Brittany Force prefers the shadow; it's much cooler there as she sees it.

This shadow has nothing to do with the traditional sense of the word but instead in the vast one cast by her father, the most iconic drag racer in today's straight-line racing world.

Force is perfectly fine with the reference, "that's John Force's daughter," as opposed to "there's Brittany Force, Top Fuel point leader, and past NHRA Top Fuel World Champion."

"I think I'm one of the lucky ones out here," Force admitted. "I get to learn from the best. I say that, and I 100 percent believe that. He's won 16 championships, 150-something race wins. He's done it all, so to have him in my corner, to have him showing me the ropes, I'm the luckiest person out here to get advice from him."

Force gets perturbed at the notion if someone believes she's living in a shadow.

"I've never seen anything that way," Force said. "I don't feel like I live in anybody's shadows. I've had a lot of opportunities because of him, so I'm thankful to him. And to put him down like that, like I live in his shadows? I'm sorry, that's a load of crap. I don't see it that way."

Her actions on the track dispel any notion she is doing anything less than casting a shadow of her own.

Force has four wins to her credit thus far in 2022, with her most recent in Sonoma pushing her into the points lead with four races remaining in the regular season. She also has four No. 1 qualifying efforts this season and 36 overall. Almost 25 percent of her career Top Fuel victories have come since April's win at the Vegas 4-Wide event.

Credit the school of John Force, a curriculum that can be both challenging to endure and rewarding to survive.

"I'm lucky to have him teaching me everything," Force said. "I look up to him. He's my hero, so whatever I could get from him, whenever I could learn from him, I'll use it on the racetrack. And he tells me I teach him things, weekend after weekend. So, we really team up; we work together, father-daughter, driver-driver, teammate, we make it work."

One has to wonder what a professional driver of only 201 races can teach one who has four times as many events. It might not be in the technique, but when it comes to understanding the feel of the pants during a run, she knows exactly what to pass on to her famous father, driver-to-driver.

"It's just weekend after weekend; sometimes you pick something up on a qualifying run or race day that works for you, and we share that kind of advice," Force explained. "Usually staging or something like that, or how do you find your energy up when you have the nerves? The nerves seem to bring your energy down. How do you get punched back up for a run? How do you jump back up after getting your ass kicked? And those things we share and just little bits that work for us, that something we find that is a little key, something that works.

"There is really no magic anything out here. It's just what works for you in that moment. And it changes weekend after weekend, but we do share that information, 'Hey, this worked for me this weekend."

"Sometimes he'll try it; sometimes he won't. But also, I think we learn a lot just watching each other."

That's not to say there haven't been some beefy arguments, some she describes as ongoing. Force believes it comes with the territory when you're dealing with two stubborn individuals.

"I don't think we ever come to a conclusion," Force admitted, as to who wins the most arguments. "The problem is that he thinks he's right, and I think I'm right, and we never come to a solution on it. We're both good at apologizing at the end of the day. And, 'I'm sorry we got into it, let's put it behind us."

"When it comes to that, we're both very stubborn and hardheaded, and I always think I'm right and he always thinks he's right. So we pack it up and I guess we move on."

Force drives a dragster, and her dad a Funny Car. The difference is that she's driven a flopper but dad has never driven a modern-day dragster.

"If you think it's so easy to drive a Top Fuel car, then why don't you get behind the wheel of one?"

That's a question Force says has come up along the way.

"Oh, he's said that countless times, I mean, in an argument, but then after he calms down, he'll end up saying, 'You know what? I've never driven a top fuel car, so really, I can't be pushing you in the corner over here," Force said. "And I've told him, 'I've been in a funny car. I got licensed in a funny car."

"It's a whole different animal; those cars are insane. I like my Top Fuel dragster, that's where I'm comfortable, but I'd love to see him get into a Top Fuel car. That would be something pretty cool.

"But, again, he's a Funny Car driver. He's not a Top Fuel driver; he's a Funny Car driver and that's where he is supposed to be. It wouldn't make sense for him to get into a Top Fuel car."

Force understands the extreme sacrifices her dad made to pave the way for the career she enjoys today.

"When I hear the stories, it's pretty unbelievable," Force said. "Ten crew guys sleeping in one room together making bologna sandwiches was what we had when we come out here every single weekend as little kids. And it was just trying to get enough money to put gas in the car to get to the next racetrack. I mean, they lived penny to penny, and I know it was tough.

"Luckily, out here in NHRA, it's such a family sport. There were so many other teams and drivers that were willing to help out, offer us parts, and help us out until he got on his feet. And I think that's why he stayed so humble because he had so much help in the earlier years to get to where he is today."

Force might not have seen the struggles firsthand but has had a front-row seat to the admiration her dad would get through the years from adoring fans, thus cementing the fact she knew one day the shoes she'd have to fill would be towering.

"I agree with them," Force said without hesitation. "He is the greatest race car, driver. He's dad. He's my boss. He's a lot of different things. He's a pain in the butt some weekends, and other weekends he's my best friend. We talk about everything. And, as he says, he wears many hats, and that is very true."

And one day, though she sees it not coming anytime soon, he'll wear the hat of Brittany Force's Dad.