Column: What’s next for John Force? How about another 150 wins?

By Aug 4, 2019, 9:13 PM EDT
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John Force can never be accused of not having a flair for the dramatic.

When he first started Funny Car racing in NHRA competition, it took him 10 years before he earned his first win back in 1987 (at Montreal). Back then, people wondered – heck, Force even wondered himself – if he’d ever win even one race before he broke through north of the border.

More recently, Force had to wait more than a year – it probably seemed more like 10 years at times – before the 70-year-old drag racing legend finally broke through Sunday for the milestone 150th Funny Car win of his career in the NHRA Northwest Nationals.

MORE: NHRA: John Force earns milestone 150th career Funny Car win

Sure, every win Force collects – in fact, every win he’s earned since he won No. 36 – he resets the Funny Car career wins national record (35) that was previously set by Don Prudhomme in 1989. So Force has now re-set the record an extra 114 times.

And while Ron Capps, the man Force beat in Sunday’s final round, now is No. 2 on the all-time wins list with 62 victories, and Force’s teammate and president of his racing organization, Robert Hight, earned No. 50 last week in Sonoma, California, there is no disputing who has been, is and always will be drag racing’s greatest driver of all time.

No one will ever come close.

Sure, hitting 150 has been somewhat of a thorn in Force’s side. It’s the most dominant subject reporters have asked him for more than a year, ever since he won No. 149 last year at Denver.

“So, when do you think you’re going to get 150, John?”

And seemingly every day, every week and every month since last year at Denver, Force has said basically the same thing every time: he’s got a great team, he’s got a great hot rod and when it’s his time, it’ll finally and truly be his time.

Sunday, it finally was.

Hitting 150 wins is huge. It’s an even greater accomplishment knowing that Force is 70 years old. Sure, he’s not the driver he was in his heyday, when he was earning a record 16 NHRA Funny Car championships or when he’d win six, eight, 10 or more wins in a single season.

But Sunday proved there’s still some kick left in Force’s personal gas tank. By winning, he emphatically locks up his spot in the upcoming six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs. He’s now also third in the Funny Car standings, just 248 points behind Hight and 49 points behind second-ranked Tommy Johnson Jr.

Sunday’s win, perhaps more than anything, gives hope that Force may still have a 17th championship left in him. Sure, he’ll likely have to win at least three or four of the remaining eight races, but now that he has reached that magical, mystical 150 level, anything is possible.

Yes, it took Force 17 years to earn No. 150 after earning No. 100 back in 2002, and 12 years since he earned No. 125 in 2007.

He may be older, but he’s not slower by any means. And he’s still as hungry for a win as he was when he took home his first “Wally” (NHRA winner’s trophy) at Montreal 32 years ago.

I’ve known Force for well over 30 years and if there’s one thing I’ve learned far and away about the Southern California native is never, ever rule him out.

EVER.

Force has always been a creature of momentum. One win has oftentimes turned into multiple wins.

And now, with 150, Force could very easily ride another wave of momentum not only into the playoffs, but also right to the championship.

So you can see why, as frustratingly long as it took for him to reach Sunday’s milestone, now he can move forward, not having to worry any more about answering when he’ll finally earn win No. 150.

Now he can start worrying about having to answer when he’ll finally earn win No. 151.

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Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).