FORCE STILL A FACTOR AS COUNTDOWN MOVES TO LVMS.

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 24, 2018) — In a career spanning 42 seasons, John Force routinely has defied the odds while paying little attention to conventional wisdom. It’s a strategy that has worked out okay for the former big rig truck driver if you call 16 championships and 149 tour victories okay. The upshot is that even though he is only seventh in Mello Yello driver points entering this week’s 18th annual NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the sport’s most successful pro driver still believes he can win another title at the wheel of a much-improved PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro. “This PEAK Camaro has gotten better every week,” said the former Driver of the Year for all American motorsports (1996). “It has consistency now. (At the last race at Charlotte) it went down the racetrack every run in qualifying and every run (on race day). Overall, as a team, we’re doing good. “It’s a long way to that championship and we are running out of races,” he grudgingly admitted, “but I never give up as long as there’s a chance. Things happen. It’s drag racing. I know we’ve got our work cut out for us but if we go out and win Vegas, we’ll see where it goes?” Winning Vegas” is something Force knows how to do. After a horrid first 10 years at The Strip during which he won just one time in 17 attempts, the Hall of Famer has turned things around, winning five of his last 16 Vegas starts including Toyota Nationals’ titles in 2010, 2013 and 2016, the first two paving the way to championships. After a start to the 2018 season where Force made multiple trips to the hospital after on track incidents, the racing icon turned around and won the Mile-High Nationals at Denver and extended to 31 the number of different seasons in which he has won at least one tour event, a feat unparalleled in professional sport. “I want to win and I know I still can,” Force said. “This isn’t NASCAR. I don’t have to drive around for three or four hours. I’ve been doing this a long time. I know the drill. When it’s over, I’ll know it’s over – but it ain’t over yet!” Although he is on the verge of win 150, Force will be focused on something much grander. “It’s all about the championship,” Force said. “If I can’t get it and Courtney (youngest daughter Courtney Force, driver of the Advance Auto Parts Camaro) can’t get it, then I’m going to try to take out the guys who are chasing Robert (Hight, the current points leader and president of John Force Racing) so he has the best chance of winning.” Nitro qualifying at the Toyota Nationals is scheduled at 12:30 and 3 p.m. on Friday, 12:30 and 2:45 p.m. Saturday. The single elimination tournament will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Photo Credit: Gary Nastase, Auto Imagery

Camaro/GM and John Force Racing Are The Forces To Watch In 2015

John Force's new 2015 Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car. Image Credit: Jerry Bonkowski post on MotorsportsTalk.nbcsports.com

Camaro/GM and John Force Racing Are The Forces To Watch In 2015

Congrats to GM, Chevy and JFR for putting together what many of us thought, and even more of us had hoped for. A deal between Chevy and JFR. 

This falls under the category as a "No Brainer" for both Companies. We all knew Dodge and Toyota were out there in NHRA TF Racing, but we were pretty sure, they had enough Teams already. 

With GM now having the best Hi-Performance Brands of a Production Car line-up of any American make, (Chevy SS, Camaro, Corvette, Caddy ATS-V and CTS-V) it makes sense for the best names in American Performance, and one of the best known names in the NHRA to join “Forces”.

It will be fun to be able to drive some of my GM and Chevy Automobiles to Force Family gatherings from now on. Something I wouldn't have done out of respect before.

Editor's Note: Dicken Wear, Editor-in-Chief. “The Motorsports Report”.

NHRA (Updated): After nearly 20 years away, John Force Racing returns to Chevrolet/GM in 2015

Jerry Bonkowski Jan 15, 2015, 1:33 PM EST 
5 Comments (Reposted with permission by: Jerry Bonkowski)

After months of rumors and speculation about which car manufacturer he’ll represent, 16-time NHRA Funny Car champ John Force has made it official.

Force announced Thursday in a teleconference that after nearly 20 years with Ford as the manufacturer of record on his Funny Car and those of daughter Courtney and son-in-law Robert Hight, John Force Racing has now switched affiliations and will return to Chevrolet, where the winning-est driver in drag racing history began his professional career more than 30 years ago.

“We signed the deal right before Christmas,” Force said. “That was the biggest Christmas present I’ve ever gotten.”

Force, his daughter and Hight will drive Chevrolet Camaro Funny Cars in the 24-race 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Force’s other daughter, Brittany, will also carry Chevy sponsorship on her Top Fuel dragster. 

“I get the opportunity to go back to my roots,” Force said. “It’s personal for me. I got my first (NHRA) win with Chevrolet, my first championship with NHRA and six (championships) overall with GM. 

“People wanted to know ‘where’s he going with the manufacturer?’ Everybody told me they wanted me to stay with Detroit. GM was where I wanted to land. 

“At the end of the day, if you don’t have a manufacturer, you’re in big trouble. … It’s a change and change is good. I’m ready to go drag racing. It’s an exciting time.”

With no other Chevrolet-branded Nitro Funny Cars in the sport, John Force Racing will essentially have the Chevy brand exclusively all to itself.

“That was it,” Force said when asked by MotorSportsTalk. “That was key with my past with GM. We got an exclusive. … We’re just getting started. This whole thing, you don’t do all this change overnight. We’re going to hit the track running.  
.
“We’re going to have our first test at Phoenix next Monday. I have great financial backing with GM. … We have an exclusive and that makes it great. Ain’t nobody that loves drag racing more than I do. I feel like a little kid, I feel like I’m 16 all over again. But in that race car, I’m 21 again and I’m a bad hombre when you put me in a firesuit.” The agreement between JFR and Chevrolet is a multi-year deal.

“It’s a big day for the sport,” NHRA president Tom Compton said. “Welcome back, GM. We’re really proud to work for you.” Ford announced near the end of the 2013 season that 2014 would be its last with Force, choosing to allocate resources in another direction in its motorsports program in 2015. Ford followed Castrol Oil, which had sponsored Force for the last 30 years, in leaving the Force camp at the end of the 2014 season to go in another direction.

“I was in trouble and dancing like a mad man (for funding),” Force said. “We did approach others in the industry, but my heart’s with Detroit. My company is called ‘John Force, American Made.’ It’s where I needed to land. My other partner (Ford) was great, but this is a new relationship.”

Initial reports had John Force Racing potentially signing with Dodge to represent its HellCat R/T Challenger or Charger. There were also reports that Force was also talking with Toyota.  

However, Force rival Don Schumacher Racing has four drivers (Ron Capps, Jack Beckman, Tommy Johnson Jr. and defending 2014 Funny Car champ Matt Hagan) that will drive 2015 Dodge Charger R/Ts, but they won’t be the more vaunted HellCat. The HellCat is the most powerful stock street car built in the U.S., with 707 horsepower under the hood. 

At the present time, no NHRA Funny Car team has affiliated with the HellCat. Despite all the rumors and media reports, Force surprised those on the conference call when he said, “I never had a conversation with Dodge.”

Toyota, meanwhile, has Alexis DeJoria, Cruz Pedregon, Chad Head, Del Worsham and Tony Pedregon in its own Funny Car lineup. “My conversation with Toyota, we had a brief conversation, but nothing in writing or on the table,” Force said. “This is where I wanted to land. I’m back to my roots, back to where I started. This is an easy transition for us.”

Chevrolet won 11 major championships in five different forms of motorsport in 2014 (including Erica Enders-Stevens winning the NHRA Pro Stock championship) and looks to have Force to win a record 17th Funny Car championship in 2015. 

“We need John Force Racing, every person in the organization, to focus and win races and championships for us,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet Vice President for Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “We’re excited about getting to the race track, John, and welcome home.”

NOTES: Because a new primary sponsorship will likely not be announced until after the season begins, Brittany Force and her Top Fuel dragster program could potentially miss the season-opening Winternationals (Feb. 5-8) at Pomona, Calif., and perhaps the next few races before an anticipated new primary sponsorship begins at the March race in Gainesville, Fla.
.

Follow me on Twitter: @JerryBonkowski
.

Tags: Chevrolet, Chevrolet Camaro, Force, John Force, John Force Racing

Reposted with permission: Dicken Wear for The Motorsports Report.

Valentine's Day IndyCar & NHRA Style

Racecar drivers in appreciation and ... love. IndyCar DW12 / TUSCC sports car driver Graham Rahal and NHRA Funny Car driver Courtney Force publicly share via social media a moment during a Valentine's Day sunset near Malibu, CA. Image Credit: Rahal/Force Selfie via Twitter

Valentine's Day IndyCar & NHRA Style

Graham Rahal @GrahamRahal

Feeling very lucky and proud to be spending Vday with my lovely lady @courtneyforce. Can't believe how lucky I am to have her in my life, been a crazy and fun last 5 months and I can't wait for many more. ️ #cheeseball #dontcare #happiness #love #gforce #malibusunset

Courtney Force @courtneyforce
Happy valentines!“@JFR_Racing: Enjoy a sweet &funny Valentine's Day message

Happy Valentine's Day From Courtney Force 

In honor of Valentine's Day, NHRA Funny Car driver Courtney Force answers trivia questions with her valentine, IndyCar driver Graham Rahal!

... notes from The EDJE

54th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals Gets Better With Age

This weekend's 54th annual Circle K Winternationals, NHRA's 2014 Mello Yello Series season-opener at Auto Club Raceway Pomona, will mark Tommy Johnson Jr.'s eagerly anticipated return to full-time drag racing as well as the opportunity to finally show the world the eye-catching Don Schumacher Racing Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T sponsored by Terry Chandler pictured here. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2014)

54th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals Gets Better With Age

Many people who look in on all matter of motorsports generally have a little trouble getting their minds around American drag racing. It is easy to transfer an experience of driving a car on a winding/curvy road and watch F1, IndyCar (road or street course), and Prototype/GT sportscar racing. What may be a bit harder to grasp for the casual motorsports observer are automobiles that develop 10,000 plus horsepower piloted by drivers who spend a total of five to six minutes of actual competition seat time during 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

An 8 cylinder Top Fuel or Funny Car drag racing engine develops more horsepower in one cylinder than most of the exotic open wheel racing engines in Formula One or IndyCar do in total.That being said, visiting the season opening NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event at Auto Club Raceway dragstrip in Pomona, California this past weekend for the 54th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals leaves one with an experience that gets better with time and ... age.

John Force, 64, wins the funny car class for his record 139th victory. His run of 3.965 seconds is the quickest for funny cars in the era of 1,000-foot races. Image Credit: JFR PR

This excerpted and edited from Jacobs Media -

John Force powers to seventh Winternationals Funny Car win at Pomona 
By Pete McCole - AccessNorthGA.com

Defending NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion John Force set another new Nation Record en route to his record 139th-career NHRA victory in Sunday’s season-opening NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
----
Force outdistanced Matt Hagan in the final round with a record-beating run of 3.965 seconds at 323.58 mph, topping the National Record of 3.966 he himself set in qualifying on Friday as well as setting a new national speed record.

Force came in to Sunday’s eliminations as the no. 1 qualifier and got a first-round bye after Paul Lee broke in staging, then bested Tommy Johnson, Jr. and Bob Tasca to reach his eighth-consecutive final round.

In the final, Hagan was into the tire shake right off the line and had to pedal it, giving Force an easy run to the finish, becoming just the third driver in Winternationals history to set a national record and take home the win, joining Don Prudhomme in 1976 and Kenny Bernstein 1987.

The new national record also earned Force a 20-point bonus, giving him a 50-point edge over Hagan in the Funny Car standings.

“We had a good race car. It's amazing,” said Force, of his 16th win at his home track and his seventh Winternationals trophy. “We're trying to build our sport and come out here and run good for you all and the fans, and it's hard sometimes. Jimmy Prock (crew chief) and that whole brain trust did a great job. We're back in the game. Everything's just going right. I don't get it. I ain't that good of a guy. I'm just excited. There’s a lot going on (with sponsors), and man, what a good time to flex your muscles.”
[Reference Here]

John Force, who won a record 16th funny car title last year, believes he has everything to prove. That's because the four-driver team he owns is losing two major sponsors after this season. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2014)

It was thought by most who follow the sport that the future for John Force Racing in 2014 was exclusively held in the prospects of the family members coming up through the ranks - Top Fuel racer Brittney Force and Funny Car racer Courtney Force. One might think that after setting nearly every record in NHRA funny car drag racing, 64-year-old John Force would have nothing left to prove.

John Force Racing's Robert Hight, Brittany Force, Courtney Force, John Force, Eric J De Bord announce a multi-year agreement with Peak Antifreeze and BlueDEF Diesel Exhaust Fluid during opening day of qualifications at the 2014 NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, CA. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2014)

After this weekend's new sponsorship alliance announcement as a major associate sponsor in a multi-year agreement with Peak Antifreeze and BlueDEF Diesel Exhaust Fluid, Force is on a roll. He is working hard to impress new sponsors to replace the drop in income in 2015 when Castrol and Ford leave as the major sponsors of his enterprise. Further, after crew chief Austin Coil left John Force Racing, new crew chief Jimmy Prock is doing a good job as the #ProckRocket showed in its performance on the track in the #Winnats.

In the other racing category that features engines that develop 10,000 plus horsepower - Top Fuel, Al-Alabi Racing's owner and Quatar Sheik Kalid alBalooshi took down top qualifier Doug Kalitta in the final, running a 3.974 at 324.36 mph for his third-career NHRA victory after Kalitta went up in smoke right at the tree.

It was the third career victory for Kalid alBalooshi, 34, a Dubai native wholives in Los Angeles and is starting his third season in the NHRA's topranks driving for the Al-Anabi Racing team. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2014)

This excerpted and edited from The National -

Al Balooshi opens NHRA season with a win for Qatar Al-Anabi
The National Staff

Emirati drag racer Khalid Al Balooshi of Qatar Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Team won the first race of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season in California on Sunday.

Al Balooshi entered the Cirlce K NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California as the seventh-seeded driver. He beat seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher, Al-Anabi teammate Shawn Langdon, Steve Torrence in the semi-finals and No 1 seed Doug Kalitta in the final to take home the title.

“I am so excited. There is nothing better than to leave the first race of the season with the first trophy,” Al Balooshi said in a press release.

The victory was the third of Al Balooshi’s Top Fuel career. The Al-Anabi Top Fuel team have won the last three races at Pomona’s Auto Club Raceway, where Langdon was victorious twice last season.

“The Al-Anabi car had a strong day today,” Al Balooshi said. “It’s a good win, especially when you have Tony Schumacher first round, Shawn Langdon second round, and ‘Steve-O’ (Steve Torrance), who’s been doing a good job. Doug’s (Kalitta) car was the best car all weekend, so it made it a very big day for us to take him down in the final and get the trophy.

“Last year, our car started to get better and better. I felt like our car was better down in Florida
(during testing), and I’ve been telling people, ‘I think we have a hot rod to start the season with.’ I feel like our car got better and better each round.”
[Reference Here]

Khalid said in another post event interview that once he beat Schumacher in first round that he had a good car for the day, he felt his was the best, and it was ... Alan Johnson (Al-Anabi crew chief) is tough to beat, too. He's sharp and knows tons about car setups. What surprises most in this early season showing is how Tony Schumacher had lost his dominance in Top Fuel that he had achieved in the last couple seasons.

Bob Tasca III on first qualifying run at the 54th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Here, the left side gives up spewing fuel out of the pipes. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2014)

Pit access in one of the incredible things common at a NHRA event. Fans were in the Tasca Racing pits when they fired up the just rebuilt Funny Car engine. Look at the crew member's hands in photo right. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2014)

To the casual observer - 16 time national champion Force came through as expected but Kalid alBalooshi of Al-Anabi was a big surprise - it can be said about the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series after round one in a 24 event series (to paraphrase the saying "nobody can be too pretty or too rich") ... it pays to be too old (64) or too rich (Dubai Sheik) in order to win at the #Winnats!

... notes from The EDJE