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Women in Racing News - Horsepower & Heels

News about female racers, women in the pits and other news stories from the motorsports and automotive world.

Vote a female racer for sponsorship

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One of the biggest reasons I created this site is to actively support women competing in motorsports.   Its something I’m very passionate about, because I feel that if you don’t stand together and help one another, we’ll never see our full potential as a group.

One way to do this, is to help bring more attention to the ladies out there competing, talk about their successes, and help them seek the resources they need to be competitive.

Vote a Female Racer for Sponsorship

Pink Checkered Racing Flags

Champion is holding their annual sponsorship contest, where they give away $150,000 in sponsorship to several lucky racers.   Racers each created and submitted a video, and now fans are voting a selected few into the next round.

Of the 394 videos submitted, there are 25 ladies vying for the sponsorship dollars.     Helping these ladies get the votes needed to make the next round, get them all one step closer to better funding for their program, one of the toughest challenges that women involved in racing face compared to their male counterparts.

When its time to vote, give one of these fine ladies a nod, and help support women in motorsports.

 

Alexis DeJoria gets a taste of a new speed…Mach 2

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Alexis DeJoria flies with the USAFRemember back a few years ago, when I told you all about my *real* passion as a kid?   Well it appears I have found my kindred spirit in the NHRA world…. none other than Patron Funny Car pilot, Alexis DeJoria.

I keep in contact with Alexis and her team regularly for my Women In Motorsports column over on Examiner.com, but this week’s email from the team included something WAY out of the ordinary (if you can ever really call 300mph nitro-burning funny cars ordinary).

Alexis had the chance to jump on board an F-16 fighter jet with the USAF Thunderbolts this week, shortly after leaving the Seattle race.    Apparently, it was also HER lifelong dream to have become a fighter pilot, but after something altered her course, she too would take to the land version of piloting a high-horsepower machine by drag racing.   Sound familiar?   I swear, I think I found my new BFF.

As if I didn’t already have mad respect for Alexis, what with piloting an 8,000HP nitro-burning funny car to 300mph in less than 4 seconds and all, but NOW I can also add that she’s one of the only gals I know that have not just been SUPERSONIC, but  MACH 2 no less.    That’s twice as fast as the speed of sound folks.   And if I thought that a 3G launch was pretty intense?  Oh no, Ms. DeJoria has experienced all the intensity of an 8.4G maneuver!

I. AM. SO. UNBELIEVABLY. JEALOUS.   

Alexis also spent about 25 minutes of her hour-long experience commanding the controls the F-16 herself.    As hard as it is to imagine getting to be inside that thing for a 0-20,000 ft take-off in less than 5 seconds, or speeding along in excess of 600mph, or the inversions, verticals, loops, split S’, low altitude flying, and barrel rolls that come with these amazing machines, I could not FATHOM being able to move her around the skies myself.

So to Alexis…. I’ll be your wingman anytime!

Force and Enders share Seattle podium

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Wow!  What a weekend for the ladies in NHRA!

Enders and Force share the podium
Erica Enders and Courtney Force hoist their Wallys in the air after both scoring wins in Seattle.

Courtney Force landed her first NHRA Funny Car victory, a feat after climbing back from the #14 position at the bottom of the ladder.   This all coming in her rookie Funny Car season, in just her 15th start.   She’s definitely proving to be quite a Force to be dealt with (pun cheesily intended).

Force and Enders share Seattle podium

But for the first time in history, she would be joined by another gal on the PRO podium, with Erica Enders also landing her second career win in Pro Stock.   Erica’s win came just 3 races after her elusive first win in Chicago, but what makes it even more poetic to me, is that this win comes just one week after the crazy controversy between her and Greg Anderson in Sonoma.

The internet has been on FIRE with the backlash against Greg after he publicly declared Erica Enders “unprofessional” on his ESPN2 interview following the round in Sonoma.    Not only was he asked by his sponsor Summit Racing to apologize to Enders and her crew, the ill-karma he wished upon her came back to bite him.   In what can only be the most fitting form of proper karma dispatch, it was Enders who put Anderson on the trailer early in the race en route to her second career win.

Enders was quite the gracious winner.    The rest of us however, had a field day with that one.

Apparently, it didn’t stop with the fans either.   Matt Hagan made a remark during his final round interview that he didn’t mind losing to a woman.    John Force also was quoted saying how capable and talent the women of our sport are, with a special mention to daughter Courtney, Erica and Shirley Muldowney.

Its sad that there are people out there who still view women as inferior competitors.  Motorsports being the great equalizer- the cars don’t know gender- its really disappointing to know the amount of sexism that still lingers.

Kudos to the ladies for such a great weekend of racing!

 

Photo:  NHRA

 

 

Enders/Anderson controversy

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So, I’ve made the commitment to myself to get back on the wagon of writing in this blog more often.   Racecar ready or not, I enjoyed blogging all about different things related to NHRA, drag racing or women racing in general, and a lot of that stopped when I started writing my Women In Motorsports column for Examiner.com.

There probably isn’t a good segway into getting back into it beside just jumping in with both feet, so I guess there is no better place to start than a little Pro Stock controversy.

Enders' infamous shot in front of Greg Anderson's trailer.
The infamous and controversial shot of Erica Enders in front of Greg Anderson’s trailer after her Chicago win.

Now, I’m naturally a strong women in motorsports advocate, so this comes with obvious bias, but I’ll present the facts and let you make your own determination.

This weekend at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, after an apparent little staging battle during Round 2 eliminations between Greg Anderson and Erica Enders, Greg Anderson voiced his displeasure with Erica during his ESPN2 top-end interview, calling her unprofessional and accusing her of being unsportsmanlike in actions following her first NHRA Pro Stock win 5 weeks earlier, where she defeated him.

Apparently, the ill-comments stemmed from a photo taken of Enders hoisting her Wally after the win in front of Greg Anderson’s trailer.   (seen at left)

Now, the background story behind this photo, at least for us with a sense of humor, is that Greg made multiple comments to the press over the past few years that he didn’t want to be “that guy” who lost to Enders for her elusive first win.  To me, that was a repeated jab against Enders, who took it in stride and never made much ado about what could have also been viewed as a rather childish comment to be made repeatedly about a competitor.

Nearly 5 weeks after that incident, Greg took to the ESPN2 airwaves to comment on the situation regarding the staging battle and her post-race win behavior.

“Sorry for her luck. It’s always good when you race her and I’ve said it all along … she kicked my butt in Chicago. I really didn’t appreciate some of the things she did after that race … it was, in my mind, a little unprofessional. I think the karma train got her a little bit there. She’s a great racer but you have to be professional.” — Greg Anderson

My personal thought is that the photo was good-natured jesting by Enders, who celebrating her victory also was able to point out the irony in the fact that despite his many comments to the contrary, he was in fact “that guy” who lost to her in her first win.

What I did find a bit childish was the staging battle.    Sure, its legal, but its awful immature to resort to treating her like that on the track.  It worked to his favor, as she red-lit in this round handing him the win, but sure doesn’t paint him as the most sportsmanlike competitor.

What do YOU think of the controversy?  Do you think Erica Enders was unprofessional in taking that photo or was Greg Anderson the first low blow with his comments about being “that guy” to lose to Enders?

Erica Enders for People’s Choice

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K&N Horsepower ChallengeErica Enders has really been on fire this season after her return to Cagnazzi Racing, and I’m expecting her first win to come any time now this season in Pro Stock.

Its good to see EE doing well, after struggling for the past few years.   See what a difference a great team can make when a great driver is paired?

Erica Enders for People’s Choice

I’d love to see EE go for the glory this year in the K&N Horsepower Challenge, so I’m asking everyone to get out and vote for Erica Enders in the People’s Choice entry.   She’s doing so well this season, she may not need it… but it sure would be great to have her win the People’s vote!

Good luck, EE!

Congrats Force girls

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You know, nitro Funny Car driver Ashley Force-Hood has been having a heckuva year. She’s won several events, led the points chase, been to a handful of finals…. Girl is on Fire. (not literally. That would be BAD.)

Love it.

 

Courtney Force scored a win

But there are 2 more Force girls out there racing worth the mention, and one looks to me to be making quite the splash too. Younger Force spawn Brittany and Courtney are both competing in Top Alcohol Dragster while they are attending college. Courtney is also all over the internets with a column in USA Today and participating in all sorts of cool Fiesta Movement shenanigans. (check out her twitter here or youtube antics here)

 

This past weekend in Seattle, both younger sisters made it to the semi-finals, having to face off against each other. With Courtney taking the win in that pairing, she would be the lone Force car left heading to the final rounds for that day.
Courtney Force defeated Chris Demke in that final to score her first TAD win, the lone Wally in the JFR pit for the day.
I’m a huge fan of all the Force girls, but something just stands out to me about Courtney, and I’m really excited to see her move up and join her dad and sister in the nitro categories. I *suspect* it may just be in a JFR dragster and not the typical flopper, but its just a hunch and would be cool to see. My fear is that her eventual move to funny car may be filling the seat of her retiring dad, and I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.
Where ever she ends up, she seems to have the whole package: trademark Force good looks, articulate, engaging, and royal drag racing blood to boot.
Congrats Courtney on the first of many wins!

Another black and pink racecar

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One of the biggest things I’ve missed is my signature Black & Pink racecar paint jobs. Which is why I’m really excited that the other Erica racing is not only driving a Mustang this year too, but has gone with a Black/Pink color scheme for her DragStar Pro Stock ride.

Its been a tough road for racers lately, so I’m super excited for Erica Enders getting back to the Pro Stock arena. The car, which is sponsored by DragStar Racing, will be part of Cunningham Ford Pro Stock Racing program.
Amazingly, this year we are sharing not only the first name, but both of us are driving mustangs, and both cars will rock a similar paint scheme. Although I originally planned a similar Black/Pink theme based on my blog format, my car will now be a dark charcoal color with the pink/black accents instead.
With any luck, this will be the year for the Ericas Comeback Tour– Enders taking on the Pro Stock boys, and myself dealing with the Pro Street crowd! Good luck, Enders!

A million hearts just BROKE

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Congrats to NHRA Funny Car driver Ashley Force and Danny Hood, who tied the knot on December 13th in Lake Tahoe amidst a beautiful snowfall.

Guests included other drag racing families such as the Bernstein, Worsham and Wilkerson families.

It was snowing on my wedding day and my photographers said they didn’t care that we were going to go out and take pictures outside in the snow. I am glad they did that now but at the time I was freezing and I would have liked to have been in my firesuit. — Ashley Force-Hood

And what did the girl who is most comfortable in a 20 layer clutch-dust ridden firesuit and a helmet think of her billowy white wedding dress and formal attire?

It was kind of fun to wear a dress. I thought I might not like it as much as I did. I loved the dress I picked but I was kind of dreading being in a dress and heels all night. I was thinking this is going to stink and I am going to be so miserable and uncomfortable but I think that since it is your one day in your life that you do that you try and enjoy it. I snuck in and wore, not race boots but, Ugg boots kind of the same style. That made it a lot easier to take off the heels after a while and slip on those boots.” –Ashley Force-Hood

*Shhhh!*

 

That sound you hear is about a million hearts breaking across the Drag Racing nation, as the 2007 AOL Hottest Athlete of the Year is officially off the market now.

 

I wonder if she will now be Mrs. Ashley Force-Hood or if Danny will just be Mr. Ashley Force? Hmmm.

Congrats to the newlyweds from all of us here at Horsepower & Heels!

 

Photos: (top left) Flower girl and niece Autumn Hight, Ashley, and Danny. (bottom right) the Bridal party all bundled up and shivering for snowy wedding portraits

 

All Photos courtesy: NHRA.com

Lookout Barbie, a new pink car in town

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Ashley Force is debuting a pink rendition of her Castrol sponsored Mustang Nitro Funny car at “The Big GO” in Indy this weekend.

As much as she’s a proponent of Girl Power, I wondered why she had never incorporated a pink theme into her graphics. Well, this weekend she will be racing a Bubble Gum Pink racecar as her Rookie of the Year themed entry. The special edition is a one-race appearance, so unfortunately it will be short-lived.
What a great idea in getting back to the Shirley Muldowney-inspired symbolism! Big thumbs up for this one!
(photo courtesey: John Force Racing)