Fri, 24 Dec 1999, 09:35 AM Castrol's Force Claims All-America Team Berth

Courtesy of Dave Densmore, DensWood Sports Marketing Nine-time NHRA Winston Funny Car Champ Joined by Schumacher

BURBANK, Calif. -- John Force, driver of the Castrol GTX® Ford Mustang Funny Car, closed out a decade of dominance on the NHRA Winston drag racing tour by earning an unprecedented seventh straight berth on the Auto Racing All-America Team selected and announced by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AARWBA).

The 50-year-old Force won 11 of the 22 races comprising the 1999 NHRA Winston Series. In addition, he drove his Castrol Ford to NHRA national records for quarter mile time (4.788 seconds) and speed (324.05 miles per hour) while securing his ninth championship in 10 seasons.

Force, the first driver ever named to the 12-member team seven straight years, is joined on the first team by NHRA Top Fuel Champion Tony Schumacher as well as drivers from stock car racing (Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart), open wheel racing (Juan Montoya and Greg Ray), road racing (former drag racer Paul Gentilozzi and Elliott Forbes-Robinson) and short track racing (Mark Kinser and Dale Earnhardt Jr.). Walker Evans and Anthony Lazzaro fill out the team as at-large selections.

Members of the Auto Racing All-America Team will be feted Jan. 15 in awards ceremonies at the Renaissance Long Beach Hotel in Long Beach, Calif., during which the driver securing the most votes from the AARWBA membership will be recognized as the winner of the 1999 Jerry Titus Memorial Award.

Overall, Force has made the elite lineup eight times. He had shared the record for most consecutive appearances on the team with fellow drag racer "Big Daddy" Don Garlits and many-time World of Outlaws Champion Steve Kinser, both of whom were selected six straight times.

"It's a great honor to be on a team with guys like Dale Jarrett and Earnhardt Jr.," Force said. "I keep going up and getting the awards but it's my team that makes it possible and that all starts with Castrol GTX, my sponsor for 16 years, and Austin Coil, my Crew Chief. Until I got together with Castrol and Austin, I had never won a national event and didn't know if I ever would. Now, to be selected by the media to the All-America team for the eighth time just shows the impact they've had."

Drag racers on the second team were Pro Stock Champion Warren Johnson, Top Fuel national record-holder Gary Scelzi and Federal Mogul Dragster Champion Rick Santos, who earned an at-large berth for a season that included eight national event victories and five more wins at the divisional level.

In winning his seventh straight series title in 1999, Force moved to within one championship and four event wins of tying Bob Glidden's all-time records for the sport. Glidden, now retired, won 10 NHRA Pro Stock titles and 85 events in a career that spanned three decades.