Force Proves Ford and Castrol Are Stupid Idiots

NHRA Funny Car Champ John Force faces a dilemma.

His primary sponsors, Castrol and Ford, announced that they were pulling their sponsorships of his teams.  Ford is just plain leaving drag racing.  Castrol, who knows what those goobers are thinking?

Force has been the standard bearer for Ford in drag racing for many years.  No one else has had success in the sport while sporting the Blue Oval.  NHRA is ruled by Chevy in the sportsman ranks.  Ford hasn't had a winner in the pro ranks except Force - at least since Bob Glidden retired from Pro Stock two decades ago.

Castrol - a third rank oil company, wouldn't even be on the map if it weren't for Force carrying their colors for almost three decades now.  Very, very few Americans would have even heard the name if it wasn't for their sponsorship.

Force is fastly approaching retirement age. He's eligible to collect SS benefits.  He's the greatest drag racer in history.  His loud, bombastic personality inspires some, infuriates others, but is never boring, and you never forget him.  The best way for this to have ended would have been for Ford and Castrol to work with him to put on a 'farewell tour'.  Everyone would have benefitted, and the very long term relationships would have ended happily.

Instead, both companies bailed on him mid-season.  He's now looking for sponsorship for his car and his daughter's Top Fuel dragster team.  (His other daughter and son-in-law's funny cars have primary sponsorships already.)

So, Force, rather than feel sorry for himself, gets motivated and wins three National Events in a row.  His victory this past weekend in Las Vegas locked up this year's Funny Car Championship.  Never once, at least in public, has he said "screw you Ford, up yours, Castrol".

This is his SIXTEENTH championship.  Compare that to Petty, or Earnhart, who each won a measly 7 Championships and are both considered legends.

John Force, inspiration to us old folks everywhere.  64 years old, reaction times as good as 'the kids', pilots a 10,000 horsepower car down a 1000ft. track in 4 seconds, enduring 4-5Gs each time he hits the throttle - and still wins Championships!

Army Conquers The Big Go, Again

Tony Schumacher drove his 'The Sarge' Top Fuel dragster to victory in the NHRA's US Nationals yesterday.  The event, held in Indianapolis, is drag racing's equivalent to the Indy 500, or the Daytona 500.

Schumacher's victory is the ninth time he has won this event, a record.  Previously, he was tied with Big Daddy Don Garlits with 8 wins at Indy.

The win propels Tony into the NHRA's countdown, a series of races to end the season which will determine the Top Fuel champion for 2012. 

Photo credit NHRA/AP.

Force Scores One For Us Old Farts

John Force won the Funny Car class at NHRA's season opening race in Pomona this past weekend. The 62 year old driver scored his 134th event victory by defeating his teammate, Mike Neff, in the final race.

The race also saw the first Funny Car event for his youngest daughter, Courtney, age 23. She won her first round race, before falling in the second round. Team Force had 4 Mustangs in the 16 car field.

For fans of the US Army, Tony Schumacher took The Sarge into the semi-finals. Not a bad start following last year's disappointing winless season.

NHRA has some interesting changes surfacing for this year. The biggest may be that the Top Fuel team of Al-Anabi Racing fired both of its drivers from last year, Del Worsham and Larry Dixon, both of whom were championship competitors. In their place are two newcomers - very puzzling. Worsham took a position as crew chief on a Funny Car, while Dixon is without a ride.

The Force Is With Us

John Force won his 15th NHRA Funny Car Championship a couple of weekends ago at the season ending event out in Pomona, CA. Force entered the event trailing points leader Matt Hagan by 38 points. Since each round of eliminations is worth 20 points, Force had to go two more rounds than Hagan to come from behind and win the title.

Hagan lost a close race in the first round. Force went on to win the event, clinching the championship in style.

John Force is the most recognizable and most popular driver in drag racing. His boisterous style causes fans to either love him or hate him. His teamates love him, his competitors pretty much all hate him - though there is a lot of respect. You don't have to like someone to respect their accomplishments.

Force runs a racing empire. His son-in-law, Robert Hight, drives one of his team cars, and won the championship last year. His daugher, Ashley, drives a team car, and is a very talented driver. Another daughter, Courtney, is in the sportman categories, and will be testing in a Funny Car soon (a car with her name on it was displayed at Pomona).

Force has also endured a lot ot pain and tragedy. Eric Medlen, a young driver full of promise, died in a Force team car during a practice run. Force himself barely survived a horrific crash in Dallas two years ago. At age 62, John is decades older than almost all of the competitors trying to knock him off. How many more years will he run? He says he will as long as he can still win. The way he's going, retirement won't be for another decade or so!

Force has had more than his share of 'moments' during his career. Here are a couple, leading off with the Dallas crash that came very close to ending that career.

The Sarge Rolls Big In Vegas

Tony Schumacher drove 'The Sarge' to victory in Sunday's NHRA event in Las Vegas. His victory pulls him to within 85 points of Larry Dixon, driver of the arch rival Al Anabi dragster. One event remains, the season ending meet at Pomona, CA in two weeks.

Tony set a National Top Fuel speed record during the meet, going over 325mph. Imagine that - zero to 325 miles per hour in about 3 and a half seconds, in 1000 feet of distance. That just simply is beyond comprehension, and almost beyond the laws of physics!

Each round of racing is equal to 20 points. Points are also awarded for qualifying position, and for national speed or ET records. 85 points sounds like a tall order, and it is. However, he has overcome taller climbs in the past to gain the championship. Don't count him, or the Army dragster, out yet!

The Sarge Takes Big D

The Sarge, Top Fuel dragster driven by Tony Schumacher, won the NHRA event in Dallas this past weekend. The win pulled Schumacher closer to the evil enemy Al-Anabi dragster in the championship chase, which has 3 more races to go. The road to an eighth Championship for Tony is a tough one, but at least now he is within realistic striking distance.

Outlaw13 and I attended one of the qualifying sessions, and spent a lot of time in the US Army hospitality tent. It was impressive to see the effort the Army and Schumacher's team went to to make their visitors and Army personnel attending the race welcome. Tony himself spent time speaking with new recruits and others - a talk he has to make hundreds of times during the season. He did it with enthusiasm, and took the time to say hello or sign an autograph for anyone who wanted one.

For those of you who have never been to an NHRA event, you ought to go just to experience it. There may not be any other sport where fans can get so close to the action, so close to the bigwigs of the sport. I mean, here we were visiting in the US Army hospitality tent, which was adjacent to Tony's pit area - the dragster was being serviced not 10 feet from the fans. On the other side, Schumacher's teammate Cory Mac's dragster was being serviced in his pit. Across the alley, John Force, Ashley Force, and Robert Hight's Funny Cars were right there, not 25 feet from us. Way cool. You also owe it to yourself to sit in the stands and watch/hear/feel these 8000hp monsters launch down the track. A typical Top Fuel car will go from 0 to 100mph in .8 of a second - yes, 8/10ths of a second! 320mph in 1000ft. Incredible!

The Sarge Thunders On

Tony Schumacher, driving the US Army sponsored NHRA Top Fuel dragster, won the Thundervalley Nationals event yesterday at Bristol, TN. The win solidified his second place standing in the points battle, and clinched him a spot in NHRA's championship countdown.

The win was the 101st NHRA National event title for the US Army. It was the 100th event title for Don Schumacher Racing, Tony's father and race team owner.

John Force, the 62 year old crazy man and most dominate professional driver in NHRA history, won his 130th National Event at Bristol as well. No one will ever come close to that record! He regained first place in the Funny Car points chase from his son-in-law and teammate Robert Hight.

The Sarge Wins the Big Go

The US Army sponsored Top Fuel dragster, driven by Tony Schumacher, won the NHRA's US Nationals today at Indianapolis. This is the NHRA's biggest race of the season, their equivalent to the Indy 500, or the Daytona 500.

Schumacher, piloting "The Sarge", beat his former crew chief's Al Anabi Racing dragster, driven by Larry Dixon, in the final.

The victory gave Schumacher 8 Top Fuel wins in the US Nationals race, tying him with the legendary 'Big Daddy' Don Garlits with that number. An incredible accomplishment, unlikely to be bettered.

Army Strong!