Latest news with #JohnForce
Newsweek
04-05-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
NHRA Legend John Force Championed By Team With Touching Message
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. John Force Racing shared a touching tribute to its owner, 16-time NHRA champion John Force, as he celebrated his 76th birthday. Taking to social media, the team wrote: "Happy Birthday 16X!! What can we say that hasn't already been said? To the man who created a drag racing dynasty, the father of a beautiful family (and one of the biggest extended families out there with all of his friends and fans!), and to a man who has, and continues to, overcome challenges and obstacles and is a beacon of light and strength to all; can we all wish John Force a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY?!" Happy Birthday 16X!! What can we say that hasn't already been said? To the man who created a drag racing dynasty, the father of a beautiful family (and one of the biggest extended families out there with all of his friends and fans!), and to a man who has, and continues to,... — John Force Racing (@JFR_Racing) May 4, 2025 Force is currently out of the race seat after suffering from a severe crash in Virginia last year. Following the crash, the driver went from intensive care to the Neuro ICU due to a traumatic brain injury, before eventually being discharged from hospital to continue with his rehabilitation from home. John Force, driver of the Castrol High Mileage Ford funny car waves to the fans during the NHRA Carolinas Nationals on September 20, 2009 at Zmax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina. John Force, driver of the Castrol High Mileage Ford funny car waves to the fans during the NHRA Carolinas Nationals on September 20, 2009 at Zmax Dragway in Concord, North made his first track appearance since the Virginia crash in Las Vegas later that year to support his John Force Racing team. He commented at the time: "I'm still going to therapy every week and working as hard as I can to get back out there with the sponsors and the fans in a sport I love and I miss. I've still got a lot of things I want to do, so I don't want anybody thinking they've seen the last of John Force. We'll have a lot more to talk about after the holidays." Jack Beckman has continued to step in for Force since the crash. "I am thrilled to continue a partnership with PEAK and BlueDEF and look forward to returning to JFR in 2025," Beckman stated. "As a car enthusiast, I believe in using the best products available for both personal and professional applications. PEAK and BlueDEF products are trusted for our support vehicles and haulers, ensuring reliability and performance." Adding to his long list of achievements, including 16 NHRA championship titles, Force was recently inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame. He reacted to the honor, as previously reported by Newsweek Sports: "I'm very proud to accept this honor along with the other 2024 inductees. "It's been a rough year and I'm sorry I couldn't be there in Canada for the ceremonies, but this is special to me because I won my first NHRA race in Canada. It may have been a long time ago, but I still remember."
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Friday NHRA Qualifying at Pomona: Ron Capps Scores Stunning Comeback
Ron Capps made a stunning comeback Friday from his NHRA Arizona Nationals crash last Sunday that shook him up, destroyed a brand-new Funny Car, and put his crew into overdrive for the past five days. He zoomed to the top of the early qualifying session order at the Lucas Oil Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., with his 3.852-second elapsed time at 330.47 mph in a back-up that was his 2022 championship car. Then he improved that in the evening run with a 3.830 at 328.94 mph to secure the provisional No. 1 slot in the order on the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip 1,000-foot course. Brittany Force (Top Fuel) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also were atop the leaderboard Friday. Two more qualifying sessions Saturday will set the field for Sunday's eliminations. He conceded Friday that last weekend at Phoenix, after his shocking first-round wreck that 'mentally I was not good... a lot of emotions.' He immediately gave credit to his crew, saying they 'have worked tirelessly. They built two cars in two days... like it was no big deal,' to 'take that pressure off me.' But perhaps the most significant part of Ron Capps' 2025 journey was an offseason mandatory Zoom-call meeting the NHRA called for team owners, drivers, and crew chiefs. 'They talked about some of the safety things that they learned from John Force's accident (last June 23 at Virginia Motorsports Park, near Richmond) and some ideas of how maybe our teams could be proactive a little more in certain spots," Capps said. "We were already [were upgraded, and many teams out here are already were at that point.' Trevor Ashline, owner of Mooresville, N.C.-headquartered Engineered Safety Systems and a leader in racing safety who Capps has trusted for many years, took the lead in the Zoom call and, 'Capps remembered, 'talked quite a bit about the safety and his knowledge.' 'Guido [crew chief Dean Antonelli] went to work and went above and beyond on the head padding more than we had before. Had he not, it would be a different story with me right now,' Capps said. 'I was worried about my head touching the padding during runs. They really brought the head padding in and different padding and more of it. And Trevor had told me I needed to really shorten up my head and neck device tethers more than I even thought I had them shortened up.' The team took care of that at Bradenton, Fla., in the preseason trip there that ended with Capps earning the Funny Car victory. 'And so those things that we learned from John Force's accident and the NHRA being proactive and having Trevor get up and talk sent my guys right to work,' Capps said. 'When I flew out [last December to Indianapolis from his Carlsbad, Calif., home] for the PRI Show, I sat in the car, they poured me a new seat with more advancements on lower-back [protection] and some other things.' He said all that is why 'I'm walking around and I'm fine. And I don't think I would've been, had we not made those changes.' With major-league sports being extra-diligent about concussion prevention and treatment, elevating awareness of long-term effects of concussions, is Capps worried that down the road he'll feel those after-effects of wall-bangers and engine blowups that have dotted his career. 'Yeah,' Capps said with a 'well, yes, and no' kind of tone. 'Yeah, but this is my 31st year driving professionally, so it's pretty crazy,' he said. 'If you think about it. I've got Don Prudhomme calling me all the time[and]Richard Tharp [and Kenny] Bernstein, guys like that that you've watched for years. "I've been blessed to be around really good crew chiefs to take care of more than being a crew chief: the safety side of things. You go down and look at the guys I've driven for: Roland Leong and Don Prudhomme and Don Schumacher. But the crew chiefs that have always looked at the cockpit as much as they do their tune-up, if not more—Ed McCulloch, Rahn Tobler, who was very much into safety. 'So huge, huge thank-you to Guido and those guys. I've said it over and over to 'em. So all that together. My point is who knows? I started driving before there were head and neck devices, so I've got neck issues, but it's from [years of racing].' Friday's results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 65th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip, third of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations. Top Fuel -- 1. Brittany Force, 3.646 seconds, 334.82 mph; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.657, 335.15; 3. Josh Hart, 3.675, 332.34; 4. Steve Torrence, 3.690, 336.91; 5. Antron Brown, 3.695, 336.65; 6. Tony Stewart, 3.695, 329.75; 7. Justin Ashley, 3.695, 333.66; 8. Shawn Reed, 3.698, 331.36; 9. Jasmine Salinas, 3.700, 322.65; 10. Clay Millican, 3.733, 327.59; 11. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.741, 334.24; 12. Scott Palmer, 3.836, 313.80; 13. Shawn Langdon, 4.839, 149.75. Funny Car -- 1. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.830, 330.47; 2. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.837, 333.25; 3. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.855, 326.48; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Dodge Charger, 3.888, 325.30; 5. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.889, 329.18; 6. Chad Green, Ford Mustang, 3.930, 320.97; 7. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.932, 328.78; 8. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.950, 322.42; 9. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Camry, 3.963, 296.70; 10. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 3.971, 271.08; 11. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.010, 290.57; 12. Bobby Bode, GR Supra, 4.026, 310.34; 13. Jason Rupert, Mustang, 4.104, 253.80; 14. Steven Densham, Mustang, 4.125, 284.15; 15. Alexis DeJoria, Charger, 4.277, 215.44; 16. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.685, 180.65. Not Qualified: 17. Blake Alexander, 4.969, 162.39; 18. Bob Tasca III, 7.572, 82.79; 19. Daniel Wilkerson, 7.993, 85.04. Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.495, 210.01; 2. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.510, 210.05; 3. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.515, 210.80; 4. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.516, 210.93; 5. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.517, 210.41; 6. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.517, 209.82; 7. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.519, 211.03; 8. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.541, 210.18; 9. Cody Coughlin, Camaro, 6.546, 210.34; 10. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.553, 210.57; 11. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.555, 210.97; 12. Brandon Foster, Camaro, 6.555, 209.82; 13. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.556, 209.79; 14. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.558, 210.11; 15. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.563, 209.88; 16. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.586, 208.75. Not Qualified: 17. Stephen Bell, 6.595, 208.94; 18. Kenny Delco, 6.605, 208.68; 19. Joey Grose, 6.652, 207.11.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NHRA Great Bernie Fedderly, Key to John Force's Brain Trust, Dies
Bernie Fedderly, the respected and popular NHRA crew chief who helped engineer most of John Force's 16 Funny Car championships, has died at age 76. An Edmonton, Alberta, native, Fedderly was a 1996 inductee into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame and a 2013 honoree for the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame. News of his death was posted on his Facebook page Saturday. Fedderly teamed with Austin Coil to cement John Force's legacy with 10 consecutive titles between 1993 and 2002. In all, from 1992-2012, when he retired from John Force Racing (JFR)and the sport, Fedderly and Coil tuned Force to 13 series championships, 109 victories, five NHRA Funny Car bonus-race triumphs, four Winston Invitational wins, and a victory at the inaugural Funny Car vs. Top Fuel Winston Showdown in 1999. He said working for Force 'was never boring, that's for sure.' He called it 'a really special and interesting time. Force sometimes had a hundred ideas an hour, and it was up to us to make them happen, and sometimes that was pretty challenging. But we got through it. Some of the safety things that came from those times are important advances.' Before joining JFR, Fedderly started his career with high-school buddy and 1980 U.S. Nationals winner Terry Capp, then moved to Larry Minor Racing as crew chief from 1982-1985 to Top Fuel driver and two-time champion Gary Beck. Together they went on a tear in which Beck qualified first 14 times in 16 races and broke a couple of speed barriers (5.50 and 5.40 seconds), which earned them and Minor the 1983 Car Craft magazine Person(s) of the Year Award. Fedderly also tuned drag-racing legend Ed 'The Ace' McCulloch to 12 victories. But his role in Force's 'brain trust' for nearly two decades is what defined Fedderly most, although he won national events with six different drivers over his career: Capp, Beck, McCulloch, Cruz Pedregon, Force, and Mike Neff. 'Most of my friends wanted to drive. I just wanted to make cars run fast. So I had a lot of opportunities to gain experience,' Fedderly said when he was inducted to the Canadian hall. Ironically, he began the 1992 season as crew chief for Cruz Pedregon before departing mid-season to take the job with Force. Later that year, Pedregon claimed his first of two Funny Car titles to dethrone Force, who had won the previous two championships. Renowned tuner Lee Beard said on a social-media post, 'Life is about memories. I have fond memories about Bernie. I'll never forget him. He was a prince of a man!!' Fedderly is survived by wife Mary.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
John Force Inducted Into Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame in Toronto
John Force's NHRA Funny Car record in Canada didn't start out impressively. He was 1-4 in his first four starts at Saint-Pie, Quebec's Le Grandnational Molson, the only international race that ever was part of the NHRA series. But the 16-time Funny Car champion turned his fortune around there at Sanair Speedway, with a 20-4 record in his next seven appearances that included his first of 157 victories June 28, 1987, and two more in 1990 and 1992. Although he is a Southern California native, Force on Feb. 15 became one of the newest members of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. Still recovering from injuries he sustained last June in Virginia, Force, 75, was unable to attend the ceremony in Toronto but appeared via video taken at his Yorba Linda, Calif., race shop. 'I'm very proud to accept this honor along with the other 2024 inductees. It's been a rough year, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there in Canada for the ceremonies,' Force aid. 'But this is special to me, because I won my first NHRA race in Canada. It may have been a long time ago, but I still remember.' Force defeated Ed 'The Ace' McCulloch in the final round for that first triumph, and he beat Mark Oswald in 1990 and Al Hofmann in 1992. He scored a pair of runner-up finishes (to Kenny Bernstein in 1986 and to Jim White in 1991), as well, before the NHRA discontinued the event in 1993. As the first drag racer selected for induction in the International category that was established in 2009, Force joins other motorsports legends Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, Sir Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Dario Franchitti, Carroll Shelby, and Bobby Rahal. Bernie Fedderly, co-crew chief during 12 of Force's NHRA-record 16 Funny Car championship seasons, was one of the first Canadian drag racing inductees in 1995). Other prominent Canadian drag-racing honorees include the late Dale Armstrong (1994), Top Fuel driver and former NHRA vice president of Competition Graham Light (1996), two-time Top Fuel champion Gary Beck (1998), and former U.S. Nationals Top Fuel winner Terry Capp.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Inspired NHRA Legend John Force Says He 'Feels Alive Again'
Ron Capps might have spoiled Austin Prock's otherwise-perfect week Saturday, defeating the current NHRA Funny Car champion in the final round of second annual PRO Superstar Shootout at Florida's Bradenton Motorsports Park. But Prock's boss, John Force, was giddy—not for Capps' victory but for his energized cross-country trip from California. It was Force's longest outing since his June 23 accident last season at the Virginia Nationals near Richmond has left him sidelined with what was diagnosed as a traumatic brain injury. But he was on hand for the preseason exhibition to watch Prock top predecessor Robert Hight's official, NHRA-recognized class-best elapsed time by two-thousandths of a second, at 3.791 seconds during qualifying. He was there to cheer on his own substitute, Jack Beckman, who last February was the live-stream analyst at the inaugural PRO Superstar Shootout. And he watched daughter Brittany make what she called "some killer and consistent passes' in testing her Top Fuel dragster, qualify No. 3, and take out Doug Kalitta to declare that her team is "way ahead of ourselves from where we were last season." It all made John Force declare, "To tell you the truth, this is the first time since Richmond I really felt alive again. We didn't win, but I was excited just to be where I need to be, running my teams and supporting Cornwell, PEAK, Monster, and all our other partners. I can't wait to get to Gainesville [for the March 7-9 season-starting Gatornationals]. "My wife, Laurie, told me I needed to get back in the game,' the 157-time winner and 16-time champion said. 'And being here in Bradenton was just good for my heart. Watching everybody work, watching the cars and the teams, and seeing old friends like Capps, it was just special."
