The Force name has always been associated with the Funny Car, which may soon be changing. The youngest of the Force women, Courtney has her eyes on a Top Fuel dragster.

“I've always been interested in the Top Fuel dragster,” admitted Courtney Force. “My family has always been in Fuel Funny Cars and I have always mentioned I would go either way. Whatever opportunity I get I would be good with.”

Force, who loves to talk in similes and metaphors, was direct when it came to which direction Courtney would take.

The Inside Story on What's Happening With Force's Youngest ...

The Force name has always been associated with the Funny Car, which may soon be changing. The youngest of the Force women, Courtney has her eyes on a Top Fuel dragster.

“I've always been interested in the Top Fuel dragster,” admitted Courtney Force. “My family has always been in Fuel Funny Cars and I have always mentioned I would go either way. Whatever opportunity I get I would be good with.”

Force, who loves to talk in similes and metaphors, was direct when it came to which direction Courtney would take.

“It will depend on the sponsor,” said the 14-time champion. “Whatever the sponsor wants her in is what we will put her in.”

Force has a fourth Funny Car sitting in the shop collecting dust. A car which last year was funded jointly and equally by Ford and Force.

“Putting together a Funny Car would be easy.”

Reality-wise, Courtney is a full 18 months from a full ride, if not more. Force wouldn’t rule out running her in 2011 in a limited number of events, but the game plan, which includes a lot of practice in the parking lot, is to look at a full ride, run for rookie of the year, go after a championship ride in 2012.

“I know I am not even close to being ready,” stated Courtney very candidly. “Ashley has had a ton of seat time and that is how she has gotten to where she is today. I follow what she tells me to do. Obviously, I haven't run either a Funny Car or Top Fuel dragster, so I listen to her, not so much dad because he's crazy, but Ashley, she's been through it all.

In the meantime, the Ashley Force Funny Car School is in session.

“Ashley put together “Funny Car 101,” said Force, waving a three page syllabus in the air. “I asked what 101 meant. I thought it was the road up through California. Courtney said, 'Dad, that's the first thing they teach you in college.' I ask if that was before lunch or after lunch because I quit right after lunch.”

Ashley Force Hood's “Funny Car 101” starts with the very basics of just driving the Funny Car without a body in regular clothes behind a truck going 25 mph. In time, the firesuit is added, the helmet is added, the body is added. But, in the words of Force, “I need to put a helmet on my kid and teach her how to see out of that car at 25 miles per hour instead of 325 miles per hour.”

The AFH school covers it all. Right down to the warm-up, the run, to the lights (oh s***!), interviews, race day, fans, team, he's my boss – no he's my dad, keep your nose clean and media training – all 101's.

The syllabus ends with the statement – Are you the girl next door Jennifer Anniston or the kick ass Angelina Jolie? If you don't know, don't worry, he will assign you one.

At this point Force likes to tell the story of Courtney's first day behind of towing. After hours of towing, according to Force, Courtney jumped out and asked, “Am I ready to drive now?” Ashley responded, “No, you're ready to tow!” It was a joke between sisters, that Force, even as a father didn't quite grasp.

However, make no mistake, Force loves his daughters more than his own life. He jokes how he kept trying for a boy but kept getting girls with no wee wees. Well, those girls are proving to be tough competitors just like their father and he couldn't be more proud of them.

Still, the paternal instinct kicks in and Force is insistent when he says whatever type of car Courtney drives, he will drive it first. To that end, the process is already in place just in case it turns out to be a Top Fuel Dragster.

“I have no desire to go Top Fuel, but Austin Coil told me to quit lying,” said Force. “You won't put Courtney in an unknown car, like a dragster. You won't do it unless you drove it. But, I have got to know if it will fail.”

To that end, Force will rely on Ford. Up until now, Ford hadn't looked at the dragster chassis. Murph McKinney has designed a six rail dragster chassis, built it and turned it over to Ford for their evaluation. Ford isn't building a chassis. Ford has told Force they are behind him if he goes with the dragster with engineering support.

There are other options available to Force. He could put Courtney in a Funny Car and let her test at will with the NHRA spec motor. The issue there is the testing rule. Current Force Racing crew chiefs couldn't be part o the deal. The problem there, is Force is insistent on driving the car initially, which causes issues with the testing limits.

Bottom line, Top Fuel dragster or Funny Car, Force is adamant he will drive whatever they chose before Courtney straps into the race car.

Courtney giggles when asks about her father driving a dragster, “I've heard that. I would be amazed if he went into a Top Fuel dragster if that's the route we went. I would love to see that. I think that would be really interesting because he is always tells me how to run my top alcohol dragster and it's nowhere near his Funny Car. I just close my ears and try not to listen to him, but I always listen to Ashley because she's been through it all.”

Force is so adamant about driving anything first, before anyone of his children sits behind the wheel, jokes that he will also be buying the first baby carriage for his next grandchild and it will have “a wheelie bar and a wing!”