Ashley Force… In Her Father’s Footsteps

By Barbara Gage ~ Photos by Greg Gage

What do you do if your dad is the winningest driver in drag racing history? You race, even if you are a woman! Ashley Force, one of four daughters of 13 time national champion Funny Car driver John Force, is launching her own racing career in style. In 2005, she won a national series championship with an injected-nitro Top Alcohol Dragster (TAD). And her aspirations? To race against her famous dad in a Funny Car.

In pits during interview

To look at Ashley you would never suspect that she is a drag racer. The beautiful brunette has a winning smile and a quiet confidence. When I had the opportunity to speak with her she was competing at the NHRA Summitracing.com Nationals at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. She was in a photo shoot with an Oakley handbag and luggage while an A&E crew filmed the shoot.

During the next several hours, she would be in her Top Alcohol Dragster for her last qualifying round and first elimination race. She would end the day signing autographs with her race family at the Monte Carlo on the strip in Las Vegas.

Ashley in pits

Now why would and A&E film crew be following Ashley? The answer is that her family will star in a new A&E TV reality series called “Driving Force” to air on July 17. The show will chronicle the day-to-day activities of a racing family, father John and his three racer daughters, Ashley, Brittany, and Courtney. So for a while the cameras are ever present.

When asked if this bothered her, she said, “I’m shyer than my sisters so it was a little hard at first. But I got used to it quickly…There are so many people to film that I’m not on the spot all the time. Last night my sisters went out on the town with friends and the film crew followed them so my mom and I realized we were by ourselves without a camera.” She laughed and said, “It’s fun because my sisters and I can play pranks on our dad.” While it might be fun for Ashley, it is tougher for John who joked at a pre-race press conference in Las Vegas that he never seems to get break from the cameras. 

Ashley’s TAD

Ashley began racing when she was 19 in a super comp car of the sportsman classes. She took automotive mechanics and welding in high school and was always enthralled by the building and maintenance of engines she could see in her dad’s pit area. She might have chosen to be a mechanic but racing drew her in and she competed while finishing a Radio/Television/Film baccalaureate degree in 2003 at Cal State Fullerton in only three and a half years. She is now in her third season driving an injected-nitro Top Alcohol Dragster.

Crew in pit

When asked why she chose this vehicle she said, “I drive an injected-nitro dragster because it’s the closest experience to the Funny Car I can get in the [semi-professional] class.” Although John thought that youngest daughter Courtney would be his big racer, Ashley has shown the interest and dedication needed to turn professional.

This season she has been driving her dad’s Funny Car in after-race sessions at the track where they have just competed. So far, she claims to “have made it about 700 feet down the [1320 foot] track.” Whenever she feels she is ready, her dad will set her up in a Funny Car with Dean Antonelli as her crew chief. She smiled and said, “I love working with my dad’s crew. I grew up with them and they all know me so I feel comfortable with them.”

Ashley getting in car

The racer’s seat in either a Top Alcohol Dragster or Funny Car is a very confined space. In addition to a safety suit, there is body molding padding to keep her snuggly in place. But it doesn’t bother Ashley. “I don’t get claustrophobic or anxious unless I have to sit suited up in the car for an extended period of time [such as when] there is an oil-down and clean-up on the track.” As do all other drivers, she has oxygen piped into her helmet in the event of a smoke-generating incident but does not breathe oxygen before the race as some drivers do.

In car

In a Top Alcohol Dragster, Ashley experiences forces four times the normal gravitational force (4 G’s) on acceleration and the same negative forces on braking. Having gotten used to these forces she indicates that, “I feel uncomfortable when I don’t feel them because it means there is something wrong with the car.” There was some concern recently because she had laser eye surgery and was told to avoid significant pressure changes. “I know there are eye problems possible from the G-forces but I have been fine since the surgery and I don’t anticipate any problem coming from a racing career.”

Drag racing is generally considered more of a mental sport but most drivers have an exercise routine to keep in good physical shape. To manage a Funny Car on the track Ashley needs a lot of upper body strength and has added work with weights to her normal gym routine.

John and Ashley in staging lanes

Drag racing in the professional classes is a fulltime job. On a race weekend, the John Force teams arrive at the track on Thursday. Ashley’s sisters have qualifying sessions Thursday but Ashley’s car time begins on Friday. If she has a winning weekend, she will finish runs and winner circle photo opportunities at about 7 PM on Sunday. “Because I has been gearing up to race a Funny Car, the following Monday and sometimes Tuesday I am on the track in practice sessions in my dad’s car. That doesn’t leave me much free time at home.” When she is back in Southern California, she works in her dad’s shop with her sisters.

The “Next Generation” coming on strong

John Force doesn’t have sons who traditionally carry on a father’s legacy. But he is blessed with four daughters who for now are all in the family business. And who knows, Ashley may be the “Next Generation” Force to be reckoned with.

Barbara Gage