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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Interview with Jenny

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A few days ago, I received an email from Jenny H. asking for my participation in an interview to include in her school project on “Drag Racing– An American Touchstone”. I thought it was a neat project to be able to help Jenny out with, and thought I’d share with you some of the questions she put together for me with the rest of you.

Jenny– Why did you choose to drag race? Did you have any idols/inspirations?
Erica— I discovered drag racing right after my high school graduation. I didn’t have a family involved in motorsports, my parents could hardly change a tire! Still, I was always racing around from place to place in high school, oblivious to the fact I was driving a painfully slow pick up truck at the time. Right after graduation, I bought my first car; a 1990 Mustang GT. I would take it out to the Test & Tune nights at my local track, perfecting my lights and driving skills. It wasn’t quite fast enough, so I started hanging out at a local performance shop, and attending some drag races. I was hooked! My spare time away from the track was spent with my eyes glued to the pages of the racing magazines, trying to absorb every bit of knowledge I could about the sport. As I learned more, I grew to admire many great pioneers in drag racing. But, the most inspirational and encouraging people have been the ladies who have paved the way in drag racing: great champions like Shirley Muldowney, Melanie Troxel, Angelle Sampey, and the rest of the ladies in the sport.

Jenny– How many years have you been racing?
Erica– Since 1998. I have had the wonderful opportunity to live & breathe my dream everyday for the past 8 years.

Jenny– Why did you choose to run Pro 5.0?
Erica– I started at the very bottom of the sportsman ranks in the Bracket 3 class of several all-Ford racing series. As I progressed as a driver, I moved up the ranks from True Street to Drag Radial, and my latest adventure… Pro 5.0, the fastest class in our series. My ultimate goal is to find a ride in NHRA Pro Modified or Pro Stock, and maybe even Top Fuel.

Jenny– How do you think drag racing as a whole has changed over the years (technologically, etc.)?
Erica– Everyday, racers seem to do the unthinkable and break down barriers unimaginable just a short time ago. Teams defy all obstacles set before them to keep them back, and no matter how many rules or restrictions are placed on us to slow us down, we all find a way to go just a little faster on race day. Along with such great advancement in power and speed, I think its critically important to also strive for the advancement of safety in the sport. The high speeds are a dangerous gamble for every driver on the track, but with continued focus on maintaining the highest standards of safety specifications, we minimize the likelihood of tragedy when incidents occur.

Jenny– How do you think drag racing has become an American phenomenon to the public?
Erica– Drag Racing has typically been overshadowed by NASCAR & Formula racing formats in the general American public. However, with the renewal of the factory “hot rod” wars, and the manner in which drag racing has remained grass roots and accessible to its fans and supporters, I believe that drag racing has emerged from the shadows to claim its place in the spot light. The younger generations are learning to embrace drag racing from exposure to Hollywood’s glitzy portrayal of American’s undying love of the automobile in movies such as Gone in 60 Seconds, and even the Fast & the Furious. Drag racing gives families a safe venue of pure adrenaline that people of all ages– from Jr. Dragsters on up, a chance to play along in a safe environment.

Jenny–Do you think that drag racing will still increase in popularity in future years? How so?
Erica– I definitely see drag racing’s rise in popularity growing drastically in coming years. The accessibility to fans and would-be participants makes it a very welcoming sport. Interaction with drivers, programs for families and youths, and the plethora of available classes and sanctions for every taste and budget; are some of the great benefits unique to drag racing that are not available in other racing venues. The grassroots mentality and support will propel the sport forward with ever-increasing momentum.

Jenny– What do you think is the worst accident you have had? Were there any injuries?
Erica– Thankfully, I have only been involved in one minor accident on the track (::Knock on wood::). Early in 2003, a mechanical failure caused fluid to spill out all over the track surface and under my tires, resulting in a scary hydroplane situation just before the 1/8th mile. I was able to steer out of a worse impact, but a rear flat tire (the result of the slide) caused the car to steer into the guardrail. It broke the headlamp, and all damage was minor cosmetic. Thanks to the required & properly used safety equipment, I was unharmed.

Jenny– How do you connect with your fans? Is it on a friendly ‘sure-here’s-an-autograph degree’ or sometimes a more personal degree?
Erica– I am a huge people person, and enjoy meeting new people. I am no different than any one else, and I try to make myself available for my fans to talk to me at any time. I am active on internet message boards, and I encourage people to visit my website and comment back. At the track, I balance working on the car and other raceday duties, but always will try and take a moment to stop and talk to people interested in the team & myself. I love to make new friends, and I don’t mind sharing my experiences with others who have the same ambitions as I have had for the past 8 years. Anything I can do to help!

Jenny– What was drag racing like during the beginning of your career? What about today?
Erica– I started driving my 15.00 second street car at the local test & tune. Back then, I would go round after round trying to perfect my reaction times and ET’s. I started entering Bracket competitions, and started modifying the car to go faster. I took time to learn from whatever reliable sources would offer the time to teach. Today, I still am hungry for more knowledge on improving as a driver and tuning the cars. I feel blessed to have progressed up the ranks in such a short time, and am grateful for every opportunity that has come my way. I am determined and unrelenting in my pursuit, and its my hope that this passion will lead me to realize my dream in coming years. Never give up!!!

Jenny– Have you broken any track records? What about speed barriers?
Erica– I haven’t secured any track records, but a few of my proudest accomplishments have been being the runner-up for the FFW Drag Radial Championship in 2003, being the first female in the 8’s on a radial tire, winning the Gainesville True Street event in 2002, and my runner-up finish at my first race ever, World Ford Challenge Bracket 3 competition in 2001.

Thanks, Jenny! Hope this helps!

xoxo,
Erica

Clearing the hurdle

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Note: It was brought to my attention by some of my close friends that I need to translate my blog postings for the not-so-race-savvy supporters out there. I’ll try my best to translate as I go…

Well, the little “funk” I’ve been going through trying to get acclimated to the new car has passed, I hope. I think it was directly associated to my annual birthday funk I go through, but nevertheless, it was frustrating and mentally draining. The funk disappeared, and I got my driving “Mo-jo” back. We have the car detuned so I could attempt a first 1/4 mile pass since I have been pretty consistent getting it down the 1/8 mile. (non-racer translation: the car is slowed down a bunch to keep it mild mannered and easy to drive)

So, out to the NMRA Reynolds, GA race on Saturday to make some exhibition passes (since bbf/twins are not legal by NMRA rule to run Pro 5.0). Straight out of the box, it ran a 7.51 @ 187 mph smooth and easy. Let me tell you, I thought the launch in these cars was surprising, it was NOTHING compared to feeling those dual chutes deploy! Those are the HARDEST hitting parachutes I’ve ever felt! (Non-racer translation: That was waaay cool, and its not even near its potential!)

We attempted 2 more qtr mile passes after that, but the car developed an electrical hiccup, and didn’t make any worthwhile hits.

The run can be viewed on NMRA TV. As long as they don’t switch the link location on me again, I should be the very last car down the track on that segment of the broadcast.

A few photos I found online have been placed in my photo gallery. If any of you see any other images out there I missed, send ’em my way. (All my photog friends couldn’t make it, so I had no photo/video for the site.)

On Sunday, after packing up at Reynolds the night before, traveling back to the shop (1 hour away), and then back PAST Reynolds again to Macon Nat’l Dragway in Macon, GA… we unloaded for the Dixie Pro Mod race and got to work trying to find the hiccup. Josh and I went over the whole car looking for loose connections, broken wires, or any sign of what may have caused the car to shut off on the starting line twice the night before, but didn’t find anything significant enough to have been the culprit.

So, we warmed it up and took it to the starting line. The problem seemed to be gone, and we were able to make it just past the shift transition before it got loose due to track conditions, still coasting to a 5.03 1/8th mile. (Non-racer translation: Whew! It was a little slippery out there!) That qualifying attempt made me the first turbo car ever to run with the Dixie Pro Mod Association after their new rule revision allowed deviation from the long standing nitrous only tradition. Further qualifying attempts proved more of the same challenges with traction, and I fell just short of qualifying for the 8 car field.

Overall, not a bad weekend. It was definitely good preparation for the upcoming Fun Ford Weekend event in Commerce (ATL), GA this weekend. I will be testing Thursday and racing Fri-Sun in Pro 5.0 for the first time. Payday for this event is $30,000 in Pro, which I don’t think I have a prayer for yet, but I’ll be turning up the wick to get a little closer. I’m hoping for a 6 second timeslip or a 200 mph pass… we’ll see if my ambitious goal will be obtainable so early!

Wish me luck!!!

Lesson of the day

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Racecars & Tuning. Its like any new relationship…

You’ve got to learn the little things about her (or him, but in this case as in most autos, “it” will be a she for simplicity sake). What she likes, what she needs, and the way she wants to be treated is reflective on the way she will treat you in turn. And as is true in too often the case, she mainly will only let you know what she doesn’t like, leaving you guessing as to what the heck she really wants (don’t even start guys… you all do it too).

The good news is that upon closer examination, the valvetrain problem in Valdosta was NOT a lifter issue as originally thought. I guess this pessimistic racer always comes to expect the worst in any situation, because as Murphy’s Law suggests, anything that can break, will indeed break and will destroy about a half dozen other things on its way out. So, thankfully, the valvetrain noise turned out to be merely a loose rocker whose polylock had wiggled its way free. No damage, no broken parts, no problems. ::knocking on wood:: Dan worked extra specially hard to make sure that my intake gasket leak, my dragging engine diaper, and my loose rocker situation was fixed, and I was ready for the weekend to test at Phenix City and prepare for Orlando with John Gullett & Ray Sanchez, who would be testing with me.

Good ole Murphy came knocking and of course rained on our parade. Literally. The stormclouds dropped what seemed like several inches of rain over the south, unrelenting for 24 hours straight. When the rain ceased on Sunday morning, the track was a marshland, with pools all across the track surface. After scrambling to find an open track that would be convenient for John’s trek back to FL and Ray’s flight to Canada departing that evening from ATL, we came back empty handed. Nothing worked for the other guys, who all had to head home without getting anything accomplished.

While making those phone calls, we discovered that Montgomery Motorsports Park had a bracket race, and while it was impossible & impractical for Ray or John to attend, the 90 mile drive was worthwhile for me to try and sort the car for Orlando. So Dan & I loaded up for Montgomery, after George Howard agreed to work me into the program for some test passes. What we did not know was that no cars had been run on that track for 3 months, and combined with the rains from the previous day, the track conditions were not exactly optimal. George’s crew were working very hard to prepare the track and get it to come around, and George was very genuine in his concern for mine and all other racer’s safety. Despite the conditions, which did improve as the day progressed, the passes were an excellent learning experience for driving in those type of situations. The first pass of the day, despite having drastically turned down the power on the car, she still managed to severely overpower the track, and got loose enough to have quickly caught my “full and undivided attention” (otherwise known as “pucker factor”). We then tried several other methods of controlling the acceleration, trying to slow the building of boost, timing, etc. but still encountered problems just past the 60′. Adding to the struggles of a new driver, having a new car with an untested combination makes it particularly daunting a task to get this thing down the track. Dan is forced to try and decipher what little information I can provide from my unfamiliar observations and couple this with the complicated graph readings off the ignition. After some calculations, he determined that it had too much rear gear (which we knew would not be able to carry through the 1/4 to begin with) and that it was exasterbating the violent launches.

So, a taller, less aggressive gear has been ordered and will be installed this week. This however, sealed my fate for yet again missing another Orlando event, which I endearingly consider my “home” and one of the few opportunities I have to see my family. That is the most disappointing aspect of the entire situation, any other event would easily be a perfectly rational decision NOT to attend without a well tested and performing car. Instead, I resigned to stick closer to home and race in the Dixie Pro Mod event (1/8th mile) in Macon this coming weekend, gain some more seat time and sort the new & improved gearing.

Until then….

Testing, Take 2

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

You think I’d have more to say about my first few outings in the T-bird. Well, I do actually, its just I’ve been swamped with a grueling schedule, and haven’t had a chance to sit and reflect. What better time to do so than after midnight on an exhausting race weekend. (I know, I make no sense)

[cue drumroll] So, finally, after a year and a half out of the seat, the Horsepower & Heels Thunderbird & I took our maiden launch on February 5th at Phenix Motorsports Park in Phenix City, AL. The objective of the test session was to make some incremental passes and to get me familiar with the car. No biggie, right? Well for some, that would have been no big deal, but for me, anxiety grew everyday that I hadn’t been in a racecar, so I was some nervous about jumping into the seat of a much faster car after so long. Everyone kept telling me “Its like riding a bicycle, Erica. You don’t forget.” Yea… a LOUD, powerful, complicated bicycle.

But, as a testimony to the crew and people whom I have in my corner, I am quite proud to admit that the nerves and fear I expected to kick in as I pulled into the burnout for the first time never materialized. Not to say that I’m not overly cautious nor was I prepared for the g’s on that first launch, but at least I wasn’t shakin’ like a polaroid when I finally sat in the seat.

Many people have asked me since that weekend the big questions… What was that first hit like? Well, as much as I have stood behind these things as they leave the starting line, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what that first hit will be like. That was until I let go of that button the first time. As Rick Head said..”I would’ve paid to see your face when you let go of that button the first time.” I assured him it was Priceless.

The weather in Phenix City was cold, so track conditions were not the best due to low track temp. The plan was to start out with some 60′ hits. After the happy shock wore off from that first pass, the second and third went much more smoothly. On the second pass, I managed a 1.09 short time, shutting it off just before the 60′. The third pass I was able to take it out a little futher, but the 60′ was off, and the track conditions were falling off as well. So, we left it at that, and called it a night.

The next weekend, we found a rocker in the valvecover. I am so unaccustomed to this motor, I never heard the miss inside the car. Upon further inspection, Dan found a lifter had failed. Thinking it may have been the result of a potential overwinding in the burnout from my first pass, he replaced the lifters, pushrods, and rockers with fresh pieces to ensure the problem was fixed. Since the temperatures were below freezing last weekend, there was no testing to be had locally. Which meant my next experience would come at my first official event, the ADRL Winter Drags at SGMP in Adel (Valdosta), GA.

With a fixed motor, renewed enthusiasm & great track conditions, I was ready to try and get down broadway and get a feel for navigating the 1/8 mile. Some of my security blanket was unavailable for this weekend, as Dan was in front of me running his own Pro Mod. A few rookie mistakes in the first test passes on Friday made me shut down early (HELLO!?! You’re supposed to leave in 1st gear, not 3rd!) But by the nighttime session, I was ready to kick it on through. Much to my dismay, something went amiss again and I shut off. Back in the pits, it was evident we had some problems by the diaper dragging the ground and the oil accumulation running down the firewall. Kevin and I pulled the turbo/valvecover off to find a rocker off kilter again. The bolt still tight, it was apparent that it had another lifter failure, and with that my weekend was over.

Not exactly how I had hoped to make my Pro Mod debut, but on the bright side, I am confident that once we get these new car bugs figured out, the car will be a very fast piece. I am so tremendously grateful to all the people who have helped me get to this point, and who continue to do so: Mr. Moody, Dan, Kevin, Biscuit, Josh, Dennis, Bill, and everyone else. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the news I was hoping to hear a mere 2 weeks until Orlando, so it is highly unlikely I will make that event. (not enough time to get fixed and sort the 1/4 mile issues before then I fear) That is the downside to not having found any marketing funding, but my hope is that it will come once I get everything sorted out.

In the mean time, its back to work. If I don’t indeed make Orlando, I will be testing at home to get this thing ready to roll in Atlanta. I’ve had a ton of helpful folks depart similar BBF experiences, and have a good idea where to look from here.

Until then…

NHRA Sisterhood debunked

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Melanie TroxelI root for the ladies in our sport, and in all motorsports. I think that there is a bond of sorts that being the minority in motorsports creates as a female driver. No matter what level, many women are the subconscious victim of prejudice of gender… despite the fact that the racecar knows nothing of what sex pilots it down the track surface. We have all faced these prejudices as women trying to advance, trying to gain the same respect for our driving abilities as our male counterparts seem to earn more readily. I’m elated that Melanie Troxel took the first win of the season in Top Fuel. There have been others before her, but it reinforces Melanie’s talent and ability again to the public. She has a top-notch win-capable team, and she executed as a driver. That combination is what it takes to get the win. But it wasn’t always that way.

I was a bit saddened to read a recent interview with Troxel, where she completely downplayed her gender to the press, adding that fellow female racers “…they’re just competitors.” Now, I understand her argument. Female drivers want to be noticed for their driving talent, and not for their gender alone. I can appreciate her goals when she says: “I think we’ve all worked so hard at being accepted as racers and not (have it) based on the fact that we’re female, that we want to be taken seriously just as the other competitors out there, it kind of goes against that to then turn and make (their gender) such a big issue. It’s not a huge rivalry where we’re all out to get each other, but I don’t think we go out of our way to make any special bond.” But in reality, it simply doesn’t work that way.

Troxel, herself, has felt this. The writer points out for us that she sat on the backburner with Prudhomme for the most 2005 season, and was unsure of her career progression. She had proven her talent with a driving stint for Schumacher in 2000, yet still had not secured a full time ride, until Schumacher picked her up again at the end of 2005. “Melanie is a unique personality, a beautiful lady that’s a talented driver, and she needs to be out here racing. She’s always been a good driver and does a good job,” Schumacher said of his decision to hire Troxel. Her win this weekend, as a relatively new member of the Schumacher team, emphasizes her talent. The respect she has earned as a driver (gender aside) is undeniable. But I feel she has too quickly forgotten the struggles that she, and all other women in the sport have faced (and sometimes continue to face) in their careers. Why not support and mentor the very cause that you took part in for so many years instead of refuting it? Don’t get me wrong, I do not agree with exploiting your sex to further your career, but I also have pride in the very thing that makes us unique, and the struggles we each overcome to get there.

I hope that when I realize my dream of driving in Top Fuel, I will be able to actively champion the cause of women in motorsports. I would like nothing more than to help other women achieve their goals, as I have fought and been blessed enough to pursue over the years myself.

 

What luck- delayed by COLD

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What luck.

I finally get my car running, get it out to the track, excited as all get out to test again this weekend, and hopefully be the first turbo car to try and qualify for a Dixie Pro Mod race this Sunday in Phenix City. But NOOOO. Mom Nature has other plans.

Today, the weather is beautiful. Sunny, temperatures in the mid 50’s, no wind. A little on the cool side for my FL Native heritage, but not bad testing weather at all. But NOOOOOO, that would be too much to ask for. Instead, mother nature has decided to blow in a super cold front, which is expected to drop temperatures to the low 20’s overnight and bring possibility of a snow flurry on Saturday. Yep, SNOW. It is NOT supposed to snow in GA! And because it wasn’t enough to ruin my chances for Saturday, but Sunday the temperatures don’t show signs of improvement at all either. GRRRR!

What is the forecast for Monday you say? Hmmpfff. Exactly what you would expect… Sunny & beautiful, high in the 50’s. A dollar short again….

Oh well. Next weekend is the ADRL Winter Drags in Valdosta, GA at South Georgia Motorsports Park. I’m mainly using it for some test time and to try for my license. I don’t think I stand a chance yet against those 4.07 & under n2O promods, but it’ll still be cool to be racing along side them.

Now where did I put my Parka?

 

Muscle Mustangs Mention

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Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords mentionThe CyberStangs column features a mustang or ford related website in each issue. This month, they have chosen StangFreak.com , a site based mostly on the west coast of mustang enthusiasts, with a growing population and new chapters across the country. Earlier this year, I was asked to write a small column on the site, entitled ‘SHE FREAK’. MM & FF did a complete feature on the site, mentioning my column and also my own Horsepower & Heels website!

Check out a copy of the article on the StangFreak site…. or click HERE.

New Car Woes

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We all know they exsist. We all know that they are inevitable. Then WHY are new car bugs such a pain, and still come so unexpected?

Maybe I should have expected them, or maybe I should have known better, but somehow, just as I think I’m done and ready to go, something sets me back. This weekend was no exception. After the disappointment of missing the Orlando race due to a starter mis-alignment problem, I was happy that the fix wasn’t nearly as expensive nor as complicated as I originally feared. Fixed and ready to go by Thursday of this past week, I was very excited to have Dennis Lugo (Excessive Engineering) coming up on Saturday to help me get the car dialed in and tuned. As he was traveling up to Phenix City from Orlando, I decided to meet him at the track to have the car unloaded out of the school bus (yes, the SCHOOL BUS. Don’t ask, the trailer was INOP) and situated before he arrived around 3pm. Now, earlier during the week the car would start when cold, but would not re-start after some heat was in the motor, or would crank but not stay running when warm. Figuring that it was in the start-up programming, I assumed that it was one of the issues that could be resolved once Dennis arrived. So, I started the car up at Phenix City and drove (as in cruised) the car down the track to get used to the Bruno. After stopping briefly at the top end, the car would not go back into high gear on the return road trip. Back in the pits, Dan looked at me skeptical as to why, thinking I had forgotten to eat my Wheaties again. Wrong, one snatch against the shifter, and it snapped the base of the shifter in two places. Something was wrong with high gear. Dan went back to the shop to weld together the shifter mounting assembly, adding a strengthening plate to the back and we re-installed the shifter. By this point, Dennis is almost to Phenix City, so I finished bolting up the wheelie bars until he arrived.

As soon as Dennis gets there, we plug up the computer and get to work. Cranked it up (with some fuel injected into the throttle body elbow, blower-style) warms up, and Dennis begins his magic. For those that are not aware, Dennis can tune nearly every system out there, he has been tuning since the early days of DFI, and has already been using the Big Stuff 3 system (the system on the T-Bird) since last year. After a few minutes, we shut down the car to make some changes in the program. When to crank it up again, and… NOTHING. Squirted fuel in the motor, it started for a few seconds and then cut off. “Yep, that is what it was doing. And then we can’t make it start again.” I told him. So, we started troubleshooting. Ignition firing? Check. Enough fuel at start up? Double Check. Timing right? Check. Firing order correct? Check. All cylinders firing? Check. We pulled the plugs and replaced the blackened plugs with fresh ones. Still nothing. Dennis changed the map. Nothing. Start up maps. Nothing. Every imaginable component. Nope, nada, nothing. I have never in my years of knowing Dennis, seen him stumped like this…. and I’m worried.

By now, its getting dark, and the test session is over. So, we loaded the bird back into the bus, and headed to the shop. After a bite to eat, Dennis, Josh and I continued to try and diagnose the problem. Dennis continued with the map. Finally we pull the plugs again. #1 is soaked with fuel, while the rest are dry. Dennis determines that the #1 fuel injector must be stuck. By this time, its 12 am. So we wake up Walt to get the number to the owner of the only set of 160# injectors we know of in town. Thankfully, Kelvin makes a call, and we are on our way to Smith Station, AL to a set of brand new injectors.

Back at the shop, Dennis replaces the injector in question, and I hit the starter button again. Vrooom! Started up clean, but all of a sudden I look up to see the intake valley ON FIRE. We rush around trying to throw water on it before resorting to the powder fire extinguisher to put it out. One puff, and the fire is out, but now we have a wonderful powdery mess to clean up. Apparently, when we left to get the injector, I forgot to plug back in the #3 spark plug wire. It arc’d and ignited the fuel in the intake valley. Big whoops on my part. luckily nothing was damaged in the fire. So, at 1 am, we open the bay doors, push the car out, and wash all of the powder out of the engine compartment. After drying everything out, and making sure everything was plugged up correctly, we tried again. It fired, ran for a few minutes, and then quit again. Hmmmm. Checked the plug, and it was not soaked as it was last time. We figured now that the injectors were running correctly, we’d have to rework the map to keep it running smoothly, since we had been trying to compensate in the map for the bad injector. Seeing how it was almost 2 am, we called it a night.

This morning, we started off bright and early again. Got to the shop around 8am, and got back to work. We were ready to set the timing, and adjusted the crank trigger again (after some adjustments last night). But the car started acting up. Now, it wouldn’t crank at all. A few more hours of trying, and finally Dennis started unplugging injectors. Sure enough, with 2 injectors unplugged, the car started right up. He switched injectors, and unplugged another 2. Fired again. So it wasn’t related to a single bad injector, it was something within the computer. Dennis determined that there was an injector driver problem within the box, and with that our day was done.

So, the computer has been sent back and the injectors sent off to be cleaned. It’ll be next week or so before we try again. At least we figured out one of the problems. GOTTA LOVE NEW CAR BUGS!

 

Back at it

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Made it back from Orlando in one piece, tired as all get out, but tan as only the Florida sun can do. As usual, the World Street Nationals were ever the impressive show that it always is. Being from Orlando originally, I get somewhat complacent about its significance… the size, the speeds, and the straight up competition. 400 cars competing to get into a 32 car field in 4 of the fastest run-whatcha-brung classes. Race Rock was a little lame this year, but with the turnout and the people crowding the streets (wait, yes, that includes me) its probably a little understandable that they forbid burnouts. ::groans::

The class that I would have entered in Orlando was Pro Street: full tube chassis cars, any power adder-any cubic inch, weighing in around 2700 lbs. Annette Summer took the pole with a stout 6.40 pass and posted top mph of 227 during the weekend. That’s sporty on a track that’s considered tricky because of the hot/humid/rainy climate in Orlando. The bump to the 32 car field ended up being in the 7.0 range I believe. Pretty quick… but definately feasible with my car, which is hopeful for next year.

So back at the shop this evening, we have the time to re-evaluate the starter/flywheel problem. Turns out that the starter was not fully engaging the flywheel at all… (thanks Mike Herring and Mr. Moody for the dead on troubleshoot) So Chris took the starter gear off and replaced it, and then machined material off the starter to get it closer to the flywheel and fully engaging against the teeth. Spun the motor over and flipped the ignition, and VROOOM! Started right up. I of course feel a little silly about not checking for that to begin with, but at least its fixed and running and ready to get tuned/tested in Phenix City this weekend.

We also took a minute to weigh the car… with a cast filled block, fiberglass front end, the lenco/bruno, the intercooler, and considering it is a steel roof/quarters car, we were SHOCKED when we found that it came in under the minimum for FFW… 2550. That’s WITH me in it. And the distribtion front to rear is good too. So, I lost that $50 bet. Dan ate Red Lobster tonight because I had guessed it to be 2600-2700 lbs. Oh well, I believe I owed him that at least for sure.

So tomorrow, I’ll reassemble the trans tunnel sheetmetal and finish off the little details that were left behind in the thrashing of last week. Phenix City has an open Pro Mod race on Sunday that I just found out is a 16 car field, and not the typical quick 8 format. Possibility of me sneaking into the back of that field…

Did I mention that my racecar is running?!? heh… reality has not yet sunk in.

WAAAHOOOO!

Postponed

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Well, after 2 long weeks of work, we finally got the car started and running… only to be defeated by the typical new car problems and lack of time for testing. After getting it started Tuesday night in the shop, we finally called it a night and got back up at it Wednesday morning to finish putting the final touches on the car. Parachutes needed to be packed, the windshield needed to go back in place, the sheetmetal around the Lenco needed to be fastened… nothing too severe. I stayed up until 2 am working through the engine management program, thinking I had a closer grasp on the motor. But when we unloaded the car at Phenix City to get in some much needed passes on the car, it went down hill from there.

The mechanical fuel pump had lost its prime, so we spent about 20 minutes trying to get it running. The timing was off, and once it finally lit, it wouldn’t stay running. The starter kept kicking back, and each time it did, it ground against the flexplate. John Gullett helped me finally get it running and keep it running, and set the timing correctly. It was idling great and sounded much better. When we shut it off, everything looked okay. But the next time we went to crank it, the flexplate/starter had so much wear that they would not engage, and the test session was over before it began. Although I could have replacement parts by Friday, I could not risk taking such an untested car to Orlando and try to run it through the quarter mile completely untested.

On the bright side, the car is finally together and running. We have a private test session scheduled next weekend to get the bugs sorted out, and can possibly enter the Pro Modified open race in Phenix City the following Sunday.

On the down side, I was really looking forward to debuting the car in my hometown of Orlando in front of my family and friends. I’m still headed down there, but it will be another few months before I’ll have another race in Orlando with my car. (March 2006 FFW) That was the real let down of the news, along with the fact that we all worked so hard for the last few weeks to get the car there, to have something this silly set us back. I won’t be discouraged though, and will use the extra time to really get the car sorted out before the next race… an ORSCA Pro Modified event at Commerce in November.