NHRA

Ashley Force clinches Division 4 title

Ashley Wins Again; Locks Up Division 4 Championship BELLE ROSE, La. - Ashley Force drove the Mattel Toy Store dragster past the similar machine of former NHRA touring pro Gene Snow in the final round of a Lucas Oil Sportsman Series drag race ...

Published: Oct 18, 2004, 9:26 PM

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Ashley Wins Again; Locks Up Division 4 Championship

BELLE ROSE, La. - Ashley Force drove the Mattel Toy Store dragster past the similar machine of former NHRA touring pro Gene Snow in the final round of a Lucas Oil Sportsman Series drag race Sunday at No Problem Raceway and, in so doing, clinched the Divison 4 Top Alcohol Dragster Championship

In winning for the fourth time in her last seven races, Ms. Force went wire-to-wire after qualifying No. 1 (5.335 seconds) for the ninth time this season for car owners Jerry Darien and Ken Meadows.

The 21-year-old daughter of 12-time NHRA Funny Car Champion John Force, Ashley beat Glenn Woosley in round one and Marty Thacker in a wild second round before besting Snow for her third Lucas Series win of the season. She also has won a pair of NHRA national events including the 50th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, Ind.

Although she eked out a 5.352-5.367 second victory in the final, Ms. Force actually clinched the division title when Snow, a former NHRA tour winner in both the Funny Car and Top Fuel categories, beat her closes rival, Shelly Howard of Tulsa, Okla., in the semifinals.

Despite the closeness of the final round, Ms. Force endured her biggest scare in her semifinal match with Marty Thacker. A rookie in the Top Alcohol division, Ms. Force seemed destined to suffer the same fate as Ms. Howard when her car lost traction almost at the hit of the throttle.

However, Thacker's car suffered a supercharger failure at approximately 300 feet and, after feathering the throttle four different times, Ms. Force was able to regain control in time to take the victory in 8.290 seconds.

The former high school cheerleader now gets a two week reprieve before she returns to competition in a Lucas Oil Sportsman Series race at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Nov. 6-7.

-jfr-

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