Ashley Force shines on The Tonight Show

Story and photos by Candida Benson, National DRAGSTER9/11/2007

Following her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Ashley Force, the rest of the Force family, and Force’s boyfriend, Dan Hood, took a picture on set with Leno.

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Late-night TV met NHRA Drag Racing Monday when Funny Car driver Ashley Force made a guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and the rookie driver shined brightly in front of the NBC television cameras. Force, whose father, John, appeared on The Tonight Show 11 years ago, was witty and charming while serving as a great ambassador for the sport. From her opening, â??It’s nice to be a girl for once,â? when Leno complimented her attire to her â??You know those days when you go to work and you just have a bad day? That was mine,â? line when discussing her crash earlier in the season in Seattle, Force got her fair share of laughs and several hearty cheers from the crowd.

â??The whole experience was really great,â? said Force, who was featured in a five-minute segment on the program following actor Brad Garrett and in advance of a performance by Cirque du Soleil. â??This is definitely one of the funnest interviews I have ever done.â?

Though she wasn’t seen by viewers throughout the United States until after 10:30 p.m., Force’s preparations began well in advance of the airing. After spending the weekend on a mini vacation at Lake Tahoe, Force caught an early flight back to Southern California Monday and began preparing for her Tonight Show debut. With the help of friends and family, Force put together her outfit and did her hair and makeup in advance, arriving at the team’s shop at 2 p.m. ready to go on stage.

With her entourage in the limo provided by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Force left the team’s Yorba Linda headquarters shortly after 2 p.m., heading to the Burbank studios where the show is shot. The group arrived at the studios at about 3:30 p.m. and was escorted to Force’s dressing room. While Force readied for her segment, which included meeting Leno and reviewing potential questions with him, the group who came with her was seated in the studio. After an hour of waiting, a last touch-up of makeup, and a final review of potential questions with a producer, Force was ready for her close-up.

Though nervous about falling as she made her way from the backstage area to the chairs on set, Force sailed through the appearance, telling anecdote after anecdote and throwing in basic drag racing information whenever she had the chance. Leno and Force covered everything from Funny Car racing to being the daughter of a well-known, eccentric father to her recent win in AOL Sports’ Hottest Athlete poll.

â??The whole thing felt so quick, and I felt like I missed so much stuff,â? said Force. â??I knew ahead of time it would be quick because I heard the people working on the show say that each of Brad’s segments would be about five to six minutes long, so I figured that’s what mine would be. So I knew I had to keep the answers short rather than rambling on like I do a lot of times.â?

Force’s Tonight Show experience didn’t end once the lights and cameras were shut down. After taking photos with Garrett and some of the performers from Cirque du Soilel, Force and her group were invited to a private tour of Jay Leno’s Garage, the impressive car collection owned by Leno. The group’s tour guide was none other than Leno himself, who impressed with not only his collection but also his vast knowledge of the cars and automotive technology in general.

After giving Leno a gift basket that included Force’s Barbie collectible, a team jacket, a hat, and other goodies, the group stopped for dinner before returning to the shop.

Following are photo highlights from the day.

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno provided a limo to take Ashley Force and her group to the Burbank, Calif., studio for the shoot.	Â	Force, with boyfriend Dan Hood and John Force Racing’s Kelly Antonelli, arrived at the studio at about one hour before taping.
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Once in the studio, Force was taken to her dressing room, which was complete with her name on the door (inset).	Â	Force did some final primping before heading to the Green Room, where she watched the opening of the show.
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Brad Garrett was the night’s other guest, and he and Force posed for pictures after the show had wrapped.	Â	Leno is a well-known car collector. Following the show, Force and her group were invited to take a peek inside Leno’s garage.
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Leno conducted the tour, showing off his favorite cars, motorcycles, and other auto-related memorabilia.	Â	Before leaving, Force presented a gift basket to Leno with a number of Force Racing items, including a jacket, hat, and Force Barbie doll.

This story and these images are copyright 2007 by the National Hot Rod Association. It may not be reprinted or reused in any way without the express written consent of NHRA.com.

2 Women Licenced to drive Professional Drift series, Formula D.

Laughlin, NV.. This weekend Laughlin, NV was taken over by the race community as part of the “Laughlin International Rally and Motorsports Festival.” During this the premier amateur drifting series the “Pro-Am” does their annual National event with some of the participants walking away with licenses to drive in the Professional series known as Formula D. Like most other sports drifting is a male dominated sport but there are many women drivers. This year four set out to try their hand to receive one of these prestigious licenses to be awarded, but only two of the three were able to take them home.

Iran’s female racing champion barred from defending title

Robert Tait in Tehran
Wednesday October 4, 2006
The Guardian

She was the speed queen of the racetrack who became a feminist icon after triumphing over an all-male field to become Iran’s national car rally champion. But now the high-octane driving career of Laleh Seddigh has juddered to a halt, with a ban from participating at a race by the country’s motor racing authorities.Seddigh, 29, was walking towards her 1600cc Peugeot 206 at Tehran’s Azadi stadium when stewards blocked her way, citing “security problems”. The snub followed days of wrangling with Iran’s racing federation over her right to take part in an event she won two years ago on her way to becoming national champion. In the lead-up to the race, she was told her participation was not guaranteed but was advised to register her name. Her registration was passed after technicians gave her car the all-clear.

“I thought I had been given the go-ahead,” she said. “I was walking towards the grid thinking, thank God this has been resolved, when they shut the door on me. They said they didn’t know why, but the head of the federation said I wasn’t allowed to participate.”

It was the first time Seddigh, whose exploits earned her the soubriquet “the little Schumacher”, had been excluded from a contest. Senior federation officials said they had been unable to obtain permission for her participation.

However, Seddigh believes she was banned to prevent her earning enough points to repeat her championship success, which won her international fame but upset Iran’s male-dominated religious ruling establishment.

“Most of the federation members were not happy to have a female champion and would have preferred a man,” she said. “Since I won, they have even eliminated the winner’s podium. They were afraid that I would win again and they would be obliged to show me on the podium.”

Seddigh says a Muslim cleric has already issued a fatwa - a legally binding religious ruling - stating that there is no religious bar to women racing against men provided Islamic dress code is observed. She plans to use the fatwa if she fails to persuade federation officials to grant her permission to take part in future races.

The federation’s vice-president, Hossein Shahryari, said Seddigh had been barred because of a government circular restricting women to female-only events. That decree has now been lifted, he said.

But he added: “Women are speaking highly of themselves and that causes men who sacrifice their lives in this sport disappointment. Women are not champions in this sport, they are only participants. If they observed Islamic regulations more they would not have such problems.”

From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1886807,00.html

ASHLEY FORCE NAMED 2007 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR WINNER

Ashley Force wears her genes well.

Although a majority of her accolades last season came away from the track (including her coronation as AOL sports’ “Hottest Athlete” (a designation earned at the expense of New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady), the 25-year-old daughter of drag racing icon John Force showed enough promise at the wheel of the Castrol GTX® Ford Mustang to win the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Road to the Future Award as the Rookie-of-the-Year in the NHRA POWERade pro series.

Based on what she initially learned in the harnesses of one of the world’s most powerful race cars, one capable of zero-to-330 mile-an-hour acceleration in just 4.6 seconds, the Cal State-Fullerton graduate is optimistic about a sophomore season in which she hopes to build on 2007 success that included a runner-up finish in the ACDelco Nationals at Las Vegas, Nev.

“I’m so excited about getting rid of my rookie stripes and going into the 2008 season with basically the same guys and same team I had last year,” she said.

In between appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and ABC’s Good Morning, America, photo shoots for ESPN The Magazine, Men’s Journal, Men’s Fitness and Penthouse (in full firesuit, by the way) and work as a spokesperson for the Auto Club, Oakley, BrandSource and Ford Motor Co., Ms. Force proved last season to be more than just another pretty face.

Even though she missed two races in the 8,000 horsepower Castrol GTX Ford, one to honor the memory of fallen teammate Eric Medlen; the other because of temporary safety issues, the former high school cheerleader managed to finish in the Top 10 in POWERade points ahead of such notables as six-time series champion Kenny Bernstein, 1992 Funny Car champ Cruz Pedregon, former U.S. Nationals winners Tim Wilkerson and Gary Densham and veteran Tommy Johnson Jr.

The first woman to race in an NHRA Funny Car final, she qualified No. 2 three different times last year in a car prepared by rookie crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli.

Still, it was the attention she attracted away from the track that most significantly boosted drag racing’s mainstream image.

One of the stars of the A&E Network series Driving Force, which ended a two-year run last season, she distinguished herself as a public speaker, delivering a motivational speech to a crowd of 5,500 at the 2007 convention of Dallas-based cosmetics giant BeautiControl, Inc., appeared in national print ads for Oakley, was featured in Ford’s corporate brochure for the Mustang and was a popular newspaper, radio and television interview subject at every stop on the POWERade tour.

As a result, she was one of Yahoo’s most popular internet search topics in the sports category, the only individual race car driver in a Top 10 that also included soccer star David Beckham, the Chicago Bears football team, the Boston Red Sox, tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams and NASCAR.

That’s pretty heady stuff for an admitted tomboy who once seriously considered a career as a race car mechanic, the basis for her decision to take elective courses in auto shop and welding while attending Esperanza High School (Yorba Linda, Calif.).

Ashley’s “need for speed” is all in the genes.

Her father is the 14-time NHRA Funny Car champion and only drag racer in any category to have won as many as 100 NHRA tour events (125). Her sisters, Brittany, 21, and Courtney, 19, are moving up this year to drive in the Top Alcohol Dragster class after two seasons at the wheel of Super Comp dragsters sponsored by BrandSource. Even mother Laurie is licensed to drive competitively.

The irony of all that is that Ashley isn’t motivated by a desire to replace her father. She’d rather just beat him, which she did the first time they raced side-by-side last season at Atlanta, Ga.

Even though she’s had to develop her driving skills in a fishbowl, Ashley’s transition has been almost seamless due in large part to her relationship with Antonelli, who moved over from her father’s team, and with assistant crew chief Ron Douglas, who worked previously for 1992 champ Cruz Pedregon, among others.

“It has been perfect how it’s worked out,” Ashley said. “When I first tested in dad’s Funny Car, I had the best people in the sport working on the car in Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly. They’ve seen my dad through all his championships and Austin has been with him for all of his wins, but I was always so intimidated by them.

“Even as big a goofball as dad is, he’s still a great driver. He knows how to do it. How hard it must have been for them to have me involved because I knew almost

nothing and I always felt scared that I was going to mess up and make them mad at me.

“They never did (get mad), but as a new driver you always thought of that,” she said. “With ‘Guido’ I feel more relaxed and a lot less nervous because we’re both kind of in the same situation. He’s going through the same thing on the tuning side of things as I am on the driving side and I think it helps both of us understand each other.

“When you have two people that are both kind of new to it, I think it makes it flow a little better and when problems do occur they aren’t such a big deal,” she continued. “There were mistakes that I was going to make and there were mistakes he was going to make, so at least he knew the feeling. I knew he wasn’t looking at me going ‘why doesn’t this girl just get it?’ or ‘why is she making this mistake?’”

“She has a unique feel for the car,” Antonelli said, something he attributes to her apprenticeship in Super Comp and Top Alcohol. “She’s a quick study. You tell her something and she picks it up right away. There’s no doubt that she has a big future in this sport.”

Despite her success, Ashley never seriously considered a driving career until her father sent her to Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School as a 16th birthday present.

Even though she began racing upon her high school graduation, her mother insisted that before she embarked on a full-time career, she had to earn her college degree. As a result, she spent her weekends racing and her weekdays in school, ultimately graduating in 3½ years with a degree in communications.

Her father could not be more proud, nor more surprised by her career choice.

“I’m a typical father who always wanted his son to grow up and drive his race car,” said the 14-time Auto Racing All-America selection, “but I don’t have any sons, so I

always hoped one of my girls would have an interest – but I didn’t expect it.”

As for hobbies, Ashley admits she’s a movie fanatic, just like her dad. However, she has taken her love for the cinema a step further. She not only likes to watch movies with fiancé Danny Hood, she has demonstrated a talent for producing them. Each year at the company Christmas party, she introduces a new film that spoofs events and individuals in the sport, herself included.

Now, though, she finds she spends a lot more time in front of the camera than behind it. Admittedly shy, it’s not a role with which she is totally comfortable. Fortunately, she has a father from whom she can glean a tip or two.

-www.johnforceracing.com-

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