John Force is your classic workaholic.
Even when he’s on vacation and supposed to be resting and relaxing and taking things slow, the record-setting 16-time NHRA Funny Car champ never stops working.
Force was on vacation with his family last weekend in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, a prelude to his upcoming 65th birthday on May 4.
Wife Laurie, who has been married to drag racing’s biggest superstar for more than three decades, has learned to tolerate her husband’s often OCD ways.
John isn’t just hands-on when it comes to running his multi-million dollar organization, he finds it next to impossible to be away from things for even the shortest period of time.
Like on vacations.
Between trips to the beach or shopping, Force was on the phone every day with John Force Racing president, fellow drag racer/teammate and son-in-law Robert Hight.
But when Force found out there was actually a dragstrip on the island, St. Croix Motorsport Complex’s Caribbean Dragway, well, you can kind of figure out the rest.
After all, this IS John Force, workaholic and raceaholic we’re talking about.
Force went out in search of the place and, even though he didn’t climb into a race car when he got there, his part of the vacation picked up (while Laurie’s part likely dropped down) when he heard and saw car after car making a pass down the quartermile.
“I had the best time at the greatest little race track in the middle of the ocean,” Force said in a team media release. “I was invited by (track owner) Gary Thomas to come watch the races at Caribbean Dragway and Laurie and I had the best time. It took me back 30 years as soon as I saw all the racers there.
“It was a nice facility and everybody was great. They watch us on ESPN and they love the NHRA. There were so many families out there. It was a great afternoon and I could see the international future of drag racing.”
It was hard to tell who was enjoying themselves more, Force or local drivers that he posed with for photos, signed autographs or just basically did what Force does best: talking – and lots of it.
We all know how serious Force takes drag racing, and it was pretty obvious the local racers in St. Croix take it that way, as well.
“They rained out on Saturday and they were going to run until 4 o’clock in the morning to finish the race on Easter Sunday,” Force said. “There were all sorts of race cars represented and it was just cool to see racing on my vacation.
“I have been on the phone with Robert (Hight) about every day and it was relaxing to just get to a race track. It gave me a new energy and I am excited to get back to Texas and go after a win in Houston (in this weekend’s Spring Nationals).”
Follow me @JerryBonkowski
