John Force to have new livery in Charlotte
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| John Force's new look |
CHARLOTTE, NC — This weekend at one of the most exciting and unique motorsports events in the country, the 6th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway, will begin on Friday outside of Charlotte, NC. A new look for the Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car driven by 16-time Funny Car champion and inaugural Four-Wide Nationals winner John Force will also be grabbing attention. Force’s 10,000 horsepower Funny Car 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 Anti-freeze & 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. 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."
In advance of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals the three JFR Funny Car drivers attended the Auto Club 400 in Fontana, California. The trio including Force, Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club Chevy, and Courtney Force, Traxxas Chevy Funny Car driver, participated in a stage show for sponsor Automobile Club of Southern California and they also mingled with drivers and sponsors on the starting grid before the race began including Peak sponsored driver Clint Bowyer.
“We are headed back to NASCAR country this weekend and it was great to see some NASCAR drivers and spend time with their fans. One of the cool things I saw was the people with signs that that said ‘Thanks Jeff!’ which as a great show of respect for Jeff Gordon. I got to spend the most time with Clint Bowyer and our boss Bryan Emrich, the chief marketing officer Old World Industries," added Force.
Force is used to making news and noise at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. He participated in the very first four-wide race, an 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 fire suit 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 on board 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 Robert Hight finishing ahead of Alexis DeJoria and Tim Wilkerson. Force’s 8-4 record at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals is second only to teammate Robert 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 drag strips and over the off-season they resurfaced the race track. I bet it will be even better for the Four-Wides," said Force.