NHRA RACING

Jason Line raced to his fourth Pro Stock victory of the season Sunday in the Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals to move closer to securing his first NHRA POWERade world championship title.

Cory McClenathan and Eric Medlen also won their divisions in the $1.6 million competition at Virginia Motorsports Park, the 21st of 23 events in the series.

Line, who set a national performance record of 6.558 seconds during the weekend and scored the single race maximum of 138 points, leads teammate Greg Anderson by 119 points. In the final, the former NASCAR dyno operator drove his Pontiac GTO to a 6.597 at 208.42 to hold off Tom Martino, 6.645 at 207.78 also in a GTO.

"This is such a huge, huge step toward the championship," said Line, who can clinch the title if he scores 20 more points than Anderson in the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals on Oct. 26-29. "It was tough to race Greg in the semifinals because we all knew what was on the line, but we just raced like we have all year: straight up. This whole team is special, from the guys at the track to the guys at the shop. It's good that no matter what, the championship is staying with us."

McClenathan powered his Top Fuel dragster to his 29th career victory and fourth at VMP with a final-round performance of 4.644 seconds at 304.74 mph. He held off Rod Fuller, whose dragster lost traction at the start.

Medlen earned his second Funny Car victory of the season and sixth of his career, defeating Cruz Pedregon in the final. Medlen's Ford Mustang posted a 4.814 at 301.00, while Pedregon's Chevy Monte Carlo ran 4.873 at 297.02.

The drag racing star has won an unprecedented 12 titles and his team John Force Racing has won 13 championships in 14 seasons, an unrivalled feat. It’s a record that Force is hoping to add to in 2006 as his enthusiasm after so many years at the top is completely undiminished. "I still love the driving," says the 56-year-old Force. "As long as I can do this without hurting my team, I’m going to do it. It’s not like you have to drive around for hours. It’s like sex. You only have to do it for five seconds."

It’s this light-hearted approach that has endeared Force to so many fans over the years. But don’t mistake it for a lack of dedication, for his determination and attention to detail are what have kept John Force Racing at the front for so long.

After slim beginnings in the early 1980s, his career gathered momentum when John joined forces with his now legendary crew chief Austin Coil in 1985. Castrol came on board at the same time and the following year Force qualified in the number one spot for the first time. Wins followed and in 1990, the first of many titles arrived.

An NHRA season wouldn’t be the same without it’s biggest star and 2006 won’t be any different with Force aiming to add his collection of trophies, which is almost as big as the character who owns them.


For John Force, racing is everything. Well, racing and his family of four daughters and wife Laurie. But with daughter Ashley rising up through the ranks he now firmly gets the best of both worlds. To assume that young Ashley has got where she is on the name of her famous father alone is to overlook a genuine drag racing talent. Ashley burst onto the scene in 2004 winning the US Nationals, the Division 4 points championship and the season-ending Auto Club Finals, which produced the first ever father/daughter winners at the same NHRA event.

With four daughters, Force could have been forgiven for thinking that his racing dynasty might end with him, but little did he know how successful a 16th birthday present session at Frank Hawley’s driving school would turn out to be. Ashley took to it like a duck to water and hasn’t looked back since. Neither has her dad.

"I’m a typical father who always wanted his son to grow up and drive his race car," says Force. "But I don’t have any sons, so I always hoped one of my girls would have an interest. Ashley took auto mechanics at school and I never even did that. It’s great having her on the tour with me." Ashley Force: "Last year came along and everything changed." It hasn’t been all plain sailing for Ashley though. After her debut season of success, 2005 was a more trying year without a single win. But she is convinced she learned more last year than during all the success of 2004.

"I learned so much more last year than I did my first year," Ashley stated. "In 2004, everything went right and I guess I thought 'this isn't so hard.' Then last year came along and everything changed."

"I was used to the car going A to B, every run," she explained, "but last year it never just went A to B. It shook the tires. It smoked the tires. It dropped cylinders. It ran to the wall. Dad told me that anyone can drive a car when everything's perfect. It's what you do when things aren't perfect that separates the drivers."

Both father and daughter will be hoping Ashley can repeat the success of 2004 and separate herself from the other drivers as she takes on the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster championship again this year. A seat in a Funny Car is Ashley’s ultimate goal, but it won’t be her dad’s car.

"Last year, it was hard for her to get comfortable in my car," Force says. "We had to add padding and change the pedals every time she went out. It made more sense to build a car that fit her. So that's what we did. It's the car she'll drive when she moves up, whether that's next year or the year after that. It's whenever she's ready. Not whenever I'm ready."


Eric Medlen is further proof that the staircase of talent that seems to be the backbone of John Force Racing really does deliver, having worked his way up to the giddy heights of race driver from the shop floor.

The four-time NHRA event winner joined John Force Racing as a mechanic in 1996 after turning his back on a career as a potential pro rodeo rider. Medlen spent five seasons as the supercharger specialist on Force’s car before switching to the clutch for the following two years, before stepping into the driving seat in 2003.

"It’s unbelievable," Medlen said at the time. "But to do it with John Force Racing, with my dad and with his guys and the ones who won the championship last year. It’s like a fairy tale really."

The 33-year-old continues the family tradition at John Force Racing with his father John acting as crew chief for his Castrol-backed 7,000 horsepower Ford Mustang Funny Car. Having his dad close at hand has been a big help to Eric. Medlen senior is considered to be one of the most innovative mechanics in the sport and that’s clearly something that has rubbed off on Eric from when he used to sweep up at his dad’s machine shop as a kid.

Medlen: "He said drive it like you mean it." Medlen learnt his skills behind the wheel first in karting and then at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School in Florida. Racing legend and team boss John Force has also helped him every step of the way.

"He’s a great coach," Medlen says of his team leader. "He told me to just go out there and have fun. Everything will take care of itself. Drive it with your heart. Drive it like you mean it and don’t worry about anything else."

Having notched up three tour victories on his way to fourth place in the NHRA Powerade championship last year, Medlen can’t wait to get his 2006 campaign underway.


Following in the footsteps of John Force Racing team-mate Eric Medlen, Robert Hight has made his way up to the top flight of drag racing the old fashioned way – and he’s all the better for it.

Hight won the coveted rookie of the year award in 2005 after completing a maiden season to be proud of. The Californian wound up an impressive fifth in his first full championship of Funny Car drag racing, just one place behind Medlen and two behind third-placed team leader John Force.

Like Medlen, Hight made it into one of the fastest seats in racing after getting a thorough grounding from within as a key member of the John Force Racing crew. After dreaming of cars for as long as he can remember and after much pestering, Hight started out with Top Fuel racer Roger Primm. He then moved on to JFR where he landed a job as a clutch technician.

Hight got to know the 7,000 horsepower Ford Mustang racer inside out and was soon asked to transfer that knowledge to the cockpit as test driver. He would notch up more than 40 quarter mile runs on Mondays after NHRA events and from there, it was just a small step to a full-blown race seat.

"I always wanted to be around racing," explains Hight. "I bugged Roger Primm every week for probably a year because he was the closest guy to me , about three hours away. Finally he hired me when he went Top Fuel racing."

Hight has become part of the Force racing dynasty as more than just a driver. The 35-year-old is also John’s son-in-law after marrying his eldest daughter Adria, who helps to run her father’s team.

"She would see a light on at the shop and stop by to talk," says Hight. "She asked me to go do things with her, but I wouldn’t. Finally, she told John and he came to me and said ‘if you want to hang out with Adria, don’t worry about it." "I’m still a little nervous," he says. "There’s pressure in shooting because if your mind wanders for just a second you’ll fail. But there was never any pressure like this. In shooting if you failed, it was just you who failed. Now it’s a whole team."

Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon raced his Don "the Snake" Prudhomme-owned Miller Lite dragster to the provisional No. 7 qualifying position with a 4.704-second pass Friday at Texas Motorplex to begin qualifying at the 21st annual O'Reilly Fall Nationals.

The 38-time NHRA winner used a tune-up from co-crew chiefs Don Bender and Todd Smith to blast the Miller Lite/Lucas Oil rail to a performance of 4.704 seconds at 318.84 mph to place his blue dragster third in the 16-car order after the first qualifying sessions. On Friday's second attempt, Dixon's dragster overpowered the race track and slowed to a 7.940-second pass.

The 1995 NHRA Rookie of the Year and 2001 winner of the Dallas race aims to move higher in the Top Fuel order when nitro qualifying resumes on Saturday afternoon with sessions schedule for 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. (CT).