Growing Force
by CP Staff
The formidable team of John Force funny car Mustangs is set to expand again. Following almost a year of supervised testing under the watchful eye of crew chiefs Austin Coil, Bernie Fedderly, John Medlen and Jimmy Prock, Ashley Force will chase NHRA POWERade Funny Car points during the 2007 season as the driver of a new Castrol GTX Ford Mustang for John Force Racing, Inc.
Her father and car owner, John Force, made the official announcement during a press conference Tuesday at the primary JFR shop facility in California.
Ashley, who turned 24 last November, will drive a car prepared by first time crew chief Dean "Guido" Antonelli who, for the last 12 years, was a member of the crew that helped Force win 10 of his record 14 NHRA championships.
|
|
Given her previous background, Ashley feels that she is ready for the move. "As far as from a driving standpoint, I gradually moved up through the ranks. There was no other category I could have prepared in.
"The next step up was either pro dragster or pro Funny Car. I went slowly through the process. I experienced many different sensations in the car last year, tire shake, pedaling it, getting sideways, dropping cylinders, catching fire, setting fire bottles off on accident. I went through a lot of that in testing, getting all the kinks out because your car will not always go A-to-B."
When asked what will happen when she faces her father in competition, she responded, "I can't wait to run next to Dad and his team. I'm very excited. And the fans, they'll love it, because there's never been any father-daughter teams competing against each other." She added, "He trained me. It's his own fault now I'm coming after him."
Significantly, she is beginning her Funny Car career at almost the same age that her father started. The elder Force began driving Funny Cars outside the NHRA series in 1974. He made his first appearance in the NHRA series in 1978 but didn’t win for the first time until June, 1987, at Montreal, Canada.
|
