For years, Ashley Force Hood couldn't understand why, after
such a short time behind the wheel, Funny Car drivers always seemed exhausted when
they climbed out of their vehicles at the end of the racetrack.
"I never understood how they could be tired after just four-and-a-half seconds," said
the 26-year-old daughter of drag racing icon John Force.
Well, now that she's a driver herself, one of the Funny Car favorites at this week's
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, she finally understands.
"After a run, I'm sore, achy and feel like I've run a marathon," acknowledged the
graduate of Cal State-Fullerton. "The human body is not made to do what we do."
What the former high school cheerleader does is subject herself to pressures equal
to five G's whenever her 8,000 horsepower Castrol GTXR Ford Mustang launches from
the startling line on its way to 300 miles per hour.
"We reach 100 miles per hour in less than a second," she said, "but I really feel the
speed about halfway down the track. When the clutch engages, it's like getting the
wind knocked out of you."
Despite the apparent contradiction, Force Hood insists that she's having the time of
her life as the most successful woman ever to drive in the NHRA Funny Car division.
The 2008 NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year on the strength of a 10th place finish in Funny
Car points, she trumped that performance with a spectacular sophomore season during
which she became the first woman to win a Funny Car race, the first to lead the points
and the first to qualify for the NHRA's Countdown to the Championship.
Now she has her sights set on an even more ambitious goal: becoming the first
woman in the 40-year history of the Funny Car breed to claim the championship.
A winner already this year (at Houston) and the only one of four John Force Racing
drivers to have appeared in more than one final round, she is the highest-placed of the
Ford drivers (fourth).
After a first round loss two weeks ago at Madison, Ill., she's anxious to get back on
the track and make amends.
"It always seems like when you have a bad race, you're off the next weekend," she
said. "It's better to go right back to work and not dwell on it.
"It was just one of those weekends," Ashley said of her loss to Tony Pedregon in the
O'Reilly Midwest Nationals. "Every run I felt like I was making mistakes (even though)
the car went down the track every time.
"Whatever happened, we've just got to forget about it. I think we can get right back
where we need to be. I've learned that you're going to have some rough weekends.
Hopefully, we got ours out of the way."
Although she likes Bristol, Ashley's Thunder Valley resume is a modest one. She
failed to qualify for the race as a rookie and was ousted in the second round a year ago
by eventual winner Melanie Troxel.
Did You Know?
- Ashley's Castrol GTX Ford Mustang was the fastest Funny Car at the 1,000 foot
distance in 2008 (310.05 mph) and is also the fastest this year (312.13 mph).
- Ashley was one of only four Funny Car points leaders last year along with teammate
Robert Hight, Tim Wilkerson and eventual champion Cruz Pedregon.
- Ashley was the 2008 winner of the Auto Club's Road to the Future Award that
designates the NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year.
Off the Track:
- Ashley appears with brother-in-law Robert Hight in a regional TV ad for the Auto Club
of Southern California and is a spokesperson for Castrol, Ford, BrandSource and
others.
- Ashley was recognized in 2008 as the Female Athlete of the Year by the Jim Murray
Memorial Foundation in Los Angeles.
- Ashley has written a "day at the drag races" children's book for which a publisher
presently is being sought.
- Ashley and her cat, Simba, were the subjects of a photo shoot with photographer
David Woo for an upcoming coffee table book featuring celebrities and their pets.
- Ashley was one of the stars of the real life series "Driving Force," which aired for two
seasons on A&E Network, chronicling her development as a race car driver and her
father's effort to re-connect with his family.
- Asked by NASCAR Illustrated if she had ever considered taking a turn around an oval
track like Bristol's bullring, Ashley said: "My whole life I've been around drag racing and
focused on short bursts of speed. I don't know how they drive those cars for three
hours. I couldn't make it without going to the bathroom. Besides, a top speed of
200 mph seems pretty slow to me."
http://www.johnforceracing.com
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