"YOU IN A HURRY?"

As told to Zoomster
© 2002 Dwight Drum

Photo by Gary Larsen. (Use by the NHRA, SME & Winston, and John Force Racing granted.)
Story by Dwight Drum

Force smiled then stepped into his luxury coach. I had just finished our interview outside under a canopy about Elvis Presley. Force apparently wanted to do more talking. "You in a hurry?" are four words Gary Larsen and I will never forget. It zipped through my mind that one of the fastest humans on the planet was asking us if we were in a hurry, and I laughed as we stepped inside. Where on earth would we rather be?

Force asked for more questions. I explained that Graceland was accommodative about my requests for background information. {Elvis Presley and Graceland are registered trademarks with the USPTO.}

"In my lifetime it's a proud feeling that my car went into Graceland Museum," Force said. "I'm there with Rusty Wallace, another great guy. That's something to really be proud of."

I mentioned that Elvis was a great guy who gave back to his fans. "You do the same," I said. "You give back to the fans like he did."

"Thanks to the peanut butter," Force said. "When I went to Graceland for the first time I was going to try a banana and peanut butter sandwich. They cook them with butter and they are really good. I ate one outside and went back to eat another. Then I walked around and went back to eat a third one. I don't cook them at home. I eat peanut butter sandwiches. A part from that when you fight the fight, and Elvis' fight was no different than ours, you have to strive to be good and push your people to the limit. My daughter is learning that. It's a real journey. It's how to make you good with people. It's how to make you good with the media. Someone has to push you just like my dad pushed me. If you want to be good, be the best at what you do. You train yourself.

"The road is very tiring. I go out there some days, and I don't have the strength. Then you'll see some kid smile and a woman jumping up and down saying 'I love you.' I probably give away more hats than anyone. It takes a lot of time for fans to get up front, three hours to get a picture with me. So you take the time for someone who cares and you give them a hat. You wouldn't believe all the stuff I get everyday, and I give that away too.

"You push your people and after a while you love them because they have been with you for so long. You find yourself wanting to give back not only to the fans, but to the people who got you here, like Austin Coil, Dave Densmoore and don't forget Tom Compton, president of the NHRA. We talk when we have a minute. You call him or he calls you. He cares.

"Right after September 11th, we were running a tight rope trying to figure out how to get trailers and people to Memphis. I called Tom Compton and asked him what he was going to do about it. First Compton says, 'Who is this?' I told him it's John Force. Compton said 'I can't believe you are calling me.' I told him I tried to call President Bush, but he wouldn't take the call, so I called my president."

"The New York towers were a real wakeup call. I never saw Pearl Harbor and you only see stuff like that in the movies. Watching the Twin Tower tragedies in New York on TV was like watching a movie, people jumping off the buildings, holding hands and all. I've been impressed the way Americans and the world have rallied.

Our talk drifted to movies and actors and more, when I found a few racing questions I intended to ask Force when time permitted. When we heard a Top Fuel Dragster rumble on the track Force knew he was scheduled to run shortly. He preferred to stay and comment. (He still wasn't in a hurry)

"Their burnouts are a little short. We do our burnouts a quarter mile. Yeah, when I hear that it's kind of a trip. I've thought about doing this a few times. After making a run, spin my car out and head back up the road, but after I go through lights there's usually no motor left."

"I wouldn't try to teach a NASCAR driver anything, but I've heard Darrell Waltrip mention the "John Force" burnout in interviews and I'm proud for that association."

"I have friends in NASCAR, but I don't get real close to people. I probably get closer to the fans than to my own kids. It's sad to say. My kids and I have really been talking lately and you find that sometimes you start treating your really close friends like family. Like with Austin Coil, I love him like a brother. When you run into a Dale Earnhardt and he takes a few minutes to acknowledge you like he did to me that year at the Driver of the Year, I stood for a moment and thought that you couldn't have a greater individual give you a pat on the back. Not meaning that you are a super-star. Just because of his accomplishments. That's an individual who dedicated his whole life to something, just like Richard Petty. His whole life. He gave up everything to be the greatest person he could be in that sport. Not just because they won. I base them on their fan following, not how many races they won. I look at Richard Petty, years after he retires and he still has this big fan following around him. Are they there because of 200 wins, or are they there because they know he will take the time to sign an autograph. I listened to Darrell Waltrip, I think he is one of the best speakers I've ever met. I loved John F. Kennedy when I was young, the way he could capture you in the conversation and totally make you want to listen to things that you didn't understand about the world. If I can be a friend and say that I had a few friends in my life that accomplished something, that's what it's all about. Like (NHRA president) Tom Compton, I've never been to dinner with him, but I consider him a friend because of what he's doing for the sport. I pick my friends a little differently, not from what they've done, but what they are trying to accomplish and what they're getting done."

"I'm so excited when I see Tony Pedregon racing. The kid has so much energy and he's working the ropes harder. I told him the importance of fans at the ropes. Watching him and Gary Densham win and watching my daughter come around is so exciting for me as an owner. It's a great feeling when I can run over to Gary Scelzi when his car caught on fire. Gary said, 'Unbelievable what happens to a Funny car when it blows up.' I was worried for this car because I love the Johnson family. They had given a big piece of their lives in a loss of their brother Blaine Johnson. How much do you have to give to earn the right just to be here? There are no rules. God makes the rules. There are no rights. You just do it because you love it. It's such a great sport."

"I've had people ask me, 'Do you think this sport would be as great without John Force?' Hell yes, it would be. The NHRA POWERade drag racing series is such a great product. I've said once that if we didn't get a serious sponsor we would be in trouble. Sure, the sponsor helps you pay the bills and helps you grow. This sport is so good and has a great following that it's going to grow its own merit of what it sells. It's bigger than John Force, Kenny Bernstein or Don Prudhomme. It's the ground floor for junior dragster kids. I've been out to watch the junior dragsters. We have little league baseball in drag racing. It can't get any better than that.

"Then we have the Pro Mods come over here to race too. This product that we sell is all about racing. It's not about street racing. We don't support street racing. We support the people who race their hot rods with a seat belt and a helmet on drag strips across America and around the world. I'm proud of the NHRA. It's great product. 50 years from now when I'm not around, someone else will be there to take this product to the next level.

Force was still not pressed to get ready to run when talk returned to the subject of movies. He loves movies and he couldn't remember the name of a specific actor in one movie. His mind toiled, his curiosity wouldn't let up. We heard the rumbling sound of more dragsters going down the track. We knew the Force Funny cars would be next to run and we were urgent to leave so Force could prepare to race. On the way out of the bus he asked his daughter about the actor and she knew his name. Force repeated the actor's name to us and smiled, as if his hungry mind had just been fed a tasty answer.

We departed knowing that finally, it was time for John Force to "be in a hurry"….a BIG HURRY.