Mon, 13 Dec 2010, 04:20 PM John Force Racing Wows Valadez Middle School

Courtesy of Elon Werner

YORBA LINDA, Calif. -- Recently 15-time Full Throttle Funny Car champion John Force, along with 2009 Full Throttle Funny Car champion Robert Hight, Courtney Force, and Brittany Force spent the afternoon at Valadez Middle School in Placentia, California. The team arrived at the school at 1:00 pm to meet with 90 students who won the school's SOAR Award, which recognizes good behavior and excellent citizenship. Those select students participated in a meet and greet with the drivers along with getting an up close look at John Force's Castrol Edge Ford Mustang Funny Car and Brittany Force's Super Comp dragster. Some students were also picked to sit in the cars. At the end of the meet and greet the students were given gift bags that included JFR team caps and autographed hero cards from all the drivers.

"It was a lot of fun to spend the afternoon with the kids from Brittany's school. I always said I wanted boys but to see my girls at the races has been a real thrill. On Friday I got a new thrill when Brittany told me what kind of experience teaching school is for her. She said that she has seen a win light at 270 mph but that couldn't compare to seeing the look in a student's eyes when they got a good grade on a project or learned something new in one of her classes," said a proud Force.

Following the meet and greet, the entire Valadez Middle School participated in an assembly featuring the JFR team. The kids got to watch a video of the drivers in action and listen to each driver give a little history on their career and the importance of an education. Brittany and Courtney Force both spoke about the importance of education and teamwork. Robert Hight spoke about how hard work had paid off throughout his career ultimately leading to the 2009 Funny Car championship. The theme of the assembly was to encourage students to work hard in school, stay focused, and pursue their dreams. Finishing out the assembly Principal Gandara, passed out academic awards and the JFR team answered questions from students.

"We gave a talk to the kids and Robert was great as usual. You could also tell that the kids loved hearing stories from Brittany and Courtney. I probably talked too much but the kids loved hearing about a truck driver who turned into a Funny Car champion. That is what we wanted to do was talk to these kids about following their dreams and being successful in whatever career they wanted to get into," added Force.