ASHLEY RELISHES THOUGHTS
OF FATHER-DAUGHTER DUEL
When it Occurs, All-Castrol Match-Up Would Be a Pro First
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Now that she's survived the media circus that
defined her professional debut in the Castrol GTX0x00ae Ford Mustang,
24-year-old Ashley Force is just hoping to have fun this week when the
NHRA POWERade tour moves to Firebird International Raceway for the 23rd
annual Checkers/Schuck's/Kragen Nationals.
Fun, of course, is a relative term. For some it might be riding
dirt bikes in the desert. For others, it could be hitting the lake in a
Nordic powerboat. Or maybe taking a Pleasant Holidays cruise to Mexico.
For Ashley, however, the most fun would be a side-by-side, 320
mile-an-hour drag race with her father, 14-time NHRA Funny Car Champion
John Force.
There's little doubt that such a match-up will occur sometime during
the 2007 season. It could come as early as this week. When it finally
does happen, Ashley believes she'll have an edge.
On the surface, that's an awfully brash assertion from a driver who
has appeared in just one competitive round at the professional level
1,310 fewer rounds than her father, a drag racing icon whose credits
include a record 122 tour victories and a qualifying streak that
currently stands at 393 consecutive races.
However, Ashley bases the assessment not on any tangible advantage
but rather on the intangible.
"A lot of drivers might be intimidated by him," she said of her
father, "but to me he's just dad. If anyone is going to be nervous, it's
him. He'll be so worried about me and all the things he thinks might
happen that I think it'll be hard for him to focus.
"I can't wait to race him. He and his team are who trained me, so
to be in the lane next to them, next to Austin and Bernie (Austin Coil
and Bernie Fedderly, co-crew chiefs on Force's Castrol GTX High
Mileage Ford) with Guido' (former Force crewman Dean Antonelli) as
my crew chief, will be really exciting. And the fans, they'll love it
because there's never been any father-daughter teams competing against
each other."
In fact, there have been no father-versus-daughter competitions in
all of pro sports, which makes the anticipated Force-versus-Force pairing
even more compelling.
"It's his own fault I'm coming after him," Ashley joked. "He's been
my teacher the whole way. The big question everybody's asking is which
side of the track are my mom and my sisters going to stand when we race
each other?"
Despite her obvious delight at the prospect of lining up against the
biggest winner in drag racing history, the former high school cheerleader
is realistic about her expectations and surprisingly sensitive to racers
who might be perplexed by the amount of attention she has attracted as a
first year driver.
"Sometimes I think, what's the big deal? I qualified 15th,'" she
said, "'and lots of people have done that.' But I know it's because
I'm a gal and because I'm racing with my dad.
"I do get a little nervous that some of the drivers might not like
me (just) because of all the hype," she said, "but I think that every
year there are big stories. I took radio and TV (while earning a
bachelor's degree from Cal State-Fullerton) so I understand a little
better than most people how it all works. But eventually you have to do
something. You have to perform.
"I just want to go out there (right now) and have fun," she
continued, "because this really is one of the funnest' jobs in the
world. I think you do better if you don't get too caught up in
expectations, (but) if we can get qualified, go rounds, maybe beat up on
dad one or two times, that would be an awesome season.
"Really, though, it's not about beating dad or beating Eric (Medlen,
driver of the Auto Club Pleasant Holidays Mustang) or beating Robert
(Hight, driver of the Auto Club Mustang), it's about beating everyone
else and getting one of the John Force Racing cars into the winners'
circle every race."
* * * *
Did You Know:
Not only is Ashley a rookie driver in the Funny Car category, her crew
chief, Dean Antonelli, is a rookie in that capacity as well. A member of
John Force's inner circle for the last 12 seasons, Antonelli was Team
Leader on the Castrol GTX Mustang under Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly.
Fortunately, he has veteran Ron Douglas sharing responsibilities as
assistant crew chief. Douglas most recently was crew chief on Cruz
Pedregon's Chevrolet, tuning him to one win last season and a Top 10
finish.
Notable:
Ashley was clocked in 4.782 seconds during testing last month at
FIR. That would have qualified her 14th for the 2006 CSK Nationals. Her
best time was 4.729 seconds in testing last month at Las Vegas.
Ashley is one of the stars of Driving Force, the real-life series
that returns to A&E Network on March 27, moving from Mondays at 9 p.m.,
Eastern, to Tuesdays at 10 p.m., Eastern.
-credit: jfr
