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Season 2 kickoff with Ashley Force-Hood

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Ashley Force-Hood and Erica Ortiz

You may remember a few months ago (where the heck is time going lately!) that I had a chance to sit down with NHRA Nitro Funny Car driver Ashley Force-Hood for some gal chat to kick off Season 2 of Horsepower & Heels TV…

Its been a hectic few months, but the folks at PNN just finalized the episode. Though I wish we could have included all 20 minutes of great insight from Ashley on a wide variety of topics, PNN and I chose to give some insight to viewers from Ashley into the very unique side of being a woman at the races.

 

Hope you enjoy!

 

Sad day in history

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Today marks a very sad day in my racing world.

American Autosports, the longtime producer of the legendary Fun Ford Weekend Series and more recently Battle of the Brands, has just announced that due to current economic climate, they have ceased operations.
Fun Ford Weekend began in 1991 and spearheaded the Ford Drag Racing movement that gave so many of us a great competitive place to race. We watched PRO 5.0 grow from just a 10 second class into the low 6’s at over 200mph, Outlaw from true 10.5″ 9 and 8 second rides, into the high 6 second class on 10.5W’s that rivaled the Pro from just a few years back, and huge advancements in Renegade, Warrior, Drag Radial, and my favorite, True Street.
Fun Ford Weekend is where I cut my teeth drag racing, starting in the Street Bracket. From there, I moved into True Street, where I won my first race at Gainesville in 2002. With the addition of a drag radial class in 2003, I runnered-up in my first heads-up race, became the first woman in FFW to break the 8 second barrier on a drag radial, and runnered-up for my first championship. In 2006, I moved up to Pro 5.0, becoming the first and only woman to pilot a 6 second, 200 mph car in Fun Ford history. I runnered-up for the Pro 5.0 championship as well that year as a rookie in PRO 5.0. Fun Ford Weekend made me what I am today, and I’m eternally grateful for everything I learned all those years and all the people who made racing with FFW so much fun.

 

But, in additon to that, it created a home for a huge family of people, a tight group of the very best friends I will ever have. Unlike the stringent and regulated NHRA/IHRA events, Fun Ford events were filled with commraderie and fun, and some of the best times happened after the racing was finished for the day.
I’m sad that we no longer have FFW/Battle of the Brands to bring us together, and hope that all of my racing counterparts still continue on somewhere when this mess of an economy picks itself up and dusts off.
Thanks to Bill & Cheryl Alexander, Crystal, George and the rest of the FFW crew for a decade (and more) of priceless memories!

We will miss you!

April Fools Day can kiss my….

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Oh yes. April Fools Day…. the day you can be unnecessarily vicious and it be labeled “All in Good Fun”.

Being that my life is pretty much an open book (err… browser window, considering its all online anymore), its not hard to figure out what key things in life would get me pretty friggen excited.

  • A big sponsor to go racing
  • Hitting the lottery (to be able to go racing)
  • Getting a full time nitro professional driver’s gig (again, racing. See a trend here?)
  • A ride-along with the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds
  • and maybe a date with Bradley Cooper. (I’m still a single woman, folks. let a girl dream!)

So, my April 1st had gone off relatively calm-like. Work had me and my coworkers so busy that there wasn’t much foolery going around, and quite honestly, I forgot it was April 1st about mid-morning.

Around 5pm, just as I was leaving work, a unrecognized number popped up on my cell phone. The area code was 313, which I just happened to know was a Detriot area phone number. Puzzled, I answered.

The caller, an unrecognized male voice, was on the line:

Mr. 313: “Erica Ortiz?”
Me: “This is Erica.”

Mr. 313: “Hi Erica, this is Jim O’Reilly, I’m with the Motorsports Activation team for Ford. Did I catch you at a good time to chat?”
Me: “Certainly.”

(Casual greeting niceties exchanged.)

Mr. 313: “Erica, we’ve been monitoring your website and promotional efforts with Horsepower & Heels and would like to talk to you about becoming an Ambassador for Ford Racing.”
Me: (GASP) “Yes, yes sir.”

Mr. 313: “You’re currently racing a Mustang, is that correct?”
Me: “Well yes sir, I’m just finishing my racecar now. Its a 2007 Mustang Pro Mod. I’m hoping to debut it soon.”

Mr. 313: “Great! We’ve seen your posts on your website about your loyalty to Ford, and thought having such a charismatic ambassador representing us out there in motorsports and online would be a great partnership.”
Me: “Oh yes, I’m a die-hard Ford girl. My blood runs Ford Blue all the way. I’d be honored to be an Ambassador.”

Mr. 313: “Great. I understand you’re finishing your car now, what are your future plans both upcoming and long term?”
Me: “Well, my plan right now is to try and make some Pro Mod events close to home, and a few ADRL XTF events as well. Ultimately, I’m hoping to try and put together a package to be able to race professionally, as that is my aspiration.”

Mr. 313: (in reference to my recent interview) “I see you’ve interacted with our John Force Racing friends recently.”
Me: “Yes, I had a great time down in FL getting the chance to sit down with Ashley. She’s fantastic.”

Mr. 313: “We’d like to see you as successful right along with Ashley.”

At this point, I’m a little short on breath and feeling light-headed. I mean, first to have Ford calling, and them wanting me to be some sort of Ambassador??? I could hardly see straight.

Mr. 313 embarked on a whole long speech about how in today’s climate its really important to have people active out in the community and representing them, how mass advertising isn’t the answer anymore, and how Ford has taken a new stance of focusing on the grassroots levels and finding people to represent them. All seemed credible. Actually, down right knowledgable to be honest…. they were all key marketing initiatives that made sense to me.

He then explained that they felt I had a lot to offer in terms of my activity in the social networking communities, and how they felt my story would be a great testimonial for Ford. And then the kicker….. the what’s in it for YOU line.

So, in exchange for my twitterin’/ myspacin’/ facebookin’/ vloggin’/ bloggin’ awesomeness (yes, I’m everywhere), Mr. 313 tells me that they’d like to ensure that I was able to move up…. ultimately to Nitro Funny Car!

Now, as many times as I have had people dangle that dang carrot in front of my nose, you think I’d be leary of such a proposition (or HELLO, remember that its April 1st!), but the fact that this was FORD calling, and that he sounded so official-y, I went through the whole Roller Coaster of emotion again.

So this whole conversation went on for about another 5-10 minutes of him explaining how Ford was really backing their loyal motorsports fans and followers and that this meant putting good representatives in opportunities…. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.

And then, just as abruptly as can be….

Mr. 313: “Ummm….what? I’m sorry, Erica, can you hang on?”
(Background garble)
“What is today?? April 1st?”

Followed by a resounding CLICK.

FYI, Mr. Not-so-Funny April Fooler…. YOU SUCK!!!

Gainesville NHRA and Ashley Force-Hood

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Ashley Force and Erica Ortiz sit down and chat for Horsepower & Heels TV

Its been over a week since I got back from a great trip to the 40th Annual NHRA Gator Nationals, and I’m just catching up enough to sit down for an update.

What a great trip! The Gator Nationals have become a semi-traditional trip for me, being the first east coast race of the season, and my first chance to get away and “smell the nitro” for the year.
As usual, the trip kicks off at the Gainesville Ale House on Thursday night, with a chance to catch up to many of my racing friends and a few personal friends from home that come up for the weekend from Orlando.
But the highlight of this year’s trip was my opportunity on Friday morning to visit with Ashley Force courtesey of JFR PR pro Elon Werner. I met Elon through the new @JFR_Racing twitter campaign, and he invited me out to chat with Ashley in the pits. The JFR Twitter accounts allows fans to follow the instant team updates throughout the weekend to get a “behind the scenes” feel from the races in real-time.
(Check out my growing list of Drag Racing Twitter Accounts for other team updates)
Right now, Ashley is living the dream of a lot of us women racers in the PRO leagues of drag racing, being one of the few women competing this year in the NHRA. The advancement of women in racing is a passion of mine, so I was very eager to sit down with the top gal in our sport for some insight into what its like out there with the Big Boys. Ashley is in her third year as a professional Nitro Funny Car racer with her father’s premiere funny car team. She’s had incredible success as a racer, and is an inspiration to many.
Armed with my Horsepower & Heels TV Cam, I spent about 20 minutes with Ashley in her driver’s lounge chatting about what its been like for her as a woman out on the circuit and how she’s progressed through the ranks to reach professional status. PNN and I are now sorting through the editing, and we’ll be kicking off Season 2 of Horsepower & Heels TV with this insightful look at the leading lady in NHRA Nitro Funny Car.
Stay tuned for more coming soon!!!

2009 Gator Nationals

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The 2009 NHRA Gator Nationals are back in Gainesville, FL this weekend, and as is tradition now, I will be attending from Thursday-Sunday.
I’m even MORE excited to go this year, because I have a few exciting meetings lined-up during the course of the weekend, and a few surprises in store for Horsepower and Heels.com when I get back! I can’t mention anything yet, but believe me, its a *BIG* surprise!’
If you’ll be at the Gator’s, I invite you to stop by the Nitromater.com meet ups on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10am in front of the Nitro Mall. Or, come out to the Gainesville Ale House Thursday night for the traditional NHRA party.
Keep an eye on my Twitter updates for some real-time commentary on the race too!

Ortiz to Air on Houston’s 1560AM The Game

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1560AM the GameHuntsville, AL– Horsepower & Heels driver, Erica Ortiz, will be live on-air with the “Thunder Road” morning show this Sunday, March 1st on Houston, TX’s AM radio station 1560AM “The Game”.

The “Thunder Road” show is Houston’s ONLY place for all things motor sports and the best damn racing show around, featuring hosts Doug Johnson, a former Fun Ford Weekend competitor, and “Ya Boy Blue” (Jeffery Blue). Erica will join the well-known Houston personalities for their “Driving Divas” segment, a portion of the show dedicated to women in motorsports. Past guests include NHRA Pro Stock driver Erica Enders and Stock Car racer Kristen Bumbera. …

On Air: Houston’s 1560AM The Game “Thunder Road”

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Listen in this Sunday, March 1st to Houston’s 1560AM The Game radio station for my guest spot on the Thunder Road show’s “Driving Divas” segment.

Thunder Road is Houston’s ONLY place for all things motor sports and the best damn racing show around, featuring hosts Doug Johnson, a former Fun Ford Weekend competitor, and “Ya Boy Blue” (Jeffery Blue). Past guests on the “Driving Divas” segment have been NHRA Pro Stock driver Erica Enders and Stock Car racer Kristen Bumbera.

The show will air this Sunday, March 1st from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM central standard time.

Don’t live in Houston? The show is also available via web. You can listen online.

Prudhomme Super Snake Mustang

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I‘m really excited that Ford is taking such an active role in Drag Racing again. First, the Cobra Jet Mustang is developed by Ford for NHRA sportsman racing. Now, Carol Shelby has paired up with drag racing legend Don “the Snake” Prudhomme to create the Shelby Super Snake Prudhomme Edition Mustang.

The new Prudhomme Mustang is based on Shelby’s GT500 Mustang, beefing up the already stout 5.4L Supercharged powerplant to a whopping 750hp on 93 octane pump gas. The program is designed as post-title packaging for 2007-2009 Shelby GT owners. It incorporates an all-fiberglass tilt front end, added Kenne Belle Air Intake system, an Impact Safety Harness, Borla side exhaust, drag suspension and tires, as well as some side skirt aesthetic improvements. Street tire packages are also available for those wanting to keep to the streets.

 

The package is a limited edition run, with only 100 available at a whopping $100,000 price tag. That price does not include the cost of the base Shelby GT500 used in the modification, so look for a $140,000+ price tag to purchase one new.

 

Shelby and Prudhomme’s relationship stretches back to the 1968 drag racing season, when a young Prudhomme piloted Carol Shelby’s first Top Fuel entry.

 

Personally, I’m not sure I like the styling, though I can fully appreciate the 750hp added benefit (800hp on race fuel). What do you think of this new racer?
(photo courtesy Shelby Automotive, Inc.)