The wait is over.
After going two years without a national event victory, Brittany Force was finally able to collect an emotional win at the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Monday.
Force clocked a 3.703-second elapsed time at 332.59 mph to defeat Doug Kalitta, who slowed to 6.147 seconds in the final round.
“This is definitely a special one, and it’ll always be a special one in our book, not just for me, but all of John Force Racing. It’s been a difficult season for us all, and I’ve been out of the winner circle for two years; since this event here in Vegas two years ago,” Brittany said. “I felt good coming into this race. Our team’s really been pushing hard, and we’ve been seeing the progress on the track, and I had a good feeling about today, or yesterday, today, whatever day the win is, but I had a good feeling about the weekend. And to get that win is just incredible for the entire Chevrolet team, all our sponsors, Monster Energy, Cornwell Tools, HendrickCars.com, all of them, to get them back in that winner’s circle is incredible and a really special one because it was my dad’s first race back since his wreck. And to be able to celebrate with him in the winner’s circle and a double up, this is one of the biggest wins in our camp, for sure.”
During Brittany Force’s decorated drag racing career there has always been one staple for her at tracks – her legendary father, John Force.
That had been the case since John suffered a traumatic brain injury in a June 23 racing crash near Richmond, Va.
That changed at the national event in Vegas. Force, a 16-time NHRA nitro Funny Car world champion, returned to the track and watched his daughter capture a Wally.
This was Brittany’s 17th career Top Fuel Wally and her first since she beat Mike Salinas in the finals of the 2022 Vegas fall race.
The final elimination rounds of the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway were postponed Sunday because of a lengthy cleanup from a crash and cold weather conditions.
None of that derailed a determined Brittany.
“Well, it’s already tough because it’s not Sunday,” Brittany said about her emotions. (Sunday), I was ready to get back in that car. We’re on this high, turning on win light after win light, and you want to get back in that car. And then when they tell you we’re going to reschedule for (Monday), it’s like, ah, now you have to go home and sleep on it, and sit and wait, and get back out here and start all over again.
“So, it is tough, especially when you show up here on a Monday, and it doesn’t quite feel like race day. It doesn’t have the crowds. It doesn’t have that excitement that we have at an NHRA event on Sunday. So, it’s hard to get back into race mode. And for me, it was you have to find it. You got to get back into that race mode. We’re pulling up, and it’s feeling like the first run of the day, but it’s a final round, and it’s a big one.”
On Sunday, Force upended Josh Hart, Shawn Reed, and Clay Millican before she outran Kalitta.
“You have to mentally get yourself back there and just put all the noise out, and pull up there. Stay confident. This whole team was confident. We had lane choice. And again, I felt good about this weekend. I felt good about today and saw the win light,” Force said. “I didn’t see Doug next to me, stepped on the thing, took it down there. It was smooth. It had its usual chatter, which we’ve been looking at all weekend long.
“It was an emotional one. It’s been two years. So that’s a lot to overcome. And to look at how long it took us to get here and everything we’ve been through as a team and to see these guys, David Grubnic, John Collins, how patient they’ve been, how hard they’ve pushed to get us back here, very proud of this entire team, all of us.
“And to pull around and then watch Austin (Prock) win (in nitro Funny Car), it was meant to be. I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason. I believe that God has a plan, and I believe He was saving this win for my dad.”
Brittany moved up to seventh in the points standings with one race to go in the season – the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, Nov. 14-17, in Pomona, Calif.
“It wasn’t pressure. It was just … I felt … There wasn’t pressure with my dad being out here for the first time since Richmond. If anything, there was more heart behind every single person in our John Force Racing pit,” Brittany said. “We always want to come out here and win, but with him being here this weekend after everything he’s been through, there was definitely more heart behind it. We wanted to get him in that winner’s circle.”
Standing in the Vegas winner’s circle in Vegas was quite memorable for Brittany.
“Again, it’s strange because it’s a Monday morning, so it’s definitely a little different. But to be able to double up with Austin, we’ve been talking about that all season long,” Brittany said. “And he’s had an amazing season. We’re rooting for him until this thing ends. And to turn on a win light, and then watch Austin turn on a win light, have both my parents in the winner’s circle, all of our team celebrating, all of John Force Racing celebrating, was huge.”
During the celebration, Brittany was caught up in the moment and stood on top of Prock’s Funny Car.
“Yeah, he pulled me up there. I thought in a fire … These things are not easy to move in. They don’t have a lot of give,”
Brittany said. “And I thought, ‘How the heck am I going to get up here?’ But he pulled me up there. We stood. And then the wind started picking up. He’s like, ‘Watch out. It’s slippery.’ But we were good. It was … again, so many special moments from this day.”
There’s no question Brittany has had a roller-coaster season, but she believes this win has been a work in progress since September.
“It’s kind of been piecing itself together since this Countdown began, and we’re seeing this progress. No. 1 qualifiers, going rounds on race day. We knew it was coming; we knew we were closing in on it and we were getting close,” she said. “And I had a good feeling about Vegas. We’ve been successful here in the past, and it’s one of my favorite tracks on the circuit. In the end, there was so much around it. My whole family was here. My dad was here. I just had a good feeling about it. And to come here and win, now that just … our team needed that. We’ve always stayed positive, we’ve always stayed confident, but it does get hard when you go two seasons without winning. It gets tough. Again, we still find a way to keep on pushing forward. But that, we needed that. Our team needed that win, and now we’re ready for Pomona.”
