Featured Wheels of Thunder STory

Written by Matt Peterson
Photos provided by
Ron Lewis Photography
From left: Courtney Force, John Force, Brittany Force
Courtney – now in her second season in
the 8,000-horsepower Traxxas Ford Mustang funny car – found success last year
with her first win in Seattle and made another statement when she opened the 2013
NHRA Winternationals with a win at
Pomona, Calif., in front of her home
crowd. The 2012 NHRA Rookie of the Year
and Automobile Club of California Road to
the Future Award winner looks to keep
moving forward, even faster.
“I always wanted sons,” John said. “And
those girls kept popping out. … I didn’t get
my sons, but I’ve got girls who can drive
like the men.”
Between races, she’s practicing her reaction
time. During races, she’s ripping holeshots.
The downtime in offseason and mere minutes between races are anxiety-filled moments. Waiting on the starting line is
especially nerve-racking. The four seconds
of madness after the light turns green: bliss.
That’s not just a feel-good statement, either,
as last year Courtney beat her dad at his
own game in Funny Car – an awesome yet
bittersweet moment when she knocked
John out of the points lead. No hard feelings, but racing is racing. These girls have
race fuel in their blood, too.
Top Fuel, Funny Car and family
When a man who breathes race fuel and
roars down a track at more than 300 mph
for a living wants to have kids, he wants
boys. John Force got a daughter, then another, and another, and another.
“We don’t want to just be the best females
out there,” Courtney said. “We want to be
just as good as the guys. We want to be the
best drivers out there.”
John’s entire family, in Yorba Linda, Calif.,
forms the John Force Racing team. His oldest daughter, Adria Force Hight, married a
crew member, Robert Hight. John’s second
daughter, Ashley Force Hood, is also married to a crewman and made a name for
herself in a funny car several years before
Courtney. The second youngest, Brittany
Force, just made the jump from Top Alcohol to Top Fuel, where she also blazes at
more than 300 mph.
T
he world passes by Courtney Force’s window a lot faster
than it did a little more than a year ago. It’s hard for her to
see when everything is a blur, and there’s almost no time to
react. That’s the case in many sports at the professional rank. In
NHRA Drag Racing, though, it’s extreme. The speed is blinding.
“It’s a lot faster,” Courtney said. “You see a lot less. It’s very
blurry.” Still, the 24-year-old daughter of NHRA legend John
Force is holding her lines on the track at more than 300 mph,
managing to see at least something, and is holding her own in the
ever-popular Fuel Funny Car class.
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March 2013
Even mom, Laurie Force, got licensed to
drive a dragster. She wanted to understand
the terminology. She wanted to keep up
March 2013
www.WheelsofThunder.net
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