Courtney Force hopes she’s ready for run at funny car championship

Courtney Force

Drag racer Courtney Force went to Daytona International Speedway last month to cheer on her boyfriend, IndyCar driver Graham Rahal, as he raced in the Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance event.

For the 25-year-old Force, it was an eye-opening experience.

"I felt totally lost because [the race] was so different than what I'm used to," she said. "It's a 24-hour race. I'm used to a four-second race."

Force drives funny cars, the 7,000-horsepower machines that top 300 mph and cover the race's 1,000-foot distance in four seconds.

Funny cars and top-fuel dragsters are the two elite classes of the National Hot Rod Assn.'s Mello Yello Series, which kicks off its season starting Friday and going through this weekend in the 54th Circle K Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

Force is the defending funny car winner of the event and this year — her third in the sport's big leagues — the question is whether she has enough experience to become the first woman to earn a funny car championship.

She certainly has the right teacher. Her father is the legendary John Force, who last year won a record 16th NHRA funny car title at age 64. John Force also owns the team that includes himself, Courtney and former champion Robert Hight in funny cars and another of his daughters, Brittany, in top fuel.

"Do I feel she's ready for a championship?" John Force said of Courtney. "I think she's ready. I believe she has the motivation, she has the drive. She lives it, trust me.

"She's still got a lot to learn, but she's hungry for it." LA Times