Press Release

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Viewers Follow Race Driver, Erica Ortiz and
Teammate, Debbie Denny, Behind the Scenes

Rohnert Park, Calif. and Grant, Ala., August 20, 2007 - Meet Erica Ortiz and Debbie Denny, the women of drag racing and the engine that runs the all-female race team, Horsepower and Heels. Together with PNN.com, the team is launching a first-of-its-kind; all female Pro-Mod Drag Racing Web show series called Horsepower and Heels.

Burning rubber all across the country in her 2007 Pro-Mod Mustang, race driver Erica begs the question, "who says horsepower and heels don't mix?" Set to break more records and pave a way for her career, Erica, with the help of her teammate and marketer extraordinaire, Debbie, is determined to reach more heights and further her love for her career in drag racing while she races to reach the professional ranks of the NHRA.

"I am a girly-girl and a race driver. I'm an advertising professional by day -- a drag racer and mechanic by weekend. I travel the country towing my racecar by myself and encounter all kinds of people along the way," said Erica Ortiz, driver for the Horsepower and Heels team. "I work on the car, I drive the car, I get dirty. But I'm still very much into my dresses and my high heels."

Erica and the Horsepower and Heels team are sharing their stories through an online publishing website called PNN.com, The Personal News Network. PNN.com provides provide an easy interface packed with the power of marketing, PR and publishing support to aspiring authors who have extraordinary stories to share but no avenue to share them.

"PNN offers simple tools for authors to build their dream page sharing all their antics, stories, news etc. The mix of tools and services is what sets PNN apart from the rest, allowing users to share or read what they want when they want, instantly, and within a social context," said PNN.com founder and CEO, Lauren Elliott. "We are thrilled to feature such a wonderful, inspirational author, such as Erica, and have the opportunity to bring a first-of-its-kind Web SHOW series following the team throughout their upcoming season."

After entering her first PRO race at the Fun Ford weekend mid-season in 2006, Erica quickly paved the way for the Horsepower and Heels team, by finishing in 2nd place in the season's championship series.


Erica's most notable stats are:

• Holds the record for first female into the 6's and over 200mph in FFW

• Finished in 2nd place overall in her rookie year in the Pro 5.0 class

• Finished 2nd in Drag Radial in 2003

• Went 8.42 @ 175mph in the "street" car, and was the first female in the 8's on a radial tire

• Finished 2nd in the Bracket 3 Category her very first race at the largest Ford Race of the year, "World Ford Challenge"

The Horsepower and Heels team did all of this on one of the smallest budgets in the industry and with an all-female crew. Erica is a true "Jill" of all trades, taking the driver's seat when it comes to her racing as not only as the race driver, but also the mechanic and the marketer.

Follow Erica, Debbie and the Horsepower and Heels team, including the web show series, blogs from Erica and the '07-'08 race schedule at http://horsepowerandheels.pnn.com.

About PNN.com
PNN.com is the premier new-media network for creating online citizen journalists, enabling people with no web-design experience to share stories and media on personal, customized web pages. Started in 2006 by Lauren Elliott, pioneer of the Edutainment Industry and co-creator of the hit game series, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, PNN.com empowers people to advance the ways in which they communicate. By putting simple-to-use technology in the hands of people with a story to tell, PNN.com enables a new form of storytelling that bridges traditional cultural, economic, and social boundaries. PNN.com's offices and recording studio are located in the scenic valley of Rohnert Park, California. Additional information about PNN is available at http://press.pnn.com

About Horsepower and Heels
Erica Ortiz founded Horsepower and Heels in 2005, after racing for 9 years. Currently, Erica races in the Fun Ford Weekend series in her 2007 Pro-Mod Mustang. This all-female team has made a mark on the world of racing, setting and breaking records at some of the most-respected pre-professional races in the country. For the '07-'08 season Erica and Debbie Denny, her team marketer, are launching a web show series called "Horsepower and Heels," which offers a behind-the-scenes peek at what a day in the life of an advertising professional by day, and race car driver by weekend is like. Read more about Erica and the Horsepower and Heels team online at http://horsepowerandheels.pnn.com.

Horsepower & Heels Fact Sheet

Burning Rubber

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The Horsepower and Heels team strives to break the barriers and obstacles for the female racer by being a competitive force on the track.  With support from fellow racers and sponsors, driver Erica Ortiz races to make a competitive presence in the NHRA professional racing world, and continues to set and break records in Pro-Mod racing.  The Horsepower and Heels teams hopes to attract fans and industry respect while Erica burns rubber in her 2007 Pro-Mod style Mustang in races all across the country for the Horsepower and Heels Web Show and races for the '07 - '08 season.
 
The Stats

After entering her first PRO race at Fun Ford Weekend mid-season in 2006, Erica quickly paved the way for the Horsepower and Heels team, by finishing 2nd place in the season's championship series.  Erica's most notable stats are:

• Holds the record for first female into the 6's and over 200mph in FFW

• Finished in 2nd place overall in her rookie year in the Pro 5.0 class

• Finished 2nd in Drag Radial in 2003

• Went 8.42 @ 175mph in the "street" car, and was the first female in the 8's on a radial tire

• Finished 2nd in the Bracket 3 Category her very first race at the largest Ford Race of the year, "World Ford Challenge"

 
Watch and Follow Erica's Season

Erica is a regular contributor to PNN.com, a publishing website for Personal News stories, and you can keep up with Erica's latest adventures in racing by visiting her website on PNN.com at horsepowerandheels.PNN.com.

There you can read Erica's latest posting, check her schedule, and watch the video clips from the Horsepower and Heels web TV series, conveniently called Horsepower and Heels.  Viewers can follow Erica and her teammate, Debbie Denny, behind the scenes of the ins and outs of being a drag racer: from in the pits, to behind the wheel, to meeting the crews.  Read Erica's feature article in Latina magazine and watch for the series and also check out the Horsepower and Heels upcoming season schedule online on horsepowerandheels.pnn.com.

Driver & Mechanic

At first glance, none would suspect Erica Ortiz to be a frontrunner in the ultra-competitive world of drag racing.  Born and raised in Orlando, Fla. by her grandparents - none will find a drag racer bloodline in her family.  Erica grew up loving competition, which included anything from sports to academics.
 
"I was never much of a girlie girl, no matter how hard I tried.  It was all just awkward to me; I wanted to be out there playing with the boys, not on the sidelines looking pretty."
- Erica
 
Shortly after graduating high school, Erica purchased her first vehicle: a 1990 5.0L Mustang GT.   And that is when her passion for cars, specifically Mustangs, and everything about them, began.  Erica worked on her car herself, as well as played in it, so she started "self-learning" everything about cars wherever she could find the information.
 
It was during this time that she discovered a popular local mustang shop, Lugo Performance Automotive, Inc., in nearby Apopka, Fla.   Home of some of the fastest mustangs in the sport, Lugo Performance became her new favorite hangout.     It was there she learned the ropes, spending countless nights with Dennis Lugo in the engine room becoming a hands-on player in the mechanics of the sport.
 
After entering her first race at the Fun Ford weekend in YEAR, Erica quickly paved the way for the Horsepower and Heels team, by finishing in 2nd place.  Erica's most notable stats are:
Finished 2nd in the Bracket 3 Category her Rookie year at the largest Ford Race of the year, "World Ford Challenge" in Pro-Mod
Holds the record for first female into the 6's and over 200mph in FFW
Finished 2nd in Drag Radial in 2003
Went 8.42 @ 175mph in the "street" car, and was the first female in the 8's on a radial tire
 
The Horsepower and Heels team did all of this on one of the smallest budgets in the industry and with an all-female crew. Erica is a true "Jill" of all trades, taking the driver's seat when it comes to her racing as not only as the race driver, but also the mechanic and the marketer.
 
For the '07 - '08 season Erica and Debbie Denny, her team marketer, are launching a web TV series called "Horsepower and Heels."  The series takes viewers behind the scenes of the ins and outs of being a drag racer: from in the pits, to behind the wheel, to meeting the crews.  Read Erica's feature article in Latina magazine and watch for the series and also check out the Horsepower and Heels upcoming season schedule online on http://horsepowerandheels.pnn.com

Meet Debbie

Debbie Lauder-Denny - Horsepower and Heels
Crew Member and PR /Marketing Representative



Debbie's goal is to rule door slammer drag racing as a promotional guru and to continue to grow a sport so dear to her heart.   She wants to continue to gain the technical experience required to be of more assistance as a crew member and continue to use her "outside the box" concepts to generate mass market appeal in the drag racing industry. 

Debbie has been actively involved in drag racing her whole life in one way or another.  She's done everything from street racing, to sweeping the pits, to fueling up the cars.  You may even recognize her from a drag racing poster or two, but Debbie prefers to be along the race track, promoting drag racing events and getting her hands dirty in the shop with her teammate, and Horsepower and Heels race driver, Erica Ortiz.

Together they are the force that drives the Horsepower and Heels team.  They formed this winning partnership in 2006, and continue to watch it grow with the talent and skills they bring to the track.   

On the marketing and promotions front, Debbie brings many years of experience and skill to the table.  Working for Hotstangs.com, one of the first independent websites dedicated to Mustang racing, in 2000 and 2001 was where Debbie enjoyed flexing her marketing muscles and honing writing skills. Hotstangs.com was noted to be the first site to post real-time updates of qualifying and elimination rounds with full weekend race coverage: including all round updates, notes and quotes, interviews, photos, and all the hottest topics in Mustang racing. She has also written articles for other top drag racing sites such has Hardcore50.com.

Currently Debbie, owner of Flashpoint Marketing, has been retained by World Race Events, of Miami, Fla. to run and direct the new marketing initiative and race event for the Mobile 1 World Ford Challenge (WFC), based in St. Louis, Mo., which is known as the Superbowl of all Ford racing and the biggest all Ford racing event in the country.

Debbie is the bubbly marketing girl meets the blood, sweat and tears of drag racing.  From assisting promoters and consulting teams on everything from uniform design to sponsorship proposals, she's succeeded for several years in promotions while also educating the teams on the importance of proper marketing tools for acquiring sponsors. 
She believes that with innovative advertising and marketing, drag racers of this caliber can acquire sponsorships and create significantly more exposure and media coverage, which in turn produces money for their race programs.

The short and sweet she eats, sleeps and breathes drag racing.

Debbie's Current Racing Series:

Fun Ford Weekend -- Pro 5.0 Class
Dixie Pro Mod Association -- Pro Modified
Automatic Pro Mod Association -- Pro Modified
American Drag Racing League -- Pro Nitrous
NOPI/NDRA

For the '07 - '08 season Debbie and Erica are launching a web show series called "Horsepower and Heels."  The series takes viewers behind the scenes of the ins and outs of being a drag racer: from in the pits, to behind the wheel, to meeting the crews.  Watch for the series and also check out the Horsepower and Heels upcoming season schedule online on www.PNN.com/horsepowerandheels. 

Press & Marketing Contact

Press Contact: Julie Popp
juliecpopp@yahoo.com