Dean Guido Antonelli, crew chief on the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang in which Ashley Force Hood last year became the first woman to win the Funny Car title at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, was uniquely prepared for a career in drag racing.

While it’s true he had great racing genes as the son of the late Joe Antonelli, who earned a reputation driving some of the most cantankerous vehicles on the planet including the Nanook fuel altered, he had some other assets, too.

One was experience gleaned from his job as a destruction engineer at the U-Haul Technological Center and Test Laboratory in Tucson, Ariz.. Another was the 12-year apprenticeship he served under Hall of Fame crew chiefs Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly during John Force’s total domination of Funny Car racing.

Nine times during his 12-years as Team Leader on Force’s Funny Car, the 45-year-old celebrated a championship. As a result, when Force Hood moved from the Top Alcohol Dragster class to Funny Car in 2007, Antonelli was Force’s personal choice to supervise her development.

In just three seasons, he and tuning partner Ron Douglas have transformed Force Hood from a novelty into a legitimate contender.

After directing Force Hood to Rookie-of-the-Year honors and a 10th place finish in 2007, Antonelli turned up the wick the last two seasons. Not only did he put his 27-year-old driver in the winners’ circle three times, he guided her to second place in Full Throttle points in 2009.

Under Antonelli’s tutelage, Force Hood appeared in 13 final rounds in her first three seasons, set the NHRA national speed record and started nine races from the No. 1 qualifying position (including a category-best six races in 2009).

Antonelli’s biggest regret is that his friend, Eric Medlen, a JFR driver who lost his life in an 2007 testing accident, isn’t here to share he and Force Hood’s success.