FORCE FAMILY FIRST
Following a final-round battle with her father, Funny Car icon John Force, Ashley Force Hood celebrates her first career Funny Car win in the winner’ s circle with her dad, who was chasing the 1,000-round-win milestone at the time. The win made Ashley the first woman to win in the category. Since then, Melanie Troxel, Alexis DeJoria, and Ashley’ s youngest sister, Courtney Force, have joined her as female Funny Car winners. Becoming the first woman to win in the class was significant to Force Hood, but the timing of the victory— just a handful of races into the season following teammate Eric Medlen’ s fatal crash in early 2007 and her father’ s devastating crash at Dallas later that season – made it even more significant.“ To have a really happy moment at the track with my team, that is what made that day most special,” Force Hood said on the 10-year anniversary of the win in 2018.“ And to get to compete against my father in the final round was really exciting.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY RICHARD SHUTE ATLANTA DRAGWAY • COMMERCE, GEORGIA • SUNDAY, APRIL 27TH, 2008
Drag Illustrated
130 DragIllustrated. com