- Ashley Force, driver of the Castrol GTX Mustang, became the first woman to capture a Funny Car event title after winning the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals in Atlanta, Ga. Force defeated her father, John Force, in the final round and remains first in the standings.
- David Ragan was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Talladega, Ala. Ragan finished fourth in his No. 6 Fusion and moved up three spots in the standings to 15th place.
- Bobby Hamilton Jr. was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Talladega, Ala. Hamilton Jr. finished third in his No. 25 Fusion after starting from the 36th position and moved up five spots in the standings to 10th place.
- Colin Braun, was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in Kansas City, Kan. Braun finished third in his No. 6 F-150 and moved up four spots in the standings to 16th place.
- Ian James and John Pew were the top Ford drivers in the Grand-Am Rolex Series race at Virginia International Speedway in Alton, Va., finishing fourth in the No. 6 Ford-Riley Daytona Prototype.
DEARBORN, Mich., April 27 – Ford Racing fans were going to see history made one way or the other in the NHRA Funny Car final this weekend in Atlanta, Ga. Ashley Force and her father, John Force, both took their Mustangs into the final round to square off against each other for the victory. Ashley was looking to become the first female driver to ever win a Funny Car event title, while John was looking to win his 1,000th elimination round in his 500th event overall.
After the first father-daughter final round ever, Ashley is the Force walking away with the trophy this time.
Ashley, who has made it to the final round in three-consecutive events, was able to extend her lead in the standings to 59 points over second place driver Tim Wilkerson.
“I’m just happy to win an event; that was the main thing,” said Ashley. “Being a female, that’s exciting as far as the records and everything, but my team, we just wanted to get our first win. We went a whole year last year and got close a few times. To finally get it done, we’re just so excited.”
Three Mustangs made it into the final fours spots as rookie driver Bob Tasca III joined both Forces in the semi-final round. Tasca was able to move up to one spot in the standings 11th place. Despite losing in the first round, John Force Racing driver Robert Hight was able to remain fourth in the standings.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series both ran in Talladega, Ala., over the weekend. David Ragan was the top Ford driver in the Sprint Cup race, taking his No. 6 Fusion to a fourth place finish. The result was Ragan’s first top-five of his sophomore season and his third overall.
“Well, it was a very solid day for our AAA team,” said Ragan, who moved up three spots in the standings to 13th place. “We had solid track position all day, which allowed us to take care of our race car. We weren’t in the back beating and banging. We never had an over-heating issue like some of the other people I saw have. So, it’s just a good, solid day when you can qualify well, we had good stops, and it’s always a lot of fun having a good Ford engine underneath the hood. So, just a good, solid day and a lot of fun.”
Travis Kvapil, driver of the No. 28 Fusion, joined Ragan in the top 10 with a sixth place finish.
In the Nationwide Series race, Bobby Hamilton Jr. ran in or near the top 10 for most of the afternoon and ended up with a third place finish, which moved him up five spots to 10th in the standings. Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 Fusion, ran near the top as well, challenging for the victory before eventually finishing 11th.
Carl Edwards remains second in the standings despite a 31st place result. Edwards was running near the front before being involved in a 15-car wreck 71 laps into the race. He is just 27 points behind series leader Clint Bowyer.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ran in Kansas City, Kan., this weekend. Rookie driver Colin Braun was able to land his best finish of the season when he crossed the line third in his No. 6 F-150.
“We had great pit stops all day and we just kept going and steadily progressing our way back up to the field there,” said Braun. “We had a really fast truck. Mike Beam and all my guys did a great job. They just keep working hard at it. We finally got it finish that I felt like we kind of deserved. We’ve been fast everywhere we’ve gone and we really haven’t had the result that we thought this team deserved, so it’s nice to finally get a top-five for everybody and everybody at Con-way and Ford.”
Brenda Gaughan, who also landed his highest result of the season, and Rick Crawford joined Braun in the top 10, finishing sixth and ninth, respectively. Crawford’s effort moved him up three spots in the standings to second place, 61 points behind leader Ron Hornaday.
“Rick Crawford has bragged about Ford forever,” said Gaughan. “I’m having a lot fun with MAXX Force, I’m having a lot of fun with International, and I’m kinda starting to like this Ford gig. I can get used to this. We need to stay up front more often.”
Ford was represented well in the Grand-Am Rolex Series race at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Va. Four Fords made it into the top 10, with Ian James and John Pew leading the way in the No. 6 Ford-Riley Daytona Prototype.
“This is starting to feel good,” said Pew. “We were hoping for a podium, but fourth is a great result and really helps us out in the championship standings. Ian [James] did another great job, one of the best races I’ve ever seen him run. Now I am looking forward to getting to Laguna and the rest of the tracks this season where I already have experience, and hopefully that will help put us in this position more often.”
The duo of Brian Frisselle and Mark Wilkins finished sixth, Gabriele Gardel and Burt Firsselle took eighth place and Oswaldo Negri Jr. and Mark Patterson were ninth to round out the Ford-powered contingent. Negri Jr. and Patterson have finished in the top 10 in all four races this season and sit third in standings.
Next weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series will be in Richmond, Va., while the NHRA will head to Madison, Ill. Also, the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup will kick off its inaugural season in Atlanta, Ga.
