Enough of all this talk about Danica Patrick and how she paid her dues in Europe, how she raced through the Formula Atlantic championship and into Indy cars. How she won a race at Twin Ring Motegi and almost won the Indianapolis 500 in her rookie year (fading to 4th in the final 6 laps). About how she’ll someday show the boys in NASCAR.

Much of the time, yes, Ms Danica is on the ball; but she’s not the most accomplished woman driving race cars, week in and week out. Nor is she the most attractive and sexiest chick out there.

No, best of breed belongs to the ladies of the National Hot Rod Association Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. While Danica Patrick is certainly a strong woman – don’t shake her hand, she’ll break yours – does this petite woman have the chops to handle 8000 horsepower like Ashley Force Hood and Melanie Troxel? Heck, only a handful of men can do that!

On the NHRA trail, Force Hood and Troxel, both second-generation drivers, race 23 times per year down a 1000-foot track and try to be first to the lights. By the time they get there, make-up is streaked, nail polish is chipped and their heavy fire-retardant suits are coated in oil and dirt. Each emerges through a hatch in the roof of the car with all the adrenaline of their male peers, bathed in the excitement of the moment and the joy of the kill when they win.

Force Hood is a winner in Funny Car; Troxel is the only woman who’s won in both Funny Car and Top Fuel, the two fastest and most dangerous classes in drag racing, requiring the most driving skill and, pure and simple, balls.

At the 41st Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida on Sunday, Ashley and Melanie faced each other in the first round. Their race was totally sideways, from first hammer of the throttle to the finish line, with the cars’ tails wagging and tires smoking as they tried to control all that power. The tire marks on the track looked like wavy gravy.

Neither was going to give up. Lift and you lose. Ashley nearly slapped the wall trying to keep the monster straight. Melanie won the smoke-fest at 5.324 seconds (158.61 mph) to Ashley’s 5.980. Their slow times were an indication of just how wild the ride was. In the quarter-finals, Troxel clocked 4.16 and 307 mph, to lose by just .05 seconds.

Being brave comes naturally to Ashley and to Melanie. They learned it from their families; they learned from their peers. They probably didn’t have to “learn it” at all. But to have the, um, courage to manhandle 8000 horses and 2300 pounds of racecar when it just won’t drive straight for 4-plus seconds requires a special kind of fortitude.

Ashley Force Hood Photo- Anne Proffit

No matter what you think of drag racing, these women compete in monstrously powerful cars—with grace and goodwill, something you don’t see terribly much in either open-wheel racing or stock car competition.

Melanie Troxel Photo-Anne Proffit

With an open NHRA paddock, all drivers and motorcycle riders stop and chat with the fans between rounds when they’re not packing their parachutes. The lines to speak with the beautiful Ashley Force Hood and Melanie Troxel are long. Each has thousands of Facebook fans. And both are gracious to the max, something you won’t always find with Danica Patrick.

So even if you love Danica Patrick, you probably won’t be able to get close to her without buying a paddock pass and hanging and waiting at the base of her trailer hoping this princess will deign to look your way. Then her entourage will whisk her to the next appearance and you get a slight glimpse.

Unlike Danica, you won’t find Ashley or Melanie promoting their racing careers by posing for FHM (“For Him Magazine”) and Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue, as Danica has done. They don’t have to do that – although both of these women have the bods to show off.

Racers to the core, racers who grew up in the business, racers who care and reach out to their fans, Melanie and Ashley will be going at one another on the track, not swapping bitch slaps in the pits, a la the Milka Duno/Patrick fiasco at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2008. There are no catfights in drag racing – the competition remains on the track.

Sure, when Danica marches down the pit lane to have a hissy fit, it makes the news. Until 2010, she’s been the only woman racer in Indy town but now has to deal with the real deal in Swiss miss Simona de Silvestro, who led laps in the season opener in Sao Paulo, Brazil while Danica spun out in the rain.

Maybe Danica will have a little bit more self-discipline in 2010 and let her racing do the talking?

But what I want to know is this: Why do the media fixate on little Danica – who inherited one win? Why doesn’t anyone seem to care when Ashley Force Hood and Melanie Troxel continue to win races? And look damn good doing it?

© 2010 Anne Proffit