Force powered her Dean Antonelli- and Ron Douglas-tuned Castrol GTX Mustang into the final round following some very strong performances against class veterans Ron Capps, father John Force and Del Worsham. Qualifying for her 6th Funny Car final of career, the 26-year old Californian had to overcome some strong competition from Jack Beckman, whom she defeated thanks to a 4.12, 306.19 performance.
“Jack taught me how to drive a Super Comp dragster when I was 16 years old, and it's so amazing that 10 years later he and I are both driving nitro cars,” admitted Force after the final round, for which she had the second option for lane choice due to her non tire-smoking run against Worsham.
“I was a little concerned about that right lane because I knew a lot of people were struggling, so I just wanted to get A to B and not making any mistakes. I was sure surprised when I saw that win light come on, and I double-checked about 10 times on the radio to make sure it was my win light,” added the Californian.
She also pointed out how important this win was in terms of giving her some credibility in the series, as she won her first Funny Car event when competing against her father last year, in Atlanta.
“Our first win was against my dad [in the final], and we’ve had some people ask me, 'Do you think you dad gave it to you?' and it's heartbreaking because we know my dad would never give away any round-win, so to be able to race against another team's driver in the final and win it where no one can have any doubt, we're maybe a bit more cheerful than after that first win. It's been hanging over our head, and it feels good to get past that,” added Force.
Thanks to the win in Houston, Ashley has now climbed all the way into 3rd place overall.
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