Quite possibly, the only obstacle between Ashley Force Hood and the 2009 Full Throttle Funny Car World Championship, is her inability to shut down her feelings as she snaps her visor closed, the body of her ride lowered down on the chassis, the engine raring to roar down the track.

In short, Ashley cares. She worries about every action she takes against her competitors and she attributes the trait to being female.

“I don’t know how many times,” says Force Hood, “I’ve come back and asked
'did I sit too long?' and my crew chief says, 'don’t worry about it. Don’t worry
about the other guy, they aren’t thinking about you'.

Quite possibly, the only obstacle between Ashley Force Hood and the 2009 Full Throttle Funny Car World Championship, is her inability to shut down her feelings as she snaps her visor closed, the body of her ride lowered down on the chassis, the engine raring to roar down the track.

In short, Ashley cares. She worries about every action she takes against her competitors and she attributes the trait to being female.

“I don’t know how many times,” says Force Hood, “I’ve come back and asked
'did I sit too long?' and my crew chief says, 'don’t worry about it. Don’t worry
about the other guy, they aren’t thinking about you'.

“That’s one bad habit I have and I’m trying to clear it - just trying to be competitive and not worrying about the other team. I guess that’s just a female habit in me. I don’t think too many men have that habit.”

In just her third year as a Funny Car driver, Force has captured her second and third career wins, including the prestigious US Nationals. She finished 10th in the point standings in 2007, improving to sixth in 2008. She currently sits third in the standings, behind Tony Pedregon and Ron Capps.

Those who drive race cars, be it a Funny Car, a Top Fueler, or anything with wheels for that matter, will tell you the most valuable asset of any great driver is experience. Force Hood is no different.

“There are so many scenarios that can happen in the race car,” explained Force Hood when asked if she was catching up to her race car. “It’s really taken me sometime to go in there and register what is happening and be able to correct
the situations. I finally feel like I’m starting to recognize stuff instead of having to think about it and by that time it’s too late. My body is just kind of reacting because it’s been in that situation before and that just comes from experience. There’s really no way to get around that, you can have a background in mechanics like Robert but I don’t think it’s quite the same as driving. There’s nothing that can take the place of experience and however many years that would take. You have to take those experiences and make yourself better.”

The learning curve for Force Hood, has by her own admission been shortened by the opportunity to drive in quality equipment. For that, she is truly thankful.

“I definitely think the advantage I’ve had, because I am racing people that have been doing it for many years, and sometimes I feel that it’s unfair to a lot of the other drivers. I got put in a really good car with a good team and really good parts,” said Force Hood. “That’s a really good part of it; I was able to have a really good place to start from. I couldn’t imagine trying to learn in a car that didn’t go down the track and have parts failure and stuff like that. That’s maybe why I think the learning curve was a little quicker.”

One former Funny Car driver, Whit Bazemore, praised Force Hood's Indy performance saying that from what he saw on television, the daughter of 14-time Funny Car Champ John Force display skills equal to or above the car she drives.

Force, the father and car owner, came close to agreeing with Bazemore. As a driver, the senior Force is an aggressor. He lives the life of a man always on the edge. Occasionally, as in Indy, Force's emotions carry him over the edge. Ashley, he proudly admits, gets the job done in a far gentler manner.

“She’s not better than the car but she is getting pretty close,” said Force as part of media day at zMAX Dragway the day before the start of the NHRA Carolinas Nationals, before adding a comment about her skills off the racetrack.

“As a boss, I am proud of her because it isn’t just the competition like taking on the boys. It’s taking on the crowds, the interviews, the pressure and she’s not going to do it my way. I live on the edge. She’s her mother’s personality, she’s the best, she’s calm and cool. At the end of the day that’s going to make her a better driver.

“As a father, I’m proud of that little girl that fell off the top of a pyramid in cheerleading and got back up stunned and started crawling back up. I watch that girl sick to her stomach back stage when she had to go out at Long Beach and play the piano and sing. She said ‘Mom I think I’m sick’ and when they yelled Ashley you’re on she hit that floor. She gathered it up and went out there and sang. Let me tell you something she don’t need to be a race car driver. Hollywood wants her right now, she can dance, she can sing, Dancing with the Stars wants her right now but she can’t free her schedule. That kid has so much talent beyond me and I have none.

“This kid is the future of the sport. A female with the Earnhardt name. She’s going to do some real damage.”
 

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