Veteran Force finds Funny Car speed

Rides elimination comebacks into final, earns 95th victory

Monday, June 18, 2001

By Chris Dolack, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

KIRKERSVILLE, Ohio -- John Force left National Trail Raceway Saturday night searching for a faster way to get his Funny Car down the quarter-mile dragstrip.

Apparently, he was still experimenting yesterday morning while driving to the elimination rounds of the NHRA Pontiac Excitement Nationals. Force was pulled over for speeding.

He must of found what he was looking for, though, because Force, a 10-time Funny Car champion, held off all challengers yesterday for his third victory of the season. He also extended his record as the winningest driver in NHRA history to 95 victories.

Through three rounds of eliminations yesterday, Force, who qualified fourth, had to come from behind to advance in each round. He barely got past Bob Gilbertson, Whit Bazemore and Johnny Gray. In the other bracket, Del Worsham cruised to the final round with easy victories against Tommy Johnson Jr., and the two Force-owned cars of Tony Pedregon and Gary Densham.

That set the stage for a repeat performance of the previous event in Joliet, Ill., where Worsham, 31, beat Force for the second time this year in a final round.

When the green light flashed yesterday, Force and Worsham had identical reaction times of 0.472 seconds. But halfway down the run, Worsham, in the right lane, lost traction and smoked his rear tires.

When the fog cleared, there was Force celebrating at the end of the strip after turning in a 4.963-second elapsed time at 308.00 mph. The win was Force's first victory at National Trail Raceway since 1990. He has 82 wins since his last victory here.

"I really had to get up for the final," said Force, 52. "I knew Worsham when he was 2-feet tall, when he was a baby and his dad was racing. He always talked about wanting to race. He's got a lot of heart and it's fun to race him. You almost got to get mad, but you can't get mad to get up against him because he's just such a nice guy. But he slapped me in the head a few times and reminded me he took me out in [Joliet], so we got mad."

With his victory, Force increased his points to 958, a healthy 268 ahead of second-place Worsham.

In the driver's seat for his 11th championship, Force has considered switching to Top Fuel should he win the crown this season.

"I'm making a decision, not because I want to quit racing, but I want to focus on which direction I'm going in my career," Force said. "I'm 52 years old and I'm under contract for five years. I'd consider a Pro Stock, but I don't know how to get in and out of one, I don't know how to shift them ... they're really confusing. Those guys are really talented. We just stomp on the gas and don't look at the oil pressure.

"I'll make that decision if we can get this 11th [title], but it's going to be a long season."

In the Top Fuel class, the stage was set for Kenny Bernstein to meet Larry Dixon in the final elimination.

Bernstein and Dixon qualified first and second Saturday, and blazed through the first two rounds of eliminations yesterday with ease.

Bernstein, the points leader, entered the event attempting to join Scott Kalitta and Cory McClenathan as the only Top Fuel drivers to win four consecutive event titles. Dixon, who drives for legendary Don Prudhomme, was second in points with a victory in Gainesville, Fla., and two second-place finishes.

Bernstein, 56, announced he will retire after next season. Dixon, 34, is one of the rising stars in the NHRA.

Dixon had recorded the lowest elapsed time through three consecutive rounds before Bernstein scorched a trail in 4.671 seconds, which was 0.005 better than Dixon.

But for the first time since May 6 in Atlanta, everything didn't go according to plan for Bernstein. Darrell Russell, the previous driver to beat him, did it again with a semifinal victory. The motor in Bernstein's dragster blew about halfway down the strip and Russell crossed the line in 4.712 seconds at 310.48 mph. Dixon blasted to a 4.65 elapsed time at 311.27 mph to set the final elimination.

Dixon then took care of Russell with a 4.70 ET run at 306.53 mph for his first career victory at National Trail Raceway, and second of the season.

"The big deal for me, this is the one major [event] I haven't won," said Dixon, who also has career-victories at Englishtown, N.J., Pomona, Calif., and Indianapolis. "I've always had it in my heart to win here and I never could."

In Pro Stock, Warren Johnson, a five-time division champion, beat Mark Osborne with a 6.94 ET at 198.00 mph for his 84th career victory..

Pro Stock Motorcycle driver Angelle Savoie is back on track for a second consecutive title. She blew past Antron Brown, the current points leader, with a 7.24 ET run at 181.91 mph. Brown and Savoie have two victories this season.

In Pro Stock Trucks, Bob Panella made Mark Whisnant's first final-round appearance a disappointing one. Panella, the points leader, earned his fourth victory of the season with a run at 7.53 ET at 178.95 mph.