Motor Sports Weekly News

By: Drew Hierwarter

A couple of weeks ago, Danica Patrick made history as the first woman to win an Indy Car race. Much of the motor sports media took this occasion to claim that Danica was the first woman to win any major US racing event, completely forgetting about the many women who have won races in NHRA’s professional drag racing categories. Not the least of which is Shirley Muldowney’s three world championships in Top Fuel driving the fastest accelerating cars on the planet. 

Yesterday, in a history making event at Atlanta Dragway, Ashley Force became the next woman to win a major race and the first woman to win in a nitro funny car. The final race was made even more historic because Ashley was matched up against her dad, John Force, who was racing in his 500^th NHRA event and trying to get his 1,000^th round win. It wasn’t to be as his Castrol Mustang struck the tires almost immediately and all he could do was watch his daughter streak away into the record book.

“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.”

Ashley didn’t just back into to the win either as she ran the second quickest E.T. of the meet, 4.837, on her final run. To get into the final she had to beat Del Worsham, Jim Head, and Ron Capps. This was the third straight and fourth overall final round for Ashley and solidified her hold of the top spot in the points standings, (She’s also the first woman to do that). See leads Tim Wilkerson by 59 points.

Top Fuel rookie Antron Brown won his second event of 2008. Mike Edwards beat Jason Line for the Pro Stock title, and Andrew Hines was the victor in Pro Stock Motorcycle. 

                                                                                -   -   -

Kyle Busch continued his hot streak in NASCAR competition by winning the “Aaron’s 499” Sprint Cup race at Talladega, Alabama on Sunday. The race was dominated by Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. but a late race wreck ruined the chances for both. And then a last lap crash brought out the final caution flag and Busch was followed across the line by Juan Pablo Montoya, in his best finish of the year, Denny Hamlin, David Ragan, and Brian Vickers. This was the younger Busch’s 7^th win of the year in NASCAR’s top divisions. He has won three races in the Nationwide Series, two in the Craftsman Truck Series, and now two in the Sprint Cup Series.

                                                                   -   -   -

Jamie Yelton had the dominant race car in last Saturday’s UARA Late Model “Strutmasters.Com 150” at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, NC. Starting from the outside front row, Yelton waited until lap 18 to take over the lead from Pole winner Richard Boswell II. Nobody could catch him after that and Yelton claimed the Sonic Most Laps Lead Award. Boswell followed Yelton for second and then it was Jake Crum, Jamey Caudill and B.J. Mackey rounding out the top five.  

The next race on the UARA schedule is the “Bristol 150” at the world famous Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 17^th, 2008.