I wish her well. I'm sure there'll be a couple rough spots that many people will criticize like they did with Hillary but that's part of racing and learning.

BTW, If she needs a just-over 10 years older boyfriend to offer support and help out I'm ready, willing and able.

"Anyone here could drive a fuel car on a NHRA prepared track as you could one-hand the butterfly from 700 ft on on most passes."


-That is the stupidest thing that I have ever heard anyone say on any type of forum.....congrats Terry

i couldnt agree more! totally stupid! im sure terry has made many passes down the quarter mile at 330 plus with 1 hand!

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If you notice, all it says on the JFR website is "historical announcement."

We may be jumping the gun here, for all we know it could be something completely different.

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coil and force are switchin spots!!

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I AGREE ! But you have to ask yourself... Maybe he went to the same driving school as "Wild Willie Borsch"

Sure... he can drive with 1 hand.... I can build a better PS motor than WJ or G Anderson....Maybe "Terry" will hire me as crew chief..?

I'm betting Terry never ran a car quicker than 14sec... IF THAT!

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Maybe he is talented at doing some things with one hand but it does not mean he could to it with a Funny Car.

DOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Shift for Brains!!!!

I gotta' add something here.

I think Ashley Force will be just fine, so divorce my comments completely from any discussion per se'

Reading Terry's comments on JFR and some rather tasteless remarks on their personal family lives......(of course it does not help when those personal issues become public domain.............re: 'Driving Force', which I enjoy, BTW.), it does seem there is some type of axe that is being ground to death there. You'd think Force turned into WJ or somethin'

Terry speaks some truth on the one handed, 700' stuff. Doing so in a Fuel car is pretty much a darned necessity. How fast is the finish line comin'?

At OVER 400' PER SECOND the stripe is nary a heartbeat (resting ) away.

At around 700' its TIME to take a hand off the wheel and start going for the parachutes. Whether or not a monkey or homo sapiens of either gender CAN do it is moot.

I have driven alky cars a tick under 200 mph and was taught (by no other than Professor Hawley himself) that after plugging the car into high gear to reach for the parachutes and hold my hand there until 1000' and then push them forward and lift right at the line.

Each and every time I felt them hit past the finish.

Frank was questioned about this by a rather stunned student in the class...., regarding the sanity of driving near 200 one handed.

Franks short concise response?

"If you need two hands on the wheel at 200 mph?.....YOU NEED THE DAMNED PARACHUTE!!!!!!!!!

REX

I have yet to drive a fuel FC (still hopefull!), so I'm no expert. But, I think it's like most drivers will tell you, when you're on a smooth, straight pass, things are pretty easy. However, how many passes in a fuel FC are smooth and straight? Even the fast ones. From all the in-car shots I've seen, it seems that the drivers are often working the butterfly right through the lights. Also, nowadays I think most of the cars have push-button chute releases right on the steering wheel, which means you can keep both hands on it.

Past half track most steering input is much less than the front half.

If you need to be sawing at the wheel at that point then it probably would be a good idea to abort the run, although it is wise to be on top of these things in the event of dropped cylinders or other mechanical malfunctions, not to mention other drivers getting 'up close and personal'

I don't know enough about todays fuel cars in the 'whoa' department to agree whether "most" use a push button 'chute release.

I know Del Worsham did not have one at Pomona.

If they are as reliable a a mechanical release (I'm ignorant as to whether they are or not), then it probably would have saved Del a good amount of grief.

Neither Dragster nor F/C requires you to be Hercules however, and I do believe that if Ashley was anyone else, she would not be under the electron microscope that she is under now. I am also including the hype coming directly from JFR.

She has decided to wear the bullseye on her back, and the world has no shortage of critics just waiting for the slightest slip so as to be able to take a shot at it.

She's a Force, and I'm sure she can handle it.

REX

I jumped into a TA/FC to license and did all my runs in 9 passes on a sh** track (LACR) w/ no other experience before those laps. I was more intimidated w/ everyones hype on what it takes to drive one. I will admit it made more power than I expected but I could one hand the butterfly after half-track and put my other hand on the chute lever while waiting for the finish line to come up. I have a 2b comp. license.
I learned driving was not the difficult part....coming up w/ finances was way more challenging.
And every pilot I know will tell you that steering a fuel f/c on a NHRA prepared track is a breeze to most of em out there.
Alot of people hype this driving thing up but if you have the car straight @ half track and the combo is staying together there is no unusual amount of effort that takes place to run well. Its not rocket science so PLEASE do not make this hobby/sport more than it is.
If your bellhousing settings are close and you are making power the e.t. will be there. Simple as that.......

I agree with most of your post, except that I will admit it made ALOT more power than I expected.

I too had no prior experience other than a 11 sec ET bike.

With a mechanical (lever) chute release driving one handed past half track, yes, it was not difficult at all, rather it was what I was taught and the reason why was that in case of a serious problem it was the first thing to do.

I have absolutely NO personal experience "steering a fuel f/c on a NHRA prepared track", so I'll refrain from comment on that.

Although until every single function a driver has to perform....fire extinguisher, brake, fuel shutoff, etc., is moved to the steering wheel driving one handed at 330 mph is pretty much part of the job.

REX

When Mike Ashley made the jump from Pro mod to Nitro FC, a lot of people asked him to make comparisons between the two. He said the Pro mod's pretty much an 1/8 deal, half-track on your pretty much just along for the ride. But at 1/8 is when FC's become a Beast, trying to drift out of the groove and what not. I don't remember him saying anything about them being easy past 1/8 mile!

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Shift for Brains!!!!

I can only comment on what I experienced in a TA/FC and TAD.

Past that point IF, and the emphasis is on 'IF', you have got past half track w/o major problems, there simply is not alot of steering to do.

Maybe a 'nudge' here or there, but the run is just about over at that point anyway.

From what I felt, I'd rather have more upper body strength than less if things got wild and I had to drive with one arm vs. two.

Of course the long skinny cars are a different deal, and I also know from experience, more than a nudge can get you in trouble quick .

I tried driving a TAD like a FC, and almost went on my ear . You learn to adjust your style ahhhh.....QUICK!!

As far as charachterizing driving any type of 200mph+ racecar as easy? Anyone with common sense would not do that. Certain people can acclimate, some quicker than others, and then there are some that can never get comfortable.

Anything less than complete respect for these machines can literally be fatal.

REX