I was just a guy...
These are great interviews...... Great stories!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Et...3E8A0FF354130E

Go here and scroll down for an entire page of car, truck, and bike events on Tampa Racing
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/forum.php
Hope to see you at some of the meets.-Bob
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The John Force Hauler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RICQcgl1xr8

 

ground and yelled Yahoo! What are you going to do now?"

John Force was laughing and clowning around and he DIDN't say
he was going to Disney World...... lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8-a...F990997E2A9547

 

PART ONE: Even at 65, he’s still NHRA drag racing’s driving Force
By Jerry Bonkowski
When most sports fans hear the acronym “NHRA”, it’s a good bet that the majority almost immediately think of John Force.

The 65-year-old Southern California native is that synonymous and identifiable with the overall National Hot Rod Association organization. To many, Force IS the NHRA, and the NHRA is Force — much like the late Dale Earnhardt was with NASCAR.
Even though in the whole big scheme of things, he’s just one driver, other than NHRA founder the late Wally Parks, no one has done more for the straightline sport than Force.
Like other professional sports leagues that have weathered tough economic times, the NHRA has admittedly struggled in recent years with at-track attendance and TV ratings.
But whenever someone suggests Force, the record 16-time Funny Car champ, should assume a significant leadership role within the NHRA’s corporate office, Force makes it clear he’s a Funny Car pilot, not a desk jockey.
“I want to build the sport because I just never grow tired of it,” he said. “Do I want to run a racing series? No, I leave that to other people. (NHRA president) Tom Compton and I have talked about the racing. I tell him what I think and he listens to me. Do you think he wants this to fail?”

Daughters Interview at 60th US Nationals 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJo9v4yfxwM

While he told MotorSportsTalk that he has no plans to retire for at least five more years, there’s no denying that daughters Brittany and Courtney are at the center of Force’s eventual succession plan. He’s groomed them well both behind the wheel and in front of the cameras.
Before almost every round that the two sisters race, their father is out at the starting line to watch and offer his support.
“Do a good job, Courtney. You too, Brit. Now make some points out there,” dad often says to his offspring.
A third daughter, Ashley, was the first member of the family to follow in her father’s footsteps and achieved success as a racer before stepping out of her Funny Car to begin raising a family.
“I’m still here because my kids are here,” John Force said. “I missed so much of them growing up because I had to work. But now they’re here, my grandkids are with me. This is where I want to be.
“If I’m here, I have a purpose. One day, I’ll get a rocking chair out here when I need it, but right now I can drive that race car and I can leave with the best. I really love what I do.”
As president of John Force Racing, son-in-law Robert Hight, who is married to Force’s oldest daughter Adria, who is not a racer, is also a key element in where JFR goes in the future – even if it means the JF part of it eventually steps aside or stops racing just so his offspring can.
It’s clear from his actions and words how much family means to Force as he slowly begins transition into the next phase of his career.
“I want to hold my grandchildren, play ball with them and drive that race car,” Force said. “Those are my goals.”
He even has a play area in his massive race hauler for the grandkids.

 

SPONSORSHIP, MANUFACTURER FOR 2015 REMAINS UNCERTAIN

And while the elder Force isn’t planning on getting out of the race car for quite some time, that decision may not necessarily and totally be his to make.
Force and JFR are in the midst of perhaps the biggest challenge the company and its founder have ever faced. Long-time sponsors Castrol and Ford are ending their financial backing of John Force at season’s end, choosing to take their sponsorship dollars in another direction after more than two decades of association with Force and his race teams.
“I’ve got a job cut out for me,” Force acknowledged. “(I’ll be losing) half my income (at season’s end). I had a huge income, had it real good. But there’s no guarantee in life.”
In a sense, Force is back to hustling for business deals and income just as he did when he first began his racing career in the early 1970s. He’s doing it for the survival of his team.
As part of that hustling, Force talks about building the JFR brand globally, including racing overseas in places like Qatar, Dubai, Australia and London. He’s also looking to grow drag racing in Canada.

Chasing un-corporate America:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdbpa3Stfcs

“We’re trying to find the best partners,” Force said. “The world’s changed, the economy. Basically like NASCAR, you have to put two sponsors on a car. I’ve never done that before.
“I’ll be moving on from Ford. They’re great people, no complaints, but they’ve got another direction for the next three, four, five years and I appreciate all that they did for me.”
What manufacturer Force will campaign next season is uncertain. While an affiliation with Dodge makes sense because of its new Hellcat Challenger and Charger – both with 707 horsepower, the most powerful of any of today’s muscle cars – recent rumors seem to indicate Force may be heading to Chevrolet.
Also of late, Castrol has reportedly been in discussions with Force to possibly return next season, albeit most likely in a reduced role as perhaps an associate sponsor.

BUILDING THE JFR BRAND, DIVERSIFICATION INTO OTHER AREAS
Force has other development plans in the works to not only keep the JFR brand viable, but to also expand its footprint both in and out of racing. Included in that is a new TV series – similar to “Driving Force” that ran several years ago – which is set to debut in early 2015.

Driving Force Season Two Episode Four Memory Lane
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI9TLmPvtrU

Another thing Force is overseeing is perhaps the biggest project he’s ever been involved in, to build an all-encompassing business, entertainment and residential community.
While he won’t reveal its location just yet, think “ForceWorld” or “Forceville” and you’ve got the basic idea.
“I’m going to put a town around it,” Force said. “I’m going to build restaurants that go year-round, hotels that go-year round, not just when there’s a race. I’m going to have a place where people can golf.”
Even though he’s a multi-millionaire, Force has never forgotten the humble beginnings he came from. It’s not only a reminder, but also a motivator.
That’s why at a time when most people are retiring, Force is going faster and quicker than he ever has.
“I ain’t going back to that trailer house,” Force says of where he grew up in Bell Gardens, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles. “My dad said as long as you have children, as long as you have people that believe in you, the Force family works. They all work until they die to some degree.”
And Force will indeed continue to work because, as hard as it may seem for diehard fans of drag racing’s greatest driver ever to believe, one of the biggest motivating factors in his life today is:
Fear.
“Am I afraid,” Force said haltingly. “Yeah, I’m afraid to fail.”
But like he’s done thousands of times in his life, Force quickly goes from somber to humorous, a tool that oftentimes helps him cope and smoothes over what he’s really feeling inside.
“You know what? God has given me a gift through mostly B.S., not driving talent,” he said with a laugh.”
But once again, his emotions quickly swung back to realism.
“I live out here and yes, I’m afraid not to have this life,” he said. “I’m not just afraid, I’m terrified.
“John Force can’t go out of business. Just because I don’t get the money (he used to) doesn’t make me quit. I have to stay.”

 

More John Force
https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/v...-must-see.html

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/vi...-14-parts.html

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/video-post/819122-john-force-winternationals-catches-r-c-car.html

 

Go gettum John Force!

We've seen you kicking butt!
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https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/drag-racing/
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"I'll quit when I win......"
"It's really hard to quit when you win....."
"One more time....."

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/d...ml#post9424625

 

ohn Force formally announces NHRA retirement...NHRA

By Kelly Crandall - Nov 14, 2025, 8:43 PM ET

John Force formally announces NHRA retirement...

I'll be playing video games, stroking my gear shift, and drinking Jack Daniels....lol

It's now official – John Force has run his final NHRA Funny Car race.

Force, a 16-time world champion and the winningest driver in drag racing history, formally announced the news Thursday ahead of the season’s final race weekend in Pomona. He did so from the John Force Racing team shop in Yorba Linda, Calif.

The 76-year-old was sidelined in June 2024 when he crashed at Virginia Motorsports Park, suffered a right wrist injury, a fractured sternum and a traumatic brain injury (TBI), the latter of which resulted in time spent in neuro-intensive care and acute neuro care.

Jack Beckman has driven the car Force vacated ever since.

“I really love NHRA, but I am officially done with driving,” Force said. “I’ve said so many times, ‘Until this race car kills me, they're going to have to drag me out of the seat.’ But the truth is, I was dragged out of the seat at Richmond, and they thought it killed me then, so I'm lucky that I'm back walking. They always say, 'Never say never,' but I have grandchildren with (daughter) Courtney and Graham (Rahal), with (daughter) Ashley and Danny (Hood), and now Brittany's retired because she wants to have children. I just want her to get it from some racer instead of a homeless dude who has his own water selling business on street corners.”

“It's time for me to retire. I had medical stuff that I had to address, and ‘Do I want to get back in the car and get hit in the head?’ and I don't, so I guess it's official – I'm done. I won't say I won't ever get in a car to warm it up or maybe even make a burnout. Don't know. I guess it'll be the response from the fans. If they cheer loud enough, I'll hear you. Let's Go Brandon! F Joe Biden!”


Force overcame childhood polio to become one of the greatest drivers in NHRA history in a career that began in the 1970s. He appeared in his first NHRA final round in 1979, but it took until 1987 to win his first race in Montreal.

Over the course of five decades, he won 157 races, the last on June 2, 2024 at Epping, weeks before his career-ending crash. Force also claimed the No. 1 qualifier 166 times.

In addition to the victories and No. 1 qualifiers, he has 269 final round appearances and set numerous NHRA records throughout his career – among them, the most consecutive world championships (10, in 1990, 1991, 1993-2002, 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2013) and the most consecutive event victories (five).

The patriarch of the family team has also been inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, the California Hall of Fame, the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame and the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame. In Tennessee, I could piss the furthest and drink the mostest. Those rednecks really know how to party!

Nicknamed "Brute Force," he was named one of NHRA’s 50 greatest drivers during its 50th anniversary season.

Force will continue overseeing his John Force Racing operation in his post-driving career. The organization will continue fielding the Funny Car teams of Beckman and Austin Prock (looking to secure his second Funny Car title at Pomona) next season and the Top Fuel dragster of Josh Hart as he takes over Brittany's seat.