Force Hood dazzles with big pass in Norwalk
Rob Geiger, Managing Editor
Friday, 25 June 2010
 Ashley Force Hood |
After spending most of the season in the shadow of her famous father John Force and championship-winning brother-in-law Robert Hight, Ashley Force Hood exerted herself Friday night at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, with a career-best pass of 4.032 seconds at 311.99 mph to put her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang on top.
Racing late into the evening after a series of crashes in Pro Mod and Pro Stock, Force Hood took full advantage of the ideal conditions and showed up the rest of the Funny Car class. The run put her alongside Top Fuel leader Larry Dixon, Pro Stock frontrunner Jeg Coughlin Jr., and Pro Stock Motorcycle ace Steve Johnson.
"The track was perfect," she said, "Everybody knew that going up to the starting line. We were really excited to run later in the pack and 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 but we decided we were in the show so if we don't get down we don't get down.
"I was going down the track and I was getting to the point of thinking my body couldn't take much more pressure. It turned out to be our best run ever at 1,000 feet and it felt really good."
Don Schumacher Racing teammates Matt Hagan (4.043 at 307.09 mph) and "Fast" Jack Beckman (4.060 at 310.27 mph) were the closest to Force Hood on the grid. Her father John, the current points leader, labored to a 4.256 at 291.89 mph and is 13th overall.
After a rare first-round loss last Sunday in Bristol, Tenn., Top Fuel points leader Dixon regained control of the category with a lightning-strike run of 3.780 seconds at 320.43 mph in the Al-Anabi Racing dragster.
"You can't do nothing about last week," Dixon said. "Hopefully that was our mulligan.
"As we've seen over the last couple of months, you have to make a run Friday night to get on pole or to even get close. We've hit it a couple times and we've missed it also. Looking at the run on the computer, we got all of it. There wasn't much left. It's good to be on pole but even better to be up there near the top heading into Saturday."
Antron Brown, still winless on the year, is second here after a 3.795 at 318.99 mph in the Matco Tools dragster. Brown and Dixon were the only racers in the 3.7-second range.
 Jeg Coughlin Jr. |
Coughlin gave himself a late birthday present -- he turned 40 on Wednesday -- by claiming the provisional pole in Pro Stock with a track record 6.592 at 208.97 mph in his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt. With the $50,000 K&N Horsepower Challenge looming Saturday, he seems to be in the best position to defend the title of the lucrative special event.
"When the sun went down and it started cooling off a bit with that full moon shining, I think the crew chiefs got real excited," Coughlin said. "I knew it would be key to keep the car in the middle of the groove and make sure I took it to the other end properly, and that's exactly what happened. It's a great start to the weekend, especially with the K&N Horsepower Challenge firing up in the morning. We needed to be hitting on all cylinders and we are."
Dodge pro Allen Johnson was second to Coughlin with a 6.602 at 209.30 mph, a track speed mark, while class dominator Mike Edwards ended up a distant 14th on the grid with a 6.641 at 207.88 mph in his Penhall Companies Pontiac GXP.
It was a shock to see 25-year Pro Stock Motorcycle veteran Johnson on top of bikes considering he's only recorded one low qualifier in his career, some 15 years ago in Atlanta. Nevertheless, the unsponsored pro peeled off a 6.929 at 193.60 mph on his Suzuki to lead the way Friday.
"The conditions were awesome," Johnson said. "We didn't even want to make another run because we're on a severe budget this year. We figured the first run (6.968) would keep us in the field and we'd at least get first-round loser money. We were good with that. But they talked me into running again and now here we are.
"I started the season working out of a pick-up truck. Now we've been to two finals in a row and three for the year and we're hanging in there."
Reigning champion Hector Arana is second overall with a 6.953 at 191.38 mph on his Lucas Oil Buell, while three-time titlist Andrew Hines is third with a 6.959 at 194.49 mph on his Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod.
There are only 17 bikes here so only one rider will miss the show. Currently, Mike Berry is outside the field.
Friday results:
Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.780 seconds, 320.43 mph; 2. Antron Brown, 3.795, 318.99; 3. Brandon Bernstein, 3.848, 312.42; 4. Bob Vandergriff, 3.872, 308.50; 5. Cory McClenathan, 3.889, 308.57; 6. Doug Foley, 3.896, 314.24; 7. David Grubnic, 3.898, 309.42; 8. Morgan Lucas, 3.904, 305.70; 9. Tony Schumacher, 3.920, 308.92; 10. Shawn Langdon, 3.931, 305.91; 11. Doug Kalitta, 3.940, 313.00; 12. Steve Torrence, 3.950, 305.49. Not Qualified: 13. Tim Cullinan, 3.988, 278.75; 14. Terry McMillen, 4.031, 291.63; 15. Luigi Novelli, 4.073, 282.54; 16. Scott Palmer, 4.923, 144.35; 17. Terry Haddock, 6.102, 106.32; 18. Troy Buff, 6.271, 97.13; 19. Pat Dakin, 7.524, 88.16.
Funny Car -- 1. Ashley Force Hood, Ford Mustang, 4.032, 311.99; 2. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.043, 307.09; 3. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.060, 310.27; 4. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.067, 310.05; 5. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.069, 306.40; 6. Del Worsham, Toyota Solara, 4.087, 313.15; 7. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.110, 304.46; 8. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 4.124, 300.26; 9. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.135, 293.28; 10. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.140, 297.16; 11. Bob Bode, Impala SS, 4.191, 295.46; 12. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.233, 291.95. Not Qualified: 13. John Force, 4.256, 291.89; 14. Cruz Pedregon, 4.396, 208.07; 15. Jeff Diehl, 4.829, 172.32; 16. Jim Head, 10.199, 75.22; 17. Justin Schriefer, 12.690, 62.66.
Pro Stock -- 1. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.592, 208.97; 2. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.602, 209.30; 3. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.602, 209.17; 4. Warren Johnson, Pontiac GXP, 6.609, 208.68; 5. Jason Line, GXP, 6.620, 208.62; 6. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.620, 208.17; 7. Bob Yonke, GXP, 6.620, 207.85; 8. Johnny Gray, GXP, 6.623, 208.23; 9. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.627, 208.42; 10. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.631, 207.27; 11. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.634, 208.17; 12. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.636, 207.69. Not Qualified: 13. Rickie Jones, 6.636, 206.80; 14. Mike Edwards, 6.641, 207.88; 15. Rodger Brogdon, 6.648, 207.59; 16. Shane Gray, 6.656, 207.27; 17. Justin Humphreys, 6.659, 206.76; 18. Erica Enders, 6.663, 206.39; 19. Vinnie Deceglie, 6.692, 206.80; 20. Bob Benza, 6.750, 204.17; 21. John Gaydosh Jr, 6.843, 200.35; 22. Jim Cunningham, 13.881, 60.98.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.929, 193.60; 2. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.953, 191.38; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.959, 194.49; 4. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.973, 192.82; 5. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.973, 190.19; 6. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.974, 191.24; 7. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.982, 192.71; 8. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.993, 191.08; 9. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 7.028, 189.28; 10. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.036, 188.60; 11. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.047, 191.46; 12. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.052, 192.91. Not Qualified: 13. David Hope, 7.068, 191.32; 14. Joe DeSantis, 7.140, 186.28; 15. Junior Pippin, 7.141, 189.36; 16. Wesley Wells, 7.236, 185.46; 17. Mike Berry, 7.432, 181.30.
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