Brittany Force achieved a significant milestone in her drag racing career by securing her 50th No. 1 qualifying place at the 39th Annual Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, held at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas.
Brittany Force won her maiden Top Fuel pole in Kansas in 2014, when she and her sister, Courtney, both qualified first. That event was notable since their father, John Force, also set a record in the Funny Car class.
Her most recent qualifying run was impressive, taking 3.667 seconds and reaching 338 mph. With this accomplishment, she has reached a level in her career that few others have, cementing her place as one of the most distinguished individuals in the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Force held back tears as she pondered on her achievement. She explains:
“Just to hear 50, it was such a big achievement.
“It’s a big achievement by all of John Force Racing. It’s so many sponsors throughout the year, so many crew chiefs throughout the years, crew guys, so many [people] throughout the years to get us to that 50.
“When I look at the list, my first number one qualifier was 2014 in Topeka, I believe it was alongside my sister.
“We both went No. 1 qualifier. She went on and ended up winning the race, but that was a special one in Kansas for us.”
Currently eighth in the 2024 championship standings, Force finds herself 173 points from the top. After finishing seventh in the 2023 season, her focus this year is to build on past performances. She continued:
“Our focus this year is just improving on last season. We came out of a tough season. It’s been tough for us this year and just setting goals for ourselves, trying to achieve them and then we get set back and we’re trying to achieve another one. So really our focus is on our lane, in our pits, [and] what we can accomplish.
“That’s not what everyone else is doing around us. That doesn’t seem to help us. We could use it as motivation, but it’s what the guy in the lane next to us is doing. It doesn’t affect how we’re setting up our car or how we’re running. We stay focused in our lane and really move forward with that.”
She added:
“The cool thing is it was a collective thing. It wasn’t just done with one team. It was done with so many teams and so many different crew chiefs who I’ll always look up. They all taught me things along the way that I still use to this day. So I’m very thankful to them that they’re part of my whole career in getting that 50.
“50. It seems like an impossible number. Just hearing the number 50, like, ‘Wow, we’ve really done that.'”
Brittany Force began her drag racing career at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School, where she earned expertise in the Super Comp and Top Alcohol Dragster classes. Her professional debut was in 2013, the same year she won the NHRA Rookie of the Year award. Her historic victory at the Gatornationals in 2016 and her 2017 Top Fuel World Championship established her as a formidable force in drag racing.
