Jalopnik: John Force

Ashley Force Wins Funny Car Race, Seriously

Mark Arnold — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:40:00 EDT

After Danica Patrick won her first Indy race, there was a lot of noise from talking heads, with serial bloviators like Pedro de la Rosa and Gregg Doyel weighing in on the topic of women in motorsport. So, to shut up all the skeptics, Ashley Force won at yesterday's NHRA Southern Nationals to become the first female driver to win a national Funny Car event. The victory came against her dad, the legendary John Force, denying him of what would have been his 1000th career win. Her final 1/4-mile run was 4.837 seconds at 320.36 MPH— lets see you macho guys do that without needing to change your underwear. More »

Ford and NHRA Create Black Blue Boxes For Nitro Cars

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:00:00 EST

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There's an old Chris Rock joke that goes "How come every time an airplane crashes, all they can ever find is the black box. Why don't they just make the whole plane out of the black box?" That's all a setup for this story about Ford and NHRA teaming up to provide Blue Box sensors for all dragsters in the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes. They've already been tested in the past by the likes of John Force Racing, who knows how to knock the crap out of a car. Besides good times for the engineers, the raw crash data will be used to help develop better and safer cars. Press release below: More »

John Force Goes Home After 27 Days In Hopsital

tingwall — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 21:21:34 EDT

Drag racer John Force returned to his home on Saturday after spending 27 days in the hospital, but still has a long way to go before he makes a full recovery. Force was traveling at more than 300 mph in the Funny Car semifinals of the O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals when the violent crash that split his car in two occurred. Watching the video of the accident will leave you shocked that he only suffered a broken ankle, foot, hand and fingers along with injuries to a knee and wrist. Force will still have regular therapy and is scheduled to have pins removed from his legs in five weeks. Most of his time out of bed will be spent in a wheelchair or a walker, but he plans to attend the last two NHRA events of the season. [Sports Illustrated] More »

Stunning Video Of John Force Funny Car Crash In Texas

Ray Wert — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 18:27:00 EDT

Drag Racing Champion John Force Breaks Both Legs, Injures Arm In Texas Funny Car Crash

Ray Wert — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 16:58:58 EDT

Drag racing star and 14-time NHRA champion John Force was airlifted to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas after a top-end collision with fellow straight-liner Kenny Bernstein. Force was apparently alert and conscious after suffering two broken legs and an injured arm in the incident which occurred as the two were racing in the second round of eliminations at the O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex outisde of Dallas. The crash took place just as the two Funny Cars crossed the finish line after Bernstein... More »

At the Nats! Backstage at John Force Racing

Mike Spinelli — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:00:02 EDT

We're at the ProCare RX Supernationals at Englishtown, where rubber comes to be atomized and sprinkled like invisible pixie dust over crowds of race fans dressed in mid-period Modells. Eardrums are begging for absolution and logos illustrate where the bills are sent. The $1.8 million event will culminate tonight in a funny-car shootout between hotshot Ron Capps in the Brut Dodge Charger and John Force, who's trying to pull out of a slump that would make the Chicago Cubs order goat curry for nine. We'll see how Force does later tonight. But we did score a guided tour through the his team's wrenching station, where they can build an entire car from chassis up in 75 minutes. They have an awesome set of tools. – Mike Spinelli More »