NHRA News: Force's youngest two daughters get some seat time in Fontana (10/26/2004)

Force's youngest two daughters get some seat time in Fontana

By Rob Geiger, NHRA.com
10/26/2004

Pending Funny Car champion John Force's two youngest daughters, Brittany and Courtney, spent this past weekend with their father, racing the family's Super Comp dragster at California Dragway in Fontana, Calif.

Both girls, who are the younger sisters of recently-crowned Top Alcohol Dragster Division 4 champion Ashley Force, completed numerous runs at the 8.9-second elapsed time index with speeds in excess of 170 mph on the quarter-mile strip. The girl's both carry Super Comp licenses from Frank Hawley's School of Drag Racing.

Could Ashley Force, center, who recently won the Division 4 Alcohol Dragster championship, be joined in the winner's circle someday by sisters Brittany, left, and Courtney? Both of Ashley's siblings already have Super Comp licenses and got some more seat time recently.

"I was in hog heaven," said Force, who merely needs to qualify in Las Vegas to earn his 13th NHRA Funny Car title. "It was just like old times, hanging out at the strip just for the fun of it. [Gary] Densham was there with his boy, Steven, and I was there with my two youngest girls, and we were all having fun."

Force emphasized that the outing was strictly for pleasure, at least for the time being, as 18-year-old Brittany and 16-year-old Courtney have a lot of school left in front of them before they can follow their sister onto the racetrack. Ashley completed her degree at Cal State-Fullerton before taking up the sport fulltime.

"That's the deal I have with my wife Laurie," Force said. "Ashley had to stick to it and so will they. But we had a weekend off and Ashley's old Super Comp car was sitting there so we decided to go get them some seat time. They know they have a long way to go before they're driving in a race. Education comes first, period.

"I'll tell you how important seat time is. Ashley won this race the other day in Belle Rose, La., at No Problem Raceway and she almost turned her car over in the semis. The thing got sideways but she saw the other guy throw his belt so she got back on it to try and win and she had her hands full. She was all shaky and she called her mom and said, 'Dad was right, you need experience.'

"That's why you won't see Ashley in a fuel car for at least a year, maybe two. You have to get the experience. It's easy when the car goes straight. When you become a driver is when something goes wrong and you learn how to save it. She learned a little down there."

Under the guidance of crew chief Roger Conley, Brittany and Courtney took turns in the Victory Race Cars chassis, completing several full passes under power. "We were there from eight in the morning 'til eight at night every day," Force said. "Roger Penske has built a real nice track over there and the girls did great. We even took my grandbaby [Autumn Danielle Hight, the daughter of Force's oldest daughter Adria] out to her first drag race and I sat in the stands with all the fans. It was a blast.

"One day, I hope all my girls are racing for me if that's what they want to do. We're getting the next generation ready. I still feel like I can race for awhile but I know the girls and Eric Medlen and Steven Densham and my son-in-law Robert Hight are coming. But if my girls want to race they have to finish school. That's momma's rules."

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