Two daughters embark upon journeys of a lifetime

Written by Moore Good Ink

Courtney Force, the twenty-four year old and youngest daughter of the 15-time NHRA Funny Car national champion John Force, scored her first victory of the year by winning the NHRA 2013 Winternationals at Pomona, California. She was driving the Traxxas Ford Mustang.

In a remarkable start to the season she prevailed as No.1 qualifier. Rewarded with the accompanying bonus points, she then propelled her way to victory through four rounds of eliminations on Sunday, February 17. She defeated Phil Burkart Jr., Matt Hagan, Bob Tasca III and finally Ron Capps to earn her second career victory in the Funny Car category.

Coincidentally, it was during the Winternationals of 2012 at Pomona, California where Courtney made her Funny Car debut. Later in the year she recorded her first Funny Car victory at Seattle where she defeated Matt Hagan in the finals and by year end she was bestowed the Rookie of the Year award.

Courtney’s older sister Brittany (26) is the third daughter of the Force family to become a professional drag racing driver and the first to drive a Top Fuel dragster at John Force Racing. Coming from a household where racing has always been first and foremost, one can only imagine the motivation for this particular career would be high. John Force, a racer who is universally well liked, has nothing if not a complete passion for the sport.

Making her Top Fuel driving debut at this year’s Winternationals, Brittany is a college English major trained as a schoolteacher and a rookie driver of one of the world’s fastest race cars, capable of reaching speeds of 330mph.

Powered by a Boss 500 nitro motor, the new Castrol EDGE Top Fuel Dragster is prepared and maintained by crew chief Guido Antonelli and assistant crew chief Eric Lane.

After earning her Super Comp license and under the guidance of current NHRA Funny Car champion Jack Beckman, Brittany drove an A/Fuel dragster for Jerry Darien. She has been piloting dragsters solely since she began racing in Super Comp almost seven years ago. In 2012 she devoted herself to honing her talents during a year-long Top Fuel dragster testing program.

These sisters bring a fresh new presence to the highest echelons of drag racing and though competition becomes more ferocious every year, these are the beginnings of their unforgettable journeys.