Wilkerson wins; Force breaks through
Having a Force in the championship round of Funny Car eliminations as the series points leader isn’t new.
John Force, the 14-time series champion, has been in 200 final rounds.
But on Sunday, it was Force’s 25-year-old daughter, Ashley, who was in the championship round of the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals.
Ashley Force became the first woman to sit atop the Funny Car standings since the class was created in 1969, despite being denied her first NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series title Sunday when Tim Wilkerson defeated her in the final round.
“I didn’t even know about it. No one told be before the final,” she said of the milestone achieved after she defeated Bob Bode in the semifinal round.
Wilkerson was one of three pro drivers to win for the first time in 17 events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Cory McClenathan won his first Top Fuel title in two years before a near-capacity crowd estimated at 23,000. Jason Line, who drives for Las Vegans Ken and Kenny Black, won for the first time in his third Pro Stock final.
Ashley Force noted it’s only the season’s fifth race in the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series, but the accomplishment softened the disappointment of finishing second.
“It made not winning a little easier, and losing to Tim made it a little easier,” she said. “And I’d be a real snot if I was too bratty about it. I’m just happy to be in the top 10.”
Wilkerson won for the first time since 2004, but ending his dry spell for the Levi, Ray & Shoup team might create a problem with his 16-year-old daughter, Rachel.
“Ashley’s her favorite driver, and she loves John (Force),” he said, recalling the last time he won he defeated John Force in the final round.
“We’re all good friends,” Wilkerson said. “After the race John came up and asked how my daughter was right after I beat his.”
John Force, who failed to qualify for the event for the second straight year, tempered any celebrating.
“I told her not to get (being first) in her head because that’ll jump around,” Force said. “Ashley’s learning every time she goes down that racetrack. She was up against a veteran.
“Everybody was smoking the tires over there (in Wilkerson’s left lane) all day. So you play your strategy, and this time we just got beat. She’ll be fine.”
Wilkerson’s experience paid off on a day when track temperatures neared 130 degrees and the NHRA-prepared track contributed to many cars losing traction.
A year ago, Wilkerson said his car was one of the heaviest on tour, but since then minimum weight has been increased by 150 pounds because of safety enhancements spearheaded by John Medlen at John Force Racing.
“The weight deal has played into our hands,” said Wilkerson, who was competing in his second final of the year.
McClenathan also snapped a losing streak. It’s taken him 30 events to get his 30th title.
“It’s about time,” said McClenathan, a 17-year veteran who is in his first year driving for Don Schumacher Racing, which was fined $100,000 early in the day for having unapproved nitromethane in its pit area at one time over the weekend.
McClenathan defeated rookie Antron Brown — who won the last event two weeks ago — in the final.
Although Line won the 2006 championship and has 13 NHRA titles, he won only once last year. No race is more important to him than this one, where the sponsor of his team sponsors the event and it’s where the Black families live.
This was the first time he won at Las Vegas.
“I can’t help but smile. I haven’t stopped smiling,” he said after beating Greg Stanfield, who was seeking his first title. “I’ve been getting beat up for my driving, or lack there of. This is redeeming.
“A lack of confidence is a bad thing … I got a lot of it back.”
Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.
