Friday, August 26, 2005

"If ya gonna be dumb...

...Ya gotta be tough."


This week, Dan wins the award for rough luck. This used to be a 1965 GTO, that Dan was testing at Phenix City this past week for a team from NJ. The GTO having just had some work done elsewhere, apparently had a problem with header vs. tire clearance. When the car got a little loose at the top end, Dan tried to counter, but found the steering locked up. The GTO hit a dirt mound and went airborne, flipping and bouncing 3 times before landing on its lid.


Thankfully, the funny car cage held up, and Dan walked away with only a broken pinky toe. Dan had someone upstairs looking out for him on Thursday for sure. While he may be pretty hard-headed, I think he's definately learned his lesson about checking for the proper steering radius' before jumping in a car. Lesson learned: trust your gut.

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Posted by Erica Ortiz at 7:45 PM | | Comments

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Trixie's First Magazine Shot


This one is for my girl, Trixie, who just had her magazine debut in the latest issue of Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords Magazine (October 2005). Trixie has become well known in the pits this year as that sassy little pit rat in the Gullett camp. Now, you can check her (and me proudly totin' her) out on page 215 from the World Ford Challenge. Hey Evan, Trixie is still waitin' on her feature as the fastest pit dog on the planet!

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Posted by Erica Ortiz at 9:07 PM | | Comments

Monday, August 22, 2005

In the winner's circle...


I might not have been behind the wheel, but I'm estatic to report that we were in the winner's circle this weekend at the ADRL Sunshine Drags in Valdosta, GA! Most of you are aware that I help crew for Dan Parker on Bill George's '63 Nitrous-equipped Pro Mod Corvette. After a day full of technical gliches (tune up issues, a faulty fuel pump, no computer, etc), a ton of hard work, and unbearable Georgia heat, Dan took out 5 time Champion Shannon Jenkins in a hole-shot victory. I have learned so much from being a part of this team, and I'm proud of what they've accomplished! Dan & Bill do all the tuning on this car themselves, and this weekend, without the aid of a computer. I've never seen a more elated Bill George... and Dennis... and Biscuit....and well, EVERYONE.

Photo: Comp Plus

Also note worthy: congrats to John Gullett, who was the fastest turbocharged entry on the property and ran a weekend best of 6.58 at a lifting 193 mph.

Thanks to Kenny Nowling for putting on a great event!

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Posted by Erica Ortiz at 4:24 PM | | Comments

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Driven by Color

Well, as the car slowly comes along, I've placed a large amount of focus on securing some Marketing Partners for the 2006 season. You'd think that with my work history, that it would be a breeze to create for myself. I mean, if I can create a market presentation for Dillards that secures a $1 million contract, a simple sponsor package should be a no brainer, right? WRONG. Its actually quite difficult to develop a self-promoting package without feeling completely boisterous of yourself. So, although I've written dozens of sponsorship proposals for other racers, with some favorable success stories, I'm at a road block for my own.

Luckily, I have some very knowledgable friends in the industry whom have a lot more experience than myself in this department, who have given me some insight and offered their help. Debi Shepard gave me a contact for OPI, which we believed would be a great outside tie into the motorsports advertising sector, piggy backing on their recent "Driven by Color" campaign and Ford Mustang promotion. So, I put together a presentation, got together some good visualizations of the OPI tie in, and sent it off in style. Cross your fingers, folks. The car is nearing completion, and I still lack a paint scheme, which was my offer to OPI as far as placement. Otherwise, my plan is to fire it up for the World Street Nationals in Orlando for their October annual Race Rock event, and then get the paint done over the winter.

To see some of the proposal shots, visit the GALLERY

Just think....

OPI NAIL POLISH: Doesn't chip or crack.... even at 200 mph.

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Posted by Erica Ortiz at 1:14 PM | | Comments

Friday, August 05, 2005

Better Late than never...

My apologies for the delay in posting these, but here are some images from a few weekends ago by John Ramspott of Focus Firm.

The Concept: A magazine is doing a feature on 'Horsepower & Heels', focusing on the fact that there are women who do not feel the pressure to conform to the standard method of thinking that in order to "Run with the boys..." you must act like "one of the boys". That rationale, that leaves otherwise beautiful, strong, and capable women apologizing for their feminine gifts; prevails over the realms of motorsports. Somewhere, it was falsely determined that for a woman to be successful in a male dominated sport, she must abandon all that makes her uniquely feminine, and that any sign of such traits be considered a weakness. However, as many strong women emerge today, this mold appears to finally be breaking apart. This shoot's focus was to capture both the strong and the playful side of the ladies at Horsepower & Heels.

The shoot plays on Charlie's Angels, the first unapologetically and undoubtedly feminine iconic heroines of our generation.

For more, click:

Complete Image Gallery

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Posted by Erica Ortiz at 9:21 AM | | Comments

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