Kallmann: John Force can't slow down
If only for a moment, the thought crossed my mind. Maybe John Force is slowing down.
Our interview touched on four topics yet lasted barely 12 minutes. Only once did he get so deep into an answer that he forgot the question.
For 40-some years Force has lived life at 300 mph — faster than that on the drag strip — and his excitable, gushing rambles are as much a part of his legacy as 16 Funny Car titles and 146 victories.
Getting old? Certainly. At 67, Force is acutely aware of his place in life, sport and family.
But slowing down?
He had just come off a luncheon filibuster and paced his way through a phone call while waiting for a cup of coffee in the middle of a one-day stop between races. This was just a 12-minute respite amid a whirlwind of handshakes, back slaps, autographs and inspiration.
So no, he's not slowing down in any appreciable way. Force seems as focused and determined as ever to expand the largest trophy case in NHRA history before he’s done, and he won’t be done for at least five more years.
At least.
“Both of ’em running for president, one’s 67 and the other’s 70,” Force said. “If they can run a country, I can run a race team, that’s the way I look at it.
“When I can’t do my job as a driver, then I need to step out of the seat, but driving is what I love. If my reactions got bad because I was too old . . . but right now I’m still in the hunt.”
Force and his daughters Brittany and Courtney, driver and son-in-law Robert Hight and other members of John Force Racing made a quick stop in Milwaukee on Tuesday to participate in two events involving the Milwaukee Area Technical College, a scholarship luncheon and an open house for automotive students.
“I was trying to get that across in my speech that my dad was my mentor, that people I met along the way, every time there was a crossroads and it was time to quit, somebody was there, like, ‘Don’t quit. You can make it. You can do it,’ ” Force said.
Force won the opener of the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs and leads the full contingent of JFR drivers in contention for an NHRA title.
With four races remaining, he is fourth in Funny Car, with Hight seventh and Courtney eighth. Brittany sits fifth in Top Fuel points.
As team owner — and one so hands on he supervises placement of decals on his 10,000-horsepower Chevrolet — Force wears the hats of boss, dad and cheerleader.
“Then you’ve got to wear the one as a driver, where you want to beat ’em,” he said, “and at my age, 67, you want to win every race you can and want to win another championship.”
Force credits his workouts rehabilitating from the worst crash of his career — he broke both arms and both legs in 2007— as his fountain of youth.
He likes to joke he traded two hours in the bar for two hours in the gym, work that keeps him trim, limber and as quick as ever.
“You never lose the fire in the belly,” Force said. “I create that myself. But you lose that strength, that energy. That’s why I work out and keep myself in shape.
“But what you gain, where you lose some of your youth, you gain your mental (acuity) . . . you gain experience. And that’s what I take to the starting line with me.
“You may be younger than me. You may have fire. But I’ve got experience over you, and that’s how I’ll fight it out for the rest of my career.
“I ain’t going nowhere.”
On the roster
Reagan May of De Pere is among 17 ethnically diverse and female racers set to participate in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity scouting combine Oct. 10-12 at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida.
Those chosen for the program will drive for Rev Racing and receive mentoring in either the K&N Pro Series or Whelen All-American Series for a year.
Among the Drive for Diversity graduates are Sprint Cup race winner Kyle Larson, Xfinity Series winner Daniel Suarez and Darrell Wallace Jr., who won in the Camping World Truck Series.
All done
Tony Stewart isn’t sure who’ll become the voice of the garage when he retires from NASCAR — who’ll do what others won’t when drivers need to get NASCAR’s attention — but he said in an interview this week in Charlotte, N.C., he’s glad it won’t be him anymore.
“It’s somebody else’s responsibility now,” the three-time champion said, as quoted by NBCSports.com. “I’ve had my fill of it. I’ve had my fill of fighting the fight. At some point, you say, ‘Why do I keep fighting this fight when I’m not getting anywhere?’ ’’
Moving on
Josef Newgarden won’t be back with Ed Carpenter Racing for the 2017 IndyCar season, the team confirmed Thursday. The 25-year-old budding American star is expected to replace two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya at Team Penske.