Force's next generation

I'm just curious...

All the alcohol teams are parked at the far end of the paddock in Englishtown, with the sportsman even further out than that.

Yet the Force daughters are parked on prime real estate right in the middle of the fuel teams. How does that work out?

And how do the two younger daughters get to run Englishtown when neither has 6 grade points but other drivers (including me) with more grade points can't get into our home race?

I am not trying to be argumentative but shouldn't all drivers and teams have equal treatment?

 

Yeah, I agree it should be the same for everyone but their last name is "FORCE" and that's all that matters in NHRA's eyes. It does suck for guys like you who are more deserving and can't get it, totally

 

Oh well!

That sucks! I remember Ashley being on the pavement with her super comp car, it's not right. Although, NHRA would not be what it is today without John Force so, I say give them whatever they want because they're all HOT!!!! That's what fans want, super fast hot chicks. Oh, sorry. That's just what I want.

 

Anyone notice the A&E driving farces advertisement painted on the guard walls at the finish line? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

Pit parking

I don't know John but have much respect for him. You would think however that in his position you would not allow this to continue. Even if NHRA offered to allow the a-fuel car and the comp. car into the fuel fit area John must know that it will cause hard feelings among the other contestants. The only statement this makes is that if you have enough money and stroke the rules don't apply. This situation can only hurt the sport and John Force racing in the long run. In the future it will be hard for NHRA to refuse to allow any a-fuel or comp car that has an association with a top fuel car to park next to them. Not a good situation here. You let anyone break the rule and it is no longer a rule.

 

It's not often in any motorsport that you can see a father and his 2 or 3 very beautiful daughters competiting at the same event and I think for NHRA, the Force family is a great marketing opportunity, same thing for Oakley and Castrol. A lot more than a Joe Blow.

It's not fair with the other racers, I agree, but remenber this is not a sport matters, it's business!

 

Flexable rules

Wildride,
Most people understand the marketing potential of having your comp or a-fuel car in the fuel pits. However if NHRA continues with this policy where will it end. Everytime a son, daughter, grandchild, or any other family member starts to race it will be difficult for NHRA to say no since the rules are flexable depending on who you are. Next we'll see a stock car in the fuel pits. NHRA should make an ammendment to the rule book stating that all rules are flexable depending on who you are and wheather it benifits NHRA. AT least it would be out on the table then. At Houston Ashley was in the TAD pits and the comp car was next to her . This raised a few eyebrows among the competetors but at least it was not the fuel pits. I guess there will always be reasons for ignoring rule infractions, still does not make it right.

 

I think Force probably has to pay for the pit space for his daughters, just like all of the Pros do for extra space for sponsor hospitality. If I remember right, its $2000 per space per event, or $1500 per space with a full season commitment. I don't see Force's daughters pitted next to him as being any different than Shoe taking up 6 or 8 spaces for sponsor hospitality.

 

According to the NHRA's website, they filmed part of the final episode of A&E's "Driving Force" in Englishtown this past weekend, hopefully this is an isolated incident, and not the norm

 

Did ya see the picture of the Force girls and Dad on the nhra site? no wonder Ashley couldent drive her dads car, she has legs as long as a gazel, her dad has legs as long as a beagle, gess where her knees were when she drove dads car.

 

I felt the same way as some of you when I saw her car parked in the better pits at some races. But, we need to remember what makes this sport happen, sponsor dollars. The Force family is doing big things to promote this sport, especially the reality show soon to air. This is going to help more people exited about drags and come to more races. The more people in the stands the better potential for sponsorship money, ...the better for us all.

Lets not get to short sighted about something that has no effect on how fast you can run. Whether or not she has a better pit does not effect your pit. Lets not waist time in 'thats not fair' junk, we should be focused on racing. Ask yourself what you have done for the sport in a whole, ...we all should stop by and shake John's hand and give him thanks for making the sport better for us all.

 

Being "fair" Is Now Junk

Some might question wheather drag racing has been good to John or John has been good to drag racing. Personaly I think both apply. I am not supprised to hear though that expecting fair treatment is considered junk!
This seems to be the current thinking in the country today. Any futher statemants concerning this subject would probably bring out futher replies and have even more "what have you done for the sport lately" comments. Might even get into personal accusations. Sure would like to hear from NHRA or John Force though about how they are justifying these rules exceptions.

 

I wish I could have been focused on racing at Englishtown, but I, and more than a few Division 1 regulars, couldn't get in. I don't know if it was the lack of the proper surname or a dearth of TV cameras following me around on raceday...

 

How can some one run fast when you cant even get in the track ?all the big teams, Force, Shoemaker, got all the sponcers there are others too , then to take prime pit space thats a real slap in the face, i said it a long time ago ,pretty soon this will be a sport for just all the big teams, they will be racing themselves, and not realy care who wins, just as long as there team gets the money. My hat`s off to the Kaletta team at least they stick to the pro racing, John , Don, HOW MANY RABBITS CAN YOU EAT?

 

Force has to pay for each of those spots. I thought our pit spot was better than Ashley's. I also think she is great for our class, despite what a lot of people say about her. So what if she gets a little bit of extra treatment. Look at all the publicity she brought to our class in the past two years. That only makes other sponsors interested in helping out the people of our class. Her pit spot should be the least of our worries. That doesn't affect her performance. Our pit spot was down by the finishline and we outran her on sunday. I would be willing to take that trade-off any day. The point is, she is great for the advancement of our class.

 

Doesn't this create a safety concern with the cars from different classes leaving and returning at different times? I don't know the run order from the race, but imagine trying to get the TAD out and the Super Comp cars in during the F/C warm-ups.

 

If you think NHRA has Brown nosed Force in the Past, Compton/Light are getting fitted for the Kneepads as we speak. Cause once this TV show starts, NHRA will make it seem like the Forces ARE NHRA!

 

Parking /Entry NHRA

I know for a fact, it is because of the Force name that certain rules are bent just a little by the NHRA Officials. It is not because of the female drivers either.(First, let it be known that I love John Force and his whole family. John paid his dues and if I was handed a ride like the Force Daughters, I would milk it to the MAX!!! No sour grapes here, they are great drivers!!) Back to the NHRA facts, a few years back, my Team was denied entry to E-town with the excuse that there was not enough parking spaces for any additional Alky cars. While that sounded real good,I,like some of the other commenters could not help but notice that over half of the parking area was used up by a couple dozen "PRO" cars. I wonder what NHRA would use as "Fillers" if all the "Little Guys" would stay home from the National events? I agree that we have to have the Pro cars and big sponsors too, but I do not feel that the Sportsmen racers are getting a fair deal. Of course, I am treated differently because I get pretty vocal when I have something to say. You know...like the so called Insurance coverage that we members are supposed to have and guard rails past the finish line should be mandatory. As a result of my "Mouth" I was told that because I race at IHRA events that I can not take advantage of certain privileges. They said that I had not raced at NHRA for years. Goes to show what they know about us "Little Guys", I sent a copy of my Top Five Position in my Division for the previous year. While this may sound bitter to some, it is not meant to be taken that way. My point is that there are hundreds of good Sportsmen racers that devote their lives to racing NHRA and they do not get a FAIR SHAKE. I think NHRA should bend the rules a little for them also or make the rules the same for everyone. NHRA is a big business and they can not make everyone happy, but they should remember who made them "BIG".