- 1. Auto Club Raceway at Pomona — November, 2022
- 2. World Wide Technology Raceway — October, 2022
- 3. The Strip At Las Vegas Motor Speedway — October, 2019
- 4. The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — March, 2022
- 5. Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park — February, 2020
- 6. Gainesville Raceway — March, 2022
- 7. Sonoma Raceway — July, 2022
- 8. Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park — September, 2022
- 9. World Wide Technology Raceway — September, 2021
- 10. Maple Grove Raceway — September, 2022
- 11. zMAX Dragway — September, 2022
Brittany Force and her crew chief David Grubnic have rightfully earned their place among the all-time greats of the Top Fuel class this season.
Not only was the John Force Racing driver able to clinch her second Top Fuel title at the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series finale last weekend at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (Calif.), but Grubnic has brought the dragster to an unsurpassed level of speed this season.
The duo has been working together since 2019 when Grubnic joined the John Force Racing crew. Since then, the pair has run the 11 fastest speeds in Top Fuel history, resetting their own national speed record at 338.94 mph during the recent Auto Club NHRA Finals.
Here is a review of Force’s fastest 11 runs in Top Fuel.
1. Auto Club Raceway at Pomona — November, 2022
Force arrived at the Auto Club NHRA Finals determined, despite the fact that much of the six-race Countdown to the Championship didn’t go her way. The series’ previous round at the Nevada Nationals marked her only victory of the Countdown, but the momentum she carried with her to the season finale in Pomona proved to make the difference.
Force lit up the track during Friday night’s qualifying session as she powered down the drag strip at 338.94 mph, breaking the national speed record for the fourth time in her career.
She earned 13 bonus points in qualifying, giving her a 26-point lead over Ashley going into Sunday’s eliminations. However, Ashley stumbled in his first-round matchup against Brown, giving Force the points margin she needed to claim the world title.
The 2022 Top Fuel championship is the first title that Force and Grubnic have earned together.
Brittany Force claimed her second Top Fuel championship at the Auto Club NHRA Finals last weekend. (NHRA photo)
2. World Wide Technology Raceway — October, 2022
A little over a month ago, Force bumped the national speed record in Top Fuel up to 338.48 mph when she blasted past teammate Austin Prock in the opening round of eliminations at the NHRA Midwest Nationals.
Her result was significant, as it meant her and Grubnic held the 10 fastest speeds in Top Fuel history with their Flav-R-Pac dragster.
3. The Strip At Las Vegas Motor Speedway — October, 2019
At the NHRA Nevada Nationals in 2019, Force reached 338.17 mph during her qualifying session, breaking the national speed record for the second time in her career. It was recorded as the fastest run in Top Fuel history at that time, while her 3.659-second elapsed time also allowed her to set the track’s lowest ET.
Earlier that year, Grubnic had joined John Force Racing as Force’s crew chief. It was also the same year that Force and her father, John, became the first father/child duo to claim No. 1 qualifying positions on the same weekend, which happened at Houston Raceway Park.
The previous national speed record was set by Tony Schumacher at the NHRA Arizona Nationals in 2018, equaling 336.57 mph. Force’s first record-breaking run was the year previous, in 2017, when she went 333.66 mph in Topeka, Kan., during her championship season.
4. The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — March, 2022
Force broke the 338-mph barrier during the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, powering to an even 338.00 mph in the final round against her three competitors — Torrence, Tony Schumacher and Brown.
The John Force Racing driver picked up her first win of the 2022 season at the Four-Wide Nationals, the fourth of 22 races.
5. Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park — February, 2020
When Force visited Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in 2020 for the Arizona Nationals, she had a surprise in store for Terry Totten in the opening round of eliminations. Force flew down the drag strip in 3.643 seconds at 337.92 mph, leaving Totten behind and claiming the victory.
As the COVID-19 pandemic affected the 2020 season, this was one of two events Force competed in that year.
Brittany Force faces off to her three competitors at the Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (NHRA photo)
6. Gainesville Raceway — March, 2022
Force may not have won the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, but she still scored twice during the NHRA’s season-opening event in Gainesville, Fla.
During her first-round matchup against Brown in the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout, Force set a track speed record of 337.75 mph. She also took the event win.
7. Sonoma Raceway — July, 2022
It came in threes for Force in Sonoma, Calif., after she broke the track speed and ET record in the opening round of eliminations at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals, filing a 3.662-second run at 336.07 mph.
She then broke the track speed record a second time in the quarterfinals, going 336.49 mph to defeat Torrence. And again, in the semifinals, Force sent her dragster down the strip at 337.75 mph to flip the win light against Shawn Langdon and secure the track record once and for all.
Force scored her second victory of the season in the final round of eliminations, stealing the points lead from Mike Salinas.
8. Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park — September, 2022
During the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, the 16th race of the season, both ends of the track record belonged to Force. She took to the Indianapolis drag strip for qualifying and filed a 3.640-second run at 337.75 mph. The performance gave Force her seventh No. 1 qualifier of the season — the 39th in her career.
It’s also worth noting, the Top Fuel field at the 2022 U.S. Nationals was the quickest qualifying field in NHRA history.
9. World Wide Technology Raceway — September, 2021
Last year, as Steve Torrence chased his fourth consecutive Top Fuel championship, Force was dialing in her Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac dragster. Though she didn’t beat Torrence for the title, at the NHRA Midwest Nationals, she bested Torrence and set the top speed of the event — 337.66 mph.
In 2021, Force also earned the No. 1 qualifying position a career-best 12 times.
The 12 Top Fuel contenders in the 2022 Countdown to the Championship. (NHRA photo)
10. Maple Grove Raceway — September, 2022
To review Force’s 10th fastest run, one only needs to backtrack to the opening round of the 2022 Countdown. Force’s dominance through the regular season, where she stacked up four wins, would wane following the series visit to Reading, Pa., but her first-round performance in Sunday’s eliminations was the birth of a new track record.
Force went beyond her previous track speed and recorded a run of 337.66 mph in her opening matchup against Cameron Ferre. Brown then defeated her in the quarterfinals, but the pride of holding the fastest run of the weekend belonged to Force and Grubnic.
11. zMAX Dragway — September, 2022
When the series visited zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., the weekend after occupying Maple Grove, Force needed a boost of confidence. Title rival Justin Ashley was gaining ground on her points lead and with it being the second round in the six-race Countdown, every point was crucial.
During qualifying on Saturday, Force set a track speed record of 336.91 mph, proving that her team still had it dialed in.
However, Force made a second-round exit on Sunday, losing to Antron Brown who went on to claim the victory.
Keyword: B. Force Owns 11 Fastest Runs In Top Fuel History