Celebrating, promoting and supporting female racers and women in motorsports

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Erica Ortiz is a professional drag racer from the all-female pro modified team Horsepower & Heels and strong advocate of women in motorsports. A veteran both behind the wheel and behind a torque wrench, Erica brings over 10 years of experience navigating the male-dominated motor sports arena from the female perspective.

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Operation: Driver Weight

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This week, I’m starting my new workout plan for 2008, which I’ve titled Operation: Driver Weight. Why? Well, fighters train to get to their optimum “fighting weight” and my mission involves me getting to my lean, mean, muscular machine “Driver Weight”.

With the possibility of getting to drive a top fuel dragster on the horizon, I am following the example set by nitro Funny Car driver, Mike Ashley, and how he approaches his training with a fit mind, body, and soul. I blogged earlier last year about how he approaches his driving, and its something I’ve vowed I would do to be the best I can possibly be as a driver. There is much discussion that follows women in the nitro classes as to whether they have the upper body strength required to handle these beasts. I want to make sure that I do what it takes to be successful, and that includes beefing up my exercise and training regiment to prepare for that opportunity.
Taking some cues from Mike’s training article, I’ve developed my own personal strengthening plan for the next 3 months. It involves getting me back in shape cardiovascularly, as well as strengthening my core and upper body to handle the additional stresses of driving. I plan to take it a step further and meet with a nutritionist to work on my dietary needs as well. That’s one area I have never really put any focus in, and its a very important aspect.
 I am not new to atheletics or strict training, in high school I was a 3 sport athlete: Volleyball, Basketball,Track. Besides academics and some part time employment at the local Target, my whole life was one big training schedule back then. I would attend practice after school for about 2 hours in whatever sport was in season, then often attend open gyms for the other two for 2 hours after that, or would come home and run, cycle or play pickup games at the local park. My spring breaks had me at the beach too, but unlike many of my classmates, I was stationed at the beach volleyball courts entering tournaments and winning prizes with my high school pairs partner, Crystal. We did a lot of damage on the courts on Daytona Beach in 1996-1998. Oh to be 16 and have THAT much energy again! But, I had drive that has never died in me, and I’m very excited about reigniting that burning desire inside me to achieve.Tonight’s my first night back at the gym since I moved 8 months ago. Wish me luck and I’ll report on how it went after I get home!

Highs & Lows of 2007

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Its been quite the year at Horsepower & Heels, but I’m excited to enter 2008. I wanted to take a moment and reflect on a seemingly lackluster year…

Lows

  • Lost my father to cancer: One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with in my life. Papi was the rock in the family, and our entire family dynamic changed overnight.
  • Lost a dear friend: Vinny Chagnet left us after a massive heart attack far too early. Only in his 30’s, it really hit hard to lose someone who had been such an uplifting part of the racing community.
  • Moving Away/On: Life changes are especially hard. I kept this struggle private for me, but it was very hard time in my life. There are always two sides, and I dealt privately with many hurtful things coming from people that weren’t even involved.
  • Losing my “children”: My little chihuahuas were everything to me, and losing them was as painful as losing a child. I know eventually I will get another, but months later, I still have dreams that they come back.
  • A Career/Job Change: I just wasn’t happy in newspaper anymore, and was forced to work from home for about a month until I found my new job. I think they found out I had been looking elsewhere, but an unexpected layoff is hard financially and I’m struggling to catch back up.
  • Letting my sponsors down: Perhaps the hardest thing for me to swallow was disappointing my sponsors, who have all patiently waited for me to get the new car done. I’m hoping that a great 2008 will make up for this, but its not something I’m proud of.

Highs

  • Picked up my new Mustang VFN body: Braved the winter storm to pick up my new racecar body for the Thunderbird to Mustang make-over.
  • My first mainstream magazine feature: Being featured in Latina was a huge deal for me. Its the Cosmo of hispanic-america.
  • Interviewing with Don Schumacher: When Gary Scelzi announced he was retiring, Oakley was looking for a candidate to fill the seat for their Nitro Funny Car. Although I bombed the interview (hello, STAR SHOCK), I view having the opportunity to interview with Don Schumacher high on my accomplishment list for 2007.
  • Moving on/Away: As they say, when one door closes, another opens. I’ve settled well into my new enviroment, and am quite happy with how my life has formed. I learned many things about myself and learned to do a lot FOR myself in the process.
  • Welcoming PNN: I had the great pleasure of meeting Lauren Elliot and becoming involved in the PNN.com community. Look for great things coming up in 2008 with PNN.
  • New Car: I’ve been wanting a fun street car again for a really, really long time. I finally got my wish. Call it retail therapy.
  • Nitrous Pro Mod: Though right now it seems to have stalled out, I was approached about driving a Nitrous Pro Mod.
  • My first TV Segment: Was featured on Hispanics Today, a nationally syndicated TV show.
  • My DREAM!: All I’ve ever wanted was to race in NHRA. And now, I’m actually going to be given a shot. I’m a signed driver for a Top Fuel team, provided we can find the funding to get out there.
  • Starting a new job: Finally, a job I’m really excited about!

I’m hoping to start 2008 fresh and work hard towards a great year of racing, personal growth and career development. 2007 is officially over, and no dwelling on the past will ensue.

 

Be safe as you celebrate the ringing in of 2008!

Representing: Risky’s Bar, Lake Ozark, MO

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From a recent trip up to Lake of the Ozarks, MO..

Meet Ryan, owner of Risky’s Bar, who was nice enough to stick up a Horsepower & Heels decal front and center at the bar!
We had a blast on Christmas Eve hanging at Risky’s.
If you’re ever at the Lake, check them out!
Risky’s Nightclub
302 Arrowhead Plaza
Lake Ozark, MO 65049
Phone: (573) 365-7224

Winter Adventures of the Floridian Type

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For Christmas this year, I decided to go in search of my first “white” Christmas. Born and raised in Orlando, my life was more “sand” men instead of snowmen, and I’ve collectively seen snow maybe 5 times in my adult life.

One of my little dreams has always been to go experience a true “white” Christmas… falling snow, cold weather, the works. So this year, I went to Missouri to hang out with Chop’s friends & family. Of course, I was not all so happy that we arrive to low 60’s and plenty of sunshine on Friday.

But on Saturday night, the temperature plummeted quickly, and in a matter of minutes we had sideways falling snow and lots of ice. A group of us were piling into a car to head for an evening out, and the ice on the windshield was pretty thick. My stupid quote of the weekend had them laughing for about 15 minutes as they were scrambling to find an ice scraper: “This is gonna sound dumb, but what exactly does an ice scraper look like?” I get the concept, but growing up in Orlando, its not like we had them lining the shelves at the hardware store. We never ended up finding the scraper, so a gift card substituted enough to get us a little visibility out the windshield. In the about 2 hour time frame, I got to experience about a foot of the snowy white stuff, even if it wasn’t going to accumulate any for snow angels or snowmen.

There was some ice accumulation, and the next night, I got an up close introduction to it, followed by another teary-eyed spell of laughter. Standing on the hillside driveway, Stacie and I were climbing in her truck to go to the convenience store. She just started to say “Careful, its slipper…” when I did one of those comic book, slow-mo banana peel face plants on a blade of ice. “whoa. Whooa. WHOOAAAA. Smack.” I about died laughing at myself.

Comic moment #3 came coming back from the store. Stacie tried to pull back up the driveway, but when we hit that same patch of ice, we started sliding back down. After a few attempts, Stacie stops and looks at me. “What do we do?” Right. Ask the Florida native what to do on ice. We sat there and pondered if we put the truck in park and hit the e-brake would it still slide down the hill. Not knowing the truck was 4-wheel drive, we decided that it would be best to back in down the driveway and park out front. Only problem: the ice sliding we’d done had moved us a little off-course from the narrow drive, and our attempt at backing back down the driveway resulted in getting the truck completely STUCK in loose gravel and snow. Stacie’s fiance, Ronnie came out to rescue us, and made me feel like a complete moron when he put it in 4-low and proceeded out of the gravel and up the icy drive.

The rest of the week was warm and sunny, and I still didn’t get my white Christmas. My real snowman will have to wait until another year.

Happy Holidays!

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I’m enjoying a few days off from work and taking advantage of the time by traveling to try and find me my first White Christmas. I can count the number of times I’ve ever seen snow on one hand, and at 27, I think its time I finally experienced that White Christmas I’ve been dreaming of since I was a little girl.

Chances are, I’ll be out of the loop until after Christmas, so I wanted to take a moment to wish all of you readers out there:

Have a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah or just a Happy Holiday to you and yours from all of us here at Horsepower & Heels Racing!

Dear Santa

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Dear Santa,

I’ve been a very good girl this year. I’ve been very patient while not racing, worked hard and continued being optimistic, and helped others any chance I could get. So this year, here’s my list: (I know you’re not as racecar oriented as Blitzen, so I included links)

  • A new pump for my Pro Jacks
  • Cam-lock seatbelts
  • A Sponsor for my Top Fuel team
  • Crew Uniforms — Some pretty pink & black Horsepower & Heels crew shirts would look great all year long next year!

Thanks Santa! And since I won’t be at home for Christmas, you can just leave them in the yard or deliver after Christmas. I’m not picky!

 

Love, Erica

Dear NHRA: Ideas to Make Drag Racing bigger

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Dear NHRA:

We know that drag racing is breakneck exciting and very accessible to your fans. We know that those who experience it love it. We know that you work hard to grow the fanbase and the brand that the late great Wally Parks created. Yet, still, drag racing pales in comparison to the NASCAR fan storm, and you ask why?

I think there are a plethora of things that the NHRA is missing out on marketing-wise to grow the sport and develop the kind of fan-following that NASCAR enjoys. And it begins with your DRIVERS.

The fans like following personalities. They like cheering on their favorite drivers. NHRA has that, but not in just their star John Force. They need to promote not only the series alone, but each of their drivers. Create friendly rivalries amidst fans for their favorite drivers where each match up, from qualifying through the final round is exciting. PROMOTE your DRIVERS, and help the teams promote themselves too! Here are a few of my ideas:

The Driver Blogs on NHRA.com are great, but they are sporatically updated and lack all the true “blogging” technology. Why do they not take advantage of RSS syndication, which is the biggest growing trend in online readership? Allow a fan to subscribe to their favorite drivers. And where are those drivers selected? Feature your stars, but also leave room for other drivers who have blogs to submit their blog also. Ron Capps has a blog, and its not even listed there. How many NHRA fans would love to know that and subscribe? And allow us to comment! Opening up discussion makes the experience personal.

Driver Profiles: The NHRA series takes advantage of this idea. Give casual fans a way to learn about the drivers they are watching and choose their own favorite. Sure, I like seeing the career and season stats, and the few headlines, but why not make them much more personal? Let me get to know the driver as a PERSON too?

Driver Twitters: I discovered Twitter not long ago, and admittedly, I didn’t “get it” at first. But I’m seeing the advantages that this micro-blogging has to fans and newcomers. The premise: a quick (140 characters or less) glance at what they are doing right now. They can be sent via text message and updated to blogs, websites, etc. During the season, it will be an instant update tool for me to send out instantly at the track to fans and update the race situation as it happens.

Video Podcasts: Wouldn’t it be great to have a free subscribe-able Race Recap you could get on your ipod or mobile phone on Monday after the races? A highlight reel of sorts… throw in some driver interviews (more DRIVER promotion, hint hint!) and some bloopers and you’d have another way to reach fans away from the weekend.

Chat Sessions: Why not host a chat room where you can announce a time and place that a driver will come in and chat online in 1 hour segments. I’ve taken part in these over at ProModSource with various Pro Mod drivers all the time. It only takes an hour of a driver’s time, and with all the drivers, there could be one per week. Have it on a Wednesday to build excitment for the race weekend. Its fun and very popular.

The key in all this, is that NHRA needs to offer these FREE to their subscribers. Media now is geared more toward the reader than traditional media. NHRA doesn’t need to charge for these services (Audio Cast, etc.) their money can be made in advertising from the viewership alone! These are just a few ways that the NHRA could really connect to their audience and build a new fanbase. And the best part, they don’t cost a fraction of what the ESPN coverage does!

Just my marketing outside view! What else do YOU think can be done to help promote drag racing?

eMOM Holiday Love Program

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I recently had the pleasure of learning about a very special program called eMail Our Military through their update tweets on the insta-news social network, Twitter.

eMail Our Military (eMOM) was created as a response to the DoD’s cancellation of the “Any Service Member” and “Operation Dear Abby” mail programs in 2001, with the mission to provide encouragement, motivation and morale support to the men and women serving in our military by sending eMail, correspondence and care packages. Website visitors can join, participation is free, and take part in a number of support projects ranging from sending eMail on a one-on-one basis with a service member to year round support projects.

In memory of my Papi, who was retired from the Air Force, I decided to try and help out by sending some goodies to be included in the packages. Just simple Horsepower & Heels “stuff” I was told, would go a long way to someone on duty overseas. I then spoke to eMOM crusader @Dayngr on twitter, and we’ve decided to partner up and really get some love sent to our heros.

Right now, they are in full swing of their “Holiday Love” campaign, giving service members special Holiday packages and cards while they are serving abroad and away from their families. They are also collecting from “Postage Patriots” to cover the cost of mailing the packages to our military members.

Share a little Holiday Love today!

Listen to:
eMOMpromo2007.mp3

Hispanic Today feature airs

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251-714208Remember way back in September when I told you about that TV segment I flew to Orlando to film for Hispanics Today? It’s only been a few months, but it seems like an eternity ago. I had almost forgotten about it, but luckily Debbie reminded me today.

The show airs this week finally. It features interviews with Dennis Lugo, Debbie Denny, and myself. You can see a quick video preview on theHispanics Today website, and find out if the show can be viewed in your town by checking the Hispanics Today TV Air Guide. I unfortunately missed the show here in Huntsville, so if anyone can find an online version or can DVR it and rip it to a DVD for me, I’d be greatly appreciative.

Thanks again to Hispanics Today for the feature & Shellee for a great shoot. Hopefully, I’ll actually get to see it soon.

Crushed

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It seems that absolutely nothing goes my way in trying to get this car done.

I spent 2 weeks down in Orlando, often staying until late at night trying to get the car done and painted so that my very patient sponsor, BRISK USA, would finally have on display in their booth at the PRI show. They have been very understanding and patient of me dealing with all the unexpected delays as I have fought to get this car out and running.

I chronicled all of my time and work down in Florida. By the time I left, it was as far as I could get it, and all that remained was the exterior to be painted and the final touches applied (Vinyl graphics, lexan bolted in, etc.). With 2 weeks remaining, I figured it would be close, but we’d get it done, and finally have a great looking car that would make BRISK, Harland Sharp, PNN, and the rest of my sponsors proud.

But today, I got a crushing phone call. It was Josue, who is doing all the body work and paint. He had picked up the car on Sunday after I left and took it back to his paint booth in Ocala, where he could work on it in a better, closer environment. He inlisted the help of an expert in fiberglass/ racecar body and paint to help him. What they determined, was that the body would not line up anywhere on the car. The doors had a 1/4″ gap between the edge and the body. The front end had a shocking 1″ gap where it meets the doors. Nothing lined up straight. They would have to go back and reconstruct and add material to the body to make it presentable again.

I am devastated.

What originally was supposed to be an off-season, relatively simple job has taken over a year and cost me TRIPLE what I originally anticipated. I am not far off in expense on this body change than what a newer (than my t-bird) rolling chassis would have cost me off of Racing Junk. It has been so discouraging the amount of hardships and set-backs I’ve encountered, and while I’ve always considered myself one of the most perserverant and determined racers I know, this has at times seemed as though I was fighting a losing battle.

Now, I’m 100% at the mercy of the Paint/Body gurus to help and get me out there at long last. I feel that I’ve significantly let down all the people who have supported me through this, and hope that I will somehow be able to right this and turn such a sour situation around for them all. It is the most frustrating time in my 10 year career for me, just as I felt that momentum had finally begun to pick up.