John and Brittany Force clash at NHRA PRO Winter Warm-up

January 19, 2014

John and Brittany Force clash at NHRA PRO Winter Warm-up

Brittany Force was the 2013 Auto Club Rookie of the Year award winner. Photo by Richard Shute/Auto Imagery

John Force and the Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang Funny Car made the last run of the fourth annual PRO Winter Warm-Up and posted the quickest elapsed time of the day for the Funny Cars, a 4.013 second blast. But for a couple hundred feet, it looked like he might not be the first to the finish line.

In the lane beside the 16-time Funny Car champion was 2013 Auto Club Rookie of the Year and Top Fuel driver Brittany Force. It was the first time these Forces have clashed and a quirk in the ladder provided the opportunity for Force to race his second youngest daughter, completing the trifecta. Previously, Force had raced daughter Ashley Force Hood and Courtney Force.

“I have raced all my daughters. I never knew if I would get a chance to race Brittany,” said John Force. “The pairings worked out so we could match up, and they asked if we would consider running together. I wouldn't race anybody else. I want to race my own teams at a deal like this. You want to put on a show for the fans. It was great.”

“She said she couldn't see me when we pulled up to stage because she sits back in that dragster with the canopy. We both flickered the bottom light trying to get shallow. I knew if she went [down the track under power], she would beat me. Even with that 4.01, or if I ran 3.98, if she ran a 3.80, she would have me. I tried to get after her on the light, but she actually left on me. It was fun for the crowd. We had great racing all weekend.”

For the soon-to-be sophomore driver, racing her legendary dad came with its own pitfalls and challenges even before they took to the Palm Beach International Raceway track.

“That was pretty crazy. Just running him that one time makes me think I could never be in Funny Car,” said Brittany Force. “We had about 100 pep talks. I was fine going up there. I don't ever worry or try and think about who I am running. He had me so worked up about him being in the other lane. He was just trying to help me, but it was a little too much.

“It was definitely fun, and I want to do it again. I have to beat him. He beat me down there, and it was pretty cool for the fans. I didn't see him until we did our burnouts and then I saw him again when I shook and he shot past me. It was fun to be able to say I raced my dad.”

John Force shook loose at about 200 feet as the Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang Funny Car raced away to the finish line.

Force was the quickest on Saturday, but he had to run quicker than teammate Robert Hight in the Auto Club Ford Mustang, 4.019 at 316.97 mph and Del Worsham, 4.014 at 318.17 mph. Force's first run of the day at the PRO Winter Warm-Ups was an impressive 4.036 seconds, the quickest of the first session. In the first session, Courtney Force was second quickest, with a strong 4.077 second pass in her Traxxas Ford Mustang.

Saturday Results

Funny Car

First session

1. John Force, 4.036, 314.83 mph

2. Courtney Force, 4.077, 315.49 mph

3. Bob Tasca III, 4.084, 314.39 mph

4. Matt Hagan, 4.085, 317.19 mph

5. Chad Head, 4.102, 311.85 mph

6. Cruz Pedregon, 4.456, 204.73 mph

7. Del Worsham, 7.524, 87.19 mph

8. Alexis DeJoria, 8.540, 82.02 mph

9. Tommy Johnson Jr., 9.443, 79.59 mph

10. Jack Beckman, 9.842, 69.58 mph

11. Robert Hight, 10.312, 64.95 mph

12. Ron Capps, 10.476, 82.98 mph

Second session

1. John Force, 4.013, 318.84 mph

2. Del Worsham, 4.014, 318.17 mph

3. Robert Hight, 4.019, 316.97 mph

4. Matt Hagan, 4.041, 321.81 mph

5. Alexis DeJoria, 4.085, 297.61 mph

6. Jack Beckman, 4.111, 309.77 mph

7. Tommy Johnson Jr., 4.315, 229.55 mph

8. Bob Tasca III, 4.616, 181.59 mph

9. Brittany Force (TF), 8.535, 61.99 mph

10. Cruz Pedregon, 8.620, 85.92 mph

11. Ron Capps, 9.343, 82.18 mph

12. Chad Head, 9.631, 68.50 mph

13. Courtney Force, 10.100, 58.40 mph

Top Fuel

First session

1. Antron Brown, 3.753, 325.37 mph

2. Tony Schumacher, 3.765, 327.27 mph

3. Spencer Massey, 3.794, 321.04 mph

4. Richie Crampton, 3.808, 323.97 mph

5. Khalid alBalooshi, 3.809, 302.21 mph

6. Terry McMillen, 3.827, 293.98 mph

7. Steve Torrence, 7.575, 79.79 mph

8. Bob Vandergriff Jr., 7.649, 78.88 mph

9. Brittany Force, 8.907, 54.51 mph

10. Shawn Langdon, 9.862, 73.87 mph

Second Session

1. Antron Brown, 3.737, 325.85 mph

2. Tony Schumacher, 3.787, 322.96 mph

3. Spencer Massey, 3.795, 320.66 mph

4. Bob Vandergriff Jr., 3.842, 301.81 mph

5. Khalid alBalooshi, 6.457, 92.75 mph

6. Steve Torrence, 8.259, 79.29 mph

7. Terry McMillen, 9.185, 72.38 mph

8. Shawn Langdon, 9.247, 76.55 mph

9. Richie Crampton, 9.462, 72.64 mph

By Autoweek Staff