NHRA drag racer Ashley Force Hood hates to lose, even to her father

After John Force beat his daughter Ashley Force Hood and two others to win the inaugural NHRA four-wide funny car drag race near Charlotte, N.C.,  Force Hood did little to hide her disappointment.

The normally personable and fan-friendly Force Hood, 27, gave a terse post-race interview on television while the 60-year-old Force -- a funny car legend with an unprecedented 14 championships -- celebrated nearby.

"She was mad," Force told reporters on a conference call Wednesday to discuss his victory at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., on Monday. "She is so much her mother, but that is the one bit she got from me, the temper. She wanted it so bad."

The unique four-wide format in the National Hot Rod Assn. race required two sets of staging lights -- the so-called Christmas tree -- between each pair of drivers racing down the drag strip. At the finish line, Force Hood's "light had come on in her lane" showing that she beat the driver next to her, "but she was runner-up, not winner" of the race, Force said. "She thought she won."

Force said "later she told me she was sorry, and she should have celebrated with us," but that he understood her disappointment.

"That is what you have to have in your heart and your mind," he said. "You can’t say, 'Oh well, it’s OK cause my dad won.' You've got to have that fight."

-- Jim Peltz

Photo: Funny car driver John Force celebrates winning the inaugural four-wide NHRA drag race at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., on Monday. Credit:Teresa Long / Associated Press

NASCAR's Denny Hamlin, IndyCar's Will Power winners on busy Monday of racing

For motor racing fans lucky enough to be off work, Monday was a day to keep a firm grip on the remote control.

Owing to a wave of bad weather in the South on Sunday, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Martinsville, Va., and the Izod IndyCar Series event in St. Petersburg, Fla., were postponed until Monday, when they were broadcast live on television. So were the final rounds of drag racing at the inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals near Charlotte, N.C.

Virginian Denny Hamlin won at the half-mile Martinsville Speedway in a wild two-lap overtime finish in the NASCAR Cup race. Seven-time Martinsville winner Jeff Gordon had led the field on the final restart but was shuffled out of the lead as Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Joey Logano all bumped and banged into each other trying for the win.

Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, who won three of the first five Cup races this season, finished ninth.

In Florida, Australia’s Will Power of Team Penske made it two wins in the first two races this season with a victory from the pole position on the streets of St. Petersburg, which followed his win at the season opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil, two weeks ago.

Penkse, in fact, had three of the four top cars, with Ryan Briscoe finishing third and Helio Castroneves fourth. Justin Wilson of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing was second. Danica Patrick of the Andretti Autosport team finished seventh after starting 21st^.

The IndyCar series arrives in Southern California on April 18 for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

At the unique four-wide drag races at zMAZ Dragway in Concord, N.C., 14-time champion John Force beat his daughter Ashey Force Hood and two other drivers to win the funny car event. And Cory McClenathan nipped Doug Kalitta by inches to win the top-fuel race.

And for those fans who needed one more fix Monday, Formula One’s Australian Grand Prix won by McLaren’s Jenson Button on Sunday was reaired on Speed TV.

-- Jim Peltz

Photo: Driver Will Power leads the field on his way to winning the Izod IndyCar Series race in St. Petersburg, Fla. Credit: Chris O'Meara / Associated Press

Ageless John Force wins funny car class in inaugural NHRA four-wide drag races

Two-wide, four-wide, it doesn't matter -- 60-year-old John Force just keeps on winning.

The legendary Force, who has won an unprecedented 14 NHRA funny car championships, beat his daughter Ashley Force Hood and two other drivers to win the funny car event Monday in the inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., near Charlotte.

The final eliminations of the unique races in the National Hot Rod Assn.'s Full Throttle Series had been postponed from Sunday because of rain.

Force, who is rebounding from a 2009 season in which he failed to win at least one race for the first time in 23 years, also won this year's season opening Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

In the sport's other premier class, top fuel, Cory McClenathan beat Doug Kalitta by inches to win that division in the four-wide races at zMAX Dragway.

-- Jim Peltz

Photo: Funny car driver John Force, in the leading green and silver car, during eliminations Sunday in the inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C. Force won event Monday after rain force the final round to be postponed. Credit: Marc Gewertz / Associated Press

NHRA doubles up in inaugural four-wide drag racing

NHRA drag racing takes on a new twist this weekend near Charlotte, N.C.: Four-wide competition.

The inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., will feature John Force, Tony Schumacher and the sport's other stars racing simultaneously at 300 mph down four 1,000-foot drag strips in the event that starts Thursday.

Competition in the National Hot Rod Assn. always has been two dragsters squaring off, both in qualifying and in the final eliminations held Sunday. But in this event, each qualifying round and elimination round will have four cars.

There will be two sets of starting lights, the so-called Christmas trees, between each pair of lanes. Drivers tested the format in an exhibition in September.

"I think this is going to be one of the coolest things ever for the fans and one of the bigger nightmares for the teams in NHRA," said Jack Beckman, a funny car driver in the NHRA's premier Full Throttle Series.

"We've never had an official drag race where there wasn't one winner and one loser," he said. "Now you have two winners and two losers and then in the final round you're going to label them first, second, third and fourth. And that's never happened at an official drag race before."

And two-time top-fuel champion Larry Dixon said that "not having done this before, I'm going into it with the mentality that I'm only racing one other car. It's going to be interesting, I can promise you that."

--Jim Peltz

Photo: NHRA top-fuel drag racers leave the starting line in an exhibition run of four-wide racing at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., last Sept. 19. Credit: NHRA/National Dragster.

Karen Stoffer sets national record in NHRA pro stock motorcycles

Karen Stoffer set a national record in the National Hot Rod Assn. pro stock motorcycles at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Stoffer, a graduate of St. Genevieve High School in Sun Valley, set the national record during the first round of eliminations against Redell Harris.

If her time stands up through the elimination rounds, Stoffer will earn 20 bonus points in the pro stock motorcycle standings.

Go to Haddock in the Paddock for more on Stoffer's record-setting run.

-- Tim Haddock

Force family NHRA cards make Beckett Racing hot list

John Force and his daughter Ashley Force Hood are among the leaders in the National Hot Rod Assn. funny car standings.

They are also among the leaders in the trading card market.

John Force and his racing family have the hottest cards, according to Beckett Racing magazine and are in its top 10 hot list.

The John Force card, signed by the 14-time NHRA champion, is valued between $100 and $175.

The Force family card, signed by John, Ashley, Brittany and Courtney Force, is valued between $300 and $600.

Go to Haddock in the Paddock for more on the cards.

-- Tim Haddock

Photo: The John Force autographed card from the 2009 Press Pass Legends set is valued between $100 and $175 by Beckett Racing magazine. Credit:  John Force Racing

Force reignites career by winning 50th NHRA Winternationals

National Hot Rod Assn. funny car driver John Force won the 50th Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at  Pomona on Sunday. Force, who has won five NHRA Winternationals races, came up the winner for the first time in almost two years.

His last win came against Tim Wilkerson at Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas in 2008. He did not win a race in 2009.

His wife, Laurie, gave Force some words of encouragement before the Winternationals. The 60-year-old Force said he had renewed motivation.

Go to Haddock in the Paddock for more on Force's win in the 50th Winternationals.

-- Tim Haddock

Two minutes with NHRA's Ashley Force Hood and Robert Hight

Fifty has been a lucky number for John Force Racing. John Force won the NHRA’s 50th anniversary race at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

Robert Hight is the No. 1 qualifier for today’s 50th National Hot Rod Assn. Winternationals in Pomona.

During qualifying for the Winternationals on Saturday, Ashley Force Hood was watching her dad, John, race down the strip. Between races, the track announcer asked a trivia question: Which female driver has not won a Winternationals race? Shirley Muldowney and Melanie Troxel were among the incorrect answers.

Force Hood, much to her disappointment, was the right answer. When her name was announced, the crowd cheered. Force Hood said that wasn’t the best way to have her name celebrated at the drag strip and she would like nothing more than to change the answer to that question by winning today’s race.

Force Hood finished second in the NHRA funny car standings last year. Hight won his first NHRA funny car championship last year. Expectations are high at John Force Racing.

Before the elimination rounds began for the Winternationals, coincidentally on Valentine’s Day, Hight and Force Hood talked about, among other things, how they celebrate Valentine’s Day with their spouses, what it’s going to take to win the funny championship, and why Force Hood brings her two cats to the races.

Go to Haddock in the Paddock for more video interviews of the drivers in the NHRA's 50th Winternationals.

-- Tim Haddock

Winning NHRA Winternationals in 1998 stands out for Larry Dixon

Larry Dixon, a Van Nuys High graduate, won his first NHRA top fuel Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona in 1998. It was the same day his teammate, Ron Capps, won in NHRA funny cars for owner and NHRA legend Don Prudhomme.

Dixon said he remembers beating Jim Head in final in 1998. Dixon's car broke in the final, but so did Head's. Dixon's car crawled across the finish line ahead of Head's.

The 50th running of the NHRA Winternationals are this weekend at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

Go to Haddock in the Paddock to watch video interviews of Capps, Antron Brown, Jack Beckman and Bob Tasca III on their favorite Winternationals memories.

-- Tim Haddock

NHRA's Ron Capps racing with broken finger

Ron Capps won the funny car portion of the National Hot Rod Assn. Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona last year.

If he wants to repeat as champion, he will have to do it with a broken finger.

Capps broke the middle finger on his right hand playing racquetball in December. He has a splint on it and will race this weekend in the 50th running of the Winternationals drag races.

Go to Haddock in the Paddock for more on Capps as he prepares for the NHRA drag races this weekend.

-- Tim Haddock

NHRA's Ashley Force Hood has downsizing, Winternationals on her mind

Ashley Force Hood is coming off her best season racing National Hot Rod Assn. funny cars. She finished second to John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight in the 2009 NHRA funny car standings, her best showing in three years of racing funny cars.

She is also part of a team that dropped from four cars to three. Mike Neff, who beat Force Hood in the NHRA funny car final at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona in November, will not be racing for John Force Racing in 2010.

Force Hood talked about the changes at her dad's team, the changes being made to the races at zMax Dragway in North Carolina and preparing for the 50th running of the Winternationals in Pomona on Feb. 13-14.

Go to Haddock in the Paddock for comments from Force Hood as she prepares for her fourth NHRA funny car season.

-- Tim Haddock

Photo: Ashley Force Hood lost in the NHRA funny car final to Mike Neff in the 2009 season finale at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.  (NHRA)