Courtney Force ready to accelerate winning ways
Heading into the 50th annual Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals Force will be eager to get behind the wheel of her BrandSource/Ford Drive One A Fuel Dragster. Her first qualifying lap on Thursday, February 11 at 1:30 p.m. will get the season underway for John Force Racing. Once again Courtney will be sharing the Top Alcohol Dragster category with her older sister Brittany Force who drives the BrandSource A Fuel Dragster.
“I am excited to be racing again. The start of the season is really exciting. I’ll be finishing up at Cal State-Fullerton and racing whenever it works with my schedule. I got my first win in Seattle and then getting to the finals last year at the Auto Club Finals was a great way to end the season," said Force.
“I am still learning and it is great to have my sister Brittany also in an A Fueler. We talk a lot about what is going on in the dragsters and we learn from each other. The key for me this year will be to just continue to be consistent and keep learning. I am hoping to make it to more winner’s circles this year too."
For Courtney when your dad and your oldest sister keep setting records and re-writing drag racing history, following in their 17-inch wide tire tracks might seem like a very intimidating prospect.
Not for the youngest of 14-time Funny Car Champion John Force’s four daughters and the one he identified early-on as the most likely to follow him into the family racing business.
She picked up her first career win last year at Seattle, Wash., and she earned runner-up honors at the season-ending Auto Club Finals at Pomona, Calif., so the communications major is poised to make history of her own this year at the wheel of her A/Fuel dragster prepared by veteran tuner Jerry Darien.
She also scored off the track last season when she was named the Top Agent in the Fiesta Movement, a summer-long program designed to introduce the 2011 Ford Fiesta. Ford Motor Company designated 100 “agents" nationwide who drove and talked about the Fiesta on their MySpace sites, the YouTube channel and Twitter.
“Being selected Top Agent was a great honor. There were so many awesome agents and their videos really made me try harder with every new mission. The thousands of people that voted for me to be the top agent were so important and appreciated as well as all the thousands and thousands of fans that posted comments to my videos or Tweets over the summer. It was just awesome. I loved driving my Fiesta and I can’t wait to continue to promote Ford this season," said Force.
Courtney actually has followed sister Ashley’s career course. Both were cheerleaders at Esperanza High School (Yorba Linda, Calif.); both took elective courses in auto shop and welding; and both majored in Communications at Cal State Fullerton, the university from which Courtney will graduate this year.
Top Alcohol Dragster qualifying will continue on Friday at 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. with eliminations beginning on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.