Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire — and the steady burn around John Force Racing this fall pointed to something big. On Tuesday, the 24-time championship organization confirmed the speculation, solidifying what a CompetitionPlus.com rumor mill item first hinted at in early November — that a third Funny Car was being prepared for 2026.
The news brings six-time Funny Car winner Alexis DeJoria into the fold as the driver of the newly added third Funny Car, restoring JFR to a four-car structure for the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. She joins Jack Beckman in Funny Car, Josh Hart in Top Fuel, and a soon-to-be-announced driver in the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car.
DeJoria becomes the first woman without the Force surname to drive for the organization. The move reshapes the team’s dynamic, breaking a long-running pattern in which most of the Funny Car seats remained within the Force family.
For DeJoria, the opportunity is a career moment she once believed was out of reach. “For the longest time, this wasn’t something that I ever pictured for myself,” she said. “Not because I didn’t want it to happen, but because I didn’t think it was possible.”
Her reasoning goes back to her days entering the nitro ranks. “Back when I started my nitro career, it was John, Robert (Hight), Courtney (Force), and Mike Neff, and then it was John, Robert, Courtney, and Brittany (Force). Everyone who was driving there at the time either had the last name Force or was part of the Force family in some capacity, with the exception of Mike,” she said. “I always thought it was cool that all of John’s daughters raced. He put his girls in record-breaking, championship-winning race cars, and I couldn’t be more stoked to now be a part of that program.”
DeJoria brings two decades of experience to the seat, along with a strong résumé that includes the first three-second run by a female Funny Car driver and six career victories. She began her NHRA career in 2005 in Super Gas and Super Comp, later moving into Top Alcohol Funny Car where she earned a national-event victory in 2011.
Her transition to nitro Funny Car competition came later that season after earning her license — one signed by John Force and Del Worsham, two people she considers personal heroes.
“John Force and Del Worsham are my idols out here and the two people that I’ve always looked up to the most,” DeJoria said. “They were also the ones to sign my nitro Funny Car license back in 2011, so this truly feels like a full circle moment for me.”
She said that driving for both of the men who shaped her path is something she never imagined. “I’ve had the honor of driving for Del, and now, I’ll drive for the legendary John Force. I have the utmost respect and admiration for him; his will, his tenacity; he’s been through everything you can imagine while driving a nitro Funny Car, and he’s persevered. He is NHRA Drag Racing. There will never be another John Force, and the fact that I get to drive for the legend himself is a true highlight of my career, and an opportunity I couldn’t refuse.”
The move to JFR wasn’t immediate. Discussions began at the end of the 2024 season but didn’t solidify for 2025, leading DeJoria to race for Joe Maynard’s JCM Racing team instead. Once that partnership concluded, the door reopened.
“This has been in the works for quite some time, actually; going as far back as the end of the 2024 season but the timing wasn’t right, and we weren’t able to make it happen for 2025,” she said. “I had kind of put the thought of racing for JFR off in the back of my mind, thinking maybe it wasn’t necessarily feasible.”
But the conversation resurfaced this year. “The opportunity presented itself once again a few months back, and it just wasn’t something I could pass up,” she said. “At that point, I started to take the necessary steps to make the move for 2026.”
🔥 In the next edition of In His Words with John Force — he pulls the curtain all the way back on the early days of his racing life: the fires, the hustle, the borrowed sponsors, and the Bank of America sign that somehow doubled as both a muffler patch and a spoiler.
— Competition Plus (@competitionplus) December 1, 2025
Read it… pic.twitter.com/UJveYekGwQ
The partnership also aligns DeJoria with Chevrolet, a brand deeply rooted in her personal history.
“Representing Chevrolet is a natural fit for me,” she said. “I grew up a Chevy girl; I have a 1967 Chevelle SS that I’ve had since I was 17, and I’ve added to the collection over the years, including a ’59 Impala.”
Her interest in the brand sparked her involvement in drag racing long before she ever held a license. “Chevy has been my go-to since I could drive and in fact, it’s sort of what led to me having this career,” she said. “I used to go to Pomona for the swap meets to source parts for my Chevelle and that’s where I learned about an upcoming Sportsman race at that track. I ended up going back for that event and fell in love. It lit a fire in me and is ultimately what led me to get behind the wheel and compete in Super Gas.”
She also emphasized the benefits of returning to a multi-car Funny Car environment. After several seasons competing as a standalone Funny Car entry, she welcomes the infrastructure and collaborative power that JFR provides.
“Having teammates builds camaraderie,” she said. “I love being part of a big team like I have been previously, and I’ll definitely miss racing with Ida, but having Funny Car teammates is a little different because you can work off each other.”
She added that the technical strength of JFR gives her an edge she has not had since her years with Kalitta Motorsports. “Of course, the obvious advantage of having more data to work from and the ability to share information amongst the crew chief braintrust will be a great competitive advantage that I haven’t had since the Kalitta days nearly a decade ago.”
Force said the partnership made sense on multiple levels, from competitiveness to culture.
“Alexis is a fierce competitor who has earned her place in the Funny Car ranks and it’s great to have her become the newest member of our team,” Force said. He pointed out that her path, background, and values mirror what JFR strives to build. “Their relationship blends family commitment with business purpose, and that’s exactly what John Force Racing has been built on.”
Looking ahead, DeJoria remains firm in her priorities. With new surroundings, new resources and a new manufacturer identity, her goals remain unchanged.
“From a performance perspective, the goal remains the same – run for a championship,” she said. “I know I’m tenacious; I’m hungry, I’m competitive. You combine that with the fact that I’ll have the absolute best equipment underneath me at John Force Racing, and I have no doubt we’re absolutely going to hit the ground running next season. I fully expect for our Bandero Café Chevy Camaro team to be part of the conversation next fall.”
Further announcements regarding JFR’s 2026 lineup will be released in the weeks ahead.
The Rumor Mill is turning. A third JFR Funny Car? Who will drive it?https://t.co/izBpBMHqIn
— Competition Plus (@competitionplus) November 1, 2025
