Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The Brickyard

So, as is my norm here lately, I had another whirlwind weekend in celebration of Memorial Day festivities. (I'm almost dizzy looking at my calendar anymore)

Originally, I had planned to make a trip to Indy all weekend, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had been added to the Dixie Derby All-Star team. We had a home bout on Saturday, which I played in and we ended up winning 154-41. Great night for sure. Thanks for everyone that came to watch, I had a great time!

I didn't get to celebrate long at the afterparty, because after that tiring day, it was up bright and early headed out to Indianapolis, IN. I had a few different reasons to be going to Indy, but one of them was to definitely catch part of the Indy 500 in person. I've never seen an Indy race live, especially not at the hallowed Brickyard, so I raced the 6 hours up there early Sunday morning to catch the race. (thank GOD for radar detectors.... and drafting... and fun travelers with the same idea in mind)

I arrived around lap 90, but by the time I got parked and hiked the 2 miles to the track, it was somewhere around lap 140 or so. To my luck, they weren't even checking tickets anymore, so I just walked in and grabbed an empty seat on Turn 2. I had a bunch of friends there that I hoped to meet and sit with, but unfortunately, you can't exactly hear a cell phone well from the track, so I just gave up and sat in the stands next to some *interesting* people.

Of course, I learned after I made it about 1.75 miles of my hike that I'd hauled my camera with me for NOTHING, being that I had conveniently left my only CF card in the USB reader at work back in Huntsville. Grrrr..... I can be thoroughly brain-dead sometimes. But I did catch some of the *BIG* Meira crash, as it happened right in front of me. They took awhile to get him out, I had a sick feeling as they don't make it a point to say anything about the driver's condition over the PA. I thought I saw him moving on the stretcher, so that was a hopeful sign. Thankfully, he's okay, just has some broken vertebrae and will have some therapy to go through for the rest of the season.

So, the best evidence of my 1st trip to an Indy car race comes from my negative 3.0 mega pixel camera phone. And let me tell you how hard it is to actually CATCH a 2oomph car whizzing by with that sucker too. ::Shakes head in disgust::
Danica Patrick again did really well, landing in the 3rd spot at the race end behind Helio and Wheaton. Helio had a huge lead, but I was secretly hoping for some last lap antics by Danica that would've moved her into 2nd. Sarah and Milka both finished the race, but out of the top 10. Oh well, next year for my girls!

Monday's rainy trip home was far from fun, as I was thoroughly exhausted and had to fight some pretty crappy conditions. (Hello Mustang, time for some new tires!) I made it back into town around 8pm, snuggled up to my little chihuahua, and tried to unwind before heading back to the grind.

And it doesn't appear that my schedule will be letting up any time soon! Next weekend: Evansville, IN for Derby. Following weekend: Knoxville, TN for derby, where I'm actually skating with the Knoxville team, who was short players. Week after? FLORIDA for fun, sun, family.... and oh yea, WORK too. Then possibly a bonzai run back to Bowling Green, KY for the nostalgia race. Yippeee-aye-ahhh!

Derby Photos: Angela Zaborny; Indy Photos: My crappy Blackberry.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Gainesville NHRA and Ashley Force

Its been over a week since I got back from a great trip to the 40th Annual NHRA Gator Nationals, and I'm just catching up enough to sit down for an update.

What a great trip! The Gator Nationals have become a semi-traditional trip for me, being the first east coast race of the season, and my first chance to get away and "smell the nitro" for the year.

As usual, the trip kicks off at the Gainesville Ale House on Thursday night, with a chance to catch up to many of my racing friends and a few personal friends from home that come up for the weekend from Orlando.

But the highlight of this year's trip was my opportunity on Friday morning to visit with Ashley Force courtesey of JFR PR pro Elon Werner. I met Elon through the new @JFR_Racing twitter campaign, and he invited me out to chat with Ashley in the pits. The JFR Twitter accounts allows fans to follow the instant team updates throughout the weekend to get a "behind the scenes" feel from the races in real-time.

(Check out my growing list of Drag Racing Twitter Accounts for other team updates)

Right now, Ashley is living the dream of a lot of us women racers in the PRO leagues of drag racing, being one of the few women competing this year in the NHRA. The advancement of women in racing is a passion of mine, so I was very eager to sit down with the top gal in our sport for some insight into what its like out there with the Big Boys. Ashley is in her third year as a professional Nitro Funny Car racer with her father's premiere funny car team. She's had incredible success as a racer, and is an inspiration to many.

Armed with my Horsepower & Heels TV Cam, I spent about 20 minutes with Ashley in her driver's lounge chatting about what its been like for her as a woman out on the circuit and how she's progressed through the ranks to reach professional status. PNN and I are now sorting through the editing, and we'll be kicking off Season 2 of Horsepower & Heels TV with this insightful look at the leading lady in NHRA Nitro Funny Car.

Stay tuned for more coming soon!!!

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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Gator Nationals 2009

Its that time again!


The 2009 NHRA Gator Nationals are back in Gainesville, FL this weekend, and as is tradition now, I will be attending from Thursday-Sunday.
I'm even MORE excited to go this year, because I have a few exciting meetings lined-up during the course of the weekend, and a few surprises in store for Horsepower and Heels.com when I get back! I can't mention anything yet, but believe me, its a *BIG* surprise!'
If you'll be at the Gator's, I invite you to stop by the Nitromater.com meet ups on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10am in front of the Nitro Mall. Or, come out to the Gainesville Ale House Thursday night for the traditional NHRA party.
Keep an eye on my Twitter updates for some real-time commentary on the race too!

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Monday, January 19, 2009

World of Wheels 2009 Atlanta

Its been a LONG while since I was around some good ole hot rods, so I was really excited to attend the 2009 World of Wheels Expo in Atlanta this weekend. I managed to remember to bring my fancy-pants camera, which I haven't drug out in over 2 years. After reviewing my photos from this weekend, I'm WAAAY out of practice, and did more fumbling with the thing than anything (hello FLASH, what happened to you?!?) , but you'll get the picture.

I LOVE rat rods and the work and creativity that goes into them. There were many need rat rods and choppers at this show, my favorites being the old skool tow trucks and themed bikes.


There were some iconic cars there as well. I'm a huge Speed Racer fan, so the Mach 5 rendition was especially cool to me. The Foose P-32 Roadster was also on display, as well as both the original and the latest rendition of the KIT cars from Knight Rider (As much as I love Mustangs, I still don't think the Mustang as the new KIT car seems right to me).

They even had a stunt street bike exhibition set up in the far corner, but of course my shoty photography skills got a major FAIL in that department. My blurry attempt at getting the endo stoppy action:



Trip Meter: 444 miles
2009 Odometer: 444 miles

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Monday, October 20, 2008

2009 Ford F-150 Adventure: Part Two

Part Two of Horsepower & Heels' Ford F-150 Adventure Series (continued from previous post.....)

The Proving Grounds.
You might as well have brought me into the Holy Land, because this is about as sacred to us Ford Fans. This is the facility where they conduct all the R&D and testing before vehicles even make it to the production line. The facility consists of acres upon acres of different driving conditions: High Speed test tracks, Off Road, Fire Testing, Accelerated Durability, Handling, Towing, etc.; you name the condition, and they have an area devoted to its testing and development.

The F-150 has been put through its paces from concept through production, along with an impressive several million mile road testing across the country in all of the elements.

As part of my special media launch, we were invited to test the new F-150 against the competition: Toyota's Tundra, Chevrolet's Silverado, Dodge's Ram. Ford set up 4 of their testing sites for us to drive not only the new F-150, but also each of the competition's vehicles.


Accelerated Durability.
The first course we tested on was called Silver Creek 2, the accelerated durability course. The test event consists of a strip of what looked like river rocks that you hit doing 30 mph, and a washboard section to test the truck's handling and its durability over the harsh conditions.

We first watched a demo of the grueling Silver Creek 1 by one of the professional drivers. The course is so punishing that drivers can only attempt the course 4 times in a work day because of the physical beatings taken. Videos played before the demo showed the F-150 along side of each of the competitors. Its amazing what the films showed in slow motion: the amount of frame and body flex in the beds, the movement laterally by the axles bouncing, the handling and control (or lack thereof) in each truck.

My first test vehicle on this event was the Toyota Tundra. The amount of flex in the C-style frame versus Ford's Boxed Frame is very noticeable in the course. The whole truck was difficult to control, and performed the worst of this test. My 2nd vehicle was the Silverado. Though it did not handle as smooth as the F-150, it was at least in control and not as severe in frame vibration and flexing. Driving the F-150, you can tell the amount of refinement that went into the truck helps immensely in driver comfort through such a test, as well as its very controlled, straight on track handling of the conditions. Leaving off with the Dodge, who challenges the tried and true leaf-spring suspension with coil springs, it is surprising the lack of control in the situation. Ford 150 takes the win here, with Dodge Ram getting the low grade.

Handling.
Round two of testing brought us to the autocrossing segment, where we took the trucks, each carrying an 800lb. payload, through a specific course that testing cornering, maneuvering, and overall handling under load. In this round, the steering telemetry and handling response were the key items under scrutiny. Ford's F-150 has great road response and steering feel, and with the addition of traction control found standard on most autos today, it keeps you out of trouble. The solid frame and the hearty suspension make the F-150 a strong player, though the versatility in packages does have some effects between the different models in terms of overall handling. Coming in a distant last was the Silverado, whose steering just was not comfortable at all and took corners very sloppily. The Ram was respectable, and the Tundra, though nothing impressive, didn't sit so out of place here either.

Towing.
For the towing event, each truck was hooked up to a 20 ft. enclosed trailer weighing in at 8,000 lbs (the limit of the Ram's towing capacity). The F-150 boasts 11,300lb. towing capacity, so this was light work for the trucks. The F-150 shines in the towing arena. It is the only model in the group that features integrated trailer braking, with a smart system that senses required brake pressure for the speeds. Gone are the trailer ball/hitching effect, the F-150 tows with such finesse, that its easy to forget you have a trailer behind you. Power bands delivered via the 6 speed transmission are right on target, with excellent ratios to not only pull the load with confidence, but maintain in uphill grades. Engine braking is very intuitive, with downshifting occurring on call from a light touch of the brake pedal. The integrated system also utilizes a unique algorithm to factor in on board anti-sway of the trailer, and also includes a rear view camera with motion sensor tracking and trailer hitch locator. Excellent addition to aid the weekend towers. The camera is viewed via the on board computer for those equipped, and will appear in a special rear view mirror for those who opted not to have the on-board computer.

The Dodge Ram, though its larger Hemi was strong initially, the gear ratios in the transmission make the Hemi struggle upon shifting into 2nd gear on the incline. Shift points are sloppy, with hunting and searching as it downshifts at inopportune times. The Tundra did not seem to have a sweet spot in the braking pedal at all for engine braking. The worst of the bunch came courtesy of the Silverado, whose finicky steering was again problematic especially in the handling while towing.
Off-Road.
They definitely saved the best for last, as we were able to take the Ford F-150 FX4 models out onto the offroad event (apparently, they couldn't torture the competition, so for this event, the FX4 was the only vehicle tested.) Being that offroading has become one of my favorite pass times, I was excited. My ride along engineer, quickly picked up on my desire to really experience the truck, so we pushed the envelope on the routes selected through the mud. Its impressive ability to handle everything we threw at it really made this more than just a factory trim package. The new F-150 is a functional off road vehicle. The only complaint was that going through some of the really dense mud, while you are powering through, if the rev-limiter is touched from wheel speed, it automatically arms the traction control, instantly killing power and thereby getting us stuck. Other than that, the truck is a dream.

All bias aside, it is clear why Ford is leader in the class on the light duty pickup with F-150. It outshines its competitors not only in utility and safety, but also in refinement and durability. The 2009 has been nicknamed the "Toughest Truck" as a progression from the previous models of "tough" and "tougher". Its easy to see why Ford enthusiasts are loyal to their trucks. Driving the competition against the truck, you could really see its strengths, I only wish they offered these testing events nearby dealerships, so you could really make an informed decision before you buy.
Visit my Event Photogallery for more pictures, and look for more on a future episode of Horsepower & Heels TV!

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Friday, October 17, 2008

2009 Ford F-150 Adventure: Part One

I just got back from Detroit, Michigan as a guest of Ford at their newly renovated Michigan Proving Ground Facility. The event: a week-long media launch for the new 2009 F-150.

I've never been to a media launch before, so this was definitely a new and fun experience for me.

The event started off for me with a 50 mile road test drive of the current F-150 to a dealership, where Ford had many of the new 2009 F-150's waiting in all types of available combinations. With 7 trim packages, 3 engine options, 3 box options, and 3 bed options, there are more combinations to choose from than I could possibly begin to discuss. So I started off with a basic XLT extended cab, and headed out with a Ford engineer to experience the truck first hand.

REFINEMENT.
The first thing you notice in the new F-150 is how quiet and smooth it rides. At idle, it doesn't feel or sound like its on, which for me, means I'm very glad it has a safety switch on the starter to keep you from trying to start an already running car. Its THAT quiet! Refinement was high on the list for the new F-150, and they succeeded with great results. The truck doesn't drive like a truck anymore. The steering is smooth and responsive and the plush new interior makes the ride feel more luxury than utility. Gone are the vibrations felt through the steering and the harsh road ride. Its mild mannered ride makes you think more softy than built tough.

POWER.
With the 5.4L V8 boasting a healthy 320 horsepower and 390 ft. lbs of torque, it is a noted improvement over the prior model. The new 6 speed transmission makes power transfer smoother and keeps the healthy engine in its power band longer. There is also a new SFE model that boasts increased fuel mileage via a 4.6L 3V motor. Though I only tested the 5.4L models, the buzz from those that did try out the 4.6L were that there was little noted power differences... no more of the sluggish smaller V8.

DURABILITY.
Ford leads the market already, so how do you improve upon the best? The Ford Tough moto is something that its customers look for in their truck. With so much improvement made to the refinement to the truck, would the ultility suffer as a result? The answer is a firm NO. Ford was able to achieve a perfect trifecta, and still managed to make the truck lighter, and stronger than years prior.

FORD WORK SOLUTIONS.
Tool Link. Crew Chief. Cable Lock.

After completing our road test, we headed back to the hotel for a reception and presentation of a new fleet option system in Ford Work Solutions. This is a wonderful example of embracing the aftermaket and working to provide customers with affordable, factory supported real solutions to real world problems.

The packages are built with an on-board computer/blutooth keyboard/printer combo with high speed connectivity built in that allows a mobile office workstation and even remote access your office desktop. A great tool for contractors to streamline billing and other tracking measures directly from the jobsite. The computer also has built in Garmin Navigation and real-time traffic, weather, and gas pricing for fleet efficiency.

The new Tool Link system option takes efficiency to a new level, with the aid of RF Transmitters and RF tool tags. The RF transmitters located in the bed of the truck allow for tool tracking by communicating with the on-board computer. After a one-time set up, each tagged tool emits its own RF code, recognized by the computer to ensure that all of your tools leave with you after each job. With job-level grouping, it also ensures that your workers are geared up for the jobs they will be assigned for the day. The Cable Lock system allows an in-bed cabling system to secure all tools.

The beauty of the system lies in Crew Chief interface. Crew Chief acts as a mobile dispatch center, tracking location, vehicle speeds, idle time, fuel consumption and more on each of the fleet vehicles. The management system pairs with navigation to allow you to look up a job address and dispatch the closest truck (and if also equipped with Tool Link, the closest properly equipped truck) to your new jobsite.

The F-150 has made an excellent solution to the pressing needs of contractors looking to save in fuel economy and fleet management. With many business owners looking to downsize their fleet vehicles in size and efficiency, this is a vital new tool for small and medium sized fleets.

Up next, I get the chance to take the new F-150 onto the Michigan Proving Grounds for testing against the Silverado, Tundra, and Ram.

Look for a complete sneek preview in a future episode of Horsepower & Heels TV!

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

High School Reunion Time!


Well, I can't really believe its been 10 years, but its TIME!


Lake Howell High School Class of 1998!


I'm headed back down to Orlando, FL for my 10 year reunion. Can't wait to see where all my fellow Silverhawks are in life 10 years later.
I'm making the trip by car, and will be down there through next Monday.
Friday night is the official reunion (details at the Official Blogspot). Then Saturday night, Frankie Perez and I have put together a casual meet-up at the famed local hangout Pretzels Bar & Grill, right around the corner from our old stomping grounds. Sure to be good times!

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Monday, June 16, 2008

Not again!

Not very often I post twice in one day, but hell, I don't have anything better to do right now. I'm now sitting in Salt Lake City, UT... my flight from Atlanta was delayed in Atlanta and I landed in Salt Lake at 4:10 with 20 minutes to get to my gate.

After sprinting my ass off to get to my departing Vegas flight that left at 4:40, I figured I was good when I got to my gate at 4:30.... 10 minutes to spare. They then tell me that even though my plane was still at the gate, they didn't think I'd make it from my other flight so they had already closed the door and cannot reopen the door after it is closed.

Un-friggen-believable.

They wanted to put me on an AM flight, which was NOT an option for me, so they called another airline and now I have a nice 6 hour wait in the airport until 10pm tonight and all I got was a measely $7 food voucher. That oughta buy a nice, stiff margarita for my 2 day long trip to Vegas. This has been a nightmare of a trip!

Delta has definitely done me wrong this time!!!!! Anyone have any good ideas on killing 6 hours in a stuffy airport???

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Around the World in 24 hours

::Sigh::

I love airlines.

So I arrived in Cincinnati last night around 8pm, and missed my connecting flight. That was the last outbound flight to Vegas, so I had to spend the night in Cincinnati and go stand-by on the AM non-stop flight in the morning. As luck would have it, right as they scanned me in as a standby to board, the missing travelers came running down the terminal and I was bumped. Just my friggen luck!

So, my alternative was to fly back to Atlanta (45 minutes from home again!) and then to Salt Lake City, UT and THEN to Las Vegas. That's 4 flights just to get to Vegas. Oh what fun!

I'm sitting in the Atlanta airport on the floor right now sharing one of the rare power outlets to power up my laptop. You'd think with all the technology now-a-days, they'd have more than 2 outlets in a big airport like Atlanta. Go figure.

Hopefully, there won't be any more problems and I'll land in Vegas tonight in time to catch dinner and get settled in. I think I need a vacation!

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Saturday, June 14, 2008

Viva Las Vegas (Part 2)

Time to hit the road again for work. This time, its the InfoComm tradeshow in Las Vegas. This will be my first show solo (no boss there to lead me along). I'm nervous and excited at the same time. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly!

My little baby Blanca needed a babysitter while I'm gone, and one of the only people I trust to watch her would be Dan. So this morning, I got up and met him in Childersburg, AL to give him Blanca for the week. She's getting to meet her sister (and my other baby Chica-- I lost custody, LOL) for the very first time and it will be good social training for her as well. Plus, I know Dan will take great care of her (Thanks, Dan!)

One thing I am bummed about, a local car nut in Grant named Mr. Alan Parker just finished his new racecar, and asked me if I could shake it down for him on Sunday and drive it in Montgomery next weekend. Unfortunately, since I am leaving for Vegas and won't be back until next Saturday, I am missing out. There is a chance I may get to drive on Sunday in Montgomery, we'll see. Keep your fingers crossed, I'm aching to get my mind off everything and get back behind a wheel again!

Trip Meter: 272 miles
2008 Odometer: 6,162 miles

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Thursday, June 12, 2008

Work, Work, Racecar, and Work

Today, my boss Jas, coworker Bob, and I had a trip planned over to our Duluth, GA office. We had some marketing/branding work to discuss with the project marketing manager there. Duluth is in North Atlanta, and also an hour ahead on Eastern Standard time, so that meant we had to leave really early to get there.

Jas and Bob had never been to my place, and since I'm about an hour in the direction of Atlanta from Huntsville, they came to pick me up at 6am. They had programmed my address into a Garmin GPS Navigator, but somehow ended up on a detour in Grant that left them on a dead end road called Fish Trap and asking them to make right turns off the cliff of Grant Mountain. Needless to say, they were about 30 minutes late.

Since I had been trying to get over to my engine builder's in Atlanta, they were both gracious enough to allow me to make a stop on the way home at his shop to drop off some parts for the racecar. So, I loaded up the parts in the back of the new company van (a Toyota Sienna) and jumped behind the wheel headed for Duluth. (They designated me the trip driver since I am such a car nut and 3 hours is a trip around the block to me).

We arrived in Duluth with no problems, wrapped up a day there, and then jumped out at 3pm trying to beat Atlanta traffic rush. Mr. Moody's is just down I-285, so it was only a quick detour (so we thought).

I dropped off the parts and spoke to Mr. Moody, who said that we'd be assembling my engine very soon. I still have a few parts to round up, but they'll be there in the next week or so. VERY GOOD NEWS FOR THE RACING PROGRAM!!!!

Headed back, we decided to take I-20 home, since we saw a big pile up at the bottleneck returning to I-75. Big Mistake! We ended up stuck in construction traffic for about an hour. Oh well, could've been worse.

Overall., good trip! And even better, the miles weren't on my Mustang for a change!

Trip Meter: 436 miles
2008 Odometer: 5,890 miles

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Monday, May 19, 2008

World Street Challenge I

World Street Challenge 1 is in the books now, and I had a great time helping my fellow Horsepower & Heels gal pal Debbie with her inaugural race.

Watching her work her magic over the past 6 months on an event of this size was really incredible. Debbie is truly such a talented individual that I am really blessed to call her one of my best friends and a part of Horsepower & Heels.


Debbie has been involved with the World Ford Challenge since its inception 10 years ago, but when she had a vision to make it an even bigger, grandier event, I knew that the World Street Challenge was destined for success.


I arrived in St. Louis at Gateway International Raceway (de'ja'vu much?) late Friday night. There had already been a stir of controversy and action on Thursday and Friday night, so Debbie and I sat up chatting as I was filled in on the details. Debbie and the entire WSC crew had already been in St. Louis for a week preparing for the event, and it was obvious they were lacking in the sleep department.


Up early on Saturday, Debbie got to show me around the track and how she had set up the Vendor areas and the car show inside the circle track. Very cool to see it all come together. I set up stand helping Debbie in the ticket booth and getting the Jaigermeister stage up and running. It was really cool meeting DJ Freestyle and Demo Castellon of Timbaland fame, the celebrity DJs at the event. I had to do some scrambling for the Bikini Contest, because of the 19 pre-registered entrants, only 3 showed up. Debbie was threatening putting me up there in a bikini if we didn't find enough, so I'm glad the three girls finally went on. The crowd was a little harsh due to the lack of "Skin to Win", and I about died laughing when DJ Freestyle got the crowd cheering for Debbie to hit the stage too, but overall it was a good time.


Sunday, I helped with payout a bit before I hit the road. I did get to walk Flat Emmy around and she got to work on the Rockstar Pro Mod of Todd Amandus in the pits, working on the engine, warming up the car, and packing the parachutes. Overall, a great weekend!


On the Road with Horsepower & Heels
Trip Meter: 838 miles
2008 Odometer: 4,661 miles

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Friday, May 16, 2008

Flat Emmy Goes Racing


One of my online friends Gloria put out a request on behalf of her niece Emmy, to help with a school project. Emmy drew a flat version of herself to send off on a journey to different places and report back on her experiences with photos and a story.
I offered to take Flat Emmy with me to the races, so Emmy and I are headed off to St. Louis for the World Street Challenge. We'll be traveling 6 hours by car from my home here in Huntsville, AL and I'm hoping to stop along the way to show her some of the sights.
We'll report back on our travels and adventures here too, so you get a play-by-play of the weekend.
Wish us luck!
-Erica and Emmy

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Thursday, May 15, 2008

World Street Challenge

Its time to hit the road again!


This time, I'm headed to show support for my Horsepower & Heels partner in crime, Debbie Denny as she puts on her first race, the World Street Challenge at Gateway International Raceway in the St. Louis area.


Debbie has been one of the original crew who started the 10 year run of the World Ford Challenge 11 years ago. Her passion for the event and desire to grow the event into her vision of an all-encompassing, multi-event weekend has finally arrived in the inaugural World Street Challenge Event.


The World Street Challenge will be an entertainment venue combining the thrill of drag racing, all-out audio sound-offs, exquisite car show, a Bikini contest, and a Battle of the Bands competition. Basically, its the Auto-Enthusiast's dream weekend piled all together.


Poor Debbie has been a one-woman circus act with all the preparations, and I can promise her work will be one for the record books.


If you are in the St. Louis area, please check out this event! Plus, stop by and see us both! We'll have some Horsepower & Heels apparel for sale too!

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Monday, May 05, 2008

St. Louis Weekend

Mondays after race weekends are tough. Especially when you have to drive 6+ hours after a long weekend.


This past weekend, I drove up to St. Louis to attend the 28th Annual MidWest NHRA Nationals at Gateway International Raceway with some friends. Though I had many times been to Gateway for the World Street (Ford) Challenge, I hadn't ever seen an NHRA race there.

Friday was nice and warm, with plenty of good racing. But Saturday, the temperature plummeted and the wind was fierce, delivering the chill straight through you. We looked like a bunch of shivering puppies. It is difficult to be at races when you have been sidelined like I have for so long now, but it definitely helps to network and motivates to keep the progress going on my car.

Elizabeth and Ashley hadn't ever attended a drag race before, so its neat seeing their reaction to their first Top Fuel encounters. The power of a nitro car cannot be appreciated or understood until you actually see, smell, and FEEL one in person. TV, HD or not, just doesn't do it justice. Ashley said they weren't too loud when they were doing burnouts (we were sitting at the 1/8th mile) but when they passed her under power, she hit the deck!

Its a long trip to St. Louis, and I'll be repeating this trip in just a few weeks for Debbie's race, the World Street Challenge.

Trip Meter: 838 miles
2008 Odometer: 3,823 miles

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Thursday, February 07, 2008

On the Road 2008...

This weekend will kick off my Road Trips for 2008. And I'm excited, because its racing related-- I'm picking up my car from Florida!



Last year, I tracked the amount of miles I traveled on the weekends in a little game called Around the Country with Horsepower & Heels. Since I didn't do any racing last year, most of those miles were spectator miles or transporting the car around for more updates, more work, etc. I am still shocked that I traveled 25,846 miles in a year with no racing done, so 2008 should be an exciting year to watch.



I'll be tracking this year's travels on PNN.com again. Check in to see where I'm at "On the Road".

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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

2007 Odometer Results

Closing out the 2007 Around the Country with Horsepower & Heels traveling Odometer, its crazy to think how much time I spent in a vehicle traveling around. At the beginning of the year, I decided to keep up with the amount of miles I travel on the weekends, because my friends had all commented that my weekends looked like those dotted line maps of little Billy from Family Circus. Well, its worse than I thought.

In a year that I sat out racing (and didn't travel to near the amount of races or the distances), I managed to travel 25,846 miles. At a 55 mph average, that's 470 hours spent on the road. And that doesn't include my 80 mile per day commute to work!

Getting back to racing in 2008, I'm nervous to see how many hours I end up spending driving around the country. So, we're resetting the Odometer for 2008. But first, here's the final odometer count for 2007.

2007 ROLLING TOTAL: 25,846 miles

Jan 1-8 Orlando, FL 860 miles
Jan 20-21 Orlando, FL 860 miles
Feb 10-11 Birmingham, AL 244 miles
Feb 17-18 Addison, IL 1,680 miles
Mar 3-4 Orlando, FL 860 miles
Mar 16-18 Gainesville, FL 600 miles
Mar 23-25 Greenville, SC 1,238 miles
Mar 31-Apr 1 Atlanta, GA; Huntsville, AL 725 miles
Apr 5-Apr 19 North Alabama 2,175 miles (several trips)
Apr 20-21 Huntsville, AL 552 miles
Apr 26-30 Andersonville, TN; Atlanta, GA 747 miles
May 4-6 Greenville, SC 506 miles
May 8 Mableton, GA 224 miles
May 12-13 Grant, AL 478 miles
May 18 Grant, AL 277 miles
May 25-28 Party Cove 1,296 miles
Jun 9 Mobile, AL 713 miles
Jun 23-24 Atlanta, GA 414 miles
Jun 26 Stockbridge, GA 448 miles
Jun 30 Salem, AL 464 miles
Jul 7-9 Bristol, TN 604 miles
Jul 13-15 Jacksonville; Riviera Bch; Orlando, FL 1,671 miles
Jul 22 Birmingham, AL 216 miles
Jul 28 Auburn, AL 416 miles
Aug 3-4 Nashville, TN; Bristol, TN 783 miles
Aug 25-27 Chattanooga TN Airport 184 miles
Sept 8-9 Highland, IL 906 miles
Sept 12 Atlanta Airport 414 miles
Sept 23 Phenix City, AL 662 miles
Sept 30 Steele, AL 106 miles
Oct 6-7 Nashville, TN; Bowling Green, KY 454 miles
Oct 24 Chattanooga, TN 168 miles
Oct 25-27 Orlando, FL 1,308 miles
Nov 9-24 Holt, FL; Orlando, FL 1,512 miles
Dec 20-25 Lk. Ozark, MO 1,296 miles

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Saturday, November 24, 2007

Headed Home.

Its been a roller coaster lately, with the 2 week thrash-fest on the car, the terrible loss, and the far too brief family & friend visits, but I will be headed home to Alabama tomorrow.

We said goodbye to Aiden this morning in a beautiful service at Chapel Hill Cemetery in Orlando. I made some food for the family gathering at Dennis & Tina's house (arroz con gandules and pernil) and after staying for a little while with family & friends, we headed back to the shop to finish up all we could before heading back to Alabama: the mock up block back in place, the transmission installed, the trans-tunnel sheetmetal secured. Basically, everything we could secure before Josue takes it to paint the exterior. Since the PRI is less than 2 weeks away, we had to assemble as much as possible to leave the guys in FL with as little to do in my absence.

After a quick dinner at Friday's Front Row, where we watched Auburn beat Alabama yet AGAIN (Still can't figure out why all my obnoixiously BAMA friends didn't respond to any of my text messages after the game--War Eagle!), we went down to the "corner" to see what was happening on the street hotrod scene. The "corner" is the name given to the street performance car "hang-out" located at the corner of Colonial Drive & Orange Avenue, the main drags in downtown Orlando. There were a couple of quick mustangs, some vettes, a few camaros, and a bunch of bikes. It was a "small gathering" compared to usual "corner" attendance, perhaps due to the holiday weekend.... oh the things I miss about Orlando!

I'm sad that I'm leaving tomorrow, but excited to be going home to start my new job. More on that to come!

AROUND THE COUNTRY WITH HORSEPOWER & HEELS UPDATE
TRIP counter: 1,512 miles
2007 Horsepower & Heels Odometer: 24,550 total miles

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Sunday, September 23, 2007

My Facinating Sunday Drive.... NOT!!

Well, in my usual sleep-is-overrated self torture fashion, I decided to accompany my friend Ben Rice down to my old stompin' grounds, Phenix City Dragstrip to help him test his freshly rebuilt Limited Street Mustang. The trip is about a 4+ hour drive, so in order to be there for the test session, it meant Ben was at my door bright and early at 3:45am this morning. I jumped in his truck and rode to his car owner's house in Huntsville to load up in the truck and trailer. We pulled out of Huntsville around 4:30am.

After a brief stop in Birmingham for some early morning Cracker Barrel, we continued on our way to Phenix City. Though the track is in Alabama and technically in the Central time zone, its close proximity to Columbus, GA means that the track operates on eastern time, and we lost an hour. We ended up arriving right around 11 am local time.

But what we were NOT too happy to see was a locked gate and no trailers in the pits. Apparently, the race had been cancelled, and somehow none of us realized this important bit of information. We were not the only ones, because there were 4 other trailers waiting at the gate, so I didn't feel as bad. A quick call to track manager, Butterbean, confirmed what I dreaded to hear.... our trip was for absolutely NOTHING.

Not that bonding with Ben, Mike, George, and W wasn't fun, but I could have done without the 3 am wake up and the 8+ hour commute. My back is killing me...

And, I get home to hear about John Force's horrific crash.... my heart breaks for the JFR team, and I wish him a speedy recovery! That team has been through so much, I just hope that he gets well very soon!

TRIP counter: 662 miles
Horsepower & Heels Odometer: 21,002 total miles

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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Almost Done!

Well, I just got surprising news that the car is almost done at Chassis Engineering! I'm very excited. From there, Dennis Lugo of Excessive Engineering is picking it up and taking it over to his shop in Orlando, FL to finish up some of the other details and get the car wired. While he's handling that, the body work will be getting finished, and then its back to Grant for paint and final assembly.

I'm so excited!


I also decided that since my Road Trip Odometer was getting a little long and cumbersome for the blog, that I'd devote its own page on my PNN website. So here's a link to the new Trip-O-Meter home:

CLICK HERE FOR NEW TRIP-O-METER

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Saturday, August 04, 2007

Fast Friends at 90+ mph!

I finally arrived at the Bristol Track around 1:30pm after my detour. But of course, its not a solo road trip, unless I arrive with some sort of whacky or great story to tell. This trip is no exception.

Shortly after I stopped for gas outside of Nashville, I ran into another black Mustang... A 99, with some good sounding exhaust and cobra wheels. Well, I noticed he had a radar detector, and I was having fun playing chase with him down I-40. Cat and mouse... he'd take off, get through traffic, and I hang with him. Or I'd take the lead for awhile and play too. At one point, I pulled along side him with a note written on a piece of paper:

"GOING TO FFW?"

I figured that a car with Virginia plates, with cool exhaust, headed the same direction had a good chance of going to the same place. But he yelled back that he didn't know what this was and I told him it was a race in Bristol (all while doing 80 mph down the interstate). I wasn't sure how long he'd be going my way.... but he hung with me all through Knoxville and onto I-81 before he got off on exit 10 or so. I waved and he threw his hands up as I passed as if to asks why I didn't stop. I was running late, and I had to get to the track. Oh well, now I had to slow down to 80 mph since my radar detector and new found road buddy had abandoned me.

That is until he came flying back up on me around 40 miles later. (figure out that equation on how fast he had to be traveling to do THAT, math whizzes!) This time, he had a note, it said:

"HAD 2 PEE".

Too funny! I about pee'd my own pants I was laughing so hard.

Sadly, he got too far ahead of me in traffic right before my exit, so my new friend didn't get a good bye. Darn! And I was going to try and convince him to go to the race!

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Friday, August 03, 2007

Guest Crewchief

Well, this weekend I get to attend the Fun Ford Weekend Thunder Valley Nationals as guest crew chief for Dennis Lugo's Outlaw car. He's short handed for the weekend, so Debbie and I both offered to assist, but due to astronomical plane fares, Debbie was grounded. So I'll be headed out shortly for Bristol, TN for the 2nd time this year to help get Dennis his first FFW win of the season.

Dennis is the person who taught me everything, and the person I can still count on the most today... its the least I can do, I really owe him for that.

And, thanks to my cool new gadget, a MOTO Q from Sprint, I'll be able to keep Debbie and my readers informed direct from the trackside!

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