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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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Another passes on

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This has been a tough start to the year, and now news of another friend passing on.

Vincent “Vinny5oh” Chagnet

I met Vinny several years back as one of the most vibrant members of the Hardcore 5.0 community. His personality and humor lit up the boards on a regular basis. You felt instantly connected to him, even if you never had met him in person. Vinny had his own hometown website, Stangbangerz, where all of the Cincinnati mustang people became like family. He always posted great stories and videos.

During 2003, I really got to know Vinny & Holly at the races, and even drove up from Orlando to attend one of their Stangbangerz picnics. I had a blast with them…. Vinny threw the BEST parties! I’ll never forget his Halloween bash! Vinny and Holly even helped me out by finding me a job in Cincinnati when I was set to move up there in late 2003.  I hate that those plans fell through… I’m sure I would have had a blast with the Stangbangerz group that he “Godfathered”… he made everyone feel so welcome.

Vinny, you will be greatly missed by all of us who loved and knew you. Rest in peace buddy!

Felipe B. Ortiz Sr.

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In loving memory of my dad
Felipe Benicio Ortiz, Sr.
August 23, 1930 – January 3, 2007

After a 2 year fight with Lymphoma, God has called my Papi home. Words cannot express the sorrow that I feel at his departure from this world, despite knowing that he is in a much better place. We all were at his side, as he would have had it no other way, and with this final prayer read to him by my sister Melanie, he took his final sigh….

“And shepherds we shall be, for thee my Lord, for thee, Power hath descended forth from thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command, we shall flow

 a river forth to thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine  patris, et filii, et spiritus sanctus. Amen.”

 

My sister, Brenda, wrote this poem to Papi:

To Call You Father
When we were small, you were our protector and provider.
You gave of yourself day-in and day-out.
More than just food, clothing and shelter… no matter what,
we always knew we were loved.
When we needed it, you corrected us with “the Look”, and
comforted us with a word and a smile.
As we grew, you became our teacher and our advisor.
You made a wonderful role model, and a man to admire.
You have a quiet strength and courage, selfless sacrifice, and
endless generosity…. all things we cherish.
You’ve blessed us with so many wonderful memories.
Without a word, you gave us the priceless lesson that
there is dignity in working hard for your family, that
there is honor in doing the right thing – not the easy thing,
and that there is self-respect in doing everything well.
We are so proud to call you Father. We have been blessed
by you, and thank God that He gave us to you.
Thank you so much Dad,
WE LOVE YOU.

Papi…. I hope I always make you proud.
Love Always,
Erica

O-town bound

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For us street-style doorslammers, the Orlando World Street Nationals have been the long-running “Super Bowl” of Pro Street shootouts. This all-out, year ending battle for the honors of fastest on the planet comes with little in the way of rules. Basically, bring it all and the kitchen sink with you… Run Whatcha Brung. Not that my poor little T-bird is much in the way of “Brung”, but I’m going to try and qualify in the 32 car field for Pro Street. Years past, the bump has been in the 6.90 range, which is ever dropping, so as long as I can navigate the tricky Orlando SpeedWorld track to a low 6.70ish, I might be in the field and have a shot.

Though I’ve lived in GA/AL for the past 3 years, Orlando is still “HOME” to me. My family, friends, and old racing collegues all are still there, and I’m always a little homesick around this time of year. Even more so this year, as my Papi is really fighting with his Lymphoma right now, and more than ever I want to be with him and do well for him at this race. Please keep him in your prayers….

Finishing 2nd

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Erica Ortiz Pro 5.0

Wow.

My rookie season in FFW Pro 5.0 has been such a whirlwind year for me. Reflecting on where I started and where I finally ended up, shows such an evolution of emotions, trials, and even a few success stories along the way.

It wasn’t so long ago that I sold my old (and dearly loved) drag radial car to chase my crazy dream of running in Pro 5.0/ Pro Modified. I said goodbye to my trademark black & pink little coupe at the end of 2004. Over a year I sat on the sidelines, and at the time I thought my time would never come. I ached to be out there racing with everyone, and though I still attended, crewed and found every way imaginable to stay at the races, my heart was still in the driver’s seat.

Finally, in February of this year, “Bessie” as I’ve nicknamed her was done. I was a bit nervous at the jump in performance, especially after being out of the driver’s seat for over a year, but when we finally got ole Bessie out to Phenix City for some 60′ test passes, I realized that some things never leave you. The learning curve was steep initially, but once I got accustomed to the night and day differences between a full interior, stock suspension street car and an all-out racecar, I finally found my groove. I cannot be more grateful for Dan Parker’s presence in my life, because without him, I would not have been able to do this. He has truly helped me learn and grow as both a driver and a crewmember as well, making me more adept and competent on working on the car myself.

Though he wasn’t able to be there, I was super proud and thrilled to have accepted the 2006 Crew Chief of the Year honor for Dan. He’s always there to help anyone he can, and his work speaks volumes for him not only on my car, but Johnny Gullett’s, Dan Millen’s, Dennis Lugo and many others whom have benefited from his genuine care and concern for the people and the sport.

Finishing #2 in the points chase in my first year in Pro 5.0 was nothing less than breaktaking for me. As I said in my speech at the FFW banquet, I can remember clear as day standing on the starting line at the Spring Break shootout back in 2000, watching people like John Gullett and Doug Mangrum running down the 1/4 mile, and made a silent wish that one day I would be there with them. Well, 6 years later, after running brackets, winning a few true street events, getting runner-up in drag radial, and then finally I accomplished my dream of running Pro 5.0. But never could I have imagined that I would finish #2 in points for the year in such a competitive class. I am super excited to dream my dreams for next year and all the years to come.

Thanks to all who have stood behind me in this tell-tale year. Without you it would never have been possible. I look forward to tomorrow and can’t wait to see what awaits us all in the future.

Not alone, and really not all that different

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[Driving Force Episode #5- Ashley’s Licensing Test Runs]

Yea, I know. There’s a big difference between a 1800 hp twin turbo doorslammer running 6 sec/200+ mph passes and a 7000 hp flopper running 4 sec/300+mph passes, but I’ve got to thank A&E and the Forces for showing what I suspect a vast majority of the women who dare navigate the 1/4 mile experience while learning to pilot these high powered “beasts” (to quote John). Let me reminisce…

I did not come from the racing pedigree that Ashley, Brittany, Courtney were born and raised in, in fact I hardly knew what drag racing was when I turned 16. My parents can hardly change a tire, and certainly were not race fans, but somehow I had a passion for speed and hot cars that would become more prominent as I graduated high school. So, when I purchased my first car: a 1990 5.0 Mustang GT, I was thrilled with the possibilities, and even more facinated with the world of information and aftermarket available out there on the domestic scene. Later that summer, I would venture to my hometown dragstrip for the first time. I didn’t know anything about how drag racing worked, but being a competitor at heart, and an adrenaline junkie, I knew I had to try it.

My first pass in late 1998 was a 15.30. A year later it was a 13.20. By 2000, I drove my first power adder car, a supercharged street coupe, to an 11.20. And before the end of 2001, I obtained my 9 second NHRA license in a twin turbo mustang. Fast forward through my first 8 second pass in 02, and my championship first runner up in 03, to my switch to the PRO 5.0 category and obtaining my Advanced ET license in the 6’s at 200mph today. Now, none of this is in the same ballpark as driving a top alcohol dragster over 200 mph before age 23, and licensing in your very own funny car to boot. But what I found so refreshing about this episode of Driving Force is how well myself and I’m sure many other women can relate to her experiences.

There is something about the way men and women learn and adapt to new experiences and new situations. My close friends (Hi Deby!) have had a good laugh over the antics and the battles that Dan & I have weathered through the process of getting me acclimated with the new car, and while they are funny to me now, they weren’t so funny then.

You see, there is what I call a sensitivity chip missing in men. A COMMONSENSE-ITIVITY chip that aids in the walk of a fine line between brave and ignorant. There is a point where you must accept fate & have the faith where your senses fail you. Guys have that blind faith. Faith in their machines, faith in their destiny, fate in their ABILITIES. Nevermind that the idea of losing vision while traveling at over 300 mph is not only terrifying and insane, but to have the blind faith to stay in the throttle that first pass is jarring. Us women, we feel. We analyze. We THINK. Much to the chargin of men, we often overthink, and overcomplicate. But as Ashley pointed out, all of the things– the thoughts, the feelings, the nerves, and the pressure come flooding over our brains, and as she delicately pointed out, the only thing stopping her is herself. She knows it, her team knows it. I also know this, and so does Dan. We all concur 100%.

Its definitely proven true the old adage… “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” although at times I swore Dan was from somewhere beyond Pluto. A planet with some coined race related name like Dragtopia or something where the people are born dropping clutches and wheeling pro mods. But somehow, we made it through it and truthfully, I know and appreciate that Dan means well and only the best for me (as John does for his daughters). …Even if Dan “definitely doesn’t have a career as a motivational speaker.”

Helping and Learning

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Today, I went to Mr. Moody’s shop to help him work on the motor. This was probably moreso for my benefit than his aid, but I wanted to learn and wanted to be able to contribute, so Mr. Moody humored me. What I learned, is that people vastly underestimate the potential of factory ford parts… as evidence of my recent performances.

We have had no problems with the motor after approximately 70+passes, save for the small lifter incident on the first test outing in February of this year. That’s 70+ passes on a stock block, cast crank, and under 24 psi of hairdryer pressure. I don’t know what I was expecting to find as I dropped the oil pan (literally, all over the floor… sorry, Mr. Moody!), but I was pleasantly surprised to find…. NOTHING. Nope, nada, zilch. The rod bearings were good as new, the cylinders all showed way rich conditions, and everything was intact and looked as though it had just been put together. (Save for the outside, which was covered in gunk from that pesky leaking valve cover)

So, Mr. Moody will be replacing the cast crank with a better unit, and buttoning it back up for the Bristol FFW race coming August 4th-6th. Mr. Moody assures me I can now up the power, and expects that we will be able to hit in the 50’s with the stock block before the end of the season. He’s not often wrong… after all, he guessed the cast crank performance to a T. In Bristol, we will attempt to combat the thinner mountain air by turning up the boost a little in our typical sneak-up-to-it style.

Maybe I’ll be fortunate enough to hang onto my #2 rank in the points… (John Gullett has plenty to say about that I’m sure… don’t worry Johnny, I”ll save you a parking spot next to me!) But for now, I’ll just focus on getting down the track consistently and working hard with what we have!

We DID it!

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Well, one big goal can be checked off my list for my rookie season…

6.88 @ 205I have now gained entry into the 6 second club & the 200 mph club this past weekend in Norwalk, OH for the FFW event there, acheiving both feats on my runner-up pass in the finals. I can’t be prouder of my crew and everyone who helped me acheive this milestone.

All of this was done with a stock filled 460 block and a cast crank. Mr. Moody is swapping the crank so we don’t have to be as scared to run with it. I’m still working on gathering the rotating assembly for the aluminum block motor we are working on for next year. Maybe someone will step up to help out soon, if not… its nose to the grindstone!

FFW Richmond

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FFW Richmond would mark my 2nd event in Pro 5.0 this season. We arrived in Richmond in the wee hours of Saturday morning after driving through pouring rain across 3 states. The forecast didn’t look good, with rain predicted at 50-60% chance for the rest of the weekend. Still, we showed up to the track when the gates opened to unload and get ready to rumble.

Because I wasn’t arriving until Saturday morning, I had only two qualifying shots remaining. My first qualifying pass resulted in a 7.56 @ 183 mph. The car made a slight move at the 1/8th mile, but I was able to salvage the run and drive it through the finish. Many of the other PRO cars were having difficulties with that piece of the track.

2nd round, the car experienced problems cranking in the burnout box. The negative g’s of the parachute deploying from the round before had sloshed the fuel to the front of the cell, and caused the mechanical fuel pump to loose prime. Since we towed the car to the lanes, we were not aware of this until I tried starting the car in the burnout box. Dan & Josh Kuhn raced to get the hood off and manually added fuel to the throttle body to force the pump to regain prime. They buttoned me back up, but since I was now running out of order, the run would not count towards qualifying. Still, I staged and ran a 7.33 @ 185 mph.

That paired me going into eliminations with David Schorr. David is a regular of FFW Pro 5.0, and although he wasn’t able to make a clean hit in qualifying, we knew the car was capable of mid 6’s on race day. That point was further evident with the Schorr’s Sunday test pass, where he ran deep into the 6’s prior to the start of 1st round.I knew that I didn’t have enough muscle (horsepower… my engine has a stock 460 4 bolt block and cast steel crank), so my shot was to stay consistent and cut a good light to stay ahead. That would backfire, as I ended up pushing through the beams Sunday to a redlight 7.30 @ 186 performance.

Now that we are home, we’re hard at work preparing for the FFW Norwalk event July 7th-9th. The converter needed desperately to be sent back to Neal Chance Racing Converters to be tightened up, as it was only dropping 300 RPM on the gear shifts. Marty Chance predicts that the car will be squarely in the 6’s with just the changes made to the converter. Wish me luck as I shoot to be the first female in the 6’s in FFW Pro 5.0!

Testing

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I know, do I even race anymore?

So, now that we are somewhat settled into the new abode in Alabama, we all headed to the racetrack yesterday for some testing. Dan & Josh made some repairs to my car Saturday from the Atlanta outing, discovering why the darn thing wouldn’t go down the track– the wheelie bars were bending. Dan reenforced the bars adding thicker metal over the exsisting bars to strengthen them and eliminate the flexing problem. First pass, Dan asked me to take it to the 330′ so he can watch it. The launch was smooth, Dan made some minor adjustments to the wheelie bars, but noticed that the tranny was still leaking significantly. So, we remove the trans tunnel sheet metal, and find that the wraps placed around the tranny in Atlanta to stop the leaking were soaked and oil was still coming out. Apparently, the old-school Lencos are notorious about leaking from the seals since day 1. So, we clean and place fresh rags to catch the oil, and head back out. Dan added power, and the launch was clean and straight– the 60′ improving from 1.20’s to a 1.13. A few more adjustments, and we decide to run it through the 1/8th mile. Even with a slight opps on my part (he said to run it through, dummy!), the car ran a 4.8 in the 1/8th. Definitely glad to have solved the handling problem from Atlanta.

Long weekend

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A very long weekend for me. I didn’t expect to have this many new car bugs holding me back this far into the learning progress, but I knew going into this that I was making do with the ultimate “budget-built” project, and that setbacks were to be expected. When Dan arrived on Thursday night, we found that the tranny was the problem. It was low on fluid, and wouldn’t lock up properly. Filled it back up, and found that the drain plug had been loose. I got down and tightened it, and cleaned the undercarriage thinking the problem was fixed.

So, Friday arrives. First pass, I was lined up a bit crooked I think, and it went hard left. Came back, got ready for 1st round of qualifying. Didn’t do so bad, but the car is still very, very lazy. Run a 7.85 @ 189. That would be my only pass of the whole weekend. Each time I’d go up to the starting line, the car was leaking trans fluid. We’d bring it back, jack it up, and check again, but it seemed each time it would drop fluid. And of course, each time it would hit the tires and cause the car to lose traction. Aborted pass after aborted pass.

The lone 7.85 put me at #15 qualifier, matched against Chuck Samuels first round. We blanketed the transmission to avoid any leakage and headed for the starting line. Added some power to try and wake it up, but of course as soon as the power came on, it affected the pre-load and drove the car out of the groove.

On the positive side, I feel more comfortable in the car, and I’m ready to start turning it up to avoid the constant load changes on the chassis. The car wants to leave under power, and doesn’t like it being thrown down track after such a soft launch. So, more testing to come… Thanks so much to everyone who lent a helping hand this weekend, as I showed up with zero crew for the weekend: (Dan was driving, Josh & Biscuit were in Bradenton crewing for the 10.5 car) Brad, Debbie, Alan, Al, Brian, PJ, Dennis and everyone else who helped out–THANKS!

It was also great seeing Heather & Mike back out at the races, and Sarah & her dad who came out to offer some support. I had a great time! We have such a great group of people who race with us, its always such a blast with everyone! CONGRATS to John & the whole Gullett empire on such a kickass weekend! At least we kept it in the pit!

Next up: going to the paint shop, the powder coater, and all the other little details.