Force Hood races to Funny Car victory

BAYTOWN, Texas — Ashley Force Hood raced to her second career victory on a record-setting day at the O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals, beating her former drag racing instructor in the finals Sunday at Houston Raceway Park.

The 26-year-old Force Hood, daughter of 14-time NHRA champion John Force, beat Jack Beckman in the finals to vault from 10th to third in the Funny Car standings.

Force Hood, who improved to 3-3 against her dad on the way to the finals, clocked 4.122 seconds at 306.19 mph to beat Beckman’s 4.227 at 303.43.

Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Ron Krisher (Pro Stock) and Craig Treble (Pro Stock Motorcycle) won their respective divisions.

Matt Smith broke Angelle Sampey’s record for elapsed time in Pro Stock Motorcycle when he ran 6.865 in a second-round win.

Then, Mike Edwards set a Pro Stock mark for speed when he ran 212.03 mph in his semifinal loss to Krisher.

Also, Boulder City’s Duane Shields won his second Top Alcohol Dragster title of the season when his opponent crossed the centerline and was disqualified in the final round.

• FORMULA ONE — At Melbourne, Australia, Brawn GP, formed from the remnants of the Honda team after the Japanese manufacturer pulled out of the sport after 2008, opened the 2009 season with a 1-2 finish at the Australian Grand Prix.

England’s Jenson Button led from start to finish to claim victory ahead of veteran Brazilian teammate Rubens Barrichello, cruising to the line behind the safety car after a late crash.

• DESERT RACING — Andy McMillin of Poway, Calif., won the overall title in Saturday’s Mint 400 desert race held north of Las Vegas.

He took over from his co-driver and father, Scott McMillin, after two laps, and they finished the 400-mile race in 8 hours, 27 minutes, 53 seconds.

Runner-up Cameron Steele of San Clemente, Calif., trailed McMillin by 5:18.

Las Vegan Rob MacCachren drove solo and dominated Class 1600, placing seventh in the overall standings.

• SUPERCROSS — At Toronto, James Stewart won Saturday night’s AMA Supercross race to move within eight points of leader Chad Reed with four events left