Although, at age 60, he remains solidly in contention for a starting spot in the NHRA's Countdown to the Championship, a six-race shootout that will determine Full Throttle champions in four pro categories, Force has found himself in uncharted territory so far this season.

Two of the factors that played a major role in his record 14 series championships and 126 tour victories suddenly are unavailable to him.

"We won a lot of championships and a lot of races because we were consistent," Force said. "They knew we were going to go down the track and they knew we were gonna run good. That made 'em make a lot of mistakes. We don't have that right now.

"The other thing is, we're not winning the close races. Before, we seemed to win those races that were too close to call. Now it seems like we lose 'em. We've gotta turn that around -- and I think we can."

With his Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang lacking its trademark consistency, Force hasn't been in a final round since he won last year at Topeka, Kan. That was 27 races ago, the longest he has gone without a final round appearance in his career. Moreover, only once in the last 20 years has he gone this deep into the start of a season without a final round appearance -- and that was 1989 when he won the 15th race.

Still, there have been signs that his green-and-white Mustang is on the verge of a breakthrough.

Unlike 2008, when he failed to qualify for a record four races, the 14-time Auto Racing All-America has qualified solidly at all but one race this season (13th at Englishtown, N.J.) and, for the most part, he has avoided the first round exits that were the rule rather than the exception the last two years.

In the last nine races, he's advanced out of the initial round eight times and is coming off a semifinal finish two weeks ago at Norwalk, Ohio, a track on which he had not previously won a round. In addition, he had the fastest speed of the event at Gainesville, Fla., in March and the quickest Funny Car time at Topeka in May.

Better, but not quite what the former national record-holder had in mind.

"We're better than we were," Force said, "but everyone else is better, too. Look at (Ron) Capps and Tony (Pedregon) and my kid (Ashley Force Hood). She's kicking everybody's butt right now so we've gotta get back in the game, not just for Castrol and Ford and Auto Club and BrandSource, but for ourselves.

"I go to the gym every day (part of his continuing recovery from injuries suffered in a Sept., 2007, crash in Dallas, Texas). I do it because I love drag racing and I love what I do. I want to drive my 'ol hot rod til I'm 100 -- but I only want to do it if I can be competitive. I don't want to just be out here, driving around. I still want to win."

At Bandimere Speedway:
- On July 19, 1996, John became the first driver in the Top Fuel or Funny Car division to break the 300 mile per hour barrier when he was clocked in 301.30 mph in qualifying for the Mopar Mile-High Nationals.
- John has qualified for the last 25 renewals of the Mopar Mile-High Nationals. The last time he failed to make the starting lineup was 1981.
- John hasn't qualified No. 1 at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals since 1996, a 12-year streak.. Only at Englishtown, N.J., and Madison, Ill., has he gone longer without starting from the front of the pack - 13 years at each venue.

Did You Know?
- 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. He currently shares that record with Warren Johnson.
- John hasn't qualified No. 1 since Sept. 1, 2006. That's 63 races, the longest drought of his career.

Force and Coil:
- Over the 25 years they have been together, John Force and Austin Coil have gone to the final round in 198 of 477 NHRA events (41.6 per cent of the time).
- Force and Coil were winless in their first 31 races together, finally earning a breakthrough win on June 28, 1987 at Montreal, Canada.
- En route to 14 NHRA championships and 126 tour victories, there have been three constants - Force, Coil and Castrol.

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