A New Force Emerges on the NHRA Scene

‘Force Wins Drag Race’ has become about as commonplace a headline as there is in sports. The irrepressible John Force has been to the winner’s circle 113 times in winning 12 National Hot Rod Assn. funny car championships.

There was a different meaning to the headline last week, though. Ashley Force, John’s 21-year-old daughter, won her first event since she began racing a top-alcohol dragster this year.

She dominated the field at the NHRA Division 4 finals at Rusk, Texas. Her winning speed of 259.36 mph and elapsed time of 5.453 seconds for a quarter-mile from a standing start were track records.

Making her victory even more memorable, an overeager John jumped the gun and lost in the second round of a national event on Sunday at Columbus, Ohio.

“Dad called [from Columbus] when I was in the winner’s circle,” Ashley said. “It was so exciting.... he is so emotional. When we finally quit playing phone tag and he got through, he kept telling me how proud he was and that his cellphone was full from people calling him about me winning. I think he was more excited than I was.

“He’s at nearly all my races, and my mother is usually there too, but the race in Texas came up so suddenly because of a rainout that no one from my family was there. They’ll be there this week, though.”

Ashley and John are in Englishtown, N.J., this weekend for the K&N; Supernationals, an NHRA national event.

Ashley scored her first victory in her ninth race in a top-alcohol dragster, a carbon copy of the 300-inch cars raced by Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Scott Kalitta and others in top fuel, the quickest and fastest class in drag racing. She had raced two years in super comp, a lower classification in the Lucas Oil sportsman series before moving up for the season-opening Winternationals last February at Pomona.

“The deal with [sponsoring] Mattel came together at the last minute,” she said. “I remember seeing my dad down on his knees, putting decals on the car in the rain, just in time for the first qualifying runs.

“It was quite a jump from super comp to an alcohol dragster. For one thing, the dragster needs parachutes to stop and it goes about 100 mph faster and three seconds quicker.”

Her super comp went 175 mph in 8.9 seconds. Her best top-alcohol marks are 279 mph and 5.33 seconds.

“There’s no comparing the two, but I still remember that first ‘rush’ I got when I launched the super comp the first time,” Ashley said. “There’s nothing like that feeling, and you never forget how it felt the first time.”

Her dragster is owned by Jerry Darien and Ken Meadows. Darien, whose shop is in Azusa, has supported a number of young drivers on the rise, such as Gary Scelzi, Brandon Bernstein, Frank Pedregon and Melanie Troxel.

Although she has been hanging around her father’s Yorba Linda shop and going to races as long as she can remember, Ashley did not consider becoming a driver before she was 16.

“When I was in about the ninth grade, I wanted to be on the crew and work on the car,” she said. “I thought the crew guys were so cool, the way they worked like crazy, then suddenly backed off and watched the car run down the strip. Then they’d all run to the garage. I loved to sit on a bench and watch them take an engine apart and put it back together.

“Mother wanted me to take home economics and learn to cook, but when I got to [Anaheim Esperanza] high school, I signed up for auto shop and welding as my electives. I was a cheerleader and some days I’d have my uniform on and the guys really looked at me kind of funny when I started working on engines.”

When Dad suggested she attend Frank Hawley’s driving school at Pomona for her 16th birthday, though, she began thinking about racing.

“Truthfully, all my desires before then were to be a crew member, working on the cars,” she said. “Once I said I wanted to race, though, Dad said not to worry if I changed my mind and decided I wanted to do something else. And Mother said I had to finish college, so I took summer courses and graduated early from Cal State Fullerton.”

She had a problem settling on a major.

“In my sophomore year, my counselor asked what I did, and what I wanted to do. When I said, ‘race car driver,’ she said, ‘We have no major for that.’ I ended up in radio, TV and film.”

Mattel thinks so highly of Ashley’s future that the toy company is designing a Barbie doll in her likeness, complete with her white and black driving suit and helmet, along with a model of her dragster. It is expected to be on the market before Christmas.

“It was really funny, holding the model Barbie of myself, remembering how I used to play with Barbies when I was a little girl,” she said.

Southland Scene

Brian France, chairman of the board and chief executive of NASCAR, paid his first visit to Irwindale Speedway last week and after watching races, said, “You see great races like that, what more can fans want? This place is terrific.”

France was given a tour of the garages, press box, race control and suites by General Manager Bob DeFazio, but said he preferred sitting in the stands, the way the paying customers do at the half-mile oval.

Irwindale will have another NASCAR program Saturday night with super late models, late models, super stocks, mini stocks and Grand American modifieds.

Historic sports and stock cars will be on parade this weekend at California Speedway. After practice today and Saturday morning, races will be held Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

Steve Millen is entered in both a 1994 Nissan 300ZX and a 1977 Ralt RT1. Among the historic NASCAR cars are a No. 43 Pontiac driven by Richard Petty in 1991, and others driven by Bill Elliott in 1994, Darrell Waltrip in 1987, Rusty Wallace in 1993, and Terry Labonte in 1993.

Perris Auto Speedway will add a Friday program this weekend, tonight’s racing making up for a rainout April 3. Super stocks will be featured, along with extreme trucks, hornets and IMCA modifieds.

Saturday night, the USAC/CRA sprint cars will be back for the second consecutive week on Perris’ half-mile clay oval. Adam Mitchell, who surprised by winning his first main event in 12 years last week, will return with hopes of a repeat victory. It was a popular victory for the Escondido driver, who was in a new car after destroying one when he flipped violently at Perris on April 24.

Jerome Rodela of El Monte trails Johnny Rodriguez of Elk Grove in the USAC western midget standings by 94 points entering Saturday night’s 30-lap feature at Ventura Raceway. Wally Pankratz, the 2000 champion, is another 33 points back.

Formula One

Trying to beat Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari has been a weighty problem all season and figures to be again Sunday at Indianapolis in the United States Grand Prix.

The BMW Williams team brought 23 tons of equipment for the two North American races, last weekend’s in Canada and the USGP. And that does not include the cars driven by Ralf Schumacher, Michael’s brother, and Juan Pablo Montoya.

All that tonnage was to no avail at Montreal, where both BMW drivers were disqualified for having illegal brake ducts -- after Schumacher had finished second and Montoya fifth.

Also DQ’d, for the same reason, were the two Toyota cars, driven by Cristiano da Matta and Olivier Panis, wiping out their eighth- and 10th-place finishes.

As usual, Michael Schumacher finished first and now has won seven of eight races this season in quest of a record seventh Formula One championship.

Motorcycles

Greg Hancock, the 1997 world speedway motorcycle champion from Balboa Island, won the British round of the 2004 global series last Saturday in front of 35,000 at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

Hancock, who edged Australia’s Leigh Adams and Germany’s Lee Richardson by inches in the final, is fourth in Grand Prix points after four of nine events. Adams and fellow Australian Jason Crump are tied with 69 points. Sweden’s Tony Rickardsson has 62, Hancock 57.

“I have never seen so many American flags as there were here tonight,” Hancock said. “I would like to dedicate this win to my grandmother, who died of cancer a couple of weeks ago, and to Ronald Reagan.”

Hancock is scheduled to defend his national championship Aug. 7 at Victorville.

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This Week

NASCAR NEXTEL CUP

DHL 400DR

* When: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 1 p.m.); Sunday, race (Fox, 10 a.m.).

* Where: Michigan International Speedway (D-shaped oval, 2 miles, 18-degree banking in turns), Brooklyn.

* Race distance: 400 miles, 200 laps.

* 2003 winner: Kurt Busch.

* Next race: Dodge/Save Mart 350, June 27, Sonoma, Calif.

NASCAR BUSCH

Meijer 300DR

* When: Today, qualifying, (Speed, 5 p.m., delayed; Saturday, race (FX, 5 p.m.).

* Where: Kentucky Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles, 14-degree banking in turns), Sparta.

* Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

* 2003 winner: Bobby Hamilton Jr.

* Next race: Alan Kulwicki 250, June 26, The Milwaukee Mile.

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

O’Reilly 200DR

* When: Today, qualifying, 1 p.m.; Saturday, race (Speed, noon).

* Where: Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park, (tri-oval, 0.75 miles, 11-degrees banking in turns).

* Race distance: 150 miles, 200 laps

* 2003 winner: Ted Musgrave.

* Next race: Black Cat Fireworks 200, June 26, Milwaukee.

CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES

Grand Prix of PortlandDR

* When: Today, qualifying, 2 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 1:45 p.m.; Sunday, race (Spike TV, 4 p.m., delayed).

* Where: Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (permanent road course, 1.969 miles, nine turns).

* Race distance: 94 laps, 185.086 miles.

* 2003 winner: Adrian Fernandez.

* Next race: Grand Prix of Cleveland, July 3.

FORMULA ONE

U.S. Grand PrixDR

* When: Saturday, qualifying (10 a.m., Speed); Sunday, race, (Speed, 9:30 a.m.)

* Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (road course, 2.606 miles, 13 turns).

* Race distance: 190.2 miles, 73 laps

* 2003 winner: Michael Schumacher.

* Next race: French Grand Prix, July 4, Magny-Cours.

NHRA

K&N; Filters SuperNationalsDR

* When: Today, qualifying, 12:30 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, (ESPN2, 3 p.m., delayed); Sunday, eliminations (2 p.m., ESPN).

* Where: Old Bridge Township Raceway Park; Englishtown, N.J.

* 2003 winners: Doug Kalitta, Whit Bazemore, Greg Anderson and Shawn Gann.

* Next race: Sears Craftsman Nationals, June 27, Madison, Ill.