On The Run with John Force driver of the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang Funny Car

National Dragster, May 28, 2004 by Force, John

At the end of the day in Atlanta, after all of our Ford Mustangs got spanked, it made me very proud that my daughter Ashley was able to take our sponsors, especially Castrol, Ford, Auto Club, and Mac Tools, to the final round with Jerry Darien, Ken Meadows, and the Mattel Toy Store Top Alcohol Dragster.

As experienced as I am, I've never driven an A/Fuel dragster, so there's not much I can offer except moral support. But seeing my kid going right down that alley and seeing the crowds at her trailer, that really gave me my heart back.

Otherwise, it was not a good weekend. We may have put our Castrol Ford in the winner's circle in Bristol, but when we came to Atlanta, we were never in the game. So I spent most of my Sunday with my crew chiefs - Austin Coil, Bernie Fedderly, John Medien, and Jimmy Prock - reevaluating our entire operation. Afterward, we had a team meeting, but it wasn't to celebrate.

This is as jammed up as I've ever seen the Funny Car points. The top eight teams are just 116 points apart, and it seems like we keep passing the Wally around every week. Most recently it was Baze's turn. Before that, Tim Wilkerson, Phil Burkart Jr., Del Worsham, and Jerry Toliver. Our Fords have been right there, too, but in an operation that has been as successful as this one, when all three cars fail, you look for a weak link. According to my crew, it may have been me.

Austin and Bernie said, "We know that because of where you came from that your biggest fear is not having a sponsor, and that's why you work so far ahead." That's why I was in Atlanta a day early - to meet with Mannheim Auctions and Cox Cable.

But as much as I need to focus on the future, they told me not to forget the present. So I'm going to continue to chase money, but I need to get my race-day focus back where it belongs: in the pits.

Maybe we can start turning it around in Chicago, where last year we ran 4.721 seconds to set the national record, but I think we took the first big step Monday after Atlanta. Though we test after most races in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Atlanta just felt different. It didn't feel like we were just going through the motions; it felt like everybody finally was on the same page.

I haven't forgotten how to win. Neither has Gary Densham, who saved me when we were both racing in Australia 30 years ago and who's helping me teach the game to our new Castrol Syntec driver, Eric Medien. But even though you know how to win, sometimes in trying to grow and please all your bosses you forget your priorities. All of a sudden, you're up to your ass in alligators.

So starting now, if I don't have time to do everything people expect, bear with me because I fully intend to put my focus and the focus of everyone in my operation back on this championship hunt.

Working on expansion and sponsorship and media - including a guest spot on The Dennis Miller Show on CNBC May 25 - you think you're doing the right thing, but you can't forget about what got you here in the first place, and that's the race car.

It came back to me with Ashley and again with Karen Stoffer, the Pro Stock Bike rider who won her first national event in Bristol. Her excitement in getting her first Wally sent me back to when I won for the first time, and while we were doing a feature piece with ESPN, it reminded me of what's most important.

She was amazed at all of the stuff that has enabled us to win 13 championships, but I told her, in all honesty, all you need is what's out there at the ropes: those fans. If they're there - even when you lose, like in Atlanta - that'll bring the sponsors and that'll bring the money that will get you whatever else you need.

Here's a young person with a great future and a lot of heart and determination. She reminds me a lot of myself when I was young - except that she's a whole lot better looking.

So I'll get my mind off real estate. I'll get my mind off new buildings and get it back where it belongs. Maybe I left too much of my job to the 53 people in the pits.

I want to assure my fans and my sponsors, everyone from Castrol and Ford to Action Performance and MBNA, that I may have been distracted, but I'm back - and so is this race team.