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ASHLEY FORCE HOOD *First female winner, NHRA Funny Car division, April 27, 2008, Summit Southern Nationals, Atlanta, Ga., beat John Force. *2008 Full Throttle Pit Crew Challenge champion (qualifying consistency) *2007 winner, Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, NHRA professional Rookie-of-the-Year. *First female finalist, NHRA Funny Car division, Oct. 28, 2007, ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals, Las Vegas, Nev., versus Tony Pedregon. *First woman to finish in the Top 10 in Funny Car points (10th in 2007). *First woman to earn starting spot in NHRA’s Countdown to 1 playoffs (2008). *First woman to qualify for U.S. Smokeless Funny Car Showdown and first to be seeded No. 1 (2008). *2008 recipient, “Female Athlete of the Year” award, by the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation. *2007 winner of AOL Sports’ “World’s Hottest Athlete” on-line poll. *2004 Top Alcohol Dragster winner, Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, world’s oldest, largest and most prestigious drag race. *One-half of only father-daughter double in NHRA history, she in Top Alcohol Dragster, he in Funny Car at 2004 Auto Club Finals, Pomona, Calif.
YEAR-BY-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS 2008 *Finished a career best sixth in Funny Car points as the first woman driver to qualify for NHRA’s Countdown to 1 playoffs. *Beat her father in the final round of the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals at Atlanta, Ga., to become the first woman to win a race in the NHRA Funny Car division. *Was the No. 1 qualifier and the first woman qualifier for the U.S. Smokeless Showdown, the NHRA’s Funny Car bonus race. *Became first woman to lead the Funny Car points when she reached the final round of the SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas, Nev. *Her Castrol GTX crew earned the Full Throttle Pit Crew Challenge Championship for year-long qualifying consistency. *Accepted the “Female Athlete of the Year” award from the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation. 2007 *Made her professional Funny Car debut and won the Auto Club’s Road to the Future Award as the Rookie-of-the-year. *Made her first final round appearance as a pro, losing to Tony Pedregon in the final round of the ACDelco Nationals at Las Vegas, Nev. *Finished 10th in Funny Car points, best ever for a woman driver. *Won AOL Sports’ informal “World’s Hottest Athlete” on-line poll, beating men’s division champ Tom Brady of the New England Patriots in the tournament-style finals. 2006 *Won races at Gainesville, Fla., and Atlanta, Ga., and finished fifth in Lucas Oil Series national points in her final season in the Top Alcohol Dragster division. 2005 *Secured a second straight Top 10 finish in the Lucas Oil Sportsman Series (No. 7) by reaching the final round in national events at Gainesville, Fla., and Englishtown, N.J., and winning a regional race at Englishtown. *Began testing her father’s national record-holding Castrol GTX Ford Mustang Funny Car with an eye toward a possible professional driving debut in 2007. 2004 *Earned her first national event victory by beating Shelly Howard in the final round of the 50th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, Ind. *Won three of the season’s last five national events (Indianapolis, Dallas, Texas and Pomona, Calif.) to finish fourth in Lucas Series points. *Named Division 4 “Driver of the Year” and “Rookie of the Year” in the alcohol classes.
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