ODE TO BRUTON SMITH: NO. 1 FUNNY CAR STARTER FORCE GRATEFUL FOR HIS CHANCES

Written by Susan Wade, photo by Roger Richards    Sun, 2021-05-16 10:00

 

Bruton Smith owns this racetrack – and three others that account for two four-wide spectacles and five altogether on the Camping World Drag Racing Series circuit.

And he owns no small part of John Force’s heart.

Force was captivated by the auto-sales giant and speedway mogul long before becoming the No. 1 Funny Car qualifier Saturday for Sunday’s finale of the NGK NTK Four-Wide Nationals at Smith’s zMAX Dragway at Concord, N.C.

He said he met Smith “a hundred years ago” at Bristol, Tenn., where Smith owns and operates another NASCAR/NHRA complex. There, Force recalled, Smith “wanted a six o’clock-in-the-morning meeting” at a restaurant.

Who knows what topic of discussion was on Smith’s mind at the time? But what Force came away with was a fascination and respect for the man who imagined this “Bellagio of dragways” and its four lanes of 44,000 horsepower that Force conquered Saturday with a 3.902-second, 328.30 performance on the 1,000-foot course to lead the Funny Car class into eliminations.

“I just love the guy, his energy, his dreams, what he wanted to do. He made it big in the car business and bigger in this,” Force said of Smith’s racetrack empire. “All the racers love him, and we all care about what he’s done for NHRA drag racing, NASCAR, IndyCar – everywhere. He’s a very unique individual.”

It takes one to know one. It takes a dreamer to know a dreamer. It takes an imagineer to know an imagineer. It takes a smart businessman to know a like-minded one.

And as Force seeks to extend his long-awaited 152nd Funny Car victory, he said of Smith, “I want to win this for him. And I’m going to give it all the heart I got tomorrow.”

After earning his NHRA-record-extending 161st No. 1 start, Force said he told Smith, “Your racetracks don’t know how old you are, and my race car sure in the hell don’t know how old I am.” He said, “I thanked him from all of us out here. Then I was able to get him low E.T. And I said, ‘Hey, this hat is yours!’

“Your heart’s here because Bruton created the supertracks and the four-wides,” Force said.

For the 30th season, Force has recorded at least one No. 1 qualifying position. And this legend whose trademark is coming back when people might count him out, this outhouse-to-penthouse /rags-to-riches kind of fighter, continued his achievement Saturday by leapfrogging the entire field to move from last place to first in the qualifying order.

He was dead-last in the 16-car field Friday night because his Peak-BlueDEF Chevy Camaro smoked the tires at the first hit of the throttle. But he didn’t panic. Instead, he reassured at least himself that everything would be all right Saturday, thanks to the cooperation of crew chief / son-in-law Danny Hood and assistant tuner Tim Fabrisi. (“They work really hard together,” Force said. “All the [John Force Racing] teams work together.”)

And he responded with a 3.904-second pass at 328.30 mph, which he eclipsed with a 3.902, 330.55. That sealed Force’s first top-qualifying spot since the October 2019 race at Dallas.

“We’ve struggled. And last year [after the first two events of the season], we didn’t get a shot,” he said.

Despite that, his team is starting to come around. At the most recent race, at Atlanta, he was runner-up to Bob Tasca III. And Saturday he was back in command of the field. “To come out here and run low E.T., it’s good for your feelings,” Force said, “but you’ve got to make it count tomorrow.”

His first chance will be in a quad that also features Dale Creasy Jr., Mike McIntire, and Dave Richards.

“They’re doing the job,” Force said of his crew. “I’m driving. Give me a good car, and I’ll win races. We’ll see how it goes.”

He shared the spotlight Saturday with Top Fuel No. 1 qualifying daughter Brittany Force.

“Taking this PEAK BlueDEF Chevy to No. 1 with Brittany and Flav-R-Pac over there. It means a lot, being out here with her, I love my kids and my grandkids,” Force said.

He gave a special shout-out to grandsons Jacob and Noah Hood, the children of Danny and (Force’s daughter) Ashley Force Hood. He said they “are home, watching their dad carry Grandpa – maybe to a winners circle. That’s what we’re going after.”

And if he does that, Force will give the credit to his team and to Bruton Smith in celebration. But he just might not be able to make another 6 a.m. breakfast meeting.

 

 

 
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