The last time the NHRA tour made a stop at Virginia Motorsports Park, site of this week's inaugural Torco Race Fuels Nationals, Ashley Force was a student at California State University-Fullerton majoring in communications. 
 
Although she was the daughter of drag racing icon John Force, her competitive aspirations at the time were very modest and involved driving an entry-level, 170 mile-an-hour Super Comp dragster on selected weekends.

 

What a difference six years can make.

 

She Races Castrol Dragster, Tests Ford Funny Car

 

The last time the NHRA tour made a stop at Virginia Motorsports Park, site of this week's inaugural Torco Race Fuels Nationals, Ashley Force was a student at California State University-Fullerton majoring in communications. 
 
Although she was the daughter of drag racing icon John Force, her competitive aspirations at the time were very modest and involved driving an entry-level, 170 mile-an-hour Super Comp dragster on selected weekends.

 

What a difference six years can make.

 

Now, the 23-year-old star of the A&E Network series Driving Force is a five-time NHRA national event winner in the Top Alcohol Dragster class who is being groomed to drive one of the quickest, fastest and most unpredictable race cars on the planet: an 8.000 horsepower fuel Funny Car.

 

This week at VMP, she'll go fast Friday, Saturday and Sunday in pursuit of a Top Alcohol title and faster on Monday in another test session in one of her father's 330mile-an-hour Castrol Ford Mustangs.

 

Jumping back and forth between a long-wheelbase dragster with the engine positioned behind her and a short-wheelbase Funny Car with the engine in front, has been challenging for the second oldest of Force's four daughters.

 

"You have to drive them differently," Ashley said, "and sometimes I have to think about which car I'm in.  They both leave hard, but it's what the Funny Car does after the launch that takes your breath away.  (After the initial acceleration) the dragster settles down but the Funny Car is just getting started."

 

The view also is entirely different – unobstructed in the Castrol dragster with the engine to the rear; almost non-existent in the Funny Car with the injector sticking up above the engine, directly in the line-of-sight downtrack.

 

Despite all that, crew chief-to-be-Dean Antonelli said Ashley has adjusted easily to the Funny Car.