[flattorney]

John Force Racing
John Force: NHRA 2nd Greatest | 2008 Inducted, Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
2008 Justice Brothers-Shav Glick Award
NHRA Funny Car World Champion 1990, ‘91, ‘93, ‘94, ‘95, ‘96, ‘97, ‘98, ‘99, 2000, ‘01, ‘02, ‘04, ‘06
Team Force Funny Cars: John Force ~ Ashley Force Hood ~ Robert Hight ~ Mike Neff
Ashley, Robert, and Mike all won NHRA’s top rookie of the year awards
02.04.09: John Force Has An Edge In Latest Title Bid - New Castrol Brand Backs the Boss at Pomona
      John Force will have a little extra Edge this week when he begins his quest for an unprecedented 15th NHRA Funny Car Championship. During the season-opening 49th annual Kragen O'Reilly Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at pomona, Force will drive a distinctive gold-and-black Ford Mustang that touts his long-time sponsor's newest synthetic lubricant, Castrol Edge. The 59-year-old icon will drive the special edition Castrol Edge Ford in the season's first three races before returning to more familiar green-and-white Castrol GTX High Mileage livery at the O'Reilly Spring Nationals in Houston, Texas. "Castrol has been with me for all my wins and all my championships," Force said, "and it's exciting for me to be able to help them launch a new brand, Castrol Edge. We had the Edge car at the Super Bowl last week and this week our goal is to get it into the winners' circle."
      Fully recovered from injuries suffered 15 months ago in a crash at Dallas, Texas, the 14-time Auto Racing All-America selection is anxious to prove this year that he not only still can win races, but also win championships. "I'm in better shape now than I was before the accident," Force said. "I've got my weight back up around 200, but I've got more muscle. Since I got out of rehab, I go to the gym every day and work out. When I miss a day, I can tell (the difference)."
      Winner of the last Winston Championship and the first POWERade championship, Force now is focused on becoming the first NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car Champion. It's a prospect that legitimately excites the 126-time tour winner. "Being the first, that's history," Force said. "That's something to race for. We struggled last year. It was part me; it was part the car. It started coming around -- and then the season was over. We're excited. We've got a new clutch setup, a new injector, a new supercharger program. "(Crew chief Austin) Coil is motivated. He's been in the shop every day, even during vacation. Last year was a wake up call for him, just like it was for me. We won so much that we forgot how tough it was. We only won one time last year and it's been a long time (1989) since that's happened."
      Force started the 2008 season in spectacular fashion by recording the quickest time during pre-season testing before reaching the semifinal round at the Winternationals, his first competitive appearance since the accident. However, that proved to be one of the season highlights. Although he was able to extend to 22 the number of consecutive seasons in which he has earned at least one tour victory, tying the record first set by Pro Stock driver Warren Johnson, and even though he was in the other lane when daughter Ashley became the first woman to win an NHRA Funny Car race, he never seriously contended for the championship.
      Ultimately, he finished seventh in driver points for the second straight year, marking just the fourth time in the last 26 seasons he has been outside the Top 5. Now, as he begins his 24th season with Castrol sponsorship and his 25th year with Coil as crew chief, the 14-time Auto Racing All-America selection again is poised to challenge for the sport's ultimate prize. In effect, he's ready to regain his Edge. – John Force Racing

FlA Says: John’s finally back to his old’ self after his horrendous accident at the ’07 Fall Nationals in Dallas. From watching the video, he was very funny at the legends panel discussion at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum Feb 5, 2009 fundraiser. When I talk to John at the track, usually during early testing or first round qualifying when things are slow, I’m always surprised how different he is away from the crowds and television cameras. He’s really an outstanding guy. I’m looking forward to seeing him at the Gatornationals, Gainesville. Sponsorship issues are hurting John Force Racing, but not as bad as other teams. Currently John is having to fund some of the costs out of his own pocket to run four NHRA Championship racing teams. John’s new funny car and colors are snappy. Notice the car’s new aerodynamic effects. With the Pomona rain and bad weather John had lots of time to sign autographs. <> Here’s a good Feb 4, 2009 interview with John. It was conducted by a representative of Ford Motor Racing, so there’s understandable bias, but it’s still a good read.

02.10.09: John Force Racing Pomona Final Report
02.01.09: John Force Enjoys and Thrills Fans at Super Bowl | Video: John Force Superbowl Interview
01.02.09: John Force Racing Renews Sponsor
11.16.08: Force of Nature Video: What Will John Do In The Offseason?

[flattorney]

John Force autographed drag race edition Ford Mustang Cobra Jet
fetches $375,000 at Barrett-Jackson Auction

01.19.09: Ford will only be making 50 units of the race-ready 2008 Ford Mustang FR500CJ. One of the units, signed by the legendary John Force, was auctioned off at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., for a total of $375,000. John Force was there on hand to say a few word about the Ford Mustang FR500CJ which sold for a total of $306,000 over its retail price-tag. Power for the NHRA-legal FR500CJ comes from a 5.4L supercharged V8 producing 428-hp. The drag-racer Cobra Jet is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission and a drag race wheel/tire combination. Proceeds from the auction will go to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. (Notes: MSRP is $69,900. JFR's 2008 NHRA Rookie of the Year Mike Neff also autographed the Cobra Jet’s engine compartment hood and his name is on the car's upper door panels with John. - fla)

MORE >> While the 2010 Shelby GT500 disappointingly failed to cross the block, Mustang fans were still treated to a pretty good show when a 2009 FR500CJ Cobra Jet roared up on stage. Behind the wheel was none other than legendary drag racer John Force, who personally testified to the car's capability on the dragstrip. This particular car is the prototype and the very first one built with the FR500CJXX1 serial number. We didn't expect the FR500CJ to fetch as much money as the first production Camaro, but we were thoroughly surprised when it trounced its fellow pony car with a final bid of $375,000, or $412,500 after auction fees.

11.04.08: Ford Press Release: Cobra Jet The Latest Addition To The Mustang FR500 Series Of Race Cars
- - Dearborn, Mich – With the addition of the 2008 Cobra Jet Mustang, Ford Racing will have once again expanded its current stable of race-ready Mustang race cars. This time, however, the Mustang is designed for drag racing. The Mustang FR500CJ, known simply as the Cobra Jet, will be officially unveiled Nov. 4 at the 2008 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. It joins its road racing brethren: the Mustang FR500S, the Mustang FR500C and the Mustang FR500GT. “The Cobra Jet is the newest offspring of the Ford Racing lineup of race cars,” said Jamie Allison, manager of the Ford Racing Performance Group. “We started with the FR500C in 2005 and then followed by the FR500S in 2007.

From John Force Feb. 4, 2009 Interview:
(Note: Interview was conducted by a representitve of Ford Motor Racing – fla)
Interviewer: You got to drive the new FR500CJ Cobra Jet Mustang after the last race. Your thoughts on the 2008 40th anniversary Cobra Jet?
John Force: "This car is unbelievable; I drove it. This car is a race ready drag car that you can take to NHRA tech the minute it is delivered to you. It even comes with drag slicks with stuff that I didn't think Ford could do, so Ford is thinking out of the box. That's what's really exciting about it. This car is a 10-second car. I drove it, I raced Tasca in Pomona last fall in it. It's got the big motor, it's got the transmission, the gear ratio, the big tire, the aero-dynamics, everything to give you a car that can kick some butt. So there is big change there. Ford is thinking, but beyond that, think about this, they have asked me to go to the Barrett-Jackson auction to sell this car for charity. I thought I was going as a celebrity - I liked that. Then they tell me that there's a few other cars there they want me to sell, so now I'm a car salesman, proud to be, so I've said it already: get into a Ford and Drive One."