"Dad says that sometimes it's just as important to find out what doesn't work as what does," said the graduate of Cal State-Fullerton, "and that's kinda what we've had going on the last couple of races."

With her participation in the playoffs assured, Force Hood and her team have been in modified test mode in preparation for the Charlotte start of the Countdown to One.

"We've been doing some testing," Antonelli confirmed, "but not enough to affect our qualifying (Ashley has started third the last two races and her average start in16 races has been fourth). "We still have a couple of things we want to evaluate and we're probably going to do the Indy test session before the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals."

Meantime, the third year crew chief isn't divulging his plan for this week's 25th annual Toyo Tires Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, a track on which John Force has won six times but one on which Ashley's only final round appearance came in the Top Alcohol Dragster class (2004).

In only her third pro campaign, the former high school cheerleader has enjoyed spectacular success. She has started four races from the No. 1 qualifying position, has been to six final rounds and is the only Funny Car driver to have led the points each of the last two years. Moreover, her win last March in the O'Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston, Texas, represents the only Funny Car victory thus far this season for JFR.

"If you look at all the drivers in our category, there's not one dominant person," Ashley said, "(so) it could be anybody's championship. That's exciting for us because we are a newer team.

"You wouldn't think that going up against teams that have been racing longer than I've been alive we would be thinking about a championship, but in our sport, anything can happen. It's not impossible. We definitely have the car to do it if we can (avoid) mistakes."

In Ashley's estimation, the difference between this season and last is that a year ago her team was randomly doing well whereas this year it is consistently doing so.

"I think we have a great shot at it," she said. "A huge part of why we're doing so well is because of the team we have put together here that works really well with the crew chiefs (and) that works really good with the driver.

"We've been fortunate that we've kept our team relatively intact (and) now that we've finally gained a little confidence, there's no reason not to (go for the championship). Obviously, you always want to try to win," she said, "but I think there was a time when we told ourselves that we don't need to be (aiming) too high. Now, that's changed.

"We have a car that runs good in a lot of different conditions and that's what you need in the Countdown. We're really excited. Now if we can just get our other Mustangs locked in, maybe we can bring the championship back to JFR."

Did You Know?
- Ashley was the 2008 winner of the Automobile Club of Southern California's Road to the Future Award as the NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year.
- Ashley is the only Funny Car driver to have led the points each of the last two years.
- Ashley was named 2008 Female Athlete of the Year by the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation in Los Angeles.
- Ashley's Castrol GTX Mustang was the fastest Funny Car at the 1,000 foot distance in 2008 (310.05 mph) and is the fastest again this year (312.13 mph).
- Ashley is in the Countdown for the second straight year, insuring her third straight Top 10 finish.

Off the Track:
- Ashley was among a group of drivers and NHRA sponsors who participated in the Opening Bell ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange on June 10. She was joined by BP/Castrol executive Marci Brand, Regional Vice-President, Automotive Americas, as well as by drivers Antron Brown, Bob Tasca III, Morgan Lucas, Karen Stoffer, Tony Pedregon and Eddie Krawiec.
- Ashley was one of the stars of Driving Force, a real life series that aired for two seasons on A&E Network and focused on her development as a race car driver.
- Ashley and her cat, Simba, are featured in a coffee table book on athletes and their pets by award-winning photographer David Woo.
- Ashley has written a children's book focusing on a "Day at the Races" for which a publisher currently is being sought.

http://www.johnforceracing.com
For more information about Castrol-branded products and services, please visit us at Castrol.com/US

Courtesy of Dave Densmore