InnerView:

Ashley Force

By Susan Wade. Photos by Jeff Burk.

Force 2 from Yorba Linda

She says he couldn't discuss the finer points of cheerleading. But Ashley Force, who's raising eyebrows in the NHRA's Super Comp class even before she's raced her first round, is learning that her famous dad John has the pom-pons out for her.

And Tony Pedregon, teammate of the 11-time Funny Car champion, said the Castrol crew just might have to haul out the defibrillators from their first-aid station for Dad.

Ashley Force is trying to balance racin', 'ritin' and 'rithmetic as she attends college and prepares to enter the quick and quirky subculture that has put food on her table and nearly canonized her father.

Under the watchful eyes of crew chief Mike MacBrair, a Division 7 Super Comp and Super Eliminator champion, and car builder Ron Williams, Ashley Force tested at Phoenix and Tucson. She officially crossed the center line once and made her first side-by-side pass. And she's game for whatever's next.

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