CONCORD, N.C. — The Top Fuel class in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series has seen an unexpected change in points leader over the past week — a position that Brittany Force held since the Sonoma Nationals in late July.
With the Countdown to the Championship tightening the points among drivers, Force watched as her lead shrunk to 20 points over Mike Salinas for the opening round at Maple Grove Raceway last weekend, and it only went down from there.
After leaving the Reading, Pa., track, Force found herself with a nine-point deficit to new leader Justin Ashley.
Due to an unfortunate mechanical issue with her Top Fuel dragster at Maple Grove, Force retired from the weekend early after she lost the second round of eliminations to Antron Brown.
“It’s tough to recover from that. We’ve done so well all season long, and this is the first race of the Countdown. We want to do our best there, cause it leads you into the final five races,” Force said.
However, in the grand scheme of things, the nine points between her and Ashley aren’t enough of a reason to lose heart. Without skipping a beat, Force admitted she plans to make up the gap before race day.
“It starts with qualifying; we need to qualify well. And definitely go some rounds on race day,” Force said.
The fact she has yet to win at the Carolina Nationals is the least of her concerns as Force prepares for the inevitable dogfight that will take place throughout the Countdown.
“I have a feeling that it will go up and down,” Force said, referring to the standings. “It’ll be exciting for the fans.”
While she’s willing to accept the fact that the lead may slip out of her hands for a round or two with the level of competition in the Top Fuel class, Force is still anxious to be back in the No. 1 position.
She’s looking for three solid qualifying passes, the lowest elapsed time of the session and the No. 1 qualifying spot going into Sunday’s eliminations. From there, it’s all about keeping her mind clear at the starting line.
“It’s about focusing on doing your job, cutting the light, keeping your car in the groove, getting it down there first and turning on the win light,” Force said.
It’s that simple.
Of course, Force has nine seasons of experience and 15 career wins to boost her efforts on the track and give her the sense of calm she needs to help eliminate her distractions.
Admittedly, Force also relies on her music playlist in the moments before the race to get herself pumped up for the four second stretch of road ahead of her – Post Malone, Halsey and G-Easy’s beats have likely contributed to a few of her past victories.
On Friday night at zMAX Dragway, Force was lined up against Justin Ashley for her qualifying session, but struggled to maintain speed in her dragster, going 297 mph to Ashley’s 330 mph. Still, her 3.712 second run was enough to secure fourth in qualifying heading into Saturday.
Beyond the external strategies and the countless records one could reference to prove that Force has what it takes, it eventually comes down to the amount of heart she has behind the wheel.
And for eliminations on Sunday, that will be the key.
Keyword: The Comeback Starts In Qualifying For Brittany Force