her, that’s the exciting part about the future.
Should she continue to get better – and the past
five seasons certainly indicate that will be the
case – there will be more wins and possibly more
championships, more than enough to keep her
excited about her Top Fuel career.
Last year’s success also quelled the notion –
at least temporarily – about heading to Funny
Car, the traditional Force stomping grounds. It’s
where her dad, legendary 16-time champion John
Force, sister Courtney and JFR teammate Robert
Hight have thrived, but Brittany’s heart remains
with the dragster as she enters the final season
of a three-year deal with Monster that she and
Courtney spearheaded.
There have been rumblings about Brittany
moving to Funny Car and significant financ-
es have already been spent to get her licensed.
Winning a championship may have changed the
story for now while Brittany’s focus remains on
the dragster.
“I have a handful of goals in mind, including
improving as a driver,” asserts Force, who won
four races in 2017. “There’s still areas I want to
better myself as a driver and there’s still areas I
need to work on. There’s drivers who have been
out here for a long time, but even if it takes a
while to get there, I want to improve on things.
I know it’s going to be a process. Some weekends
you kill it, some weekends you screw up. It’s using
those experiences to push you as a driver and
push you to get better. There’s a lot of moments
that are tough to overcome, but that’s what has
made me better.”
Force’s independent nature hasn’t gone un-
noticed by her legion of fans, either in person or
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on social media. They have witnessed the downs
– going winless the first 74 races of her career, or
the red light in the final round of Las Vegas be-
fore Pomona – and enjoyed the ups just as much
as Force, providing plenty of motivation for the
31-year-old standout.
In turn, Force hopes
she has given back just as
much in the way of inspi-
ration and dream chasing.
The massive number of
young fans, as well as fe-
male fans, around her pit
is hard to miss, and giving
something back in return
has always been important
to Force.
“I never expected it, but I
always hoped to be a good
role model,” Force offers.
“That’s one of the great
things about thi s sport is
there’s so many kids, so any
way I can inspire them, it’s
great. Being the first female
to win Top Fuel in 35 years,
I hope that inspires a bunch
of them, even if it’s outside
of racing and working on
their careers or whatever
it is. Hopefully it inspires
them to step outside of their
comfort zone.
“Winning in Top Fuel
was something new and
it wasn’t easy, but I had to
step outside my comfort zone. It if helps someone
do that and go after their goals, that’s truly what
I love. It pushes me to be a good role model and
hopefully inspire people.”
Stepping outside her own comfort zone
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