You might think that at age 64, with 15 championships and 133 wins in his career—and with two daughters emerging as racing stars — John Force would take the blow of losing long-time backer Ford as an indication to start looking back and simply fade into the sunset. But unlike some in NHRA drag racing, Force isn’t taking Ford’s departure as a death knell. No, he’s looking forward, not backward.
“I ain’t got time to whine,” Force told Autoweek during the NHRA weekend Aug. 17 at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota. “I’m moving on. I’m going to the next step, and I’ve already had meetings. I don’t waste my time, and I’m not waiting for Ford to come back to me. If they did, God bless them. But they have moved on, and so has John Force.”
Ford Racing stunned many inside and outside of the NHRA when at the end of July it announced it would end its backing of Funny Car teams John Force Racing, Tasca Racing and Tim Wilkerson Racing after the 2014 season. Ford Racing boss Jamie Allison confirmed the company will remain in the Sportsman classes, supporting those drivers by selling parts and pieces, and was clear the Blue Oval is not turning its back whatsoever on the sport of drag racing.
But that will be a grassroots effort, leaving the NHRA without another major manufacturer’s presence in the sport’s pro divisions. General Motors is no longer active in the professional categories, leaving only Toyota and Dodge as supporters of the nitro classes.
Force’s reaction was not one of surprise, only inevitability, even after 16 years as a Ford partner. He said the landscape started to become oversaturated when Funny Car driver Bob Tasca III — whose late grandfather was a long-time Ford dealer who coined the famous phrase, “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday” — joined the Ford camp. And when Ford became the Official Car and Truck of NHRA, things got more crowded.
“I heard it coming,” Force said of the news. “It got too crowded in drag racing. The investment is only worth so much for the return. When they had me, it was OK. Then Tasca — of course, that’s a little bit different business with Quick Lane [sponsorship] — and NHRA, pretty soon it all just got crowded. For the kind of money they were spending, it wasn’t worth it to them.
“I don’t get mad,” he continued. “Nobody tried to hurt me. The Ford brass was very up front with what’s going on: ‘This makes no sense.’ We had talked about cuts and what was feasible. But I’m not mad. It don’t pay to get mad.”
Instead, Force went to work immediately, looking for ways to leverage his immense popularity — and that of daughters Courtney and Brittany Force — into additional sponsorship. Force said announcements are coming but declined to explain what direction his team will go.
“I’m spending money that guys shouldn’t spend,” he said. “I’m spending money with agencies that a man shouldn’t spend. I ought to take my money and retire, but I love this sport, I love racing, I love driving, and I’m not going to retire until it breaks me. That’s the way I look at it.
“I’ve made some good money, and I plan on putting it back, just like I did in safety, to protect the kids. Somebody’s going to go with me.”
That has to be welcome news for the NHRA, for if the sport’s most popular driver can’t keep sponsors happy, it’s fair to wonder if anyone can.
Of course, just because Force and his team are good for sponsors doesn’t necessarily mean the NHRA pro categories as a whole are a good investment for businesses. Without pointing fingers, Force thinks the NHRA needs to start investing in itself.
