Fast Take Story by Dwight Drum
Web work by Larsen & Drum Images by Larsen & Drum
John & Ashley Force: Speed genes?
Heredity appears to be a persistent factor in motorsports and other sports too. Many legacies, trophies and records by champions are often amazingly overshadowed by offspring and multiple generations. Physical and mental abilities are family possessions by nature but success is a precious entity not easily transferred. Many keen attitudes and ethics are passed down in the schooling process, but it happens too that some in succeeding generations fail no matter how much guidance is applied.
Still when a second or third generation driver excels in NASCAR, NHRA or IndyCar it’s almost as if it was expected. When a second generation success is a young female, Ashley Force Hood, and her father is a 14-time NHRA Funny Car champion, John Force, the DNA is even more scrutinized. Especially since part of that family reality, Ashley, has also become a phenomenon.
The best way to sense if speed genes exist is to go to the source. That is not always easy given the hectic schedule at John Force Racing. Other realities exit too. When a John Force interview is arranged keeping up with Force is probably easier than stopping a rocket once launched.
The following interview quotes were not gathered in a dual opportunity, indeed some of these quotes from dad Force were recorded in a Tampa pre-Super Bowl interview when Ashley wasn’t in town. Also, all driver interviews are separate and solo in the Force camp arranged at proper times by efficient press agents. When interviewing there a smart reporter brings two recorders and hopes that one keeps up to speed.
Fortunately technology prevailed.
When John Force was asked about the intense levels in racing, corporate influence and inherent stress he went directly to a cogent explanation.
“Now corporate America, they want the pretty boy,” Force said. “They want the Jeff Gordons and Dale Earnhardt juniors. That’s what they look for. In drag racing we got Ron Capps and the ones that sell our brand. But at the end of the day it’s about winning and as an old timer I proved that I could win and still can.
“But I have backed myself up with a beautiful woman, my daughter Ashley, she drives. Robert Hight and Mike Neff, they’re the pretty boys in this game. So the old man from the old regime I’m not stupid. I got backups in the next generation of drivers. You’re gonna get bumped.”
Ashley understands the bumping has no age limits. When asked what humbles her most about racing at the top level she showed she is keenly aware.
“I think just how quickly you can go from zero to hero and back again,” Ashley said. “It’s amazing. One weekend you can be having a great weekend and win a race. The next weekend with the same car, the same team and the same driver you can go out and struggle, not go down the track and not even qualify. It keeps everybody humble in knowing don’t take for granted the good runs because these cars are really difficult and challenging to tune and to drive.”
So back to the speed genes. When John was Ashley’s age did he feel the effect of a speed gene or two? Did John have to learn how to be a winner?
“No,” He admitted. “Let me tell you even in the beginning when I was losing. I’ve had over 100 wins with Castrol and 14 championships but from the day that I walked away from high school and got in my hot rod I always believed that I could win. It didn’t matter to me that I didn’t. That was just the way it went. If you don’t believe you can win then you are wasting your time.”
Did this adventurous spirit get a gene transfer to daughter Ashley? Dad no doubt coaches her in every aspect of NHRA racing but he doesn’t need to tell her what to say. When asked if every run down the track is an adventure for her, she answered fast, just like dad.
“Oh, Absolutely,” Ashley said. “Every run that I make there’s never been a boring one or one that wasn’t quite as exciting. You’re going over 300 mph. I don’t think that will ever get slow. Each run is unique and different and what the car does and how it feels in the car. Every run is kind of a new adventure.”
It’s never all in the genes. When John reflects on what advice worked the best for him, he didn’t hesitate.
“Don’t do any job that you don’t love,” Force said. “Don’t do it for the money. Don’t do it because you want to be a super star. Do it because you love it. Especially in motorsports, it’s a long haul. It’s not just the racing at the track. It’s the shows and the airplanes and living on the road. It will wear you out. That’s why I changed my lifestyle -- physical fitness, working in the gym, eating right, keeping my weight down. So I can continue to win.
“Don’t do anything unless you love it, otherwise you are wasting your time. Do it for the journey. It’s a journey in life. It took me 50 years to figure that out and I have.”
Ashley must have had and still gets plenty of advice and she related some of the best of it directly to the car and the track.
“I really think just taking it one step at a time,” Ashley said. “Not getting down on yourself if you do make mistakes because experience is the best teacher you can have. I’ve learned more from bad runs than 20 of my good runs. Those are the things that the next time around you’ll have them in your memory bank and you’ll know how to react better in the car. Experience is definitely is the key in these cars.”
John’s love for drag racing can even find him searching for the right words to describe the intensity and power. He attempted to describe what cameras can’t convey, maybe where only speed genes dare go.
“It’s hard to explain,” Force admitted. “You can watch it on TV. Even as great a job as EPSN2 on TV does and what they capture of the racing and what it’s all about. Until you stand there. Until you attend an NHRA event. Until you have felt the ground shake underneath you – until you’ve seen 8000 horse power and smelled Nitro Methane – until you’ve seen a car at over 300 down that racetrack.
“It’s not just the pros, the Funny Cars, Top Fuel dragsters, Pro Stock. -- it’s the ma and pas. (sportsman classes) At the end of the day there’s nothing like being there and experiencing side-by-side racing. We race on a 1000 foot racetrack now and we cover that in less than four seconds. It’s unbelievable.”
Ashley is often on a plateau of her own in motorsports because she is one of few females going throttle to throttle against predominately male competitors. Her definition of her situation may surprise some fans.
“Being a woman, that’s not a success, that’s just a gender,” Ashley stated. “Being a driver in the sport learning and overcoming a lot of challenges, I think that’s the success that someone looks at. Being the first female to win a Funny Car event, that’s special, but it doesn’t mean anything. It was kind of a big deal made out of nothing.
“Being the best driver out there, that’s what every driver strives to be, not the best female driver or the best male driver. The gender thing, it’s just one little piece that really doesn’t matter. When you get in these cars, the car is what it’s all about. I’m driving it, the crew guys are working on it. That’s what we keep our focus on.”
Whether it’s speed genes, other genes or nurturing -- one element is certain -- good sense got passed down in the Force family.
© 2009 Dwight Drum
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