• Home
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Meet Our Staff
    • Write for Us
    • Advertising & Services
    • Official News
  • News
    • Women in Racing News
    • Heel Clicks
    • Driver Features
    • Pit Features
    • Horsepower & Heels Blog
    • Featured Professional
    • Featured Links
  • Resources
    • Books & Reviews
    • Personal Development
    • Events
    • Technical
  • Women in Racing Directory
  • Contact Us
  • Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS

Horsepower & Heels

Celebrating, promoting and supporting female racers and women in motorsports

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Meet Our Staff
    • Write for Us
    • Advertising & Services
    • Official News
  • News
    • Women in Racing News
    • Heel Clicks
    • Driver Features
    • Pit Features
    • Horsepower & Heels Blog
    • Featured Professional
    • Featured Links
  • Resources
    • Books & Reviews
    • Personal Development
    • Events
    • Technical
  • Women in Racing Directory
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Official News / Career best ET in Bristol FFW
FFW Thunder Valley Nationals
FFW Thunder Valley Nationals

Career best ET in Bristol FFW

August 6, 2006 //  by Horsepower & Heels

FFW Thunder Valley Nationals
FFW Thunder Valley Nationals

The Horsepower & Heels team entered the Fun Ford Weekend Thunder Valley Nationals with some hard work ahead of them.   After a stellar performance in Norwalk, OH with a runner-up finish and the history-making initiation of Erica Ortiz into the 6 second, 200 mph clubs, the team was ready & working hard to build upon their progress. This process began promptly after their return from Ohio, pulling the motor for refreshing just 2 weeks shy of Bristol. After tearing it down and discovering no excessive wear or damage, the team opted to switch the cast crank in favor of a steel version for reliability and peace of mind.

There was still much to do as they pulled in the gates of Thunder Valley. Kevin & Dan worked on getting the driveline back together, while Erica unloaded and unpacked. Having arrived mid-afternoon on Friday, the team would not make the first call qualifying session. Teammate John Gullett would grab the pole with a 6.57. Back in the pits, the team buttoned up the car and went to the line for the 2nd session. This night session would prove to be the best conditions for performance, as the cool air and track temperature would aid the car’s performance. But as Erica cranked the car in the staging lanes, she quickly discovered that the Bruno was low on fluid and forced to back it off.

Saturday morning, the team went over the car again. Dan & Kevin changed the tires to a larger Goodyear slicks, and they made the call for 3rd round qualifying. Erica staged up, but the car moved hard right out of the gate past the 60′ mark and she was forced to abort. A broken wheelie bar and the change in tire size had the chassis tune up slightly off, so Dan adjusted it for the final session. Having not made a clean attempt, Erica knew how important the final session would be to the Sunday ladder. She entered the burnout, but something went amiss, and the throttle hung wide open as she fought to keep the car straight and in control while reaching for the power kill. After safely killing the engine, Dan backed her off, tore off the hood, and removed the culprit- a vacuum line tangled in the throttle cable. Erica quickly refired, and jumped to the starting line. Rattled, she staged and took off, but when the tires finally set down over 200 ft out, the car got loose and she lifted. This failed attempt secured her spot at the bottom of the ladder, facing #2 qualifier Chuck Samuels in eliminations.

An early morning 1/8th mile test attempt showed strong improvement, with the car making a clean, straight pass and running stronger than her previous incremental best 1/8th mile attempt. Knowing that Samuels had the performance advantage (he qualified with a 6.62), Erica knew she would have to cut a good light to try and outrun him. She staged first, and left ahead of Samuels, with a near perfect 0.008 light but it just wasn’t enough, as her new personal best of 6.85 @ 207 mph couldn’t compete with his 6.57 @ 217.

Though her early exit in eliminations was not what they had hoped for, the team is proud of their continued progress.

“We know that we come in here under-powered compared to these other cars, but we continue to improve with each outing, and even if we aren’t winning races yet, we’re proud of the advancements we’ve made thus far.” Erica says.

Erica entered the event #2 in points for the Pro 5.0 championship points chase, with John Gullett a close 3rd and Chuck Samuels in the #4 position. Her early exit may have caused her to lose some ground on the points fight, but Erica is not far out of the running. The team is working on some marketing partnerships that would enable them to finish out the remaining 2 events in the FFW season- Topeka, KS & the Dallas, TX world finals.

The Horsepower & Heels team will be back out next weekend, July 12th with the Automatic Pro Mods quick 8 event at Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds, GA.

 

See photos from the 2006 Fun Ford Weekend Thunder Valley Nationals.    Watch the video of Round 1 eliminations against Chuck Samuels.

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Category: Official NewsTag: Erica Ortiz, FFW, Pro 5.0, Women Racing

About Horsepower & Heels

Horsepower & Heels™ is a fully supportive women in motorsports trademark passionate about helping all females in racing, and continues to grow with the goal to lead and inspire other women interested in pursuing their dreams in the male-dominated world of motorsports.

Previous Post: « Fun Ford Weekend Thunder Valley Nationals
Next Post: Bristol FFW Thunder Valley Nationals, Eliminations Round 1 FFW Thunder Valley Nationals»

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. Erica Ortiz Round 1 Eliminations against Chuck Samuels (video) says:
    November 17, 2014 at 12:36 PM

    […] Horsepower & Heels Racing, takes on Chuck Samuels in Round 1 of  Pro 5.0 eliminations at the 2006 Fun Ford Weekend Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, TN.   Erica leaves first, but is out-powered by Samuels who takes the win.   Ortiz […]

Primary Sidebar

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Horsepower & Heels Features

Return to Racing

March 11, 2015

Erica Ortiz and her Horsepower & Heels Racing team have recently resumed work for a return to …

2016 Horsepower & Heels Women of the Year

2019 Women of the Year Awards

December 2, 2019

Welcome back to the 2019 Horsepower & Heels Women of the Year Awards!   This annual award …

NHRA Awards Banquet 2019

November 22, 2019

Drivers and crew of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series gathered to celebrate their 2019 season …

Women in Racing Featured Posts

Erica Enders wins Pro Stock World Championship

November 19, 2019

The stakes were high coming into the closing race of the NHRA season. It was down to the wire for Pro Stock driver, Erica …

Audrey Worm All Female Top Fuel team

Audrey Worm expands team

November 12, 2019

New NHRA Top Fuel team owner and driver Audrey Worm made another significant announcement at the SEMA show this week in Las …

Daring to be Different with Porsche

November 7, 2019

An exciting day was had at the Porsche Cars Great Britain headquarters for 100 girls who took part in a special event …

Brittany Force earns Vegas win

November 6, 2019

NHRA driver Brittany Force and her Advance Auto Parts Top Fuel Dragster team came home with the jackpot at the Dodge NHRA …

Melanie Salemi New Car Debut

Melanie Salemi to debut new ride

November 5, 2019

Drag racing Pro modified driver, Melanie Salemi, is set to debut a new ride at the upcoming 26th Annual World Street …

More Women in Racing News

Tags

Alexis DeJoria Angelle Sampey Ashley Force Awards Brittany Force Courtney Force Crew Drag Racing Drag Radial Elaine Larsen Erica Enders Erica Ortiz FFW Funny Car Guide to Racing Haley James Horsepower & Heels IHRA In the Shop Janette Thornley Jet Dragster Leah Pritchett Megan Meyer NASCAR NHRA NMRA Open Wheel Pippa Mann Press Pro 5.0 pro mod Pro Stock Pro Stock Motorcycle Races Rally Road Trip Shea Holbrook Special Causes Sponsors Sprint Car TAD Top Fuel Women in Motorsports Women of the Year Women Racing
  • Home
  • About Us
  • News
  • Resources
  • Women in Racing Directory
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 · Mai Lifestyle Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in