John Harold Force, who as a kid battled polio and poverty while dreaming of a career in professional sports, applied an exclamation point to one of motor racing’s most unlikely success stories when he drove his PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil / Lighting Chevrolet Camaro SS to a final round victory over Ron Capps to win the 32nd annual Magic Dry Organic Absorbent NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.

It was the 150th Mello Yello tour victory for Force, who already has been enshrined in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala., and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Daytona Beach, Fla., and who most certainly will be a first ballot inductee into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in Ocala, Fla., once he retires from competition.

“Well, it’s been 25 races, Denver last year. (Crew chief Brian) Corradi and Daniel Hood and for (Tim) Fabrisi have had to put up with me all year, not happy with the way the car steered, how I sat in it, not happy with so many things. And then I got the monkey on my back and it drives you nuts. You go to bed every night and (but) the monkey taught me so much, that you need to focus on your car if you want to do good. I’m just doing stuff all the time and I don’t even know my car. And you know Corradi and (Austin) Coil said. ‘You’ve got to get to know your car. You’ve got to live it. You’ve got to love it. You’ve got to study the drivers.’ I said I do all that, but I wasn’t. So sometimes you need a slap in the face. And that was the monkey that made me focus. To live my car and it’s been fast the last four or five races. Give me a good race car, I can race. I may not be as young as these kids and a hot shot on that Tree. But I’m excited. The future of our sport. There’s so much potential out here.”

That’s a remarkable accomplishment for someone who didn’t earn his first NHRA tour victory until he was 38 years old and whose first 50 races on the NHRA circuit produced no wins and 17 DNQs.

“Never thought I’d be lucky enough to get five wins. I remember going to nine finals and somebody says ‘hey, is this like winning your first championship or your first final round?’ I said don’t put that in my head. It’s too crowded in there. I had to stay away from it, not think about it. TV was setting up special shows about me and then I fail. But I didn’t fail; I was doing the best I could. Failure is part of it and that’s what I told Brittany. When you get that gut ache and turn it into a positive. That’s the key.”

Force’s latest milestone was made all the sweeter by the fact that he shared the podium with rookie Top Fuel driver and teammate Austin Prock, who drove the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster to a breakthrough victory that included a final round upset of reigning series champion and runaway point leader Steve Torrence.

“Danny Hood and I, we called that from the get-go. We said when John gets 150, I’m going to get my first one,” said Prock. “It all came together just perfectly. I’m just pissed that Force is going to steal the cover of National Dragster.”

(Not long after winning for the 150th time – John Force vaulted into the crowd to celebrate his historic victory!)

Force’s march began with an opening round victory over Jim Campbell secured with the quickest time of eliminations at 3.895 seconds. That set up a second-round showdown with teammate, protégé and points leader Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club Chevy Camaro, to whom he had dropped six straight decisions, four to start the current campaign.

This time, Force had the formula, using a time of 3.909-seconds at 327.95 mph to get his blue and white entry to the line first as Hight slowed past half-track, finishing in 4.160 seconds at only 230.84 mph.

In the semifinals, racing against Jack Beckman, a driver against whom he has struggled mightily, Force’s 4.014 at 320.97 mph was good enough to handle an up-in-smoke 4.480 at 197.65 mph.

Racing Capps for a title for the 20th time in his career, Force sped through the traps in 3.971 seconds at 320.58 mph for the win, improving to 62.41 versus Capps and 12-8 in final rounds.

The magnitude of Sunday’s accomplishment cannot be overstated insomuch as no other pro driver has won as many as even 100 races.

Second all-time is Warren Johnson, who won 97 Pro Stock events before retiring in 2013. Among active drivers, four-time NHRA Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson has 93 wins. Eight-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher, inactive this season, has won 84 events. Ron Capps is second on the Funny Car list with 62.

(Ron Capps went to the fuel FC final round racing the DSR/Napa Dodge Charger)

Even before he hoisted the Seattle trophy for a record ninth time, second only to his 11 victories in the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., an event to which he will return in two weeks, the former Driver of the Year had secured a record 35th consecutive Top 10 finish in NHRA’s Mello Yello Series.

“I’ve crashed here at Pacific Raceways so many times. I’ve won here so many times. There are certain tracks I’m really happy at. I love Indy, Pomona, I love Vegas, Seattle is special. I have no complaints. I’m 70 years old and I do it because I love the fans and God will tell me when it’s time. You’ll know when your old body says you’re done. I’m giving it all I got and I’m glad I got 150.”

He now has won at least one tour event in 32 of the last 33 seasons although Sunday’s success was his first with new crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Dan Hood, who this year moved over to the PEAK Camaro after last year directing Force’s youngest daughter, Courtney, to four wins and a sixth place finish in Funny Car points.

On the way to 150 wins, Force defeated 41 different final round opponents, most often besting Cruz Pedregon (16 times), former teammate and current FOX Sports analyst Tony Pedregon (13 times) and Capps (11 times).

(John Force’s teamate – Robert Hight – who hit the 50th career win mark at Sonoma one week before – set top speed at Seattle at 331.28 mph)

(Bob Tasca III – was the event’s #1 qualifier – 3.871 secs was low ET)

Event Essentials:   NHRA Northwest Nationals (Aug. 2-4th, 2019) 

(Fast Jack Beckman had another strong season event – going to the Funny Car “final four” on Sunday)

(Defending NHRA World Champ JR Todd – ran well in qualifying — 3.886 secs for #2 – but was eliminated after round two on Sunday)

Posted with files by Sara Slaughter and Bruce Biegler
Photos by Les Puchala

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