JOHN FORCE
figure out what’s missing inside of me.” How
am I going to make this show better? I owe it
to the sport. It made me financially stable in
life – wealthy, maybe. What am I going to do
to take drag racing to the next level, to try to
lead the way, where maybe these kids will look
at me and learn from me?
WB: Do you believe we must look back at the
past to see where we are heading?
JF: The other day, we got Austin Prock li-
censed (in Funny Car). The kid is unbeliev-
able. Full of energy. He’s like Eric Medlen. I’m
watching him go through his ritual and driving
this race car. I’ve known his dad, Jimmy, since
he was a little kid. I knew his grandpa, Tom
Prock. He drove the “Detroit Tiger” Funny Car.
One time we went and had breakfast: Robert
Hight, Tom Prock and Al Segrini and me. Just
sitting there for an hour, I never spoke and
Robert never spoke. Tom Prock and Al Segri-
ni – old-time racers – put on a show that me
and Robert walked out in awe of. Just a show
telling stories. Talked about the old days, seeing
me argue face-to-face with Prudhomme over
stupid shit. They just told stories. I said how
can you remember that? I didn’t think anyone
even saw it. He knows I love Don Prudhomme.
Prudhomme will stand up and fight in a min-
ute and so will I. It was just amazing – almost
unbelievable the entertainment value that two
guys sitting in a coffee shop telling stories could
produce. I couldn’t believe just listening to
them talk could get me so wired up. We went
outside and I told Robert I want to scream,
“Hurrah!” It was that motivating. It made me
want to go to work, and to remember where
we came from, and tell people our story. Those
guys were personalities. We need personalities.
And you don’t have to go that far back to find
them – we’ve had ‘em. Whit Bazemore? He was
a personality. Al Hofmann? He was, too.
WB: You’re absolutely right. A lot of people
hated Whit, but they loved to hate him. That’s
what we want, right?
JF: A lot of people did, but I never did. I knew
we needed him. Everybody said, “The way he
talks to you, do you hate him?” No, I love him.
I love him because he could motivate me. He’d
piss you off so bad. Him and Al Hoffman. Those
were personalities. And we’ve got ‘em now. Don’t
think we don’t. Cruz Pedregon, he’s an old-school
guy – he’s still doing it.
WB: I have to admit that I only recently
discovered just how big of a personality Cruz
Pedregon is – so full of energy, packed with
opinions and a point of view. He’s a live wire. I
halfway hate that isn’t something that is front-
and-center.
JF: He’s one of the best. No question. He’ll
drive the 18-wheeler. That’s what I love about
him. He’s on me all the time over stuff. You just
wouldn’t believe the crap I’m listening to that
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these guys get on me about. They’re not annoying
to me, though. They’re part of what motivates me.
I take that thing that aggravates me about them,
and I turn it into a positive. That’s what you’ve got
to do. I get rid of the negatives and I turn them
into positives, and I move ahead down the road.
You look at this (Steve) Torrence kid in Top
Fuel. My daughter won the championship, but he
fought her all the way to the end, right up until
the last race. In his mind, he believes he won. I
don’t even disagree with him. He had a race car
“How am I going
to make this show
better? I owe it to the
sport. It made me
financially stable in
life - wealthy, maybe.”
that was whipping everybody, then he crashed
there in Dallas. But to watch him come out of
that car and fight back, he’s got a personality. I
love it about him.
There’s so many guys – and gals – who are
coming up the ladder. They’re what’s going to
save this sport. Maybe there has to be a gap
where these personalities have to evolve, but
they’re it’s starting to happen. As you get rid of
the old-school, the new-school takes over. I’m
one of the last ones to hang on. They’ll probably
be rid of me soon. The new personalities will
come in because TV will find them. Fox Sports
will find those personalities and they’ll grow.
That’s a positive about our sport. The circus
will evolve. I’m old-school and I’m trying to
hang on, and I’m trying to help, but maybe it’s
stuck in a rut with me.
WB: [Laughs] I don’t know about that, John.
I spend a lot of time wondering where we’d be
without you, and what we’ll do without you. I
do know that you, personally, have been in
a few ruts before, but you seem to have come
out on the other side. Like when you lost two
of your biggest sponsors a few years ago – half
your budget – what did it take to move forward?
Issue 135
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