NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

For nearly 40 years, John Force has crossed the desert from his Southern California base to race in Phoenix, running national events and match races since the facility now known as Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park opened in early 1984 as Firebird Int'l Raceway.

It’s safe to say that no one knows the Phoenix racetrack like Force. He was there in its opening year to support its owner and builder, Charlie Allen, who had helped Force’s still nascent Pro career by booking him into match-race shows while he was the owner/operator at Southern California’s famed Orange County Int'l Raceway, which closed the previous fall. The track hosted its first national event, the NHRA Fallnationals, the following year.

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As Funny Car’s elder statement, it’s probably no surprise that Force is the only driver entered this year that also competed at the inaugural event, a field that included Funny Car legends Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen, and Ed “the Ace” McCulloch, along with a star-studded lineup that also included Tom Hoover, Mike Dunn, Al Segrini, Tim Grose, Gary Densham, Sherm Gunn, Graeme Cowin, Jim White, Gary Ritter, Rick Johnson, Dave Benjamin, and eventual race winner John Collins.

(Point of fact, no one who qualified for the Top Fuel field is still driving either; the closest link is current team owner Connie Kalitta.)

Force went on to score a runner-up behind Collins – his fifth in NHRA competition without a win – smoking the tires in his Coca-Cola Corvette in what was his first year with hall of fame crew chief Austin Coil. The duo was still just getting its feet under them, and Force wouldn’t win his first Wally for another year and a half and four more runner-ups.

Force has enjoyed great success at the track, scoring eight wins (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2005) and six runner-ups, most recently in 2016. From 1994 through 2002, he missed the final round only once, in 1998. He also has been the No. 1 qualifier eight times.

As the tour returns to the track for the first time since 2020, Force is hoping to rekindle that old magic, and if his testing results here earlier in the month are any indication, the chances are good as his Peak BlueDef Camaro was the quickest of the event. 

That didn’t translate into a lot of success at the season opener, where he qualified in the 16th spot for just the fifth time in his career and lost in round one to reigning world champ Ron Capps. On the flip side, his three other cars did extremely well, with Robert Hight winning in Funny Car, Austin Prock runner-upping in Top Fuel, and daughter Brittany being the No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel.

“Pomona, home track, that was difficult,” he admitted. “Not the showing we wanted, but as a team owner, it was a good weekend, This Peak BlueDef team, we know we’ll be OK. Something just didn’t quite add up in Pomona. We had some new clutch discs, and when the track’s good, it’s aggressive, and if you hit the wrong spot, it’s trouble, but I know Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi, they have this Chevrolet dialed in. We showed what we could do at testing. So, I’m not worried. I’m excited.”

Force will turn 73 this May, but the sport’s GOAT still feels like he has a lot to give and is not ready to hang up his driving gloves any time soon.

“They asked me last weekend, ‘You got beat. How do you feel?’ because people are always wondering about my future, and I said, 'How do I feel? I love driving these races. I don't quit because I lose a race.' 

“Sure, the older you get, the harder it gets, so your rules just have to change. I go to the gym, do two-hour workouts every other day at home and what I can on the road, and keep on trucking. I owe the sport to be here to help. And I see Tony Stewart coming. He's gonna help us. These kids [Ron Capps and Antron Brown] getting ownership, it all helps. I feel good. I've lost [15] pounds, and I feel better. You get these cars, man, it takes all you’ve got, but I know I can still get in there and run with them. 

“A lot of good racing at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park,” Force said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the fans, we haven’t had the chance to put on a show for them in two years. It’ll be good to be back. We’ll put on a show and hopefully get this Peak Chevy in the winner’s circle. It’s the plan, it’s always the plan, just gotta go out there one run at a time and get it done.”