Courtney Force scored what may have been arguably her most convincing victory yet when she topped the Funny Car field during the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals.  Her win was her sixth career victory, the most of any female in NHRA Funny Car history.

She dismissed Tony Pedregon, Robert Hight, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Del Worsham enroute to her first win at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. Force has officially moved up to the No. 4 spot in the NHRA Mello Yello point standings.

“I looked at the ladder and thought, ‘Man, I could be bumping into my teammates from second round, through the semis,’ and I wasn’t about to have a weekend like last weekend in Charlotte when my dad took me out in the first round. It felt good to go some rounds out here today and end up in the Winner’s Circle,” said Force, a three-time winner this season. “Definitely proud of my team; these guys have been working hard in this heat. It’s tough for them and I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me today. Thank you to (crew chiefs) Ron Douglas and Dan Hood for giving me a great race car in the heat and getting me down the race track on every run, and on both sides of the track; in the right and the left lane. I’m very proud of my team and glad that we could get this win for Traxxas in their home state of Texas.”

In the first round, Force had lane choice against the No. 16 qualifier Tony Pedregon. This is the fifth time the pair have matched up on race day. Force turned on the win light with a 4.173 elapsed time at 305.56 mph to Pedregon’s 4.232 at 297.81.

“Mentally I was thinking going into today we were going to have a tough first round, let’s just focus on getting by that. It was just focusing on a round at a time,” said Force.

In the second round Force took on the No. 2 seed in the NHRA Mello Yello point standings, Robert Hight. Force was 3-6 to her brother-in-law in previous race day match-ups, but the 26-year-old driver took the win, posting a 4.161 elapsed time at 305.49 mph to Hight’s 4.214 at 300.80 mph.

“Second round going up against Robert, I thought, ‘Man, I keep running into my teammates.’ My main goal is to get qualified, get in the top (of the field) and hopefully we’re on opposite sides of the ladder. Unfortunately, I qualified No. 1 and still had to race a teammate in the second round. Luckily for us we were able to go around and get that win, because that was a huge win for us. Obviously they are our biggest competition even though they are my teammates,” said Force, who moved up into the top 5. “They’re definitely our biggest competition out here because they’ve got great race cars and they’ve got fast ones for sure. They’re keeping it consistent and that’s the hardest thing to break so I’m definitely proud of my team to come out here and make some great laps, especially in the heat of Texas. I think that’s a huge accomplishment that I think my guys need to take a lot of credit for.”

Force went on to dismiss Tommy Johnson Jr. in the semi-finals, her 4.218 second pass at 299.06 mph to his 4.254 seconds at 268.54 mph, followed by Del Worsham in the final round. Despite being handicapped without lane choice, Force and her Traxxas team prevailed in the right lane with a 4.227 second run at 301.07 mph to Worsham’s slower 4.309 at 285.65 mph.

“Anytime you’re going up against those Kalitta cars, you know you’ve got some tough competition. We had to be on our A game. He had lane choice over us in that final round, but my Traxxas team gave me a great car to get me down the track and we were able to turn on the win light. I’m just proud of my whole team this weekend. Being at the AAA Texas race, I think we’ve done a great job today and hopefully we can keep it going. We’re definitely going after the championship this year. We can’t make any mistakes from here on out,” said Force.

This is Force’s third victory of the season, all of which she has won from the No. 1 starting spot on race day. It is also the 11th win for a female this year in the NHRA pro categories. She is now tied with Alexis DeJoria for the most Funny Car wins in a season by a female.

“To come out here and get the win in Texas, the hometown of my sponsor Traxxas, The Fastest Name in Radio Control, it’s a huge accomplishment for us. For getting three wins this season and tying Alexis, it’s a cool feeling to see what the females have done in this sport and even cooler to see it continue to progress in just this season. I’m excited for our team and we’re pushing forward. We needed to get that win to create a little bit of a gap. We started to fall back a little after dad took me out in the first round in Charlotte. I’m just excited to have a good comeback this weekend in Texas. To get a win out here in Dallas is a pretty special place for us,” said Force.

Six career wins also ties the youngest Force with Eric Medlen, a John Force Racing teammate and friend who passed away in 2007 during a testing accident.

“It’s pretty special getting my sixth career win and I just found out at the top end that it did tie me with Eric Medlen. That’s huge. I was very close with him throughout his racing and looked up to him so it’s definitely cool to actually think that I have tied him on wins. It’s definitely very special for me and my team,” added Force.

“We have been a little under the radar because dad (John Force) is No. 1 in points, Robert is No. 2 and everyone is trying to catch up with them. They’re definitely creating a huge gap; dad being in seven finals in-a-row. It’s pretty unbelievable what they have accomplished, so it’s hard not to notice. That’s how we kind of slip back in the shadows, but I think we came out this weekend and brought everyone’s attention back over to our Traxxas team and showed that we have a really good car. To go No. 1 qualifier and win the race, that’s the third time we have done that this season. It’s an exciting thing and a big accomplishment for us,” said Force.

Posted by:  Elon Werner

Photos by:  Gary Nastase

Event Essentials:  NHRA AAA Texas Nationals (Sept. 19-21st) Dallas TX