“It was a good run for us,” Ashley Force Hood said of her 4.139 second run, 304.56 mph. “We were pleasantly surprised especially when compared to the runs other people had because of the temperatures and the track.”

There seemed to be problems everywhere; landmines if you will, just waiting to ruin a run. Force was one of the few who was able to almost magically escape any and all of the pitfalls. “It was a good run for us,” Ashley Force Hood said of her 4.139 second run, 304.56 mph. “We were pleasantly surprised especially when compared to the runs other people had because of the temperatures and the track.”

There seemed to be problems everywhere; landmines if you will, just waiting to ruin a run. Force was one of the few who was able to almost magically escape any and all of the pitfalls.

“To go out there and run that run that smooth was a surprise for me,” she admitted. “Usually when you get down there near the finish line it gets a little crazy and it’s a challenge when you’re trying to get the chutes. That run was so smooth I was able to take my hand up to pull the chutes while seeing the flag clearly at 1000 feet and that just goes to show how smooth that run was. It doesn’t normally happen like that; it usually gets real shaky.”

Taking the top spot over Ron Capps, gives Force Hood a cushion she can use, especially after the second session, set for Friday night was cancelled when cool temperatures prevented track crews from being able to dry out the top end.

“I’m pretty positive that every team would have liked to have tonight’s run back because it’s another opportunity; another shot, especially with the weather being cool,” Force Hood explained. “You would have gotten some good passes.

“We’re excited to go out tomorrow because there’s a really small chance we could get bumped out of the show even if we did horrible. The other teams most likely will set up there car different than what we do. It all depends on what kind of run you had and if you are in the show. We’ve had plenty of times where we had bad runs in the beginning and we ended up getting in the show on the second day. I’m very thankful that we will have confidence on the second day because you don’t have that pressure hanging over your head.”

With the pressure off and momentum in their corner, it might be time to go for broke.

“Any time you can make a good pass like that you can build some momentum. You know what the track can handle and you are given the chance on your next run to push a little more. That is the advantage that we have,” said Force Hood. “Tomorrow the crew chiefs can go out do what they do to see what the track will take. Come Sunday we can take a step back maybe and have a good day then. We want to go four rounds on Sunday. That run today was one of the best runs, most smooth runs, I have ever made in my Castrol GTX Mustang.”