Sport’s Biggest Winner Aims for Third Straight Final Round in Castrol GTX Ford
JOLIET, IL – On the track on which his victory 13 years ago made him the NHRA’s all-time biggest winner, John Force tries to extend 
to three his current streak of final round appearances on the NHRA Mello Yello tour at the wheel of a suddenly energized Castrol GTX Ford Mustang.
The 64-year-old icon, a winner two weeks ago at Bristol, Tenn., and runner-up to daughter Courtney last week at Epping, N.H., believes his resurgent race car not only is capable of reversing a recent downward trend at Route 66 Raceway but also is potent enough to give him a shot at an unprecedented 16th series championship when racing begins this September in the Countdown to 1 playoffs.
After languishing in 10th place for most of the current season, putting in jeopardy his record streak of 28 consecutive Top 10 appearances, Force has surged to fifth place in points and rolls into town for this week’s 16th annual O’Reilly Route 66 Nationals in a familiar position – as one of the Funny Car favorites.
“(Crew chief) Mike Neff and this Castrol crew have given me a good race car,” Force said, “and a good race car gives you confidence (as a driver). You get a good car and you get natural on the lights. We’ve been struggling with chassis changes, motor and clutch changes but now it seem like it’s all coming together.”
Although the Hall of Fame driver has won three times at Route 66 and even though his 2000 victory moved him past Pro Stock driver Bob Glidden as the most prolific winner in NHRA history, Force not only hasn’t won in the last six years, he hasn’t even reached the final.
He thinks he can change that this week after overcoming one of the slowest starts in his 38-year NHRA career. Although he managed to advance out of the second round just once in the season’s first nine races, Force apparently has found his groove. Not only does he have a win and a runner-up over the last two weekends, he was the No. 1 qualifier last week for the 142nd time in his career.
“They were ready to print up t-shirts that said ‘John Force: Extinct,’” Force said of his poor start. “It would have been a big seller, too, but I’d rather be where I am now. All I want to do is continue to earn the right to be out here with all these kids.”
Surprisingly, the man who is the oldest event winner in Funny Car history and the oldest champion in any racing division (61 when he won in 2010), said that he is motivated more by the losing than by the winning.
“The losing is the part that guts you,” he said, “but it makes you want it. You have to earn that (winning) feeling and let me tell you, it’s a great feeling, especially to be able to share it with all the young guys that work on my hot rod.”
If Force has learned one thing in his career it is that you can’t take success for granted. That reality impacted him with particular intensity in the 31 races that preceded his Bristol win. He was winless during that stretch with only one final round appearance.
“I got to where I was complaining about winners’ circles and all the time you have to spend there for photos an everything else,” he said, “but not anymore. I just consider myself lucky to be there and whatever they want me to do for however long they want me to do it, that’s fine.”
Based on recent performance, it looks like he may still have a few more opportunities to relish that experience and maybe even celebrate another championship.
