Race Rock - John Force

John Force

His legion of fans and admirers will argue that John Force is not just a drag racer, but that John Force is drag racing. A quick look at his recent accomplishments reveals that they may have a pretty good argument.

In 1994, Force won his fourth NHRA Winston Funny Car championship by capturing ten national event titles. Along the way, he set the national elapsed time record at 4.93 seconds in Topeka. Later in 1996, John was the first driver to pierce the 4.90 barrier when he reset the national elapsed time record (4.88) again at Topeka. He also set and reset the national speed record, piloting the Castrol GTX AA Fuel Funny Car to a crescendo of 303.95 MPH at the Winston Finals. Force was the only Funny Car driver to break the magical five-second barrier in 1994, doing so six times.

The last few years have been even bigger for Force. He recently captured his seventh Winston Funny Car points crown--an unprecedented achievement no other Funny Car driver has attained. In 1996, Force appeared in 16 final rounds, winning 13 titles and 65 rounds, both new NHRA records. Force and crew chiefs Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly have found a winning combination. With a record number of victories and a style all of their own, Forces's team is the target that the rest of the Funny Car field shoots for.

The highlight of Force's career to date was being named 1996 Driver of the Year. "It made me feel like a king. I was very proud," said Force. "I'm so glad that the world is starting to take notice of the sport. The award is a testimony to my team's hard work, but also a victory for the NHRA."

In addition to clinching an unprecedented sixth crown and being named Driver of the Year, Force appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, was one of 12 Auto Racing All-Americans honored by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association, and became the second drag racer to earn the Jerry Titus Memorial Award.

But it wasn't always easy for the Funny Car driver with more national event titles than any other. It took Force 12 years to gain his elusive first national event victory. In the early years, Force drove trucks and even became a TV pitch man for a truck driving school to make ends meet. He raced to Australia and scheduled match races on consecutive nights more than 500 miles apart to gain the experience needed to compete against the best in the world. All the hard work has certainly paid off.

How does John Force do it? To keep his name among racing's greats, Force adheres to an ambitious strategy: win rounds and races and the championship will take care of itself.

Force's legion of fans and admirers can't argue with a winning strategy like that.

Return to Celebrity Owner's Menu

This site is being developed, maintained and hosted for RACE ROCK by

Interactive Marketing Technologies, Inc.

... when it's time to establish an Internet presence.