Drag Racing Online - Specials: The Big Five pg.2 November 2001

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FINEST MOMENT

It's gotta be John's winning of the Driver of the Year Award in 1999. Until that time, the guys who raced in ascots walked off with the honors. Over the years, talented drag racers such as Don Prudhomme, Shirley Muldowney, Don Garlits, and Bob Glidden had managed to get "Honorable Mention" nods, but that seemed merely some crumbs brushed off the table from the roundy-round fraternity. Force's win was a big boost for the sport, maybe the biggest since Winston came aboard in 1975.

WORST MOMENT

It was at the 1993 Sears Craftsman Nationals in Topeka, Kansas. The top Funny Car drivers were trying mightily to be the first one in the four-second zone, and Force was the odds-on favorite. So sure was he and his backers of accomplishing this, that Force put up $25,000 of his own money to be given to the first guy in the fours, complementing the $25,000 put up by his Castrol backers. After all, he figured that he'd be the guy to do it.

But on the second session of Funny Car qualifying on Friday, Force had to be shut off behind the starting line. Wouldn't you know it, right after Force's Castrol Olds is towed off to the side, Chuck Etchells' Kendall Olds comes up and runs a 4.987 and takes Castrol's and Force's money. Force took it well (at least he did publicly) but I can't believe that in a quiet moment he didn't look in the mirror of his lounge in the tractor/trailer and went ... "Damn!"

BEST RUN

This is not obscurity for obscurity's sake, but I think a run that really gave Force's career a real kick in the pants. It occurred during qualifying at the 1976 Orange County Manufacturers Funny Car meet. Going into this race, most viewers figured that if he didn't break the motor or fireball the car that he'd qualify for the 32-car gala near the bottom of the field with a 7.20. No. 1 was Don Prudhomme's Army Monza with a 6.15, with the hot cars running in the 6.2s or 6.3s. Late Friday night, Force's Leo's Stereo/"Brute Force" Monza ripped an incredible for him 6.38/217.39, his best elapsed time by at least three or four tenths of a second. Steve Plueger, I think, was wrenching the car, and it gave Force enough confidence to go three rounds in the five-round show. At the time, I was really following the cars and I thought, "By god, if that guy got a few bucks, he might turn out okay."

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