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Ashley Force Hood has a shot at becoming the first woman to win an NHRA Funny Car championship at this weekend's season-ending event in Pomona. (Isaac Brekken / For The Times) |
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Reporting from Las Vegas -
The display of merchandise at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway had something for everyone: Ashley Force dolls, Ashley Force rhinestone-encrusted key chains, Ashley Force neoprene beer coolers.
Pink Ashley Force socks also were available, as were Ashley Force hats and Ashley Force hair scrunchies.
For other memorabilia -- say an Ashley Force 100% cotton throw -- fans would have to visit her website.
FOR THE RECORD:
Drag racer Ashley Force Hood: A label over a Sports article Saturday on drag racer Ashley Force Hood said "NHRA Winternationals." The event, in Pomona this weekend, is the Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. —
A 26-year-old drag racer from Yorba Linda, she is quickly becoming one of the most potent brands in American motor sports. With her good looks, a gutsy reputation on the track and a racing legend father who has mastered the art of modern marketing, she is the new, and decidedly feminine, face of drag racing.
But she is more than just a top seller of merchandise licensed by the National Hot Rod Assn. Last year she became the first woman to win an NHRA race in Funny Car, one of the sport's most physically demanding categories.
Now she's Ashley Force Hood after taking her husband Dan's last name when they married last year, though most fans still know her as Ashley Force.
After another season stacked with wins, Force Hood has a shot -- albeit a long one -- at becoming the first woman to win an NHRA Funny Car championship at this weekend's season-ending event in Pomona.
NHRA President Tom Compton said Force Hood has helped attract new fans -- especially valuable since the recession led ticket sales to drop by 10%. "She appeals to women and young people," he said. "She's very important to the future of this sport."
Consider Logan Pergance, who had traveled to Las Vegas from Colorado Springs with her family to watch Force Hood race and get a photo with her idol. Logan is 5.
Logan, who competes on a dirt bike (with training wheels), had dressed as Force Hood in a miniature racing suit and fingernails painted red and green and white -- the colors of Force Hood's major sponsor, Castrol Motor Oil.
Another of the dozens of fans waiting outside Force Hood's trailer was Evelyn Delaney, 44, of Anchorage. Delaney, whose husband was a longtime NHRA fan, said she had always tuned races out -- until Force Hood started driving.
"It's something I can relate to," she said. "You know, it's a girl-power thing."
Force Hood may excel at a man's game, but as Logan's dad, Jason, put it, she's still a "girlie girl." The former high school cheerleader showed up at the track here in makeup and with freshly painted nails. She brought Halloween candy for her 10-man crew -- it was Oct. 31 -- and told of folding their clothes when they leave them lying around the pit.
Other Funny Car drivers sell merchandise, but you won't find any Cruz Pedregon or Tim Wilkerson hair scrunchies.
An AOL poll found her to be the "world's hottest athlete," but Force Hood said, "The gender stuff is kind of old news." Yet, as some of her male fans made clear, her gender is so much the allure.
"She's very pretty, if you know what I mean," said Gerald Salazar, 55, who had driven from Albuquerque with Bob Deal, 64, to watch Force Hood race in her 7,000-horsepower Mustang.
"For such an attractive girl to be doing such a dangerous sport -- wow!" Deal said.
Force Hood spent time between qualifying races hanging out in her trailer with her mom, her sisters and her cat Simba (who has a fan following in his own right). Force Hood feels at home on the track.
Pink Ashley Force socks also were available, as were Ashley Force hats and Ashley Force hair scrunchies.
For other memorabilia -- say an Ashley Force 100% cotton throw -- fans would have to visit her website.
FOR THE RECORD:
Drag racer Ashley Force Hood: A label over a Sports article Saturday on drag racer Ashley Force Hood said "NHRA Winternationals." The event, in Pomona this weekend, is the Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. —
A 26-year-old drag racer from Yorba Linda, she is quickly becoming one of the most potent brands in American motor sports. With her good looks, a gutsy reputation on the track and a racing legend father who has mastered the art of modern marketing, she is the new, and decidedly feminine, face of drag racing.
But she is more than just a top seller of merchandise licensed by the National Hot Rod Assn. Last year she became the first woman to win an NHRA race in Funny Car, one of the sport's most physically demanding categories.
Now she's Ashley Force Hood after taking her husband Dan's last name when they married last year, though most fans still know her as Ashley Force.
After another season stacked with wins, Force Hood has a shot -- albeit a long one -- at becoming the first woman to win an NHRA Funny Car championship at this weekend's season-ending event in Pomona.
NHRA President Tom Compton said Force Hood has helped attract new fans -- especially valuable since the recession led ticket sales to drop by 10%. "She appeals to women and young people," he said. "She's very important to the future of this sport."
Consider Logan Pergance, who had traveled to Las Vegas from Colorado Springs with her family to watch Force Hood race and get a photo with her idol. Logan is 5.
Logan, who competes on a dirt bike (with training wheels), had dressed as Force Hood in a miniature racing suit and fingernails painted red and green and white -- the colors of Force Hood's major sponsor, Castrol Motor Oil.
Another of the dozens of fans waiting outside Force Hood's trailer was Evelyn Delaney, 44, of Anchorage. Delaney, whose husband was a longtime NHRA fan, said she had always tuned races out -- until Force Hood started driving.
"It's something I can relate to," she said. "You know, it's a girl-power thing."
Force Hood may excel at a man's game, but as Logan's dad, Jason, put it, she's still a "girlie girl." The former high school cheerleader showed up at the track here in makeup and with freshly painted nails. She brought Halloween candy for her 10-man crew -- it was Oct. 31 -- and told of folding their clothes when they leave them lying around the pit.
Other Funny Car drivers sell merchandise, but you won't find any Cruz Pedregon or Tim Wilkerson hair scrunchies.
An AOL poll found her to be the "world's hottest athlete," but Force Hood said, "The gender stuff is kind of old news." Yet, as some of her male fans made clear, her gender is so much the allure.
"She's very pretty, if you know what I mean," said Gerald Salazar, 55, who had driven from Albuquerque with Bob Deal, 64, to watch Force Hood race in her 7,000-horsepower Mustang.
"For such an attractive girl to be doing such a dangerous sport -- wow!" Deal said.
Force Hood spent time between qualifying races hanging out in her trailer with her mom, her sisters and her cat Simba (who has a fan following in his own right). Force Hood feels at home on the track.
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