Coming off one of the most emotional wins of her pro career, two-time NHRA World Champion Brittany Force aims to apply an exclamation point to a challenging season this week when she pursues the Top Fuel championship at the 59th In-N-Out Burger Finals at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip.
Shut out of the winners’ circle for two calendar years while crew chiefs David Grubnic and John Collins worked to reestablish the consistency that once made her Monster Energy Chevrolet the scourge of the pro tour, Force qualified No. 1, posted quick time during eliminations and raced to top speed of the meet two weeks ago on the way to the winners’ circle at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
That victory, the 17th of her Top Fuel career but her first in 41 races, was made the more memorable by the presence of her father, John Force, who was back at a racetrack for the first time since crashing heavily last June in Richmond, Va. The 16-time Funny Car World Champion will return to the JFR compound again this weekend to support his teams on a track on which he won a record 17 times as a driver.
“Having my dad back made the weekend complete,” Brittany admitted. “I felt like our teams just had more heart chasing down a win with my dad returning to the track. It was the first time we (have) doubled up with our teammate Austin Prock (who won the Funny Car title) and it will always be one of the most memorable races at JFR.
“This has been (a season of) highs and lows (and) has taught me that at JFR, we are one team, and we truly face adversity together,” said the former NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year. “It also reminded me how sweet victory can be after such a long road.”
Although she’s won just once in her career at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip (at the 2017 Finals), Force’s level of confidence is extremely high due in no small part to the fact that Grubnic prepared the cars that set the track records for both time (3.628 in 2018 with driver Clay Millican) and speed (338.94 miles per hour with Force in 2022, a mark that also stands as the NHRA national record).
Furthermore, she has started her again frightening Monster from the top of the qualifying order five times in her last eight appearances at Pomona, most recently setting the pace last March at the Lucas Oil Winternationals, a race in which she reached the semifinals.
“Winning after two years has put this whole team on such a high (and) we plan to perform (this week) the same way we did in Vegas,” Force said. “We’re looking for four clean runs (during qualifying), top five (starting position) and going rounds on race day.
“We’ve moved up to the No. 7 position and the competition in front of us is stacked tight,” she said. “If we have another solid weekend, we can definitely move up even further.”
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59th In-N-Out Burger Finals SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 15
Nitro qualifying, 2 and 4:30 p.m., PST.
Saturday, Nov. 16
Nitro qualifying, 12:30 and 3 p.m., PST
Sunday, Nov. 17
First round eliminations, 11 a.m., PST
JFR ON FS1
Sunday, Oct. 13
Qualifying show, 10 a.m.-12 noon, EST
Eliminations, 4-7 p.m., EST
JGR PR
