By Jerry Towns

 COMMERCE - Ashley Force recently made drag racing history at the Southern Nationals on April 27, which was held at Atlanta Dragway, when she became the first woman to win a national event in a funny car.

She defeated her legendary father, John Force, who was also setting records. In fact, it was his 500th race, and had he won the final it would have been his 100th round win.

But that was not to be.

Ashley ran a 4.83 at 320.36 miles per hour. She had a .110 reaction time in her 2008 Ford Mustang. Meanwhile, John had a .170 reaction time and ran 11.22 at 85.97 mph after he smoked the tires and got sideways at the hit of the throttle.

Ashley had qualified 11th in her Castrol GTX sponsored Mustang from Yorba Linda, Calif.

In the semifinals, Ashley defeated Ron Capps in his 2008 Dodge Charger RT. During that round, she had a .099 reaction time and ran a 4.84 at 317.79 mph. Capps had a .106 reaction time, running a 13.66 at 81.47 mph after he smoked the tires about 200 feet out.

In the quarterfinals, Ashley defeated Jim Head in his 2007 Solara. Her 4.94 et at 261.67 mph beat Head's 4.99 et at 308.71 mph.

During Round 1, Ashley was to face Del Worsham in his 2008 Chevrolet Impala; however, he broke on his burnout and had to be backed off the starting line. Ashley ran a 4.87 et at 311.49 mph.

Ashley has had four final round appearances - three in 2008 - and one in 2007. She received her first win at Atlanta Dragway after just 27 races.

Force entered leading the points and left with an even larger lead. She leaves Atlanta with a 59-point lead over Tim Wilkerson in his Chevrolet Impala.

Ashley has won before in her alcohol dragster and now joins the list of women who have won in the pro classes.

Other winners include Shirley Muldowney, Angella Sampey, Melanie Troxel, Lori Johns, Shelly Anderson, Karen Stoffer, Peggy Llewelyn and Christen Powell.