Still healing from a devastating crash in Dallas, John Force thought about quitting. Then a voice of reason spoke up.

Longtime crew chief Austin Coil told Force quitting simply wasn't an option.

With a victory Sunday in Topeka, Force realized winning is just as therapeutic as physical training. And, more rewarding not just for himself but for his entire organization.

“It’s huge for me mentally,” Force said of the win. 

Still healing from a devastating crash in Dallas, John Force thought about quitting. Then a voice of reason spoke up.

Longtime crew chief Austin Coil told Force quitting simply wasn't an option.

With a victory Sunday in Topeka, Force realized winning is just as therapeutic as physical training. And, more rewarding not just for himself but for his entire organization.

“It’s huge for me mentally,” Force said of the win. 

“Coil and I even argued, maybe we should put (Phil) Burkart back in the car I said and let the guys win some races and prove the car and maybe that’ll give me time to heal more,” Force explained.
 
“Coil held me to a verbal contract we had.  He said ‘you always told me Force that if we go down, we go down together.  If I suck, you’re staying with me and if you suck, I’m staying with you.’  So he said there ain’t nobody else driving this car but you unless you just ain’t got the strength to get back in it.”

So Force stuck it out. He stayed in the car and felt the pain of doubting his ability to get the car back to victory lane.
 
“You watch these kids work around the clock (on the race car) and you think it just ain’t fair,” he said.  “If you can’t deliver as a driver, it’s not fair to them (to stay in the seat) just cause I own it.”

This victory marked the first for Force since the Dallas accident which nearly crippled him. He returned to the winner’s circle a lengthy 252 days later.

HOW HE DID IT - Force defeated Tim Wilkerson to climb into third in the Funny car point standings and lay claim to his ninth win at Heartland Park. He trails only Wilkerson and daughter Ashley in the championship standings.

The last victory for Force was Aug. 12, 2007 when he prevailed in the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn.
 
This road to the winner’s circle was anything but a cakewalk for the gingerly-walking Force. He beat his daughter, Ashley, in round one before dispatching former teammate Gary Densham and long-time rival Ron Capps to reach his 202nd career final.  In the money round, he left first (.062 to .091 for Wilkerson) and never looked back.
 
“At the end of the day, winning is what it’s all about,” Force said.  “I know every driver says that, but when you’ve won like me, you begin to take it for granted.  And then I got slapped (when he crashed) and I don’t take it for granted no more.  I told Ashley today, ‘I’m gonna go after you baby.’”
 
Force becomes the third different JFR driver to win this year, following son-in-law Robert Hight, who won at Pomona, Calif., and Ashley, who beat him in the final round at Atlanta, Ga.
 
“Maybe we’re just lucky here,” Force said of his success at HPT, a track on which he’s raced in 14 finals and won nine times, “but Coil and Bernie (Fedderly) were on their game.  We swapped motors after the warmup (before the final).  We fired it up, it backfired.  Fired it up again, it backfired.  We changed the mags.  The cam was wrong in it.  The timers were all screwed up. 
 
 “I couldn’t do anything about that so I told them to go to work and I was gonna go to Eric.  Eric Medlen always gets my heart right.  He’s always with me.  I know I’m beginning to sound like an ol’ preacher, but you been through my stuff, you get religion.”

FORCE THROWING IN THE TOWEL – Nothing says collectible like a sweat-soaked, champagne doused hand towel belonging to John Force. Continuing a tradition that began with daughter Ashley’s Atlanta victory, John Force Racing and new team sponsor Old Spice will give a lucky fan the chance to win the one-of-a-kind piece. 

Directly after the 20th annual Summer Nationals on Sunday, Force handed over his Old Spice Victory Towel to a charity auction, with 100 percent of proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House.  The charity auction will run for one week starting on June 2nd at 9 a.m. ET. Fans can visit www.oldspice.com or www.JohnForceRacing.com to get more information and place a bid for the autographed towel on eBay.