J. Force Attends First Race Since Accident

Ashley Force drove her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang into the record books by becoming the first female Funny Car driver to reach a final round.

This all but cementing her status as the 2007 winner of the Auto Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award that identifies the NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year. Force reached the milestone in just the 20th start of her career.

“I know a lot of people talk about me being a gal and reaching these milestones but I would not have made it to the final round without the eight guys on my crew and the hard work of (co-crew chiefs) Dean Antonelli and Ron Douglas. We want to win races for our sponsors and our teams," said Force.

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Ashley’s performance was the lone bright spot in a tough day for John Force Racing’s championship hopes as Team Castrol driver Hight joined Ron Capps and Gary Scelzi on the losing side of first round match-ups while points leader and former JFR team member Tony Pedregon cruised to an almost insurmountable points lead as the race winner.

At the end of the day, Castrol team owner John Force was philosophical yet full of optimism when he addressed his four teams. Hight is 99 points behind Pedregon and his first championship.

"We need a miracle but I love the Hail Mary," said Force, the former high school football stand-out who is on the sidelines because of injuries suffered in a Sept. 23rd crash at the Texas Motorplex outside Dallas, TX.

Filling in for 14-time champion, Phil Burkart Jr. performed admirably in his first start in the Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford by taking out Capps in the first round. His day ended in a second round loss to Tony’s brother, Cruz.

CP