NHRA president sends a message to anyone thinking John Force is done racing.
Courtesy of Auto Week
BY STEVEN COLE SMITH SEP 29, 2020
RON LEWIS
No question: The National Hot Rod Association has taken a beating this year, which means drag racing has taken a beating. The pandemic has caused one change to the schedule, then another, then another, then some good news: Despite shrinking purses, the union-like association of racers has pledged to finish the NHRA’s season, and a healthy extension to the Fox TV coverage was signed.Related StoryNHRA Sues Coca-Cola for Yanking Sponsorship
Then raining on that parade was the news that the Coca-Cola-owned Mello Yello, longtime chief sponsor of the NHRA’s national events, was pulling its sponsorship well before its contract was up, and that the NHRA was suing Coke to prevent that from happening.
But the biggest challenge the NHRA has faced in 2020: No Force. No John Force, no Brittany Force. No Robert Hight, no Austin Prock. The entire Force circus folded its tents after the second event of the season, the Arizona Nationals in Phoenix February 21-23, despite being extremely competitive in the Pomona, California season opener February 6-9 where John Force went to the final round in Funny Car, and Brittany Force qualified her Top Fuel car in first.
The NHRA is short three champions on the grid this year with John Force Racing on the sidelines.(RON LEWIS Photo)
So the best news the NHRA can have as it goes forward: John Force will be back in 2021, starting with the season opener—wherever that may be. “I have every reason to believe” he will return, said Glen Cromwell, and an executive with insight into the Force camp was even more forceful: “Take it to the bank—John Force will be back in 2021.”
At 71, the fast talking Force is an unlikely hero, but the fan base he has, as well as his family and drivers, is unparalleled. The team has 280 victories and 21 championships total, but it is Force whose over-the-top, larger-than-life personality connects with NHRA fans.
He has remained visible with his Peak TV commercials, but otherwise, we’re told that he and his small team have kept their heads down and are building Funny Cars for 2021. There’s some evidence that the Top Fuelers of Brittany Force and Prock, seen by John as a future star, may not be part of the mix at first. Sponsorship is expected to govern that decision.This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Don’t expect an announcement, though, until maybe after the first of the year. With the SEMA show in Las Vegas canceling its November 3-6 event, there’s no obvious platform for Force and his manufacturer, Chevrolet, to properly sound the trumpets.
With four more Force-less events in the 2020 schedule—St. Louis this weekend, then the Texas Motorplex near Dallas/Fort Worth; then south to Houston Raceway Park, winding up at Las Vegas October 30-November 1 (the Mello Yello series has gone to a two-day format, from, technically, four), the NHRA needs no more bad news to add water to the boat.
When Force returns in 2021, those trumpets will sound—we just aren’t sure where or when.