4-29-09

Following our final round finish at the NHRA Full Throttle event last week in Atlanta, Georgia we had a busy week ahead of us though of a very different kind away from race tracks, helmets and clutch dust! Monday morning my father John, my husband Dan and I flew to Birmingham, Alabama to do an autograph signing for our sponsor Castrol. We went to a town called Chelsea and visited a Wal-Mart Superstore to sign autographs for employees and local fans.

For the past 6 months Castrol has held a national contest for their Tire and Lube Express locations at Wal-Mart, and at the end of it all the store in Chelsea came out on top with the highest car count and best Castrol GTX High Mileage sales in the country. As the driver of the Castrol GTX funny car this was great news and I was excited to meet everyone. I wasn’t sure what to expect since most of our autograph signings take place at or near a racetrack but the people of Chelsea went all out for our arrival and really did a great job in making us feel welcome! Everyone was so nice and when we arrived there was a big banner on the front that said “Welcome John and Ashley Force”. We met with all of the employees, their families, and many local fans and people who happened to be shopping at Wal-Mart that afternoon. In their electronics department they had a whole wall filled with televisions (including Sanyo TV’s!) that were all playing our racing footage. It was pretty awesome. They also had cake for everyone and set up a wonderful display with our names spelled out of Coke cans and boxes! We got to meet the mayor of the town of Chelsea, Mr. Nivens Sr., the local law enforcement and got to visit with lots of race fans, many of whom had been at Atlanta, and take pictures with kids and babies!

Once our signing ended it was off to the airport. I had a day and a half at home to work out of the office and get caught up and then it was time to pack up again. I’m sponsored by Nordic Boats and they invited me out to Lake Havasu for the weekend to ride in their boats and take part in a poker run! My husband and I stayed with my cousins Rob and Lori Ettinger who are also close friends with Randy and Sandy Davis, the owners of Nordic Boat. We had a great weekend and got to relax, get some sun and also see some beautiful Nordic Boats in action. Everyone was so much fun and we had a fantastic time!

Now it’s back to the races this week, in St. Louis, MO. Though my routine is a little more what I’m used too (sunscreen and bathing suits have been traded out for helmets and fire suits) I will proudly run my funny car with Castrol and Nordic Boats and all of my other great sponsors over the weekend and hopefully get them in to another winner’s circle. NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing is already off to another exciting and intense season even though we’re only 7 races in. It’ll be tough but I’ll be out there fighting it out with the boys until the very end…I’ll be the one with the nice tan!