Wed, 2 Sep 2009, 09:30 PM Which Force Ford Will Race at MAC Tools U.S. Nationals?

Courtesy of Dave Densmore 14-Time Series Champ Tries to Put DNQs Behind Him

CLERMONT, Ind. -- As John Force prepares this week for his 30th Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, his first in a quarter century without Austin Coil as his crew chief, he must wonder which of his Castrol GTX High MileageT Ford Mustangs will show up? Dr. Jekyll? Or Mr. Hyde?

When racing begins Friday at O'Reilly Raceway Park, will Force find himself in the Funny Car that's won the world's oldest, richest and most prestigious drag race four times? Or the one that's been eliminated in the first round on seven occasions?

Will it be the Castrol Ford that has started from the front at ORP more often than any other (11 times)? Or the one that hasn't made the starting lineup the last two years?

Will it be the track record-holder for quarter mile time at 4.691 seconds? Or the Ford that hasn't won a round on Labor Day since 2004.

One thing is certain, no matter what car he finds beneath him, Force is determined this year to re-assert himself.

"We haven't qualified in two years and that's embarrassing," he said, "but we've fixed the problems. We haven't won this year, but this is a better car. It's more consistent but it hasn't been consistent enough to win, yet. There's still time."

If Force breaks out of his slump this week and wins a race for the first time in more than a year he'll do so without Coil, with whom he has won 126 races, 14 series championships at 999 racing rounds over the last 25 seasons.

In an effort to build a fire under a team that this year has underperformed, at least by its own standards, Force opted to temporarily swap seats with son-in-law Robert "Top Gun" Hight, who is battling this week for his playoff life.

The upshot is that Hight is driving an Auto Club Ford prepared this week by Coil and Bernie Fedderly while Force is in a Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang tuned by Jimmy Prock.

It's in the Prock car that the Hall of Famer went to the semifinals two weeks ago at Reading, Pa., thereby securing a berth in the playoffs for the third straight year.

"I hate not being with (Coil and Fedderly) because we have done this for so long together," Force said, "but they're who I'll finish my career with. This is just for right now. When the Countdown starts, I'll be back with Austin and Bernie.

"The deal was to get Robert in a more consistent Mustang to help him move up in the points," said the 60-year-old drag racing icon. "It was based on putting an older guy like me with a younger kid (Prock) and putting a younger kid like Robert with older guys like Bernie and Austin - just to shake things up."

As for Prock, who has struggled mightily this season while dealing with new components and concepts, Force believes he's on the verge of regaining his position as one of the most successful crew chiefs in the sport, one who has saddled the Indy Funny Car winner three times in the last five years.

"He's been a little lost, but he's close," said the 14-time Auto Racing All-America selection. "All he needs is to get his confidence back."

Did You Know?
- Last year, John was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Novi, Mich.
- This is the furthest John has gone into a season without reaching the final round in his entire career. It's been 32 races since John won the 2008 O'Reilly Summer Nationals at Topeka, Kan. (June 1).
- When John reached the semifinals two weeks ago at Reading, Pa., it marked the first time since July 28, 1984 that he had won a racing round without Austin Coil as his crew chief. Jimmy Prock tuned the Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang to its most recent wins over Matt Hagan and Jeff Arend. Larry Frazier was Force's crew chief when he beat Tim Grose in the first round of the 1984 Mile-High Nationals at Denver.

For the Record:
- Of the 17 NHRA tour events, past and present, in which he has logged as many as 20 starts, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals is the only one in which he has won fewer than 40 rounds (39).
- John is trying to extend to a record-setting 23 the number of consecutive seasons in which he has won at least one NHRA tour event and to 25 the number of successive years in which he's reached the finals.
- John hasn't qualified No. 1 since Sept. 1, 2006, the last time he made the starting lineup at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. That's a span of 66 races, the longest such streak of his pro career.
- By earning one of the 10 starting spots in the NHRA's Countdown to One playoffs, John secured his record 25th straight Top 10 finish.

http://www.johnforceracing.com For more information about Castrol-branded products and services, please visit us at Castrol.com/US

FORCE's Edge
Overall NHRA records (and Funny Car division records)
Most career victories (126)
Most series championships (14)
Most career final rounds (202)
Most career rounds won (1032)
Most consecutive series championships (10, 1993-2002)
Most consecutive seasons with one or more victories (22)*
Most consecutive seasons with at least one final round appearance (24)*
Most consecutive seasons with multiple tour victories (18, 1990-2007)
Most consecutive national events without a DNQ (395, 1988-2007)
Most consecutive Top 10 seasons (25)
Highest winning percentage, one season (91.5%, 65-6)
*tied with Warren Johnson, Pro Stock

Other NHRA Funny Car division records
Most final rounds, one season (16, 1996)
Most victories, one season (13, 1996)
Most rounds won, one season (65, 1996)
Most career No. 1 starts (131)
Most No. 1 starts, one season (11, 1996)
Most consecutive final round appearances, one event (nine, 1992-2000, Atlanta, Ga.)
Career starts (519)

Awards
Driver of the Year (1996)
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2008 inductee)
AARWBA Auto Racing All-America Team (14 times, 1990, 1993-2002, 2004-2006)
Jerry Titus Memorial Award (most AARWBA votes, 4 times, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002)
AARWBA Comeback Award (2008)
Speed TV Comeback Award (2008)
SAE Motorsports Achievement Award (2008)
AutoSport Magazine's John Bolster Award for lifetime achievement (2005)

Milestones
First round win, over Tom McEwen, June 1, 1979, Cajun Nationals, Baton Rouge, La.
First No. 1 qualifier, May 25, 1986, Cajun Nationals, Baton Rouge, La.
First tour victory, June 28, 1987, Le Grandnational Molson, Montreal, Canada
First Funny Car driver to break 4.90 second barrier, July 6, 1996, Topeka, Kan.
First drag racer to win Driver of the Year award for all of American motor sports (1996)
First Funny Car driver to break 4.80 second barrier, Oct. 24, 1998, Dallas, Texas
First (and only) drag racer to win 100 events, April 14, 2002, Houston, Texas
First Funny Car driver to break 4.70 second barrier, Oct. 2, 2004, Joliet, Ill.
No. 2 (behind Don Garlits) in balloting to determine Top 50 drivers in NHRA's first 50 years (2001)
First (and only) drag racer to win 1,000 racing rounds, May 4, 2008, Madison, Ill.

JOHN FORCE By the Numbers
1 Driver of the Year award (1996, the first drag racer ever so honored).
2 racing rounds won the last 25 years with a crew chief other than Austin Coil.
3 screws securing ankle bones from compound fracture suffered in Sept. 23, 2007 crash at Dallas, Texas.
4 wins in the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals (1993,1996, 1998, 2002).
5 seasons with 10 or more tour victories (1993-94, 1996, 1999-2000).
6 final round appearances in the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals with runner-up finishes in 1991 and 1995.
7 seasons since last Mac Tools U.S. Nationals win
8 current position in Full Throttle points.
9 runner-up finishes before winning for the first time.
10 straight Funny Car titles (1993-2002).
14 times named to AARWBA Auto Racing All-America Team.
22 consecutive seasons with at least one NHRA tour victory.
24 consecutive Top 10 finishes.
126 tour events won
1032 competitive rounds won.

http://www.johnforceracing.com
For more information about Castrol-branded products and services, please visit us at Castrol.com/US

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