When John Force said 2011 was going to be a big year for his team and sponsors it wasn’t an idle proclamation.

Force made a series of major announcements in a press conference today at Yorba Linda, Ca.-based John Force Racing headquarters. The fifteen-time NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car champion revealed a myriad of plans including a traveling team road show, an in-house media company, key personnel announcements and plans for his youngest daughter Courtney’s acclimation for an upcoming nitro racing career.

Often lauded as drag racing’s P.T. Barnum, Force unveiled the John Force Racing Road Show, a multiple-trailer caravan that will travel the country in conjunction with Force’s four Ford Mustang Funny Car teams, spreading the gospel of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing at movie theaters, malls, airports, and anywhere else Force thinks he can draw a crowd and sell the excitement of drag racing.  
    
“I love this sport and I want as many people to see my hot rods as possible,” said Force. “Last year, we added a sponsor trailer to help our sponsors like Castrol, Auto Club, Ford, Mac Tools and BrandSource activate at the track with us.  I want to take it to the next level and activate for my sponsors away from the track in the cities where we are racing.

When John Force said 2011 was going to be a big year for his team and sponsors it wasn’t an idle proclamation.

Force made a series of major announcements in a press conference today at Yorba Linda, Ca.-based John Force Racing headquarters. The fifteen-time NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car champion revealed a myriad of plans including a traveling team road show, an in-house media company, key personnel announcements and plans for his youngest daughter Courtney’s acclimation for an upcoming nitro racing career.

Often lauded as drag racing’s P.T. Barnum, Force unveiled the John Force Racing Road Show, a multiple-trailer caravan that will travel the country in conjunction with Force’s four Ford Mustang Funny Car teams, spreading the gospel of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing at movie theaters, malls, airports, and anywhere else Force thinks he can draw a crowd and sell the excitement of drag racing.  
    
“I love this sport and I want as many people to see my hot rods as possible,” said Force. “Last year, we added a sponsor trailer to help our sponsors like Castrol, Auto Club, Ford, Mac Tools and BrandSource activate at the track with us.  I want to take it to the next level and activate for my sponsors away from the track in the cities where we are racing.
    
“I know once fans see my Mustangs and maybe watch a video, they will want to see more.  We have a great sport and NHRA is a great partner.  I want to do everything I can so my sponsors, my drivers and our sport can continue to succeed,” said Force.

Force’s traveling road show will feature multiple Ford Mustang show cars as well as an apparel trailer and interactive displays it will travel in conjunction with the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. The displays will likely open to the public on Wednesdays and run through Sunday or Monday. The display will be free to the public throughout the race weekend.   
To ensure his efforts run as smoothly as possible, Force has made key personnel appointments to both delegate authority and work towards the future of the organization.

Effective today, Force has promoted his son-in-law, 2009 Full Throttle Champion Robert Hight, to the role of president of John Force Racing.
    
Force outlined the new structure in which he will assume the position of CEO.
    
“Robert and my daughter Adria (Hight’s wife and current JFR CFO) will run this company long after I am gone,” Force said.   “Adria has been with this company her whole life.  She used to sit in my lap and steer my truck.  She had been running the business side with my brother-in-law David Arritt for over a decade.
    
“Robert is a strong leader and he understands every side of this company.  He lives it just like I do every day of the year.  At Thanksgiving, he and I always wind up going off in a corner and talking about business,” said Force.
    
For Hight, a former crewman who worked his way to driver and inevitably world champion, the appointment is a dream come true.
    
“I have the highest respect for John,” said Hight. “He never stops thinking about how to make this company better for everyone – from the crew guys to the crew chiefs to the sponsors to the fans.  There is no way I could ever replace him and, trust me he isn’t going anywhere.  I am excited to continue learning from him.  This is an exciting day for me and Adria,” said Hight.
    
In addition to the new position for Hight, Force also announced that long-time JFR crewman and current crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli will take over as General Manager of the John Force Racing Brownsburg, Ind., facility.   Antonelli has been instrumental in overseeing and managing the 150,000 square foot shop since it was opened in 2005.
    
“‘Guido’ has been running the Brownsburg shop with his wife, Kelly (JFR’s marketing director) for me for a couple of years now,” said Force.   “I am just making it official. This is about moving the Next Generation of leaders up in my organization. We will still work as a team but every team needs a leader.

Antonelli was Team Leader on Force’s car for 12 seasons and in nine of those seasons Force won the championship.  In four seasons as co-crew chief to Ashley Force Hood, along with partner Ron Douglas, he sent the second generation driver to 16 final rounds, four wins and 15 No. 1 starts culminating in back-to-back wins at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals and Top 3 finishes in 2009 and 2010.
    
“Having John give me this opportunity is a real honor,” Antonelli said.  “He is one of the best drivers I have ever seen and his passion for growing the sport is unmatched.  When you look at what he has created in Brownsburg with our shop and The Eric Medlen Project, it is just amazing.  My goal is to continue the positive momentum John has started and to build and expand our business model for both our own success and the success of our partners.”

In addition to the key personnel moves, Force also announced the formation of John Force Entertainment.

Force’s daughter Ashley Force Hood, a Radio TV & Film graduate of Cal State-Fullerton, was named president of John Force Entertainment, a full service entertainment company that will immediately begin developing a new reality television show, work towards completion and publication of a John Force biography and explore the development of the biography into a feature-length film and documentary. [see sidebar for more information]

Not to be left out of the major announcements, Force put to bed the rumors of daughter Courtney’s future nitro plans.

It was announced that she will become the latest member of Force’s family to begin a professional career behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang Funny Car.
    
Courtney won’t officially race this year in the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, the 22- year-old will travel to all the events, make promotional appearances for sponsor BrandSource and test on Monday after select races.
    
“I am really excited about this. I have been completely focused on finishing at Cal State to get to this point.  I know I have a lot to learn, but I have the best teachers in the world.  Between teammate Robert Hight and my dad they know everything about racing Funny Cars; add in the fact that my sister Ashley came up through the sportsman series, just like I did. Those three drivers will give me a big advantage. They will have all the answers (and) it is up to me to learn as much as I can,” said Force.
    
For the past three seasons, Courtney has been evolving as a driver behind the wheel of a Jerry Darien-tuned Top Alcohol Dragster.  In 2009, she picked up her first national win in Seattle and closed out the season with a final round appearance at the Auto Club Finals in Pomona.  
    
Last season Force began studying “Funny Car 101” under the tutelage of her sister Ashley, 2009 champ and brother-in-law Robert and her father.  The former cheerleader began learning the Ford Mustang Funny Car from the chassis up.
    
“At the beginning of ‘Funny Car 101,’ I just sat in a chassis,” she said.  “My dad and sister wanted to make sure I was familiar with where everything was before I even started moving.  We slowly progressed from just sitting to rolling and then towing the rolling chassis around the shop in Yorba Linda. I am also getting familiar with the feel of the brake, the steering and the levers since they are all different from my dragster. Hitting the throttle was a huge rush and I am excited to start testing in February.”
    
Force will be one of the first drivers to take advantage of the revised NHRA testing policy for new drivers.  Under certain conditions, testing can be conducted for the purpose of new driver training and licensing as long as the race car utilizes a supercharger air intake restriction (restrictor plate) on all training runs.  In order for Force to receive this exemption, prior approval was obtained from NHRA Director of TF/FC Racing Dan Olson and NHRA Sr. Vice President Racing Operations Graham Light.
    
Team owner John Force also announced that daughter Brittany Force has plans to get back into the Top Alcohol Dragster ranks mid-season in 2011 behind the wheel of a BrandSource dragster.

The same Force swagger that resulted in 14 Funny Car championships combined with the never quit attitude that won his 15th title to make a solid proclamation about the future of his racing organization and how he’s planning to make an investment into a sport which made him a legend. Clearly with actions, Force intends to be around racing for a long time and he’s willing to put his money where his mouth is to prove it.

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