Ashley Force Makes Second Appearance In Semi-Final And Kenseth Continues To Be Top Fusion In Nascar

Ashley Force Makes Second Appearance In Semi-Final And Kenseth Continues To Be Top Fusion In Nascar

Ashley Force continues her consistent streak in the NHRA Funny Car class making her second semi-final appearance in as many races and Matt Kenseth led all Fusion drivers this weekend in Richmond. Continuing to improve each week, Force’s appearance in the semi-final round helped move her from eighth to seventh in the points. During her semi-final round, Force fell to Ron Capps because of a suspected clutch malfunction. Despite not making it to the finals, Force is optimistic and excited about her team’s performance.

“It definitely gives us confidence because we are consistently making rounds,” said Force. “We’re on a roll and our car (has been) able to get down the track in (a lot) of different types of weather. We’re not setting speed records, but that is the trick for us.” After becoming only the second female to make it to a semi-final round last weekend, and the only female in Funny Car competition, Force is accustomed to being the lone female in her class.

“It really isn’t anything you can think about,” she said. “There haven’t been that many girls in Funny Car, so every little thing we do there will always be something new. You can’t let that get into your head. It is not going to help you win rounds. It is not going to help our performance. It is better to just focus on what we are doing.” Richmond International Raceway was the site of both the NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup races. Kenseth, who sits third in Nextel Cup points and fifth in Busch Series points contended for the Busch win throughout the entire race, but on the last caution his usually reliable pit crew had a mishap with the jack and the front right tire. Despite the mistake on pit road, Kenseth enjoyed the night race and racing with former teammate, Jeff Burton.

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