FAMILY FORCE; The Force drag racing dynasty could pass to another generation.(News)

Byline: MARK VAUGHN

When we arrived at the sprawling John Force Racing compound in the pits of the rained-out NHRA season opener in Pomona, John Force was lamenting his lost star appeal.

"How come no one wants to inter-view me,'' the 12-time Funny Car champion said in mock exasperation. "Don't nobody have one iota o' interest in me now, it's jes' them two.''

"Them two'' are his new Funny Car drivers: Eric Medlin, who replaced departed 2003 champ Tony Pedregon, and Force's 21-year-old daughter Ashley. Medlin looks like a drag racer, and seeing him in a Castrol jacket is no surprise. But if you had just met Ashley Force, you would think actress, country singer or maybe beauty queen, not fearless dragster pilot.

Yet there she was, the No. 4 car in the Force camp, driving a Top Alcohol Dragster to a career-best of 5.36 seconds at 264 mph. The record in TAD is not too terribly far away from that, 5.22 at 280. Ashley has only driven the alcohol dragster three times, all testing and licensing weekends leading up to this season opener.

Actually, what led up to this season opener goes back a little further than that. Beloved racing legend John Force, who popped in and out of the trailer throughout the interview-part worried father, part team owner, part attention-starved racing hero-pulled out a photo of himself in a Coca-Cola driving suit holding a very tiny, curly-haired little girl in the pits of a racetrack almost two decades ago.

"Looky there,'' said Force, proudly displaying the dogeared color print. "I carried that with me all these years.''