According to his famous brother, Louie Force has always been, as described in the Bette Midler song, the Wind Beneath My Wings. He was always content to lurk in the shadows and let his younger brother shine.

The day before the launch of the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Force got his chance to soar high at a restaurant overlooking the city of Pomona. In a special dinner, with Louie as the distinguished guest, the elder of the Force racing brothers was presented with his first career racing trophy.

Force defeated unheralded Ed Renck to win the 2010 – 2011 CompetitionPlus.com War Stories Showdown.

According to his famous brother, Louie Force has always been, as described in the Bette Midler song, the Wind Beneath My Wings. He was always content to lurk in the shadows and let his younger brother shine.

The day before the launch of the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Force got his chance to soar high at a restaurant overlooking the city of Pomona. In a special dinner, with Louie as the distinguished guest, the elder of the Force racing brothers was presented with his first career racing trophy.

Force defeated unheralded Ed Renck to win the 2010 – 2011 CompetitionPlus.com War Stories Showdown.

“I didn’t do it for the exposure; I did it for the fun of telling some of the stuff that has happened in my life,” Force said, upon receiving the cherished War Stories Scrolls award. “There are many racers that are out there that are holding back because they all got stories.”

Just like the Force Brothers racing back in the days of old, when a shoestring and a prayer was high living, Louie was almost disqualified from the competition. And, the reason was? He didn’t heed the call to the “staging lanes” and with a last minute call to the race director was granted a few moments to get his “car”, or in this case, story submitted.

“I was slow getting into it but once I got in the middle of it I just had to burn her up,” Force explained with a smile.

After receiving recognition before a gathering of the John Force Racing entourage, Force shared a few words.
 
“I started out where I could have been a driver and the truth is my little brother wanted to be a driver,” Force explained. “Even when he was little, he and I always had a special attachment to one another. I watched after John with everything he did. We played together and I built things for him. I always had a real love for my little brother. I think it was because he couldn’t do what a lot of other little kids could do even though he overcame that later in life. It just became inherent to give him what he wanted.”

It’s not hard to see the older of the Force brothers, with no pun intended, was a driving force behind his younger brother’s 15 championships.

“I wanted it too,” Force said of all those championships. “In those days, we wanted it for a different reason. There were no heroes, no superstars or television. We never got in Hot Rod (magazine) except by accident in those early days. We just wanted to be part of something. We never expected to turn into what it is today. John was not a mechanically inclined guy. So I guess you could say I was field support.”

Then big brother Louie smiled as only he could.

“I set him on fire a few times and even had him upside down a couple more,” Force explained. “I realized eventually that we needed more talent but early on, it was just me and John.”

Force joins his brother as a champion story teller. John took home the trophy in 2008. Louie’s story line-up included a myriad of tales chronicling their early years of racing. His trophy will reside alongside John’s in the JFR Racing Museum.

“We had no idea where we were going,” Force admitted. “We were like sandlot baseball players. It was like, ‘John, I’m going to throw you this ball and you knock it over the fence.”

“There were no spectators, no rewards, no accolades, no adoration.”

But, for one evening over a meal at the Pomona Valley Mining Company, there were all of those and a bit more for a deserving behind the scenes kinda guy – Louie Force.

WAR STORIES SHOWDOWN PAGE – LINKS TO STORIES

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