Mon, 16 Feb 2009, 03:44 PM Photo Shoot for Top Dog's Ashley Force Hood and Simba

Courtesy of Elon Werner Photo copyright 2009 David Woo

YORBA LINDA, Calif. --

Ashley Force Hood and her cat Simba.

Ashley Force Hood and her cat Simba were the focus of a photo shoot by noted photographer David Woo for his upcoming book Top Dogs and Their Pets. The NHRA Funny Car star posed in her trademark Castrol GTX firesuit along with a freshly bathed Simba for the upcoming coffee table style book featuring celebrities and their pets. Simba, always right at home at the races, kept the entire John Force Racing family on their toes before the photo shoot running and hiding throughout the Yorba Linda shop

"At first Simba just wanted to run around in the front lobby of our shop. There are so many bright colorful things up there he was just having a heyday running underneath funny cars and jumping over couches. He just didn't know where he wanted to go. We had to keep searching for him and climbing under the race cars to coax him out," said AOL's Hottest Athlete of 2007. "Once he got into the swing of things he tired out a little from running around. That worked out pretty good because we were all getting a little tired from chasing him all over the place. It was a lot of fun."

Simba's ability to get underneath the various funny cars on display surprised the 2007 Rookie of the Year. The always playful Simba kept a number of Ashley's family members at bay but he was unable to elude her 14-time Funny Car champion father.

"I didn't realize he could squeeze right under the body of a funny car. I did not think he had enough clearance. He somehow managed to pull that off. That took a good ten minutes to somehow coax him out. He just thought we were playing with him. We would try and get him to chase after one of his feather toys but he would just run from one end of the Mustang to the other. He stayed just enough underneath the body that we couldn't reach him. We finally tricked him as four of us positioned ourselves around the car and dad was actually the person that caught him. Of course dad is also the only one of us who is allergic to cats and he is the one that grabs him," said the newlywed driver Force Hood.

In addition to doing a number of poses for the upcoming book Woo also shot a number of poses featuring Ashley, Simba and an 8000 hp nitro funny car. Since Simba's television debut on ESPN2 the John Force RaceStation souvenir and collectibles store has been swamped by requests for an Ashley and Simba poster.

"We posed by dad's Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang but cropped it so just the Castrol GTX showed. My car was at the LA Boat show from a weekend appearance. I was leaning beside the Mustang and Simba was on the injector. We think we got some good shots for a poster. It is a neat photo. It just looks like we are hanging out by my funny car," said the proud owner.

NHRA: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]

Feb 17- Oh, Brother!
Feb 13- NHRA and FOX Sports Announce TV Schedule for NHRA's 75th Anniversary Season
Feb 12- 75th Anniversary Celebration Kickoff at Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
Feb 10- Wally Parks 75th Anniversary Appreciation Fund Part of $27 Million Overall Purse
Feb 08- NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League Releases 2026 Schedule
Feb 07- Huge List of Legends Set to Appear at Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
Feb 05- NHRA and Legends Global Extend Merchandise Partnership Ahead of 75th Anniversary Season
Feb 04- Doug Foley Announces Addition of Ron Douglas as Consultant to Foley Lewis Racing Top Fuel Team
Feb 04- Tickets Now on Sale for NHRA's Debut at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park and Rockingham Dragway
Feb 04- Reed, Zetterström to Share Driving Duties of Reed Trucking & Excavating Top Fuel Dragster