Why Emelia Hartford is tackling Pikes Peak in a Corvette

To many of us, Emelia Hartford is the embodiment of a car enthusiast, and her YouTube channel and Instagram account allow us to live our fantasy lifestyle vicariously through her… and without taking the same risks. Last year she won our Creator of the Year Award, while her Plymouth Superbird build also earned her our Best Tuning & Custom Builds Award.

Now Hartford, 32, who’s also an actor, is about to tackle Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for the second time. RACER caught up with her on the eve of the legendary event.

RACER: For those who don’t know your background, when did the automotive bug bite?

EMELIA HARTFORD: I lost my father to suicide when I was 15 years old, shortly before getting my driver’s license, and although a love of cars didn’t run in the family, I found a community through automotive. So I’d say I first fell in love with the community, and then fell in love with cars.

From the start, you seemed as interested in classics as you were in modern cars. I’ve assumed that’s unusual: normally, people get hooked in by the current scene, then later appreciate the old.

Yes, from the start I liked everything automotive because I was interested to see what various manufacturers did from an engineering standpoint in different eras and genres, and to see how technology advanced from the late 1950s or even earlier to today’s cars.

My first car was an Infiniti G35 and that introduced me to the world of JDM [Japanese Domestic Market], and my second was a Nissan 240SX with a small-block Chevy in it. But I’d say I’ve just always been geared toward curiosity, so as long as I’m learning, I’m enjoying doing what I’m doing. If I do the same things over and over, I feel I’m getting stale and I pivot to something else.

That may have partly answered my next question. Given the types of car you’ve driven, you’ve clearly got a bunch of talent. Have you ever been tempted to pause the engineering projects and focus fully on racing GT3- or GT4-class cars for a few years?

I’ve definitely considered it, I’ve definitely had opportunities to go down that route. As well as NASCAR, I did some testing of Late Models and my times were pretty competitive and on race pace. But with my acting as well, the difficulty is in trying to get a full season of racing. That’s why there’s so much appeal in Pikes Peak, because I can devote one month entirely to this event. I moved out here in May, and I’m here the whole month, driving the mountain every day, focusing on learning all 156 turns in the 12.42-mile course. That’s the best way to do things – focus 100 percent.

When did you realize you could offer your sponsor/partners improved value by recording your work on YouTube and Instagram?

I was working at a restaurant, and had been there six years but I wasn’t happy doing it, but I was just trying to find a way to get off food stamps while pursuing acting. I was always working on my car after-hours, so Mom suggested, “Honey, why don’t you start YouTubing?”… and it turns out moms are always right!

I spent, no kidding, every penny I had to buy a [Canon PowerShot] G7 X camera, and my first episode I just showed walking around my first racecar which was also my daily driver at the time, and I said I’m gonna rebuild this and learn how to drift in one month. I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but the outreach from within the automotive community was incredible. I was offered tools and space in raceshops in order to build my car and achieve my goals, and that goes back to how great the community has always been towards me.

Six months after the first video, doing three videos a week, was when I felt, “I think I can make this as a career.” I just continued to scale it and grow the business to where it is today. A lot of research and planning went into it, not so much shooting from the hip – although part of it was – but there was a lot of studying and trying to learn and grow as I continued to vlog.

And now, here you are, Mobil 1-backed, about to embark on your second crack at Pikes Peak. Not wishing to knock what you achieved as a rookie in a Porsche 718 last year (ED: qualified on pole and second in class) but it’s a heck of a jump to a Corvette ZR1…

Oh yeah, it’s three times the horsepower and significantly more downforce. They don’t have a specific production class – Time Attack 1 is where they put everyone going after production car records. I don’t see myself competing with the open-wheel cars.

Ever since I drove a C8 Corvette, I genuinely loved it and I was trying to figure out what I would race this year, although the Porsche was fun and I was successful, I did want to race something a little faster. I was trying to find something between running a full-blown racecar with slicks, and the Porsche. And as much as I loved my ZR1 and didn’t want to cut it up to put a cage in it, I realized no one had raced the C8 model up the mountain before, and so I pitched the idea to Mobil 1, which is the official oil of Corvette, and they loved the idea and offered their support.

As much as I love buying cars, I couldn’t just have the ZR1 sitting in my garage as a grocery-getter, so I got it prepped  to Production Car class for Pikes Peak, such as getting a full rollcage, removing the airbags, putting a fuel cell in the trunk. And we found a way to do all that where it was easy to revert to stock. So all signs pointed ‘Go!’.

With the Porsche being normally aspirated and the Corvette being twin-turbocharged, I assume it’s exhilarating to now discover how much horsepower you still have as you go from 4,720 feet to 14,115?

Oh yes! I’m carrying a lot more speed in the upper section. The first week we were testing the Corvette, I really had to move my braking points back. The Porsche was a momentum-based car, whereas the ZR1 picks up speed out of the turns so quick that I had to almost learn a new line, and certainly learn new braking zones.

That’s almost alarming to hear because you have to learn on the job, right? Or are there simulators where you can practice Pikes Peak in different types of car but in total safety?

They do have Pikes Peak on Assetto Corsa, but I don’t personally find that sims give a good enough feel for this particular course. It helps you memorize what’s next as you exit each turn, but there’s nothing as good as being here at the Mountain and learning it in person. And I also have the best driver coach in Jeff Zwart [RACER co-founder and eight-time class-winner at Pikes Peak], who is also racing for Mobil 1 this year. He coached me last year and he’s coaching me again this year and honestly, I don’t think it would be possible without him. I learned from him that driver confidence on the Mountain is more important than car capability.

Right. The key to quick but safe progress on a road is to drive according to what you see, whereas on Pikes Peak, that would kill your speed because you’re often looking out into the blue yonder or about to negotiate a blind hairpin. You need blind faith!

Oh yeah, especially in the upper part of the mountain, there’s no guardrail, you’re on full throttle, and you can’t see your exit and you just have to trust that the road is there. Porsche of Colorado are doing my race support this year, and I think Joe Brenner [vp and general manager] says I’ve got a screw loose. But I don’t really get scared of the cliff edge… although, to be fair, I’ve had no reason to yet.

I’m not liking the word “yet” there! Anyway… given your wide variety of interests within the automotive world, how long will your pursue Pikes Peak glory? Does the fact that you can box it into a month each year mean that you’re going to make regular return visits, and if so, and would you want to move up classes, or just try ever-more-wild Production Class-cars?

I love Pikes Peak: honestly, there’s something special about it whereby I can’t imagine not racing here every year that I can. And no, I don’t want to get stagnant: I want to keep learning and growing. So depending on how this year goes, I’d like to keep challenging myself to go faster. It’s me versus the Mountain, I’m not racing anyone but myself. I like driving fast cars, and as long as I’ve got a ****-eating grin under my helmet while taking turns at insane speeds on a cliff edge, it’s just fun.

Who’ll be on top of the world in 2026? RACER Network will bring live coverage of the Race to the Clouds to viewers across the world. Pikes Peak Live, presented by Mobil 1, coverage begins at 9:00am ET/7:00 a.m. MT on Sunday, June 21.Fans worldwide can also stream the race live on RACER+, free with email registration, ensuring motorsports enthusiasts everywhere can experience one of the world’s most challenging and iconic competitions in real time.

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