Ashley Force Hood didn’t mind going to the top of the Funny Car qualifying list during the NHRA Summit Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, even if it meant sacrificing her dad to get there.

Her famous father, 14-time Funny Car champion John Force, was the first of the John Force Racing Mustangs to run during the final qualifying session and after he smoked the tires at mid-track, the remainder of his cars went to the finish line under power and quickly.

Ashley Force Hood didn’t mind going to the top of the Funny Car qualifying list during the NHRA Summit Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, even if it meant sacrificing her dad to get there.

Her famous father, 14-time Funny Car champion John Force, was the first of the John Force Racing Mustangs to run during the final qualifying session and after he smoked the tires at mid-track, the remainder of his cars went to the finish line under power and quickly.

“The track conditions were really perfect,” said Force Hood, who nailed the provisional top spot with a 4.032 seconds and 311.99 mph pass during the second qualifying session. “Everybody knew that going up to the starting line. We were really excited we got to run later in the pack. We wanted to take advantage of it. My crew chiefs were back and forth on whether to push it but risk not getting down the track. We decided we were in the show so if we don’t get down we don’t get down. It was our best run ever at 1,000 feet and it felt really good.”

And for Force Hood, it felt unusually fast.

“I was getting down the track and I was getting to the point of thinking my body couldn’t take much more pressure,” Force Hood continued. “I am surprised that (Matt) Hagan and Robert (Hight) didn’t get around me. When I saw the flames staying lit all the way to the finish line, when we were towing back, I thought if they are getting to the top end under power they would do it (go to No. 1) but we managed to hang onto it.”

Force Hood wouldn’t mind her success carrying over into Sunday’s eliminations considering she’s winless this season headed into the 13th event of the season.

“We have struggled this year so no one had hard feelings that we went to No. 1,” said Force Hood. “They were all happy to see us get a good run in the night session. We still have to be focused on Sunday. You don’t want to lose your train of thought. It is the day runs that are important for Sunday. Being the No. 1 qualifier going into the race is where everyone wants to be. You have confidence going into race day if you have been making good runs. That is how we feel about it.”