WILD AT HEART
WELL, just when you think you’ve seen and heard it all in drag racing, something comes along and makes you shake your head in disbelief. Let me back-track to last month when I talked about the meeting at US131 Motorsports Park in Michigan, where a 19-year-old young gun from Florida took out the first prize of US$500,000 – the biggest payday in drag racing. Well, blow me down; it’s just been announced there’s a meeting at Memphis International Raceway planned for May 2020 that will pay US$1 million to the winner. It costs US$3000 to enter and the field will be capped at 450. If you do the maths, 3000 times 450 comes to $1.35 million, so if all goes to plan the promoters are on a good thing. If you fancy your chances, pre-entry opens on 11 October. I reckon over the next 12 months there will be a lot more events with massive prize money on offer, and you’ll soon find million-dollar races becoming more common.
I couldn’t let this month go by without paying tribute to John Force, who has scored his 150th win in NHRA Funny Car. A fantastic achievement from one of the legends of the sport, who turned 70 on 4 May. I remember
when I was growing up thinking that 70 was old, but that’s not the case these days when you see Force still out there racing and winning. What makes his achievement even more impressive is that he’s been lucky to walk away from some huge crashes over the course of his career.
Some of his statistics are amazing: He first started racing in 1977, and it took him 10 years to score his first win. His run of 10 consecutive championships from 1993 to 2002 is unlikely to be equalled. His nearest rival on the all-time winners list is long-retired Pro Stock legend Warren Johnson, with 97 victories.
What is not well known is that Force got his start in racing back in the mid-70s in Australia. He was a last-minute replacement to race along with Gary Densham at Surfers Paradise International Raceway.
According to John Winterburn, head honcho of the venue, there was a press day at the track, and when the Force and Densham Funny Cars went to the line, Force got halfway through the burnout, jumped out and shouted: “The thing’s on fire!” What he didn’t realise was that doing the burnout had filled the car up with smoke. He didn’t have a clue, and said to Winterburn: “I think you know something I know.” The somewhat diplomatic Winterburn replied: “Yep, I do. You’ve never driven this thing before, have you?”
Years later, when Force was interviewed about his early days in Funny Cars, he said: “Australia gave me my start, and I imagine Australia will give me my end. I’m looking forward to going back.” He also added: “I saw a great white shark in the water at Adelaide that could swallow a Volkswagen. I’ve never been back in the water since!”
When I was with Castrol, we almost got him to come to Australia to race. Castrol also sponsored Force, and the plan was for him to race at Calder Park. Keep in mind this was when drag racing at Calder over the summer months was massive and crowds packed this place. I spoke to him at the time and he was really looking forward to racing in Australia. It came very close to happening. But transportation of the cars and other logistics issues, plus the short timeframe between the end of the NHRA season and pre-testing for the next year, meant it got too hard – a real shame.
A final note about John Force. In 2011 fans voted John’s comeback from the devastating accident in Dallas in 2007, where he suffered significant fractures to his legs and hands and then went on to win his 15th NHRA Funny Car
Championship, as the greatest moment in the 60-year history of the sport.
The return of Phil Lamattina to Top Fuel for next season is something I didn’t think would happen. Phil was seriously injured after crashing at Willowbank in 2015 and was adamant that he would never race again. I suspect that watching from the sidelines has reignited his passion. His decision will be a real boost for Top Fuel.
Phil’s return also means that Kelly Bettes has lost her drive, but I don’t believe we will see Kelly out of the sport for very long. Like many drivers, Kelly doesn’t have the financial resources to go it alone. You’ve got to ask yourself: If something doesn’t eventuate in Top Fuel, could she drive a Pro Slammer? The answer is simple. Kelly could drive a Slammer standing on her head. We already have Michelle Davies racing in the class, and a second woman would be a great addition to the category. Kelly is an awesome talent and has won in every class she’s raced in, from her Junior Dragster days through Modified and Sport Compact up to winning a Top Fuel championship. My tip is she will be back running in the Pro series within 12 months.
The word on the street is that Calder Park Raceway and Adelaide International Raceway may finally be having some long-overdue upgrades. From what I’ve heard it’s all been signed off on, and work is expected to be finished before Christmas. What it means is that Adelaide will get a new right-hand wall and Calder Park will have around 1400 feet of new bitumen.
In the past at Adelaide, we were running around 320km/h at the finish line. Well, these days we would be doing those speeds at halftrack.
For Calder Park, the track upgrades will allow the return of Group One racing. 400 Thunder has been in talks with Calder Park management and it looks like we could have a meeting there early in 2020. The signs and messages coming from both parties look positive. If it is eighthmile racing or even 1000 feet, so be it.
According to the 400 Thunder General Manager Steve Bettes, “when the facility is available and ready to host Australian drag racing’s premier series, we will be there with our professional teams to make a great impact for the sport again in Melbourne.”
We can roll our eyes and say yeah, I’ve heard it before that Group One drag racing is coming back to Calder, but this time there appears to be more substance to the story. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
JOHN FORCE HAS SCORED HIS 150TH WIN IN NHRA FUNNY CAR – A FANTASTIC ACHIEVEMENT FROM ONE OF THE LEGENDS OF THE SPORT, WHO TURNED 70 IN MAY