BRUTE FORCE: The Formative Years

(Main Event Video)

We all know what John Force is like: His mouth runs as fast as his racecar, he's never at a loss for words, and he's always in motion. Right. Not exactly the philosophical type. Wrong. After Force won his first championship back in 1990, ace drag racing video director Dean Papadeas found him in a contemplative mood and got a heck of an interview. It has just been released as a video.

The interview was taped inside Force's trailer. Knowing his hectic schedule, there probably wasn't a lot of pre-production time, but how much trouble would it have been to move a distracting briefcase out of the camera shot or set up the static camera to not cut off the top of Force's head? Force is sitting in front of a mirror in which we can partially see Papadeas conducting the interview. Why not change the camera angle, at least occasionally, so that the viewer could see both men's faces since Force is obviously talking to someone?

These quibbles aside, what comes out of Force's mouth is worth listening to. He talks about the mental preparation necessary; psyching himself up for (or out of) the race. Once you mentally put Shirley Temple in the other car, he says, you're on the road to victory.

He talks about motivating himself and his whole team. Getting to the top is just part of the battle; keeping motivated is just as hard. He makes the viewer realize that putting together a winning season is more than the tune-up of the car. He talks about motivating and coaching a team; how you have to want to do your best every single day.

He talks about his family and crew chief Austin Coil but reveals that the bottom line is that "Your racecar is your real best friend and that's a fact." This guy is a racer.

Intercut into the interview are clips from races from 1986, 1988, and 1989. Unfortunately, the race footage has no relationship to the interview other than to show the time frame. The races are not in chronological order nor do they illustrate any point made by Force; they just seem to be whatever footage of Force races happened to be lying around. It's not bad footage - after all, what's a drag racing video without some drag racing action - but it does not enhance the video and makes it seem even more dated with over a decade, different cars, and several pounds having been added since it was taped. (That super-slow motion shot of Force doing a burnout is still killer, though.)

Force makes mention of the crash and fire at Memphis, yet we never see any footage or even a still photo of the event. It would have been helpful to see what he was talking about.

When it was made, the interview came at a critical juncture for Force. After years of hard work, hustling, and travel, Force had just become successful. The hard fight was still fresh. He made some predictions about what the future would be. It would be interesting to see what he has to say about the challenge of maintaining the highest level of competition for the last 10 years. It might be time for Deano to update the interview with something more current.

Force says that before the race he tells his crew that, "We're going to make magic this day." This time, Force and Papadeas did. Get the video for the historical footage if you wish, but the real worth is Force's insight on what it takes to be a successful, professional drag racer. It's the content that counts.

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BRUTE FORCE is available through the DRO/CRO Store. Just click at the top of the table of contents page to go shopping.