It’s now 149 wins and counting for drag racing history’s all time winning racer….

John Force collected his 149th (!) NHRA Wally

John Force captured his 149th Funny Car victory Sunday during the Dodge Mile-High Nationals held at Bandimere Speedway outside of Denver.

The winningest driver in NHRA history defeated a Who’s Who of drivers including two-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan, long-time nemesis Cruz Pedregon, daughter Courtney Force, the current points leader and No. 1 qualifier and in the final round Force, in his PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro, took out the second winningest Funny Car driver, Ron Capps.

Force was the No. 5 qualifier and drew a tough first round opponent in Matt Hagan. In a classic John Force Racing versus Don Schumacher Racing match-up, Force took out Hagan with a strong 4.158 second run at 285.77 mph as Hagan slowed to 4.279 seconds at 265.69 mph. The win was Force’s 1,300 round win of his illustrious career.

The second round saw Force squaring off with a driver he has raced over 100 times, Cruz Pedregon. The rivals both know each other’s tricks and habits but it was Force who got the better of the two-time Funny Car champ beating him off the line with a stellar .037 reaction time and getting a hole shot win with a 4.139 second pass to Pedregon’s quicker 4.137-seconds. It was Force’s start that secured the win at the finish.

“I had to beat a lot of great racers today. Hagan, Cruz, Capps. I love them all. My fire was in me,” Force said. “I am fighting and I got tired of hearing me snivel to myself. My wife doesn’t even want to talk to me. I am working through rehab to get out here to win races. I don’t know why I won this race but I have a lot more fight in my belly.”

In the semifinal he faced one of his toughest opponents all season, daughter Courtney Force. She was the No. 1 qualifier and also the points leader. In addition, she held a 4-0 record against him in their head to head matchups this season.

It was a coin flip off the starting line and the elder Force pulled away past half track for the win and a chance to pick up his first victory since the Gatornationals in 2017, a span of 34 races.

The final round was another epic battle between Force, the winningest driver in Funny Car history, and Ron Capps, the second winningest driver. It was Force again taking a starting line advantage with another .037 reaction time and getting the win over Capps 4.075 to 4.067.

John Force used a better starting line RT to defeat Ron Capps in the Dodge Mile-High Nationals championship round.

Force’s record against Capps improved to 58-38 and 11-8 in final rounds. The win gave Force 1,303 round wins and 149 career wins and he becomes the most prolific winner in Denver history with seven titles. The win also positions Force to sweep the famed Western Swing for the second time. He is the only Funny Car driver to win the three races in three weeks gauntlet, a feat he accomplished in 1996.

“I have to thank the fans and all the sponsors all over my car PEAK, Auto Club, Advance Auto, Monster, Carquest and Chevrolet,” Force said. “I really have to thank Jon Schaffer, my crew chief, and Ronnie Thompson. There are also guys like Jimmy Prock, Brian Corradi and Daniel Hood and, as a team, we are starting to put it back together.”

Points leader Courtney Force qualified #1 and set both low ET and top speed.

Event Essentials:   NHRA Dodge Mile-High Nationals (July 20-22nd, 2018) 

Matt Hagan debuted this special edition “Hellcat” FC for Mopar – but was beat by eventual winner John Force in round #1.

Posted with files by Sara Slaughter & Bruce Biegler
Photos by Gary Nastase and courtesy of NHRA