Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Brittany Force announced Thursday she will step away from fulltime competition at the conclusion of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series to focus on starting a family.
The announcement came in the John Force Racing pit area as the team prepared for this weekend’s NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. Force was joined by her father and team owner, 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force, along with teammates Austin Prock and Jack Beckman.
“After dedicating the last 13 years of my life to the NHRA and to John Force Racing, I have made the difficult and bittersweet decision to step out of the seat of my Top Fuel Dragster at the end of the season to try to start a family with my husband Bobby,” Brittany Force said. “I’m thankful for such an amazing career and all the opportunities that came with it. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years including the fans and all my sponsors past and present. Special thanks to Monster Energy, HendrickCars.com, Chevrolet, Cornwell Tools, PEAK, and Graham Rahal Performance for helping me compete at the highest level in the sport.”
According to sources, the Top Fuel team will race in 2026 with a driver to be named later.
Force launched her career in Top Alcohol Dragster from 2008-2010 before moving to Top Fuel in 2013, where she earned rookie-of-the-year honors. She scored her first Top Fuel victory at the 2016 Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., before winning her first championship in 2017.
That title made her the first woman since Shirley Muldowney in 1982 to capture the Top Fuel crown. Force added a second championship in 2022, giving her 18 career wins in 39 final rounds and 56 No. 1 qualifiers.
“I’m really proud of Brittany and all she has accomplished throughout her career,” John Force said. “She’s won races, set countless records, and captured two World Championships; her presence in this sport will be greatly missed. Although she’s stepping out of the seat at the end of the year, her focus is still firmly set on winning the championship and ending this season strong for all of her sponsors: Monster Energy, Chevrolet, HendrickCars.com, PEAK, Cornwell Tools and Graham Rahal Performance. Her mom, Laurie, and all her sisters are proud, as well, and we’re all looking forward to seeing what the next chapter of her life holds.”
The Yorba Linda, Calif., native holds both ends of the NHRA Top Fuel performance records, including the quickest run at 3.623 seconds at Maple Grove in 2019 and the fastest at 343.51 mph at Indianapolis earlier this month. She owns nine of the 10 fastest runs in class history.
“I’m grateful to my team and all our success together,” Brittany Force said. “I know there is still so much out there for this David Grubnic and John Collins run team and we are in the works of keeping them together under the John Force Racing umbrella. Their hard work and dedication over the years have meant the world to me but I’m excited about starting a new chapter in my life.
“None of this would have been possible without the support of my family. Thank you to my dad, John Force, my mom Laurie, my sisters, Adria, Ashley and Courtney, and Bobby for their ongoing support and encouraging me to chase down all the big moments and continue to push the limits and boundaries of success.
“Thank you to everyone at John Force Racing, including my teammates Austin Prock & Jack Beckman, for standing by John Force Racing through the various transitional periods over the last few years and thank you for always keeping JFR a championship team.”
Force enters this weekend’s first event of the six-race Countdown to the Championship in fifth place in the point standings, just 56 points behind leader Tony Stewart and only 18 behind Justin Ashley in fourth. She has earned one win in Epping, N.H., one runner-up finish (Seattle), and four No. 1 qualifying positions this season.
She also has set the national speed record three times in 2025, most recently with her 343.51-mph run Sept. 1 at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. “I love this sport deeply, and I’m not closing the door on driving in the future,” Force said. “That’s a decision for further down the road, but right now my focus remains firmly on this season. We’re fifth in points entering Reading and, with six races left, this team is ready to fight for the championship all the way to the end.”
