Courtney Force can't remember a time when she didn't want to drive a nitro Funny Car, just like her famous father's.

“It has always been a dream of mine to get into a Funny Car and one day race my dad and then my sister. It's really crazy that I am finally living that dream,” exclaimed Force in a recent phone conversation.

“I grew up going to the races, watching my dad race every weekend on television if I couldn't make it,” remembered Courtney. “It's funny, I was at my mom's house last night going through old arts and crafts stuff from school and I have a million pictures of me drawing race cars that barely look like race cars, but then you can see a Castrol GTX written on the side of the car.”

Courtney Force can't remember a time when she didn't want to drive a nitro Funny Car, just like her famous father's.

“It has always been a dream of mine to get into a Funny Car and one day race my dad and then my sister. It's really crazy that I am finally living that dream,” exclaimed Force in a recent phone conversation.

“I grew up going to the races, watching my dad race every weekend on television if I couldn't make it,” remembered Courtney. “It's funny, I was at my mom's house last night going through old arts and crafts stuff from school and I have a million pictures of me drawing race cars that barely look like race cars, but then you can see a Castrol GTX written on the side of the car.”

When other little girls were drawing happy pictures of their families, Courtney was drawing happy pictures of drag racing. She says she truly doesn't remember a time when she wanted to be anything but a race car driver; more specifically a Funny Car driver in the NHRA.

To the benefit of Courtney and her sisters, her famous father and her mother, have never discouraged any of their children from climbing behind the wheel of a race car.

“My mom gets a little scared sometimes, but I think my dad was really happy and excited. He wanted all boys. I don't think he ever expected to have three girls that all wanted to be in the seat of a race car as their career path,” explained Courtney. “Brittany however, she wants to be a teacher, but she still want to race her A/Fuel Dragster.”
 
After years of dreaming, pretending and then driving in the lower classes, reality for Courtney Force is now. The times of what if and when are in the past. The doubts are gone and this Force remembers the day she knew all the years of waiting were coming to an end – Courtney Force would be a Funny Car driver on the NHRA Full Throttle tour.

“I was pushing for awhile,” she admits, “This was something I was serious about. (Dad) knew for a long time I wanted to do this eventually, but only when I was ready.”

Getting ready has included finishing college – getting a degree in communications – which she did this past December. Now getting ready means learning the nuances of one of the most powerful beasts on the NHRA tour.

It's back to school, in a sense, for Courtney, starting off with Funny Car 101 – an ingenious step by step process which started out as a joke.

“Last year we started, what was initially a joke, Funny Car 101. Ashley made it up, a step by step process of how to warm up a Funny Car and how to drive a Funny Car and my dad liked it,” explained Courtney.

And it was during the process of completing Funny Car 101 Courtney realized her childhood dream truly would come true.

“When I climbed into the car and started towing around the shop; that was the day I really knew I was going to do this. That and the day I graduated college. It made me realize I was ready to move on with my life and start my career in a Funny Car.”

The next big step in the process included several days of testing recently at Palm Beach Int'l Speedway – a multi-purpose facility in southern Florida which has become a favorite winter testing facility.

Once again Courtney passed the next step in the process with flying colors.

“She did great,” exclaimed older sister Ashley, who is sitting out the 2011 season to have a baby. “She really took only steps forward. She didn't go backwards at all. She started with the warm-up, then a burn-out, a launch, and then a launch to 60 feet and then worked her way to an 800 foot pass.

“There was only one time the car smoked the tires. That was the car. I was really proud of her.”

Papa Force was proud and clearly surprised with Courtney's progress. The 800-foot pass was not part of the lesson plan – not just yet.

“It was surreal,” said Force of her near full run. “It is something I have been waiting to do and to experience; it was really crazy. Making that pass, we went back to the bus, my dad, he was excited. I heard he was in shock, but he was really surprised.”

Courtney wasn't sure just how far she was going to go down track. She played the entire run by the seats of her pants.

“I lifted the second I felt it was necessary to lift,” she explained. “I am still new at it. I am not trying to impress anyone. I am just trying to get comfortable. It was a 4.29 pass. It came up a lot quicker than my dragster. It was a different process than shutting down my dragster. It's something I need to practice.

“It got me excited but it reminded me I still have a lot to learn. It made me feel more confident driving the car. It was nice to know when I stepped on the throttle I was able to drive it down. It did go better than we expected. We were only going to do launches. My dad told me to drive it to where I was comfortable.”

And, like any good daughter, Courtney paid attention to her father's advice, “My dad always told me time is the most important thing. The more time I spent in that dragster it made me more familiar with the ups and downs of a run. It helped me be more familiar and what to expect in the Funny Car.

“My dad has taught me a lot. Over the weekend when I wasn't in the race car, he was there. Back and forth from the racetrack and at the racetrack; he was with me going up to the track.”

And, when dad wasn't at her side, older sister Ashley was right there, offering her advice – different advice then that coming from the 15-time World Champion.

“Ashley knows the process of coming from the Top Alcohol dragster to the Funny Car and all the differences,” Courtney explained. “She has the upper hand there. She knows the things that would feel different to me. My dad was there to tell me the things I needed to be looking for.”

“The best thing is I went through this process just a couple years ago,” explained Ashley. “I remember the little things that were a problem for me that never crossed my dad's mind. When I came down this path, I had my dad, but I had Robert (Hight) and Eric (Medlen) to go to.”

Even with her father and sister at her side doling out their wisdom, the process of preparing for a career in Funny Car competition has changed just in the last year. Testing is now strictly limited by the NHRA. A system which would allow Courtney to test under the watchful eye of her veteran tutors and teammates had to be worked out.

“When I was testing I had a lot of seat time, because we tested every Monday after an event,” Ashley recalled. “I had all day to test and I wasn't just in one car. I was jumping between Dad's car, Robert's car and Eric's car – so think of all the extra laps I was getting.”

Once the season starts Courtney can test, but she must test with restrictor plate on the engine. All of the information gleaned from her testing must be beneficial only to her. She has to test in her car and her car only.

“The benefit is her car is setup to fit her,” explained Ashley when comparing how she tested versus how Courtney will test. “She has the same crew working on it, where I had more time but more inconsistency in what I was testing.

“I think with her driving (the testing policy) shouldn't have that much effect on what she does but I don't know how much it will effect what the team can do with the car. When I was testing, the team had the setup from that weekend. It might be challenging at first. It's going to be more of a challenge for the crew chief.”

While Courtney goes through the year getting advice from her father, sister, teammates and crew, there is one process which most likely will be a baptism by fire. She is after all a Force and according to her mother and sister – Courtney is more like her father than any of the other girls; which her father reminds her of quite often.

“Every time he says that I think 'oh great'; I want to be like my dad but not that way. I want drive like him but I don't want to talk like him,” exclaimed Courtney.

And then there is the media.

“I haven't had any media training; however my degree is in media communications. It's going to be a lot to learn. I have watched my dad and my sister over the years. I don't know, maybe my dad will send me for some training; I think that would help me a lot.”

Courtney has a lot on her plate these days. And, with the season opener just a couple of weeks always, she won't see the seat of her funny car on the strip until possibly the day after the Las Vegas event which is more than a month away.

“I am a little bummed out. This last week in Florida has me so excited and motivated to get back in that car. I am following what my dad says. We might be out testing in Vegas. In the meantime I will just be hanging out at the track and learn as much as I can.”

One thing she will be avoiding is any kind of serious relationship – or so her father hopes.

“He always jokes around with me about that; he tells me 'You need to love your car and you need to love your team.' “

For now Courtney is following his advice.

“(A relationship) is not really something I am focused on right now; its more my car and I want to put all my focus on the Funny Car and I don't want anything to interfere with that.”

 

 

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