ASHLEY FORCE MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE TOP FUEL FUNNY CAR WINNER; BEATS DAD JOHN FORCE IN FINAL ROUND
by Tim Glover
Tim Glover photos
Fans who came to experience the 28th NHRA Southern Nationals will always remember they witnessed a piece of history watching twenty five year old Ashley Force become the first female to win the professional class of Top Fuel Funny Car; at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, GA. Force also came into the event as the Powerade points leader, increasing that lead with her win. In 2007, then rookie Top Fuel Funny Car racer Ashley Force met her famous dad for the first time ever in competition at Atlanta Dragway during the 27th Southern Nationals. Ashley did take that win, and made it to the semi-final round.
Force not only had the experience of her lifetime winning her first professional race, she did it by defeating her dad, John Force, in the final round. This was also the first time a father and daughter met in the final round of competition in the professional categories. Ashley, who earned lane choice by going .003 seconds quicker than her dad in the semi-final round (4.842 seconds at 317.79 mph to John’s 4.845 at312.93mph), left the starting line first with a .110 second reaction time and blistered the track en route to the second quickest quarter mile time of the day, 4.837 seconds at 320.36 mph. Her dad also came to the final round hopped up to win, as he was gunning for his 1000th career round win. However, he brought just a little too much power, and spun the tires hard shortly after leaving the starting line, which forced him to coast to an 11.223 at just 85.97 mph. Prior to the final, John told everyone he wasn’t cutting her any slack, telling her,“If you want to know what it feels like to win, you have to win it yourself.”Ashley came back with “It doesn’t matter who’s in the other lane, we just want to kick their behinds!” She then added, “It’s an exciting time, you know, with Danica (Patrick) winning. There are a lot of women in a lot of different motor sports and we’re getting our practice, we’re getting our experience and we’re making our way toward those wins.” John will have the opportunity to win his 1000th round win at Saint Louis during his birthday weekend. The semi-final finishers were Ron Capps and Bob Tasca III.
John Force, who is usually surrounded quickly after exiting his car past the finish line, didn’t hear much more than crickets this time. Everyone flocked to his daughter Ashley’s car,and he barely had time to give her a hug before she was whisked off to the winner’s circle.
During the past three national events, Ashley noticed every time rookie Top Fuel racer Antron Brown won a round, she also won. She said that as soon as she saw Brown win his semi-final round, she became confident she had a great shot at winning this race.
Top Fuel Dragster rookie Antron Brown overcame a minor problem with his brakes during competition and went on to defeat former teammate and defending champion Tony Shumacher by an ultra close margin of .009 seconds in the Top Fuel final round. Shumacher had a decided performance advantage, and chose the favored right lane. However, the new track surface was very good on both sides, and Brown’s crew chief Lee Beard tuned the car up to a great 4.537 at 325.14 mph. Shumacher’s crew chief Alan Johnson also did a great job, tuning their car to an actually quicker 4.521 at329.58 mph. However, Brown earned his keep at the starting line reacting first with a .035 second reaction time. Shumacher was second out of the gate, .025 seconds later, with a .060 second react.
Local racer Bob Vandergriff Jr from Cumming, Ga. finished the day in the Top Fuel Dragster semi-final round with his UPS backed machine, along with Brown’s teammate Rod Fuller.Brown said he saw Bob running right with him almost to the finish line during the semi-final round, but unfortunately for Vandergriff, his engine expired near the finish line, causing it to slow to a 4.64 at 296.11 mph, while Brown’scar posted a better 4.555 at 330.47 mph. Brown does have experience in the professional categories, winning many Pro Stock Motorcycle races, and finishing second in that points series.
The brand new racetrack surface was also a contributing factor to the weekend’s successes. Many elimination rounds on Sunday were determined by margins of .003 to .009 seconds, which works out to less than a foot difference between the cars crossing the quarter mile finish line. Very few racers complained about the surface. Ron Krisher, who qualified in the number one spot in Pro Stock, said “This is the best race track I’ve seen at Atlanta!”
Rain was predicted each day,but the only time it delayed the show was on Sunday, when six rain delays pushed the event back to an evening finish.
After a two year long dry spell, Mike Edwards enjoyed visiting the Pro Stock winner’s circle again. “You can’t describe the feeling of winning a race in this class. It’s so hard, so tough. I’m so thankful to God, and to Him I give the glory.” Edward’s Penhall backed ’08 Pontiac GXP ran 6.680 at 206.20 mph for the win against Jason Line’s similarly prepared Summit Pontiac ’08 GXP. Line turned in a nearly identical performance of 6.680 at 206.92 mph, but Edward’s stellar .009 second reaction time was the deciding factor after Line reacted with a slightly off pace .059.The semi-final finishers were Jeg Coughlin (’08 Cobalt) and Justin Humphreys(’08 GXP).
Warren “WJ” and Kurt Johnson, who live in nearby Buford, Ga., exited earlier in the Pro Stock rounds. Warren lost in round one to eventual semi-finalist Jeg Coughlin, and Kurt lost on a holeshot (opponent Justin Humphreys had a quicker reaction time) in round two.
Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Andrew Hines set a new track record of 6.950 seconds during qualifying with his’07 V-Rod Harley on the way to his top finish against Chip Ellis. Hines’ machine was deadly all weekend, only varying from a quickest elapsed time of 6.946 seconds at 191.40 mph in the final round to a slowest of 6.964 seconds during qualifying. Hines had the reaction time advantage and the quicker ET against Ellis’ ’03 Suzuki TL, which left the starting line with a very good .022 time and ran 6.958 at 190.70mph. Angelle Sampey (’08 Buell) and Craig Treble (’03Suzuki TL) finished their day in the semi-final round.
Rookie Pro Stock Motorcycle racer and Atlanta Dragway regular Junior Pippin from Conyers, Ga. enjoyed a good weekend. Pippin, who is still sorting out his combination, qualified in the 14th spot, allowing him to race on Sunday. Pippin lost to eventual runner up Chip Ellis in round one, but experienced his best mph ever, at 188.20mph.
Dan Lucas of Cumming, Ga. entered his Top Alcohol Dragster in the Southern Nationals, and enjoyed one of his quickest passes, posting a 5.887 at239.36mph. Unfortunately, the bump spot to get into the 16 car field this weekend was 5.63 seconds.
Spencer Massey, who recently earned his Top Fuel license and won two other events, won for the second year in a row at Atlanta in the Top Alcohol Dragster category. Massey’s Gene“ Snowman” Snow owned and tuned machine lit up the scoreboards with a 5.356 at 268.92 mph against defending Lucas Oil champion Bill Reichert. Reichert’s machine suffered serious engine damage during the semi-final round, and was only able to muster a 13.147 at 84.11mph for the final. Diana Harker from Gainesville, Ga. experienced engine damage during her quarter-final win, and was only able to run 11.510 at 101.19 mph in the semi-finals. The other semi-final finisher was Jeff Bohr.
Diana Harker’s dad, Steve Harker, also from Gainesville, Ga., ended a good weekend in the runner-up spot in Top Alcohol Funny Car. Harker’s ’06 Monte Carlo got a little out of shape in the final, allowing Frank Manzo, who has won the Southern Nationals 13 times (74 total wins) to take the win with a 5.558 at 260.81 mph. Harker was very close,with a 5.569 at 257.83mph. Marc White (’08 Mustang) and Mickey Ferro (’06 Monte Carlo) were the semi-final pair.
Other winners include:
Competition Eliminator:
Win: Rick Brown, ’00 S10 pickup, Lebanon, OH, 8.339 160.90 (8.85 index)
R/U: David Rampy, ’32 Bantam, Piedmont, AL 7.342 168.28 (7.87 index)
Super Stock:
Win: Kevin Helms, ’95 Achieva, Belle Rose, LA, 9.718, 110.84mph, (9.29 dial)
R/U: Jeff Gillman, ’05 Sunfire, Mame, MI, (foul) 9.733, 107.50mph, (8.91 dial)
Stock:
Win: Lee Zane, ’98 Firebird, Perry Hall, MD, 11.02, 101.94mph, (11.85dial)
R/U: Adam Davis, ’67Camaro, Cullman, AL, (foul) 11.32, 93.98mph, (11.85 dial)
Super Comp:
Win: Bubba Watts, ’00 Ray Miller, Sharpsburg, GA, 8.919, 170.51mph, (8.90dial)
R/U: Tom Ratliff ’57Corvette, Eustis, FL 8.894 157.93mph, (8.90dial)
SuperStreet:
Win: Gary Frederico, ’87 Grand National, Hopewell, NY, 10.886,153.42mph, (10.90 index)
R/U: Lamar Stevenson ’69 Camaro, Montgomery, AL (foul) 10.885, 125.29mph, (10.90 index)
Tim Glover photos
Fans who came to experience the 28th NHRA Southern Nationals will always remember they witnessed a piece of history watching twenty five year old Ashley Force become the first female to win the professional class of Top Fuel Funny Car; at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, GA. Force also came into the event as the Powerade points leader, increasing that lead with her win. In 2007, then rookie Top Fuel Funny Car racer Ashley Force met her famous dad for the first time ever in competition at Atlanta Dragway during the 27th Southern Nationals. Ashley did take that win, and made it to the semi-final round.
Force not only had the experience of her lifetime winning her first professional race, she did it by defeating her dad, John Force, in the final round. This was also the first time a father and daughter met in the final round of competition in the professional categories. Ashley, who earned lane choice by going .003 seconds quicker than her dad in the semi-final round (4.842 seconds at 317.79 mph to John’s 4.845 at312.93mph), left the starting line first with a .110 second reaction time and blistered the track en route to the second quickest quarter mile time of the day, 4.837 seconds at 320.36 mph. Her dad also came to the final round hopped up to win, as he was gunning for his 1000th career round win. However, he brought just a little too much power, and spun the tires hard shortly after leaving the starting line, which forced him to coast to an 11.223 at just 85.97 mph. Prior to the final, John told everyone he wasn’t cutting her any slack, telling her,“If you want to know what it feels like to win, you have to win it yourself.”Ashley came back with “It doesn’t matter who’s in the other lane, we just want to kick their behinds!” She then added, “It’s an exciting time, you know, with Danica (Patrick) winning. There are a lot of women in a lot of different motor sports and we’re getting our practice, we’re getting our experience and we’re making our way toward those wins.” John will have the opportunity to win his 1000th round win at Saint Louis during his birthday weekend. The semi-final finishers were Ron Capps and Bob Tasca III.
John Force, who is usually surrounded quickly after exiting his car past the finish line, didn’t hear much more than crickets this time. Everyone flocked to his daughter Ashley’s car,and he barely had time to give her a hug before she was whisked off to the winner’s circle.
During the past three national events, Ashley noticed every time rookie Top Fuel racer Antron Brown won a round, she also won. She said that as soon as she saw Brown win his semi-final round, she became confident she had a great shot at winning this race.
Top Fuel Dragster rookie Antron Brown overcame a minor problem with his brakes during competition and went on to defeat former teammate and defending champion Tony Shumacher by an ultra close margin of .009 seconds in the Top Fuel final round. Shumacher had a decided performance advantage, and chose the favored right lane. However, the new track surface was very good on both sides, and Brown’s crew chief Lee Beard tuned the car up to a great 4.537 at 325.14 mph. Shumacher’s crew chief Alan Johnson also did a great job, tuning their car to an actually quicker 4.521 at329.58 mph. However, Brown earned his keep at the starting line reacting first with a .035 second reaction time. Shumacher was second out of the gate, .025 seconds later, with a .060 second react.
Local racer Bob Vandergriff Jr from Cumming, Ga. finished the day in the Top Fuel Dragster semi-final round with his UPS backed machine, along with Brown’s teammate Rod Fuller.Brown said he saw Bob running right with him almost to the finish line during the semi-final round, but unfortunately for Vandergriff, his engine expired near the finish line, causing it to slow to a 4.64 at 296.11 mph, while Brown’scar posted a better 4.555 at 330.47 mph. Brown does have experience in the professional categories, winning many Pro Stock Motorcycle races, and finishing second in that points series.
The brand new racetrack surface was also a contributing factor to the weekend’s successes. Many elimination rounds on Sunday were determined by margins of .003 to .009 seconds, which works out to less than a foot difference between the cars crossing the quarter mile finish line. Very few racers complained about the surface. Ron Krisher, who qualified in the number one spot in Pro Stock, said “This is the best race track I’ve seen at Atlanta!”
Rain was predicted each day,but the only time it delayed the show was on Sunday, when six rain delays pushed the event back to an evening finish.
After a two year long dry spell, Mike Edwards enjoyed visiting the Pro Stock winner’s circle again. “You can’t describe the feeling of winning a race in this class. It’s so hard, so tough. I’m so thankful to God, and to Him I give the glory.” Edward’s Penhall backed ’08 Pontiac GXP ran 6.680 at 206.20 mph for the win against Jason Line’s similarly prepared Summit Pontiac ’08 GXP. Line turned in a nearly identical performance of 6.680 at 206.92 mph, but Edward’s stellar .009 second reaction time was the deciding factor after Line reacted with a slightly off pace .059.The semi-final finishers were Jeg Coughlin (’08 Cobalt) and Justin Humphreys(’08 GXP).
Warren “WJ” and Kurt Johnson, who live in nearby Buford, Ga., exited earlier in the Pro Stock rounds. Warren lost in round one to eventual semi-finalist Jeg Coughlin, and Kurt lost on a holeshot (opponent Justin Humphreys had a quicker reaction time) in round two.
Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Andrew Hines set a new track record of 6.950 seconds during qualifying with his’07 V-Rod Harley on the way to his top finish against Chip Ellis. Hines’ machine was deadly all weekend, only varying from a quickest elapsed time of 6.946 seconds at 191.40 mph in the final round to a slowest of 6.964 seconds during qualifying. Hines had the reaction time advantage and the quicker ET against Ellis’ ’03 Suzuki TL, which left the starting line with a very good .022 time and ran 6.958 at 190.70mph. Angelle Sampey (’08 Buell) and Craig Treble (’03Suzuki TL) finished their day in the semi-final round.
Rookie Pro Stock Motorcycle racer and Atlanta Dragway regular Junior Pippin from Conyers, Ga. enjoyed a good weekend. Pippin, who is still sorting out his combination, qualified in the 14th spot, allowing him to race on Sunday. Pippin lost to eventual runner up Chip Ellis in round one, but experienced his best mph ever, at 188.20mph.
Dan Lucas of Cumming, Ga. entered his Top Alcohol Dragster in the Southern Nationals, and enjoyed one of his quickest passes, posting a 5.887 at239.36mph. Unfortunately, the bump spot to get into the 16 car field this weekend was 5.63 seconds.
Spencer Massey, who recently earned his Top Fuel license and won two other events, won for the second year in a row at Atlanta in the Top Alcohol Dragster category. Massey’s Gene“ Snowman” Snow owned and tuned machine lit up the scoreboards with a 5.356 at 268.92 mph against defending Lucas Oil champion Bill Reichert. Reichert’s machine suffered serious engine damage during the semi-final round, and was only able to muster a 13.147 at 84.11mph for the final. Diana Harker from Gainesville, Ga. experienced engine damage during her quarter-final win, and was only able to run 11.510 at 101.19 mph in the semi-finals. The other semi-final finisher was Jeff Bohr.
Diana Harker’s dad, Steve Harker, also from Gainesville, Ga., ended a good weekend in the runner-up spot in Top Alcohol Funny Car. Harker’s ’06 Monte Carlo got a little out of shape in the final, allowing Frank Manzo, who has won the Southern Nationals 13 times (74 total wins) to take the win with a 5.558 at 260.81 mph. Harker was very close,with a 5.569 at 257.83mph. Marc White (’08 Mustang) and Mickey Ferro (’06 Monte Carlo) were the semi-final pair.
Other winners include:
Competition Eliminator:
Win: Rick Brown, ’00 S10 pickup, Lebanon, OH, 8.339 160.90 (8.85 index)
R/U: David Rampy, ’32 Bantam, Piedmont, AL 7.342 168.28 (7.87 index)
Super Stock:
Win: Kevin Helms, ’95 Achieva, Belle Rose, LA, 9.718, 110.84mph, (9.29 dial)
R/U: Jeff Gillman, ’05 Sunfire, Mame, MI, (foul) 9.733, 107.50mph, (8.91 dial)
Stock:
Win: Lee Zane, ’98 Firebird, Perry Hall, MD, 11.02, 101.94mph, (11.85dial)
R/U: Adam Davis, ’67Camaro, Cullman, AL, (foul) 11.32, 93.98mph, (11.85 dial)
Super Comp:
Win: Bubba Watts, ’00 Ray Miller, Sharpsburg, GA, 8.919, 170.51mph, (8.90dial)
R/U: Tom Ratliff ’57Corvette, Eustis, FL 8.894 157.93mph, (8.90dial)
SuperStreet:
Win: Gary Frederico, ’87 Grand National, Hopewell, NY, 10.886,153.42mph, (10.90 index)
R/U: Lamar Stevenson ’69 Camaro, Montgomery, AL (foul) 10.885, 125.29mph, (10.90 index)
posted by David @ 10:05 PM
<< Home