Sixteen-time Funny Car champion John Force will have a new look for his Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car at the 6th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.
Force will go all white with the iconic gold Chevrolet Bowtie across the hood and down the sides. This will be the first race of 2015 with the Chevrolet look, which will be campaigned at a select number of races this season. The Funny Car will still feature major sponsors Peak Antifreeze & Coolant, BlueDef, Auto Club, Traxxas, Lucas Oil, and Mac Tools prominently.
“I am excited to be racing this Chevrolet-branded Camaro SS Funny Car this weekend. This season we will have a number of different looks on my Funny Car, and it is all about keeping the sponsors happy,” said Force, the winningest driver in NHRA history. “Last weekend I felt like I was back with my roots when we were at the NASCAR race [the Auto Club 400 in Fontana, Calif.]. We were representing Auto Club, and we got to talk with their driver Joey Logano for a few minutes. It was also great to see stars like Jimmie Johnson and [Dale] Earnhardt Jr. We talked about all being in the Chevrolet family now and how cool it was to be on Team Chevy.”
Force is used to making news and noise at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. He participated in the first four-wide unofficial exhibition in late 2009, where he executed by his own admission “one of the longest burnouts in over a decade” before “losing” a close race to then teammate Mike Neff. A few months later, Force won the inaugural Four-Wide Nationals, outrunning daughter Ashley Force Hood for the win on the way to his 15th Mello Yello Funny Car championship. In 2012, Force raced to the final round but came up short to Robert Hight and Cruz Pedregon.
“I’ll have a new Chevrolet firesuit and helmet this weekend, too. We started the season with Peak, and they will be back for most of races. I am talking with some other companies about coming onboard later this season. This weekend will be about promoting Chevrolet and all our sponsors, of course,” added Force.
Last year, Force, who qualified No. 11, still raced to the final round and was runner-up to teammate Hight, finishing ahead of Alexis DeJoria and Tim Wilkerson. Force’s 8-4 record at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals is second only to Hight’s 8-3 record when it comes to JFR dominance at zMAX Dragway’s spring event. In five Four-Wide races, JFR has three wins and two runner-up finishes.
“Bruton Smith built us ‘the Bellagio of dragstrips,’ and over the off-season, they resurfaced the racetrack. I bet it will be even better for the Four-Wides,” said Force.
