Defending Southern Nationals event champion Ashley Force Hood retained her No. 1 qualifying position heading into tomorrow’s eliminations. She made a solid final qualifying run and for her efforts she gets 22-time event winner Del Worsham in the first round.

When alerted about her first round opponent the 2009 NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals event winner was less than thrilled.

“I was all excited we got No. 1 and as I am coming into the press room I find out I have Del Worsham in the first round. They have a great team and he is a great driver. That is race day and you know you have to take the hard guys and there are no easy guys in our field. Funny Car is super competitive,” said Force Hood. “There is not going to be an easy round all day. It is all going to come down to getting down that track tomorrow.”

Defending Southern Nationals event champion Ashley Force Hood retained her No. 1 qualifying position heading into tomorrow’s eliminations. She made a solid final qualifying run and for her efforts she gets 22-time event winner Del Worsham in the first round.

When alerted about her first round opponent the 2009 NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals event winner was less than thrilled.

“I was all excited we got No. 1 and as I am coming into the press room I find out I have Del Worsham in the first round. They have a great team and he is a great driver. That is race day and you know you have to take the hard guys and there are no easy guys in our field. Funny Car is super competitive,” said Force Hood. “There is not going to be an easy round all day. It is all going to come down to getting down that track tomorrow.”

Force Hood was nearly flawless in qualifying except for her pass in the third session to start the day. Her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang went up in smoke at about half track and the former high school cheerleader had to muscle her 8000 hp machine back towards the center of the track.

"The groove is, from what I have learned in the last two days, pretty narrow. We watched my video of my third qualifying session. I got outside and went right up in smoke. I thought I was way outside but in the video it was just the teeniest amount that I saw. I was thinking I must have gotten out pretty good but that just goes to show you how narrow it is. You can’t make any mistakes. There is no leeway. You have to keep it where it needs to be.”

Last year Force Hood made history at the NHRA Southern Nationals as the first female to win a Funny Car title and tomorrow she could become the first female to defend a Funny Car national event win as well as put her Mustang into the winner’s circle on it’s anniversary weekend.

"This is a big weekend for us with our sponsors, mainly Ford. It is the 45th anniversary of the Mustang. To be able to have the No. 1 and No. 2 spots held by Mustangs. We are pretty excited about that. It is a great way to kick off the race. Hopefully all the Mustangs in the field can do well tomorrow and get one of them in the winner’s circle.”

THANKS ASHLEY! - Force Hood used her dominating qualifying performance to hand Jarrett Weathers of Augusta, Georgia, a new Whirlpool washer and dryer as part of the BrandSource “Win with Force” promotion. During the 2009 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series at select event when any one of the four John Force Racing Funny Cars qualifies No 1 at the event one lucky winner wins a Whirlpool washer and dryer set.

“I never thought I would come to the Southern Nationals and go home with a Whirlpool washer and dryer. I just signed up like 30 minutes before the drawing. My entry form must have been laying on top. I am a huge John Force Racing fan which makes getting to meet Ashley that much better. This is the fourth or fifth time for me to come to the Southern Nationals I love come out here,” said an excited Weathers.

The "Win with Force" promotion gives NHRA fans the chance to win valuable prizes, including a Sweepstakes Grand Prize trip on the John Force Racing Fan Cruise III, an exclusive offer from AAA Travel. The 4 Day/3 Night cruise includes a Penthouse Suite for 4 people aboard Carnival Cruise Lines(r)  Paradise and a $2,000 AAA Gift of Travel Certificate.

In addition to the Grand Prize trip on the John Force Racing Fan Cruise III, BrandSource is also offering NHRA fans a chance to win prizes from Mitsubishi Digital Televisions and Whirlpool at each of 15 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series national events in 2009.

Whirlpool will give away a washer and dryer to a registered fan when a John Force Racing driver qualifies #1 overall on Saturday of designated NHRA events, and Mitsubishi will follow that  up on Sunday eliminations by giving away a 65" television if a John Force  Racing driver wins the race. This is the fourth year for Mitsubishi to participate in the promotion and the second year for Whirlpool to offer prizes to NHRA fans. 

 

 

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