The elder Force put an exclamation point on his 13th championship season by driving his Castrol GTX Start Up Ford Mustang past the Chevrolet of Del Worsham in a final round duel between the No. 1 and No. 2 drivers in the 2004 NHRA POWERade Series.

It was Force's sixth win in the Auto Club Finals and his 11th at Pomona Raceway, one of the two tracks on which he has double digit career victories.

As for Ashley, she spoiled a near-perfect weekend for Mitch Myers of Hermiston, Ore. Myers qualified No. 1, lowered the NHRA national record in the Top Alcohol class to 5.109 seconds and clinched his first series championship. In the final, however, Ashley's .048 of a second starting line advantage made up for a .037 of a second disadvantage in performance and made the second generation driver a winner for the third time in her rookie season in the class. It also insured a fourth place finish in national points.

His daughter's victory actually inspired Force in his showdown duel with Worsham. "You win the championship and the pressure's taken off," he said. "You're watching ther other two guys (Worsham and Gary Scelzi) run for No. 2. But (crew chief Austin) Coil said you need to get up – and I just couldn't get up. When she won, though, I really felt an obligation. You know, Kenny Bernstein and his son, Brandon, they won together at Vegas (in 2001).

"I thought, if I have a shot here at beating Del, I don't want to fail because I'm not up for it. So, when she won, I just came to life. I went out there and did my job.

It was Force's 180th career appearance in a Funny Car final round, his 12th final round of 2004 and his seventh trip to the finals in the season's last 10 races. En route to his fifth win of the season, the 1996 Driver of the Year for all American auto racing lowered the Pomona Raceway track record to 4.698 seconds while qualifying his Castrol Ford No. 1.

On Saturday, Force showed why he is the 13-time NHRA Funny Car Champion when he booted his Castrol GTX Start Up Ford through the quarter mile timers in a track record 4.698 seconds.

In breaking the 4.70 second barrier for the third time, the only Funny Car driver ever to have done so, Force earned the 124th Skoal No. 1 qualifying bonus of his career and firmly established himself as the favorite in Sunday’s 40th annual Automobile Club of Southern California Finals.

“When I left the staging lanes, (crew chief Austin) Coil said ‘cinch ‘er down,’” Force said, referring to his seatbelts. “I said, ‘why? are you going to go for it? Because he never really ever says he’s going for it. And he said, ‘I think I’m gonna go for it tonight.’

“And I thought, wouldn’t it be just bitchin’ to run a 4.60 in Pomona, on my home track? Chicago (where he was clocked at a national record 4.665 seconds just a month ago), who cares? Here? I care.”

Force’s last gasp heroics snatched the spotlight not only from Worsham, who wound up third in the final qualifying order, but also from Ford teammate Gary Densham, who just the pair before had briefly taken over the No. 1 position with a career best time of 4.706 seconds at a track record speed of 329.75 miles per hour in the Auto Club Mustang.

In all, a record 12 cars broke the 4.80 second barrier including Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Eric Medlen who, despite a spectacular engine explosion and fire on his final attempt, will start from the No. 8 spot in the Castrol SYNTEC Mustang.

Medlen, who entered the last session third in the qualifying order, rode out a fireball that erupted near halftrack and burned beyond the finish line. The 31-year-old former rodeo cowboy bailed out of the roof hatch after bringing the car to a halt and, after being checked out by paramedics, was back on the starting line in time to watch his boss make history.

For Force, it was the fourth time in his career that he qualified No. 1 at both events contested at the Los Angeles County Fairplex track. He was No. 1 last February K&N Filters Winternationals at 4.746 seconds. Force also doubled-up at Pomona in 1995, 2000 and 2002.

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