and don’t forget @HorsepowerHeels too! Retweet the contest details for extra credit!
  3. Comment Here.
    Head over and check out the MishiMoto.com site (go ahead, we’re waiting…) and comment here with what catches your eye if that $150 gift certificate was yours.
  4. You’ve got MAIL.
    Be sure to sign up for the MishiMoto newsletter for extra credit!

Contest will end at 11:59PM on Sunday, December 11th.   Winner will be chosen at random from entries. 

Racing support to our Military

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Race support for our military
Race Support: Keeping them up to speed while serving overseas.

Lee McKinney, an old racing pal of mine, recently sent me an email about his current tour in Kabul, Afghanistan.   Lee has been a huge supporter of our military by organizing special “racing” support packages for those currently serving away from home.   He has been deployed to Baghdad and Bagram in the past, sending hundreds of special racing teams and sports memorabilia goodies that racers have donated to the support program in the past.

I’ve always tried to show my appreciation to our military by participating in these type of programs, like eMoM’s Holiday Love program in 2007, and again in 2008.   Helping Lee with this program means I get the added plus of getting some racing love to the guys along with my gratitude now too!

One of my closest friends just returned from Kabul after about 8 months, exactly where Lee is now, so this is even more personal to me.  I’ll be sending a few Horsepower & Heels T-shirts and stickers over, and would love to hear back from a few representing H&H in Kabul!

Racing companies and teams have contributed over 550 boxes of support to the program.  Past supporters include:  John Force Racing, Don Schumacher Racing, Mike Ashley, Danny Rowe, Kalitta Racing, Lucas Oil, Alan Johnson Racing, Moroso Motorsports Park, Atlanta Speedway/Dragway, Aronson Racing, Parise Racing, Hoosier Motorsports, Oakley/WileyX, Simpson Racing, Mechanix Wear, JEGS, O’Reillys, Advance Auto, NAPA Auto Parts, Penske Racing, Pete Berner Racing with Summit Racing and many, many more.

If you’d like to add your support, packages can be sent to:

Lee McKinney
USFORA NKC/J3
FP ATO Level 2 programs
APO AE 09356

DSN:449-0304

On Two Wheels

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Erica's new motorcycle

Picked up my new toy this weekend for the Horsepower & Heels garage.

On two wheels and ready to ride

Because my entire family rides, I’ve been wanting a Harley Davidson for as long as I can remember.   My fiance Alex picked me up a mint 1972 Honda CB450 awhile back, but the charging systems on those aren’t too reliable, so I wasn’t able to ride it as much as I would have liked.   Plus, since he’s a master technician at Rocket Harley Davidson, it made a whole lot more sense for me to have a Harley.

So he’s been on the look out for a bike I’d like, and sure enough one came through I couldn’t pass up.   Its a 2001 Sportster 883, but with the 1200cc conversion.  Plenty fast, and the bike is just gorgeous!

We’ve already got a few upgrades picked out.    Changing the headlight, turn signals to the new LED style, and a new seat.   But overall, this bike is exactly what I wanted and looks great in the Horsepower & Heels stable.

Now off to find some custom Horsepower & Heels leathers for the winter rides!

Winner of the Empire Covers Contest

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Empire CoversCongrats to Tim Woods on winning the EmpireCovers.com custom car cover contest!

Tim will get the Empire Cover for his Chevrolet Silverado SS pickup !    Be sure to send us some pics of your new cover, Tim!

If you didn’t win, you can still get a cover for your vehicle over at Empire Covers.

Big thanks to them for this great contest, and keep a lookout for more contests coming!

Back in the Automotive Industry

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Its official, I’ve joined the Blue Oval Family Full-Time!

Woody Anderson FordUp until now, most of my working career has been based in the Marketing Communications/ Public Relations realm.   After I left Lugo Performance back in 2004, I had been working to pay the bills outside of the automotive industry.

My first  love and goal had always been in trying to be a full-time racer.   But my strengths in Public Relations and Marketing would also be a tremendous asset for a team PR position, something I could never quite get my foot in the door at the right time to pursue.

Last year, I decided I would try a different approach.  I decided to take a part time job at Advance Auto just to be around the automotive world again.   Although it didn’t do much in the “paying the bills” department, I really enjoyed the work and realized that my heart is really in the automotive industry.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the work I did as the Communications Director for the library (my current position).   PR is something I’m really good at, and I really enjoy doing that work too.  But when you’re a gearhead like me, the chance to get back in the automotive industry just is too hard to pass up.

Next week, I’ll start my new position as a Service Adviser at Woody Anderson Ford.   I’m really excited for this opportunity, and Woody Anderson is one of the largest dealerships in my area with a rich and exciting history.

I’m hoping this is just the start of an excellent and full career.   Who knows where it will lead me, and I can’t wait to find out!

It also can’t hurt to be around all those GT500, Roush and SMS Mustangs, either.  Just sayin’.

Win an Empire Car Cover!

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We’re glad to be back, and helping to kick off the relaunch of the new Horsepower & Heels Website is Empire Covers!

EmpireCovers.com specializes in both affordable high quality car covers and truck covers, and Horsepower & Heels has been given the opportunity to test out their Titan Car Cover on a 2005 Mustang GT.

The best part, Empire Covers wants to give all of you a chance to win your own cover too!

Empire Covers

Here’s what you can do to boost your chances to win:

  1. Let’s be Facebook friends.
    Like Empire Covers on Facebook!   [+2] And while you’re there, be sure to Like Horsepower & Heels too! [+1]
  2. Tweet That.
    Follow @Empire_Covers [+2] and @HorsepowerHeels [+1]
    Retweet the contest posts on either to your followers [+1]
  3. Blog this contest.
    Talk about this contest to readers on your own blog with a link back to this post!  [+5]
  4. Subscribe.
    Subscribe to the Horsepower & Heels RSS Feed [+3] or the Horsepower & Heels e-newsletter (in the sidebar) [+4]
  5. Comment here.
    Comment below with your name, vehicle (year/make/model)  and which cover you like from the Empire Cover Website.
Contest will end at 11:59PM on October 6.   Winner will be chosen at random from entries.

Have helmet, will travel

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Erica in a FiresuitAs is the case in the drag racing world, you always have to stay prepared.

Have helmet, will travel.

I received a phone call of a possible driving opportunity that may be coming in the near future, but since it’s been a few years, my NHRA Advanced ET Competition license has expired and I will need to complete the licensing procedure all over again.

That means I need to find a car capable of running 7.50 or faster, and complete my 6 runs (one half pass, 3 moderate runs, and 2 full passes faster that 7.49).

That wouldn’t be a big deal normally, except that my own car isn’t running at the moment, and I can’t afford a trip to a place like Frank Hawley’s just to get the license again.

So, I’ve put out a call to all my racing friends to see if someone would be willing to let me make a few passes to get my license again.  I can’t offer any cash right now to “rent” their car, but I can provide great crew slave labor and awesome PR help for their team!

So far a few people are checking for me, fingers crossed I find someone so I can get this key roadblock out of the way.  If you know of anyone or have a car you’d let me shoe, please send me a message!

I’ve got some ‘splainin to do

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For someone who has always been described as a “driven” individual, I really have some explaining to do on my absence from all things Horsepower & Heels the last few years.

Believe me, its not from lack of missing the sport of drag racing, and all things Horsepower & Heels that took me the better part of 8 years to create.   But, life happened.

When I finished my rookie season in Pro (2006), I was on top of the world and felt that I had momentum to carry me through all the dreams I had been working so hard to make reality.   I had made in-roads towards Top Fuel, had secured funding for an upgraded body for my pro chassis, and had upgraded some critical engine parts for the following season.

But then I learned that the business of drag racing was a bit more cut throat than I had imagined.  I made some costly mistakes.  I trusted people who led me the wrong direction.  And ultimately, I suffered in this economy with the rest of America.

For the first time in my racing career, I felt defeated.  Jaded almost, from all the roadblocks and hardships and dishonesty I encountered.    I let this negativity penetrate, and it resulted into several years away from the sport I love so much.

The website hadn’t been updated since 2009, I felt that it was the starting point for a reignite.  But working two jobs to stay afloat meant there wasn’t much time to devote, and wanting something completely different meant I had to learn from the beginning.

I listened to my friends and fans ask me over and over:  “Where are you?”   “When was the car going to be done?”   “Are you racing?”  It should have fueled my desire to push forward as it always had, but instead, a small part of me died each time.

Every once in awhile during these jaded years, someone would call with a promising development.   Every time it seemed it was a dead end.   The effort and the money I spent chasing these dead ends started to add up.    Pretty soon, I was so jaded that I stopped even trying to validate these leads.     I had let the agonizing chase beat me.

I saw other ladies out there struggling too.   I friended some, thinking if I couldn’t help myself then at least I could help them not make the same mistakes.   I have always believed in Women in Motorsports.

But the truth that was always there during these years away from the sport:   I love drag racing, and everything I do to fill this gaping hole in my heart stops miserably short.   I wasn’t happy.  I knew I missed this community, this family, and everything that racing means beyond the finish line.   I knew that giving it up was something I let others dissuade me into believing was my only option.   But its not.

So I’m giving it a Round 2.   It may never be the dreams I had at 25, but I can find balance and with supportive family and friends, I will return!

9/11 Attacks | Ten years later

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Today is the 10th Anniversary of the attacks on our nation.   Its a day we will never forget, and the only day that my generation has ever truly felt that terror of war brought to our homefront.

As most all Americans, I will never forget that day and the feelings of shock and disbelief I had when I learned of the attacks.

9/11 Attacks – 10th Anniversary

I was just arriving at the shop (Lugo Performance), and was online working on the website when I saw something hit AOL news about the attacks.   I immediately turned on the radio to listen in as each station broke in reporting the latest in the terrifying events.   Just minutes later, I could hear the agony as the world watched the second tower hit.   It was a scary and helpless feeling.

I didn’t know anyone in Manhattan, I didn’t know anyone in DC, but tragedies of this magnitude immediately make you recheck your own life.  I called my family, I called my best friend Heather in California and woke her with the news.   We all sat glued to the televisions.   Tears flew down my face as I watched the towers collapse.    4 different planned, malicious attacks on our soil.    It was unfathomable.

Florida, was eerily quiet that day.  No planes in the sky.   No one running around.  Everyone was glued to the TV, the radio listening and watching with horror.   It was though those attacks had stopped the world from spinning in this country.   I wanted so bad to jump in a car and head for NY.  I wanted to help dig those poor people out.  I wanted to do SOMETHING.  ANYTHING.

I remember the address that President Bush gave late that evening.

“Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts…

…These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation.”

If anything good came out of that day, it was that at least for a brief time, we all were one.  One nation.  Under God.  Indivisible.   We were a proud and patriotic country that day and for the months after that we united to fight back.  To not be afraid.   To honor those we lost.   There was no political agenda.  No conspiracy.   I felt as though I was experiencing the patriotic dedication of our forefathers, that I always imagined life was like during the Allied battles of WWI and WWII.   Where we all came together to help our fellow countrymen, where bravery was honored and respected.

Of course, that faded with the settling dust, but at least I was able to experience that patriotism in my lifetime.   If nothing else on today’s 10th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks,  I want to be sure that I remember the brave souls that fought on the front lines that day- NYPD/NY Fire/Rescue, Pentagon, and all those who took this fight off our soil and continue to defend us today.

We will never forget.

Welcome Back!

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Horsepower & Heels logoWelcome back!

Its been a long time coming, but we’re happy to debut our newly redesigned Horsepower & Heels website, as part of what we’re calling our big  COMEBACK!

That’s right, Horsepower & Heels is finally back with renewed fire and purpose, and ready to get back out on the track where we belong!

After the economic downturn stalled efforts with sponsorship, Erica Ortiz and the team were forced to park their racing efforts to focus energy on home and career.   But the passion and drive never died, and now Horsepower & Heels Racing is BACK, with renewed fire and more tricks up our sleeves!

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to visit often and see what we have in store for our faithful fans!