Petersburg, VA-- After making the long, rainy trek to the Richmond, VA area for the 8th Annual Fun Ford Weekend Old Dominion Nationals, the forecast wasn't looking good. Rain had cancelled Friday's qualifying session, and computers showed 60% chance of rain for the weekend. A tired Horsepower & Heels crew fought the conditions all the way up, arriving in the wee hours on Saturday morning. They headed to the track at daylight to unload and prepare.
Luck would be on Fun Ford's side, as the weather allowed a full weekend of racing. Since the 1st round of qualifying had been cancelled from the previous day, Erica jumped right into 2nd round qualifying. The Horsepower & Heels thunderbird clicked off a 7.54 after peddling at the 1/8th mile marker. Most cars in that lane were experiencing trouble at that spot, but Erica was able to salvage the run for the 7.54 pass.
In the final attempt, Erica was the first car out for the session. But when she tried to fire the motor, the mechanical fuel pump had lost its prime. After some quick thinking by Dan Parker and Josh Kuhn, the engine fired and Erica moved into the back of the Pro session. Unfortunately, the run would not count as she missed her call on the round's running order, but Erica fired off a 7.33 @ 184 nonetheless.
That would leave Erica in the #3 qualified position, set to face David Schorr 1st round of eliminations Sunday morning. David had not made it down the track in the qualifying sessions, but the Horsepower & Heels team knew that Schorr's team was a strong competitor, capable of mid 6 second runs. Dennis Lugo made some adjustments to the fuel map and helped bring up the starting line boost, while Dan & Erica prepared the car for eliminations.
Sunday morning, the team watched the morning test & tune run by the Schorr team, where they blasted a mid-6 second pass, and knew they didn't have the horsepower to run him down. Knowing it would require a good leave and a little luck down track for any hopes of a round win, Erica tried to stay sharp on the tree. But it wasn't her day, as her 7.30 @ 185 was no match for Schorr's 6.86 @ 206.
The team is now preparing for the Fun Ford Weekend Buckeye State Nationals in Norwalk, OH on July 6-9.
