HORSEPOWER & HEELS

Labels: On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

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???

Labels: On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 6:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

::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!

Labels: On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 4:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

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!

Labels: In the Shop, On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

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!

Labels: At the Races, On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: At the Races, On the Road, Special Causes, women in racing

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments

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!

Labels: At the Races, On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

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.

Labels: At the Races, On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments

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".

Labels: On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments

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

Labels: On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments

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!

Labels: In the Shop, On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

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!

Labels: On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

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

Labels: In the Shop, On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments

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!

Labels: At the Races, On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 7:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

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!

Labels: On the Road

Posted by Erica Ortiz at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments