John Force has a goal.

At this point in his career he wants to outlive his 13-year old Prevost tour bus.

He admits they’re both down on power and are in need of a few spare parts. They even leak a bit of oil.

John Force has a goal.

At this point in his career he wants to outlive his 13-year old Prevost tour bus.

He admits they’re both down on power and are in need of a few spare parts. They even leak a bit of oil.

But on a good day, Force says, they can run with the best of them.

For the 14-time NHRA Funny Car champion, he believes that he has just enough gas in the tanks of both for another five years, the contract extension he’s seeking from sponsor Castrol GTX. They’ve been together for 25 years already.

To help prove his point, the 60-year old Force landed atop the Funny Car field at the NHRA Auto Club Finals, at least provisionally, with a career-best 4.060 elapsed time at 307.72 miles per hour.

“I used to take these low qualifiers for granted,” Force said. “I think in 2010 I can run for the title. I was asked earlier in the day if Robert or Ashley were to win this title, if I was going to pass the torch. It was the first time I had ever got mad at the media and asked them to leave my bus.”

But Force cautioned the reporter before tossing him out.

“Don’t slip in the oil from my bus when you leave, either,” Force said. “I don’t need the hassle of a lawsuit.”

Force pointed out the old bus has run up and down many roads with him and is a dear friend. And when it’s done, he is too.

“My guys asked me in Vegas what we were going to do with the old bus,” Force laughed. “I told them to call AAA and get a tow truck to bring it to Pomona. When that bus is done, I am too. I made that call years ago. It’s been on fire about as many times as these cars out here racing.

“I went in there today to open the refrigerator and the door-handle fell off. I yelled to my guy and asked if he could order another and he told me that he’d already ordered five spares. The last time it broke.”

The old antiquated bus, Force said, just isn’t normal and that’s a constant reminder of his body since the Dallas crash in 2007.

“You have to go somewhere in the back of the bus, under the toilet … to start the generator. I haven’t figured that one out. But, it’s as old as me and it still works.”

Force planned to leave the track after the qualifying press conference and partake in a social function at the Wally Park Museum and then it’s off to the gym for a grueling two-hour workout.

“I still have some good years left in me,” Force reminded the media. “I have this guy wanted to give me some patches that helped Bret Favre come back and if they worked for him, I might even try one. Heck I might even put one on this old bus.”

In the end, it was wife Laurie who pointed out Force might have a permanent place in the Wally Parks Museum and never fully retire from drag racing even after death.

“On my way to Vegas she told me they even stuffed Trigger,” Force said. “I asked her what she was trying to say and she told me I loved this stuff so much that after I was gone, they might as well stuff me. I thought about for a moment.”

Then the idea hit Force.

“I’ll go on tour like Prudhomme’s Hot Wheels car,” Force explained. “They’ll just take me on tour in my box. They wheel me around and let everyone look at me.”

And, there’s the strong likelihood the old Prevost will be part of the display.

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