Brittany Force grew up on race tracks across the country. By all measures, with father John Force's 16-time champion, and a family of racers, there's little that will dissuade Brittany from her own drag racing career.
“When I was a kid, he was driving a Castrol GTX car,” he says. “It was my sister and I following my father to race across the country. I fell in love with sports. It's become our way of life, a different race track every weekend.”
The Force has enough childhood memories on the track to last a lifetime. They range from days spent in a tow truck with his father's and sister's crew chief to the superstitious finger, toe, and arm crosses that send their father good luck. Of course, there were also the memories his family made of the winning circle.
“My dad won a lot that day,” says Brittany. “And we are a part of that.”
Now, the Force is writing its own championship history in drag racing.
He made his professional racing debut in 2013 and has set 16 track records, including a world record speed of 338.94 mph — the fastest in Top Fuel history. He has the fastest 13 runs in Top Fuel history, and last season he won five races on his way to becoming the NHRA Top Fuel Champion.
It was his second title after winning it in 2017.
This weekend at Route 66 Raceway, Brittany and her dad will share the same course. They certainly won't be competing against each other, with John racing in the Funny Car class and Brittany in Top Fuel.
“On Sunday, there's so much going on that you don't need another voice in your head,” says Force. “We pretty much wished each other good luck, gave each other high fives, hugs and hopefully we'll see each other in the winner's circle.”
The Force is entering NHRA Route 66 Nationals looking to rewrite some history. During his career, he has seen limited success on the Route 66 Raceway. He has earned several No. 1 qualifications. 1 and made it to the finals but never won an event.
It's been four years since Force and his team raced Route 66. This weekend, his team was tasked with starting over in terms of looking back on his running records. His first qualifying run was Friday, and Force saw it as an opportunity to put himself in optimal situation heading into Saturday's run.
“A lot went into it,” Force said. “That's where my crew chief, David Grubnic, we give him all the credit. (Adjustments) can be anything from changes in track temperature to weather conditions.”
Force and Grubnic have been part of the same team since 2019. He credits much of his success in the last four years to their dynamic.
“We jumped right in,” Force said. “We became very close. We're a family, hanging out at the race track and going out. That closeness was instrumental in our success.”
This season, the Force tries to establish a different tone for itself with an emphasis on steadiness. Last year, Force said his team kept rolling until Countdown. The last six races, the most critical moment of a season, is when Force says he's starting to struggle.
Force's goal is once again to get another title with his team, but do it in a more powerful way. He is fifth in the Top Fuel standings. The team made a lot of changes to the car going into the season. It's something he knows can present a challenge all the time but will see him succeed in a late season push.
“We want to get ahead of ourselves,” Force said. “To win the championship you have to stay in the top five all season but you have to push hard and be the best for those last six races.”