John Force and his daughter, Ashley Force-Hood, held court inside the Force Racing motorcoach Friday afternoon prior to first round qualifying at Infineon Raceway. A thirty minute media session turned into a 90-minute “monologue” by the master of story telling. To be fair, Ashley Force Hood got one or two words in edgewise, but if John felt the point needed an assist he was quick to step up to the podium. Ask Force a question and halfway into the answer he's telling you another story, which mean eventually he stares and you and says, “What was question?”
So, what can you learn about John Force and family in 90 minutes just by asking a few racing questions? Plenty.
Mike Ashley is the boss of his race team but when his team speaks he will yield to their demands.
That’s not because Ashley is weak in leadership. It’s just the opposite.
He’s such a confident leader, and habitual assembler of a successful
nucleus, that when his people provide instruction, the New York
mortgage banker from Long Island knows they speak with his best
interests in mind.
That’s why when Ashley proclaimed that he was planning a return to
nitro racing this fall, his crew chiefs and supporting cast would only
give their blessings for a dragster.
What in the world possessed Don Prudhomme to pick up the telephone on Super Bowl Sunday this February and call Bill Doner?
That's what Bill Doner wanted to know.
"You're a cool guy. I like you," Prudhomme told the memorable race promoter from Orange County, Irwindale, Fremont, Portland, Seattle, and other fabled drag strips.
"I said, 'OK,'” Doner remembered, still puzzled.
Then Prudhomme said, "Now, here's the deal: I'm going to unveil a new Shelby car, over at Pomona. We're going to have a dinner and stuff, and I want you to come over there."
Seldom does life, let alone drag racing, go according to plan. In Courtney Force's case, it didn't.
However, the 21-year-old daughter of 14-time Funny Car champion John
Force and youngest sister of class contender Ashley Force, isn't
complaining.
Now that she has earned her first National Hot Rod Association victory,
beating fellow Los Angeles-area resident Chris Demke in the final round
of the sportsman-level Top Alcohol Dragster class at last Sunday's
Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways, Courtney Force has an even
stronger craving for the sport.
Steel bodied cars with unlimited engines, running as quick and fast as they could with the real limitations being a stock front suspension and the great equalizer – a 10.5-inch tire.
The costs were reasonable.
That was then, this is now.
Outlaw
10.5 racing has grown far beyond its local backwoods origins and now
races as sanctioned categories, the largest and most organized being
under the ADRL guidance.
Matt Hagan never made it past the staging lanes during the second qualifying session for the NHRA
Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways on Friday because his parachutes suddenly dropped to the ground.
The next day, crew chief Tommy DeLago said the problem, the best he
could tell, was centered in the automatic shut-off system mandated by
the NHRA. DeLago is quick to admit the system definitely adds to the
safety of the race car. He just doesn't know what else would have
caused the chutes to deploy other than a fault with the system.
“It’s a spec system only available from one company,” explained Graham
Light, NHRA Vice President of Competition. “It senses the manifold
burst panel. When the panel opens up, it breaks the wire connection
sending a signal to the device and it simultaneously deploys the
parachutes and shuts the fuel and ignition off.”
Jason Fiorito, President of Pacific Raceways, is surprisingly candid, as track operators go.
He admits what once was a premier facility, originally constructed by
Dan Fiorito, Jr. and his brother Joe, does not currently come close to
being called premier. However, he firmly believes that in time, and
that doesn't mean tomorrow or even next year, Pacific Raceways has the
potential to become not just a premier drag racing facility, but a
premier motorsports facility with two drag strips, a road race course,
a karting track and a 5/16th's mile short track.
As is the case with most track operators, the money spent on a facility
isn't always apparent. Fiorito says his family has spent three million
dollars in improvements, of which only $750,000 can be quickly noted by
those in attendance – the new permanent grandstands. The remainder of
the money was spent on the current track surface to meet NHRA standards.
Many fans have probably already forgotten what happened during the 29th Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.
That event, however, is one of the most memorable of all time.
For the first time, the National Hot Rod Association had both the Top
Fuel Dragster and Top Fuel Funny Cars race to 1000-feet, instead of the
traditional quarter-mile (1,320 feet).
The two classes having been racing to 1,000 feet ever since.
NHRA's actions were brought about as a result of the on-track death of
Scott Kalitta, a two-time NHRA world champion on June 21.
This season is Lee Beard's 33rd in the NHRA, 32 of which he served as a crew chief for a variety of teams.
Presently, he is taking on a new role as a team manager in his second
stint with Don Schumacher Racing. He's responsible for all five Top
Fuel Dragster and Funny Car teams under the DSR umbrella.
His main project right now for DSR is happening during the week.
The
Funny Car legend described being thrilled last month as he was inducted
by Bristol Dragway into their Wall of Fame. Pulde joined drag racing
icons Larry Carrier, Wally Parks, Don Garlits, Sox & Martin and
Rickie Smith in the prestigious perch high atop the strip located in
eastern Tennessee.
Pulde used to run hard in Bristol. Come to
think of it, there weren’t many places where the International Drag
Racing Hall of Fame inductee left anything on the table.
Pulde’s
heart demands that same ethic as he balances his time between doing
custom motorcycle work and driving a nostalgia nitro Funny Car honoring
his legendary War Eagle Funny Car even as he watches the world of drag
racing constantly changing all around him.