John Force confirmed in a statement issued on Saturday what Torco's
CompetitionPlus.com and other Internet entities has reported for days
and that is that Mike “Zippy” Neff, crew chief to 2005 NHRA
Funny Car Champion Gary Scelzi, will drive a fourth John Force Racing
Ford
Mustang next season in pursuit of the 2008 POWERade Funny Car
championship.
Don Schumacher first announced the defection in an interview with Torco's CompetitionPlus.com on Wednesday.
“We didn’t plan to say anything because (Neff)
and Scelzi are still racing for a title (this year), just like us,” Force said,
“But Don Schumacher (who owns the Neff-tuned Oakley Dodge) kind of announced it
to the world.
“Our game plan was to wait until after the
season (to make an announcement) so there wouldn’t be any distractions,” Force
said, “because he has a job to do for Scelzi and Schumacher, just like I have a
job to do for my team and my sponsors.
Bottom line, Mike Neff will drive my fourth car next year and John
Medlen will be the crew chief.”
Force
then briefly outlined the chronology of the negotiations that landed Neff a
ride in one of the most powerful race cars on the planet.