Last week I may have not-quite-so-accidentally called drag racer Ashley Force Hood a "crazy cat person." The truth of the matter is, she is so much more than that. She's a drag racer, scion of a competitive dynasty, and yes, a feline enthusiast. And now she's here to answer your questions.
Ashley was born the daughter of John Force, a legend on the drag strip, but that didn't stop her from making a name for herself on her own. She moved into professional funny car racing in 2007, and immediately set to work by beating her dad and the rest of the pack at the NHRA Southern Nationals, with a final 1/4-mile run of 4.837 seconds at 320.36 MPH.
By the very next year, she had become the first woman to ever lead the NHRA Funny Car point standings.
Over the next few years she continued to rack up victories, but for now she's hung up the race suit, to focus on a much bigger goal – raising her two kids.
That doesn't mean she isn't still faster than you could ever hope to be, and a huge inspiration to boot.
Oh, and she's also the President of John Force Entertainment.
We managed to snag an hour of her busy schedule, and she's here to answer anything you want to know. Want to ask what it's like at warp speed? Go ahead. Want to know how it sounds in your ears with thousands upon thousands of horsepower right in front of you? She's all ears. Want to know about her two cats, Simba and Gizmo? She'll probably tell you all about them, too.
Fire away!
UPDATE: Ashley had to run, but we want to thank her again for being such a great sport and sticking around for everyone. Thanks Ashley!!
Photo credit: Getty Images