John Force Racing is very much a family business with three of John’s four daughters competing over the years in Top Fuel and Funny Car, following in their father’s footsteps and at times, competing against him!
John Force overcame childhood polio to become the most prolific winner in professional racing history. In his early “Brute Force” years he struggled with lack of funding, crew and quality equipment, however all that changed when he teamed up with crew chief Austin Coil in 1985. They went on to dominate, winning 10 straight Championships from 1993 to 2002. John became the first drag racer ever named Driver of the Year for all of American motorsports in 1996. He is a five-time winner of the prestigious U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, and has won 16 NHRA World Championships and 157 races. He suffered the most horrific crash of his career at the Virginia Nationals in 2024, resulting in a traumatic brain injury. John worked hard the following year in rehabilitation to overcome is injuries, announcing his retirement in 2025 to focus on running his 4 race teams and bringing up the next generation of drag racing super stars for our fantastic sponsors and amazing race fans.
The winningest female driver in Top Fuel history, Brittany Force began her racing career in the Super Comp ranks before advancing to A/Fuel. Unlike her two sisters and father who all raced Funny Car, Brittany took a different path, choosing what many consider “the king of the sport” – Top Fuel- launching John Force Racing’s first ever Top Fuel program. She earned Rookie of the Year in 2013 and got her first win at the 2016 Gatornationals. In 2017, driving the Monster Energy dragster, she clinched the Top Fuel World Championship, becoming the first woman since Shirley Muldowney 35 years earlier. She earned her second World Championship in 2022. Through out her career she’s dominated with 19 race wins, and holds the current national elapse-time speed record of 3.623 seconds and national speed record of 343.51 mph with veteran crew chief David Grubnic. She announced her decision to step out of the driver’s seat at the end of 2025 to start a family with her husband Bobby Lyons.
Courtney Force, the youngest of the Force girls, started her NHRA drag racing career during her college years in Super Comp and A/Fuel and trained at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School before moving to the professional Funny Car class in 2012, where she was named Rookie of the Year. She got her first win that year in Seattle, and in 2014 won in Topeka, Kansas, which marked the 100th professional win for women in NHRA competition. Courtney represented the NHRA in ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue, joining a lineup of athletes promoting strength, confidence and health. She also collaborated with Big Machine Records, getting the opportunity to run a special Taylor Swift paint scheme which fans loved. Courtney went on to capture 12 nitro Funny Car wins before stepping out of the seat to start a family with her husband Graham Rahal, a professional IndyCar driver.
Ashley Force Hood was the first of John’s three racing daughters to follow in his footsteps. She launched her motorsports career in Super Comp, before advancing to the Darien & Meadows A/Fuel dragster team in 2004 – 2006, winning the U.S. Nationals in an all-female final against Shelly Howard and winning the 2004 Lucas Oil Division Championship. She moved to funny car in 2007 to compete against and with her father and teammates Eric Medlen and Robert Hight. She became the first woman to win a funny car event and captured 4 race wins total in her funny car career including back-to-back wins at the U.S. Nationals in 2009 and 2010. She retired to start a family and now uses her Bachelor’s degree in Radio-TV-Film to promote the family business with JFR’s media and video production team. Her two sons compete in NHRA junior dragsters and her husband Daniel Hood is crew chief on Jack Beckman’s PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet SS.