PR-MEMPHIS- Ashley Force wrap up

For Release
Contact: Mandie Yorio, (714) 921-8123, mandie@johnforceracing.com

It Ain’t Nothing Like a Hound Dog

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Elvis was certainly not in the building for Ashley Force and her Castrol/Hot Wheels A/Fuel dragster team at the South Central Division Lucas Series event at Memphis Motorsports Park.

For the third weekend in a row Ashley, 22, lost in the first round of competition when she was defeated by Gene Snow. Force trailed Snow through the lights when she ran a 6.07 second elapsed time to his 5.56.

“There’s a problem with the car, but I don’t know what it is and it’s making me crazy,” exclaimed Ashley’s crew chief, Jerry Darien.

“I saw Gene Snow at 1000 feet,” Ashley joked. Her father, thirteen-time Funny Car champion, John Force, claims he saw Elvis at 1000 feet when in 1992 he had arguably the worst crash of his 30-year career, also at Memphis Motorsports Park.

The team’s troubles began at the South Central Division event in Shreveport, La., three weeks ago. They continued last weekend at the O’Reilly Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kan., and were ever-present at last weekend’s event.

“The car ran the worst it ever has this weekend,” said Ashley. “The car is sluggish off the starting line and it’s as though I am getting on and off the throttle the entire way down the racetrack,” she continued. “We drop cylinders then pick them back up and drop other ones.”

“Jerry’s been changing the mags after each run. He changed the fuel pump and checked under the car for anything odd in the fuel lines.”

The California girl and her Castrol/Hot Wheels team are scheduled to run this week’s South Central Division event in Rusk, TX. an event they won a year ago, but may opt to sit it out. It will depend on a test session they have scheduled. “If we figure out the problem we’ll be back in Rusk,” said Darien.

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