ASHLEY FORCE REACHES NHRA SEMIFINALS IN ILLINOIS, CLOSES IN ON POINTS STANDINGS LEAD

• Ashley Force, driver of the Castrol GTX Mustang, made it to the third round of the NHRA race in Joliet, Ill., before losing to Tony Pedregon. She remains second in the standings, now just 57 points behind leader Tim Wilkerson.
     
• Matt Kenseth was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., finishing seventh in the No. 17 Fusion. Kenseth moved up one spot in the standings to 15th place.
     
• David Ragan was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Nashville, Tenn., finishing fifth in the No. 6 Fusion. Ragan remains seventh in the standings.
     
• Bobby East was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in Fort Worth, Texas, finishing eighth in the No. 09 Fusion.
• Oswaldo Negri Jr. and Mark Patterson were the top Ford drivers in the Grand-Am Rolex Series race at Watkins Glen, N.Y., finishing fourth in the No. 60 Ford-Riley Daytona Prototype.

DEARBORN, Mich., June 8, 2008 – Ashley Force's Mustang Funny Car may have been the best dragster going into Sunday's NHRA race in Joliet, Ill., but a broken belt in the semifinal round ended her day early, highlighting a busy Ford Racing weekend.

Force qualified third and had defeated her teammate Robert Hight in the first round and Gary Scelzi in the second round on her way to the semifinal against Tony Pedregon. In the semifinal run, Force jumped out to an early lead before her car suffered a dropped cylinder and broken supercharger drive belt, causing her to lose enough power to end her day earlier than she hoped.

"This weekend I definitely felt like we were going to go a lot of rounds because my car was so good," Force said. “The conditions were so difficult, but we still ran well. Getting our car down both lanes really gave us some confidence. We had a really good feeling going into this race. It's tough on the team when you have to sit around in the rain. We were ready every round, and I am so proud of my guys. There were no mistakes. Bad luck just bit us, (but) we gave them a run for their money."

Force remains second in the standings, now just 57 points behind leader Tim Wilkerson.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series was at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., where Matt Kenseth finished as the top Ford driver in the race in the No. 17 Fusion. Kenseth crossed the finish line in seventh place and moved up one spot to 15th in the standings as he continues his charge toward championship contention.

Carl Edwards led late in the race for a few laps before heading into pit road. On his way out, Edwards' car had a flat left-rear tire and he needed to pit yet again, dropping him to 33rd. Edwards would fight back the rest of the race and still ended with a top-10 finish, taking ninth place. He remains fourth in the standings.

"It was not too bad," said Edwards of his finish considering his flat tire. “We have just got to a better job on pit road. But, we went from 34th to ninth. I'm not real good at math, but that's a lot of cars. This was fun. I mean, I had a good time on that last run. I just wish (I had) 10 more laps or something to work on people, you know?"

David Ragan led all Ford drivers across the finish line in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Nashville, Tenn., finishing fifth in the No. 6 Fusion. Ragan has landed a top-10 finish eight times through 15 Nationwide Series races this season.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers competed in Fort Worth, Texas, this weekend. Bobby East, who was behind the wheel No. 09 F-150 for the second time this season, spent the entire day running in the top 10 before eventually finishing eighth. The finish marked East's first top-10 result in a NASCAR event. East has run in a total of 37 NASCAR events; 26 Truck Series races and 11 Nationwide Series races.

"The Zaxby's Ford F-150 was great," said East. “We unloaded good, and Chad Norris and the crew did a great job. Our performance was because of him, Mike Beam and Matt Puccia. I want to thank everybody. I want to thank Jack Roush for this opportunity."

East will also be driving the No. 09 F-F150 again next weekend at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.

Four Fords finished in the top 10 spots of the Grand-Am Rolex Series race at Watkins Glen, N.Y. Team Owner Michael Shank's No. 60 Ford-Riley Daytona Prototype, driven by Oswaldo Negri Jr. and Mark Patterson, took fourth place, while his No. 6 Ford-Riley Daytona Prototype, driven by Ian James and John Pew, were sixth.

"All of our drivers really pulled their weight for all six hours out there," said Shank. “Oz [Negri Jr.] and Ian did over three hours each and didn't put a wheel wrong.  It was a very good weekend all around for us. We were in the fight all day, and Mark put in I think his absolute best stint ever, bringing the car into the pits in second place deep into the race. Just fantastic."

Memo Gidley and Brad Jaeger finished fifth in the No. 77 Ford-Dallara Daytona Prototype and Brian Frisselle and Mark Wilkins took seventh in the No. 61 Ford-Riley Daytona Prototype.

Next weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will compete at Michigan International Speedway, while the NASCAR Nationwide Series will be in Sparta, Ky. Also competing will be the Grand-Am KONI Challenge and the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ont.

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