Brittany
Force

LATEST SNIPPET

Brittany runs quickest run of her career and loses. Her 3.822 at 323.43 bettered by Brandon Bernatein's 3.785, 324.44

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John Force: "Nothing could prepare me for having daughters."

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Bio
Snippets
News

Results

Connect: www.brittanyforce.com , johnforceracing.com , eMail
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Courtney, Ashley, Brittany, the Force sisters.

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Bio


After earning their undergraduate degrees, some aspiring schoolteachers spend several years traveling in Europe, Asia and elsewhere pursuing graduate studies.

Of course, few do so at speeds exceeding 330 miles per hour, which is what sets 26-year-old Brittany Force apart from her peers.

A graduate of Cal State-Fullerton who also studied at New York’s Hunter College, Brittany earned her teaching credentials before deciding to pursue a master’s degree in a less traditional field of endeavor: automotive high performance.

That decision this year has landed the second youngest of John Force’s four daughters in the cockpit of the 8,000 horsepower Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster for what promises to be an historic 2013 NHRA Mello Yello drag racing season.

She is the third pro driver to compete in a Castrol-backed Top Fuel dragster but the first to do so since Pat Austin in 1995. The late Gary Ormsby won the NHRA Top Fuel title for Castrol GTX in 1989,

At the controls of a race car capable of zero-to-100 mile per hour acceleration in less than one second, Brittany will be subjected to gravitational forces five times those she would encounter in a typical classroom environment.

And while she won’t collect a degree, per se, the California native knows that once she trades her high speed wheels for ones more suited to the school parking lot, she’ll have a wealth of non-traditional stories and anecdotes with which to illustrate her lesson plans.

“It really is a big honor to be the first to drive a John Force Racing Top Fuel dragster,” she said. “I think this is something we’re all excited about because it’s new and different. Being able to drive the first JFR Top Fuel dragster is still very surreal to me but, with my dad’s support, I’m going to do the best job I can. I can’t wait to get started.”

Always inclined to follow the road less traveled, Brittany is not what you expect. She is her own person, no matter the circumstances, and that makes her both a source of pride and one of frustration for her proud father.

She is simultaneously passionate about racing and conscious of the need to keep her options open.

One of the stars of the A&E Network series Driving Force, which documented sister Ashley’s development as a Funny Car driver during a two-year run ending in 2007, the talented blonde already has covered the standard course in 3.85 seconds at a finish line speed of more than 320 miles per hour.

Like her father and sisters, Brittany is intensely competitive once she gets to the track and climbs into the cockpit. Nevertheless, she also loves teaching and, right now, she’s content to keep all her options open while enhancing her reputation as “a student of speed.”

“My plan from the very beginning was to go to college and earn a Bachelor’s Degree before really pursuing racing,” Brittany said. “I earned my B.A. in English and then did an extra year to earn my teaching credential. I never had intentions to go right into teaching, I just wanted to get school finished because I knew that if I took a break from it, I would never go back.

“I will always have teaching to fall back on if things change down the road,” she said, “but right now I am very happy with where I am and where things are heading.”

Although she is just beginning her professional racing career, Brittany has more dragster experience than most of her crewmembers including crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli and assistant crew chief Eric Lane, both of whom, to this point, have worked exclusively on Funny Cars.

By contrast, Brittany never has driven anything but dragsters.

After earning her Super Comp dragster license under the watchful eye of reigning NHRA Funny Car Champion Jack Beckman, who was her teacher at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School, she raced in the entry-level class, along with sister Courtney, for three years before moving up to the Top Alcohol Dragster class.

Driving for Jerry Darien and BrandSource, she was the No. 1 qualifier at the 2009 SuperNationals at Englishtown, N.J., and at the 2010 O’Reilly Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Calif., her home track.

She spent all of 2012 testing in a Top Fuel dragster, logging almost 80 runs on many of the same tracks on which she will be competing this season.

The three-rail dragster she is driving this year is powered by the Ford BOSS 500 engine developed at JFR in collaboration with Ford Racing and, in race trim, it will be outfitted with one of the cockpit canopies popularized by six-time series champion Tony Schumacher.

“I’m so excited to be working with (crew chiefs) ‘Guido’ and Eric,” she said. “It seems like ‘Guido’ has always been part of the winning at JFR. I remember him working on my dad’s car when I was little and he’s the one who taught Ashley how to drive a Funny Car before he was crew chief on dad’s car (2011 and 2012).

“A lot of the time I spent testing last year was with Eric Lane and Jimmy Prock from Robert Hight’s Auto Club team. I get along with Eric very well because he has always been so patient with me. We always talk about the runs, before and after, which helps prepare me for next one.”

Although she is eligible to compete for the Auto Club’s Road to the Future Award that goes to the NHRA Rookie of the Year, Brittany will focus this year on team development. She will consider anything else a bonus.

“One of my goals this year is to really get to know my guys so that we can move forward as a team,” she said. “That’s one thing my dad always has stressed and that is that it takes a team to succeed. Whatever we do, I want us to do it together.”
Source: www.brittanyforce.com/

Snippets


Feb. 14, 2013, became first ever to drive a John Force Racing Top Fuel dragster when she debuted the Castrol EDGE dragster.

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Brittany lost to her sister Courtney in the semi-final on July 19, 2009 in Top Alcohol Dragster. One of the sister's was set to win. Ashley went to the finals leading the Funny Car standings but lost and is now second in that class.

News


B. Force drives Castrol Edge TF into show on Friday


Rookie Brittany Force put her Thursday struggles in the past and drove her Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster to the provisional No. 12 spot on Friday at the 53rd annual O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals. Yesterday a miscue with the brakes kept Force from making her first run when her 8,000 hp BOSS 500 motor pushed her dragster through the starting line beams before the Christmas Tree starting system was activated.

Today there were no jitters from Force as she smoothly completed her burnout and staged beside Shawn Langdon and his Al-Anabi dragster. The Castrol EDGE Top Fueler launched hard and Force kept it in the middle of the groove posting a respectable 3.845 second, 293.22 mph run. The relief at the end of the day was obvious for the Automobile Club Road to the Future contender.

“My relief level is definitely a 10 on a 1-10 scale. I feel a lot better than I did yesterday when I left the track. You always want to get that first run out of the way. We struggled yesterday and didn’t get down the track. I feel a lot better that we got down there today. We ended up No. 12 so I am excited for tomorrow. We’ll go to work on this Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster and hopefully improve tomorrow,” said Force.

“With everything that happened yesterday I just wanted to get down to the finish line. I put everything out of my mind. I just drove it like I was testing in January in Florida.”

On the Funny Car side of the pits Courtney Force was the strongest JFR Mustang posting a 4.07 second run on Thursday which was No. 2 at the end of the day. Today she was the last car to go down the track as Gary Densham opted to sit out the Friday session. With nothing to lose and a cooling track crew chief Ron Douglas loaded up a strong tune-up into the Traxxas Mustang.

“Having a 4.07 behind us put us in a good spot. This Traxxas Ford Mustang team decided to push this car even harder to see what it could take. It stumbled a little right at the end. It started to spin the tires. From the looks of it and reading the computer and the time slip, it was definitely on a killer run in the low 0’s,” said Courtney Force.

“It doesn’t bring me down at all it just makes me more excited for tomorrow. I’m ready to get our third and fourth qualifying session out here on Saturday. Hopefully we can move up a little more. I think we ended up third today, but we learned something and we want to go for the No. 1 spot tomorrow.”

The 2012 Rookie of the Year only slipped to the provisional No. 3 spot after two days of qualifying.

Before the youngest Force made her second Funny Car run three-time Winternational winner Robert Hight continued to look for the right combination. His Auto Club Ford Mustang smoked the tires for the second day in a row but the team did see improvement on the computer data. His run of 6.658 was the 15th quickest run of the day.

The winningest Funny Car winner at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona John Force also battled to post a top twelve ET. For the 15-time champion there will be two more shots to race into the show. Today his Castrol GTX Mustang posted a time of 4.300 which was the 14th quickest of the 18 car Funny Car field.
Source: www.brittanyforce.com

Brittany Force to make debut in Castrol Edge Top Fuel Bragster payday loans online


Drag racing icon John Force introduced his daughter Brittany as the newest addition to the John Force Racing, Inc., driver lineup Thursday during a press conference at JFR corporate headquarters.

Brittany Force will make an historic professional debut, not as driver of a JFR Ford Funny Car but, instead, as driver of a new JFR-built Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster prepared and maintained by crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli and assistant crew chief Eric Lane and powered by the Ford BOSS 500 nitro motor.

“It really is a big honor to be the first to drive a Top Fuel dragster at John Force Racing,” said the 26-year-old who will be the third Force daughter to turn pro. “This team has done so much over the years to evolve and adding a Top Fuel car into the mix I believe will help us continue to grow as a team.

“Being able to drive the first JFR Top Fuel dragster with my dad’s support and with Castrol EDGE as my sponsor is still very surreal to me but I think it’s something we’re all excited about and I’m going to do the best job that I can.”

A graduate of Cal State-Fullerton, the second youngest of Force’s four daughters, has put a potential teaching career on hold while she learns the family business from the seat of a 330 mile an hour rolling “office.”

Although she earned her teaching credential and completed her student teaching assignment, the second youngest of Force’s four daughters never planned to immediately seek a job in education.

“My plan from the very beginning was to go to college and earn a Bachelor’s Degree before really persuing racing,” Brittany said. “I earned my B.A. in English and then did an extra year to earn my teaching credential. I never had intentions to go right into teaching, I just wanted to get school finished because I knew that if I took a break from it, I would never go back to finish.”

The new season, which begins Feb. 14-17 with the 53rd running of the O’Reilly Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, will be the first in which EVERY JFR race car is driven by a member of the drag racing icon’s immediate family.

While Brittany vies for rookie honors in Top Fuel, her father, brother-in-law (Robert Hight) and younger sister (Courtney Force) will compete for the first Mello Yello Funny Car championship in hybrid Mustangs sponsored by Castrol GTX, the Auto Club of Southern California and Traxxas, respectively.

“I will always have teaching to fall back on if things change down the road,” said the former star of the A&E real life series Driving Force, “but I am very happy with where I am and where things are heading.”

“I have many goals for next year and can’t wait to get started in Pomona. One of my goals is to really get to know my guys so that we can become a strong team together. My other goal is to get my first win in my Top Fuel car as a rookie driver.”

Ironically, Brittany has more dragster experience than anyone else assigned to the Castrol EDGE Team. While it is the first dragster assignment for both crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli and assistant crew chief Eric Lane, Brittany has never driven anything else.

After earning her Super Comp license under the tutelage of current NHRA Funny Car champion Jack Beckman, Brittany drove A/Fuel dragsters for Jerry Darien and spent all last year testing in a Top Fuel dragster.

When the season begins Feb. 14-17 with the 53rd renewal of the O’Reilly Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., Brittany will become the 15th different professional drag racer to compete for Team Castrol, the third to do so in the Top Fuel category in which the late Gary Ormsby won the championship for Castrol GTX in 1989.

“I’m so happy to be working with Dean Antonelli and Eric Lane,” Brittany enthused. “‘Guido’ was the crew chief for my dad the last two years and before that he taught Ashley to drive a Funny Car. They were so successful together and I’m really excited to have him on board with me.

“I spent the majority of my testing season working with Eric and Jimmy Prock from Robert Hight’s team. I get along with Eric very well. He has always been so patient with me. We always talk about the runs before and after, which helps prepare me for future passes. I think we are a good match and we will teach each other so much next year. I think we are all going to make a very strong team.”
Source: http://www.brittanyforce.com

Brittany charting new ground for JFR


Rookie Drives Castrol EDGE Top Fuel Dragster in 53rd O’Reilly Winternationals

She was a college English major trained as a schoolteacher, but as the rookie driver of one of the world’s fastest race cars, one capable of reaching competitive speeds of 330 miles per hour, Brittany Force understands that she’s still just a student.

“I thought I was through with school when I got my bachelor’s degree,” admitted the 26-year-old graduate of Cal State-Fullerton, “but there really was a lot to learn to get ready for my first season in the Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster.”

Although she’s driven nothing but dragsters since she began racing in Super Comp almost seven years ago, Brittany is the first driver ever to compete in a John Force Racing-prepared Top Fuel dragster – and she’s revved up about the opportunity.

“I’m excited to be out there,” she said after completing two months of vigorous pre-season testing. “I’m going to be (racing) against all these guys I grew up watching. A lot (of them came) over during testing, giving me tips and advice, asking me if I had any questions. They’ve all been really great.”

That situation may change this weekend when the 53rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Winternationals signals the start of the NHRA’s 2013 Mello Yello Series. That’s because Brittany already has demonstrated that she plans to be much more than just window dressing for the Top Fuel class.

“I’m anxious to get out there in the other lane next to them,” she said. “I think we have a really strong team with Dean Antonelli and Eric Lane (making the tune-up decisions).”

In fact, the most rebellious of John Force’s four daughters applied an exclamation point when she was clocked at 3.796 seconds on her final test run last month at West Palm Beach, Fla.

“When Ashley (older sister Ashley Force Hood, the former driver of the Castrol GTX Funny Car) came out, she had her own set of goals,” Brittany said. “Same with (younger sister) Courtney. Same with me. I’m going down my own path.

“For me, it’s not about comparisons to Ashley or Courtney. It’s about setting my own goals and achieving them myself in my time.”

That isn’t to say she isn’t ambitious.

“I would love to qualify for every national event. That’s a goal,” she said, “and I would really like to get my first win. I came close in Super Comp and A/Fuel (Top Alcohol Dragster) but never got it.”

Although her dad was not quite sure of her dedication to a racing career, Brittany now says she never doubted that she would wind up working in the sport although she never imagined it would be at the wheel of the fastest accelerating vehicle on the planet.

“I love the sport of drag racing,” Brittany said, “(and) I always thought I’d be involved in it in some way.”

Nevertheless, when funding for the Top Alcohol team evaporated, the second youngest of the Force girls was unsure of her future, especially since she had decided that dragsters, not Funny Cars, were what she wanted to drive.

“My dad threw out the idea of testing in a Top Fuel car with the Ford BOSS 500 motor,” she said. “It was just a big trick because I think he knew once I got in that car, I wouldn’t want to get out of it. The moment I ran 3.96 on my first full pass in Las Vegas, I realized I was hooked. That was the ride I wanted and we just continued from there.”

There was one final hurdle to clear before this week’s race, however.

“I’m a little claustrophobic,” she admitted, “and the full cockpit canopy took a little getting used to. When they told me (they were installing the canopy), I was like, ‘oh, no.’ But now I feel very comfortable.”
Source: www.brittanyforce.com/

Rebel With a Cause


Brittany Force's driving career rapidly is picking up speed.

In fact, the 21–year–old daughter of drag racing icon John Force will cross the finish line this year at quarter mile speeds almost 100 miles an hour faster than those she attained in her first three seasons in the sport.

One of the stars of the A&E Network series Driving Force which ended a two–year run in 2007, Brittany will split time with younger sister Courtney, 19, at the wheel of a BrandSource–backed A–Fuel dragster prepared and maintained by veterans Jerry Darien and Ken Meadows.

Identified by Force as his "problem child," Brittany is a headstrong California blonde with a serious "need for speed," a need that hasn't always been addressed in the most positive manner.

A senior at Santiago Canyon College, she has learned to channel that need into driving competitively in sanctioned NHRA Lucas Oil Series events.

Unlike her older sisters, Adria and Ashley, Brittany initially eschewed a job at John Force Racing, Inc., in Yorba Linda, Ca., to work instead at a pizza café. An even more obvious manifestation of her rebellious nature was the "I Love N.Y." T–shirt she wore on her father's 56th birthday while every other woman in the team compound was wearing "I Love John Force" apparel.

Like her father and sisters, Brittany is intensely competitive once she gets to the track and climbs into the cockpit. Nevertheless, a career in racing is no certainty. She also loves the glamour of Hollywood and since she is studying to become a teacher, all her options remain open.

"She's tough when she's in the car," her father said, "but she's got to learn to do everything else, like giving enough time to the sponsors and the media and the fans. She's always gone her own way, but if she wants to race, I'll do all I can to give her a chance (to succeed)."
Source: www.castrol.com/castrol/genericarticle.do?categoryId=82915625&contentId=7016719

Finding Her Own Way


Brittany Force is not what you expect. She is her own person all the time. This is both a sense of pride and frustration for her 14-time Funny Car Champion John Force. She is simultaneously passionate about racing as well as keeping her options open for a career outside of racing.

At the season opening test season Brittany made the two quickest runs among cars competing in the Top Alcohol Dragster category on the first day of testing and then that evening she and her mother, Laurie, boarded a flight to New York City where she will study at Hunter College, the largest school in the City University of New York system, until May.

“It’s kind of like a study abroad program,” Brittany said of her Hunter College curriculum. “I’ll be taking courses up there that will transfer back to (Cal State-Fullerton) toward my major.

The prospect of moving to New York City did not faze the youngster from Southern California but it had a big impact on her champion caliber father.

“Everyone says, ‘are you scared?’ I say, ‘no, I’m not scared, but I’m scared for my dad.’ Every single day he begged me not to go. It’s not like I’m going away forever. I’m still going to be racing. I’ll be back for Pomona (and the Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals). I’m not going to be able to qualify on Thursday, but I’ll come in Thursday night and be at Auto Club Raceway for the rest of the weekend.”

The testing runs to open the season were exciting and nerve-wracking for the young driver.

“I hadn’t been in the car since the Auto Club Finals (last November),” she said, “so I was a little nervous. That’s always how it is after not being in the car for awhile. After the first pass, though, it was fine. It did shake a little, half track, but I was able to drive right through it and now I’m looking forward to Pomona.”

The 22-year-old daughter of the drag racing icon made the move to Top Alcohol Dragster last season along with her sister Courtney and continued to improve as the season progressed.

She qualified at four national events racing a very limited schedule due to commitments revolving around her college course work. She won her first round of TAD eliminations in Seattle.

One of the stars of the A&E Network series Driving Force, which ended a two-year run in 2007, Brittany split time with younger sister Courtney, 20, last season at the wheel of a 250 mph A-Fuel dragster prepared and maintained by veteran Jerry Darien.

Brittany completed all the necessary A-Fuel licensing runs in February of 2008 at Firebird Raceway. The process took a little longer than anticipated but the pay-off was a relief for everyone involved.

“It was just a normal run and it felt good. I was definitely nervous and sweating it out before I got in the car. My dad is excited now to have us all licensed. I am excited to have my A-Fuel license since now we can continue to move forward.”

Identified by Force as his “problem child,” Brittany is a headstrong California blonde with a serious “need for speed,” a need that hasn’t always been addressed in the most positive manner.

Unlike her older sisters, Adria and Ashley, Brittany initially eschewed a job at John Force Racing, Inc., in Yorba Linda, Calif., to work instead at a pizza café. An even more obvious manifestation of her rebellious nature was the “I Love N.Y.” T-shirt she wore on her father’s 56th birthday while every other woman in the team compound was wearing “I Love John Force” apparel.

Like her father and sisters, Brittany is intensely competitive once she gets to the track and climbs into the cockpit. Nevertheless, a career in racing is no certainty. She also loves the glamour of Hollywood and since she is studying to become a teacher, all her options remain open.

“She’s tough when she’s in the car,” her father said, “but she’s got to learn to do everything else, like giving enough time to the sponsors and the media and the fans. She’s always gone her own way, but if she wants to race, I’ll do all I can to give her a chance (to succeed).”
Source: www.brittanyforce.com

 

Saturday June 4, 2005 - Raceday 1


In the 64 car Super Comp field that showed up at California Dragway, Megan McKernan was able to claim the No. 1 Qualifying spot. After several rounds of racing Megan made it to the 5th round out of 6 rounds. This was quite an accomplishment after her first competitive day of racing.

Brittany took her Super Comp dragster into the 2nd round before losing with a malfunction in the car. Courtney is racing the dragster that her older sister Ashley got her racing start with. A new Victory Race Cars dragster is being built for Brittany and Courtney will take over driving this car in about a month.

With day one behind them, both Brittany and Megan prepared themselves for day two race on Sunday.

John Force was very impressed with how well California Dragway - track manager, Dave Danish and his crew prepared the racetrack and ran the races both days. Force commented, “these guys do a great job and the really make it fun to race at this local hometown track. It gives a lot of racers a great place to race and pit at a first-class facility”.

Sunday June 5, 2005 - Raceday # 2


Sunday’s race was a big Force family reunion, as Ashley and her mom Laurie flew in from Memphis where Ashley had been racing her Castrol/Hot Wheels dragster to see the “Next Generation” girls go a few rounds; along with their other sister Adria and the newest Hight/Force newborn – Autumn.

Everyone took the day in stride as Megan lost in the first round and Brittany was able to take her car into the 3rd round before being eliminated. The high point of the day was Brittany’s perfect reaction time in the 2nd round of .000. John Force commented, ‘that’s why we’re training these girls early so they’ll be perfect on the tree when they take on the funny car boys someday in the future!!!”

Not only were the girls racing that weekend, they were also the main attraction of a new “reality TV show” featuring the Force Family that is being pitched to several networks at the present time. Brent Travers was on hand with a small film crew to capture the day of racing with the two youngest Force daughters.

June 8, 2005 - Super Comp Update


The John Force Racing’s “Next Generation” racing program continues to take shape with the youngest Force daughters – Brittany & Courtney, and Megan the daughter of Auto Club of Southern California president - Tom McKernan. These three young, talented and beautiful girls were testing and racing their Super Comp dragsters last week at the California Dragway in Fontana, CA.

John Force rented the dragstrip on Thursday to give all the girls plenty of seat time and practice before the weekend’s Lucas Oil Super Comp Association point’s race. Brittany, Megan and Courtney all logged in about 12 runs each that day and showed great promise. They were able to get individual runs, as well as plenty of side-by-side runs to prepare Megan and Brittany for the Saturday and Sunday races.

Roger Conley is the head crew chief and tuner for all three cars with Jack Beckman as assistant crew chief. Jack is not only racing himself in the NHRA events this year, but he’s also a Frank Hawley Drag Racing School instructor that taught all three girls to drive their Super Comp racecars. Also part of the race crew was the Force girl’s uncle – Robert Hight along with Shane Whaling and Eric Boutchyard from the CNC Machine Shop at the Force Racing facility in Yorba Linda. John Force watched on with fellow “proud” father Tom McKernan as each of the girls took instructions, and listened intently before and after each pass down the quarter mile. All three had great reaction times, and ran very close to the 8.90 second index for this class.

Results


Highlights

2013

Debuted new Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster

2010

Qualified BrandSource Top Alcohol dragster No. 1 at O’Reilly Winternationals, Pomona, Calif.

2009

No. 1 qualifier and semifinalist in Top Alcohol dragster at NHRA Summer Nationals, Englishtown, N.J.

2007

Reached round four of Super Comp eliminations at Arizona Nationals, Phoenix.

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