Men Free Blog

Score another one for women! Less than a week after Danica Patrick recorded her first IRL win, pro drag racer Ashley Force made history this weekend by becoming the first woman to win a Funny Car national event at the Southern Nationals in Atlanta. Not only is the 25-year-old Force red hot in her second season in the Funny Car division, having been to the finals in each of her last three races and currently leading the Funny Car point standings, but she also knows how to make a headline. Standing in the way of her and history this weekend was her own father, legendary drag racer John Force, who she beat in the finals with a run of 4.837 seconds at 320.36 mph. She also reportedly wrestled her Ford Mustang off the wall in spectacular fashion during the semifinals to beat Jim Head. What could make a poppa prouder, eh? Father Force himself suffered a bad crash last September that broke a few bones, but we’re sure his return to the sport is all that much sweeter with his offspring currently holding court in the division. It’s kind of like when you finally beat your dad in basketball for the first time, except this isn’t basketball and you’re using 1,000+horsepower drag racers.

[Source: MLive.com]

Just like in the ’60s, some people will take their new 2008 Dodge Challengers to the drags. Chrysler is reportedly ready to make this very easy for new Challenger owners. Allpar is reporting that within a few weeks, there will issue forth from Chrysler a Super Stock special version of the Challenger. The intended application is Stock Eliminator drag racing, and the cars get their own VINs and lots of lightening. Powering drivers down the strip will be versions of the Hemi and 5.9 liter Magnum V8s, twisting through manual or automatic boxes.

Jettisoning things like wipers, HVAC, sound deadening and seats make for a Challenger that’s definitely not road-ready, but much lighter for track applications. 800 pounds have reportedly been trimmed out of the car through the omission of equipment and special composite body parts. Mechanicals have been modified to better suit the use, too. The main body unit gets tweaks, and the front crossmember is modified to a drop-out unit. Front brakes are largely unnecessary when the nose is in the air for part of the run, so lightweight units have been fitted. The fascia support and cooling system also get the slim-fast treatment. More information will supposedly arrive soon, but a 1,320-pounding neo-E body pony car appears close at hand.

[Source: Allpar]