The Funny Car category will lose a familiar face and see the return of another to the driver seat as the 2011 NHRA season gets underway at the traditional opener in Pomona next month. In an announcement during a press conference at the John Force Racing headquarters in California on Tuesday, Ashley Force Hood made official her intentions to step out of the seat for the full season with she and husband Dan Hood’s first child expected in August. The news comes as no surprise to many after months of speculation dating back to the latter part of last season.

Said Ashley via NHRA.com, “This past November, after watching my dad clinch his 15th championship, Dan and I decided we would try to start a family,” Force Hood explained. “We knew it was unlikely to happen in such a short amount of time and if it didn’t, [we knew] I could still race the 2011 season, and we’d try again next winter. We felt that if God wanted it to happen, it would happen. Well, God didn’t waste any time,” she said. “Dan and I know there is always a risk at the beginning of a pregnancy, so we waited as long as possible to say anything to make sure everything was all right and there were no problems.”

“I will be taking off this season, but I will still represent Castrol, Ford, Auto Club, BrandSource, and Mac Tools; will still be involved in media, commercials, and interviews; and will definitely still be rooting on my teammates to go after that 2011 championship.”

Several personnel changes will take effect following the sudden departure of Hall of fame tuner Austin Coil and the hiatus of Force Hood. In Ashley’s absence, Mike Neff, who co-tuned John Force to his record 15th NHRA Funny Car title in 2010 and piloted the Old Spice Mustang for JFR in 2009, will step back into the driver seat. The plan calls for Force to take over the reigns of his daughters Castrol GTX High Mileage flopper with Dean “Guido” Antonelli and Ron Douglas calling the shots, while Neff will pilot Force’s Castrol GTX mount that earned the title last season. Neff and longtime JFR crew chief Bernie Fedderly will tune the Mustang in tandem. Neff heads into the Winternationals on a bit of a hot streak, winning his last race as a driver at the AAA NHRA Finals two years ago.

While many expected an announcement regarding the possible limited schedule debut of younger daughter Courtney Force in Funny Car, it seems that news isn’t in the cards until 2012 at the earliest.