DRAG RACERS...
FUNNY CAR

SIGNATURE PROFILES
© 1999-2001 Dwight Drum

JOHN FORCE

Story and questions by Dwight Drum
Photos © 2001 by Dwight Drum and Gary Larsen

" I kind a compare it Kenny Bernstein. Kenny told me once that it was like taking off in the Space Shuttle…Four G's. I asked Kenny. When was the last time you were on the Space Shuttle? {When the laughter subsided, John continued} G-Forces. You never know G-forces till you hit the wall. That's when you know G-Forces."

I said I make up all the questions, but not all. Here's a question from a fan…Mike Somers…What's it like to have a blower go off in your face?

"Well, you don't really feel it, but there is a concussion. It depends on whether it rips the windshield off and the body out. It's quite a concussion. A lot of guys will complain of headaches after a major blower explosion. It's not life threatening unless it comes your way."

"Never believe what you read in the media, because it's what you told them…start believing it and you're dead. {We all laugh again}… Being a loser, I have twenty-five years of practice. I lost for sixteen years, but nobody knows that. They think I've always been winning. You learn. You take the concept of losing, and you strive to win. Even when you're mad, you can head in that (winning) direction when your mind is right. There are no losers if you love what you are doing."

{"Good answer, I said. "All your answers are good."}

"Give me a beer, I'll give you better ones."

"Usually if the cars on fire, I think of Coil. At the end of the run, it's not life threatening. You go right into thinking of the interview, about what you are going to do…like congratulating the guy across from you. I always thank God before I go. I should thank God when I get out at the other end. You miss that a lot of times. Like you should say please Lord, let me qualify, I'm struggling here. Right! We got problems in Turkey and he's worried about you qualifying?"

Dave Densmore added as John thought…"That's your pet peeve."

"I get asked about my pet peeve, but I can't remember that."

"I have to. If a fan is upset, I have to know about it. I want to know what I did. Even if they are right or wrong. Every one has their own reason in life."

"Very Luck Guy."

"I spent the first sixteen years of my career, twenty-five actually, chasing Don Prudhomme, and then he went to dragsters, and then he retired. He owes it to me to come back and give me a shot.

I want to say hi to people on the net. The world's changing, and the Internet is changing the world."

I tried to explain our Internet background to John… that we started with motorcycle drag racing with StripBike.com. Our second interview was with Angelle, and since I have conducted a total of eight interviews with her. We built StripBike.com, and we're building Zoomster.com now. We are not trying to buy a piece of cyberspace. We're trying to earn it.

John said, "You got my million dollar interview."

{BIG THANKS! JOHN…from the staff of Zoomster.com}

John's mind moves faster than the gears in his Funny car. He was born with a name to race, and he has taken his speedy existence beyond any known drag racing measure. He wins the races, and then he wins our hearts, and even when he's not winning, he's still winning our hearts. He has the ability to race and win, and then he has the ability to communicate and fascinate.

It's so hard to pick a single word to describe John Force, this complex man. Just like John Force stands out among his contenders, he stands above a dictionary. He is extraordinary, extreme, superlative, super and even ultra, a word than means going beyond the usual limit…He is all these words and many more. I found so many that would almost fit John, but one word seems to separate him from all other people. You don't have to take my word for him, because this incredible human comes to us with his own definition…John Force is not only the MAN, John is the…