Brittany Force Brings Heart and Legacy to Final Full-Time Races
- Crystal Clay
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
By Crystal Clay
LAS VEGAS — The taste and aroma of nitro hang heavy over The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Fans press against the fence as crews roll cars into the staging lanes.
Somewhere in that blur of noise and smoke against the backdrop of desert mountains, John Force leans toward his daughter Brittany’s cockpit and shares a fist bump. A quiet ritual that’s outlasted records, championships, wrecks and time.
“Drive from the heart.”
It’s the line she’s carried her entire career, one that began in the grandstands beside her sisters and her mother, watching her father walk from explosions into championships. He’s recited it before every run, season, and heartbreak. And this weekend it carries more weight than ever.
For the first time in over a decade of full-time racing, Brittany Force enters Las Vegas not only as a contender but as a woman preparing to close a significant chapter not only for herself but for the world of racing. She’s fifth in points and technically still in the hunt for the championship, realistically chasing something deeper than standings; presence, peace and purpose, the kind you can only find when you have the last name Force.
“You carry so much weight as a driver,” she said. “There’s always pressure. Whether it’s first round or the final, your sponsors are behind you, you’re in the hunt for a championship, and my dad always says, ‘Drive from the heart.’ It means get back to remembering why you love it. Block out the noise and focus on driving your car.”
Last year’s fall win in Las Vegas still lives vividly in her mind. Her father had just returned to the racetrack after a terrifying wreck in Richmond, one that left him hospitalized for months. Brittany stayed by his side, skipped a race and watched him fight through physical therapy in Phoenix and Pomona.
“I knew we were going to win,” she recalled. “It was my dad’s first race back. I had this gut feeling. And we did. We doubled up. Austin Prock and I brought him home two wins for John Force Racing. After everything he’d been through, that weekend will always stand out.”
A year later, she returns to the same track carrying both that memory and the knowledge that this run is part of her own comeback. Not from a crash, but from the emotional intensity of closing a 13-year stretch as one of drag racing’s most powerful figures.
Force set both ends of the Top Fuel track record at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2019 with a 3.659-second pass at 338.17 mph, which at the time was the fastest run in NHRA Top Fuel history.
Her team hasn’t visited the winner’s circle since Epping, New Hampshire, but hunger isn’t something you can measure on paper. The goal is simple and familiar: qualify in the top three, turn on four win lights and finish what they started. But beneath the stats is something more human. An understanding that each pass now carries a trace of farewell.
At 343.51 mph, Brittany Force holds the national mile-per-hour record. She laughs when people ask if she’s chasing higher numbers.
“343 is fast enough for me,” she said. “I don’t want to know what comes after that. We weren’t chasing a record; we were chasing ETs and win lights. The mile-per-hour came in the middle of that. But if someone takes it from me, you better believe I’ll chase it down again.”
For now, her chase looks different. Success is still measured in qualifying points and trophies, but also in connection.
“If I can inspire somebody by doing what I do, that’s a win in itself,” she said. “And success is enjoying the ride, being in the moment, having your heart in the game and loving every second of it.”
That mindset has made Brittany one of the most popular drivers in the pits. She’s always signing, always smiling, always giving fans a moment. But those moments come at a price. Behind the schedule, the smiles and the horsepower is a life defined by motion; constant, relentless motion.
“I live out of a suitcase,” she said. “We’re in a different city every weekend. I probably do six to eight sponsor appearances on off weeks, too. I miss being home. That’s what I’m looking forward to — being home more than I have in 13 years.”
If there’s one moment she’ll carry forward, it won’t be silence though, it’ll be sound.
“One of my favorite sounds this season came from Sonoma,” she said, referring to the video of her 340-plus mph run. “Our PR guy filmed from the starting line. The stands were packed. At the end, you hear the roar of the fans. When I saw that video, it was surreal. That sound, that energy — it’s something I’ll never forget.”
That same sound will rise again in Las Vegas this weekend. The Strip, with its neon skyline and desert wind, has always been a mirror of the sport itself: glamour mixed with grit, spectacle grounded in sweat. For Force, it’s the stage for one last surge before Pomona, before home or whatever comes next.
“It’s a roller coaster of emotions,” she admitted. “Coming into these last two, it’s bittersweet. If I could drive and start a family at the same time, I would, but there’s just not a place for that in this sport. So it’s about bringing everything to the starting line and giving it my all for these final races.”
She doesn’t call it retirement, just a pause. The Force family has never been known for staying parked.
“I don’t plan on closing the door to driving in the future,” she said. “I don’t know what my future looks like yet. My husband and I plan to start a family, and if that’s not in the cards, that’s OK. But the biggest lesson my dad ever taught me is leading by example; watching him fight back from those crashes, pushing through therapy, staying motivated. That’s what I carry with me.”
Leaning into the unknown, these final races signal one thing for sure. Some NHRA fans may never again see a Force behind the wheel. Their family legacy will always remain, though. And for the loyal fans who have filled the stands and created memories that will last forever, she says:
“Our NHRA drag racing fans have always been loyal. They’re the reason we get to do what we love every single weekend. I just want to thank them for supporting me, my dad, John Force Racing, through every up and down, every transition. They’ve been incredible.”
As Brittany Force climbs into her Top Fuel dragster this weekend, she won’t overthink the meaning of the moment. She’ll do what she’s always done; clear the noise, steady her breath and drive from her center.
Because the legacy she’s built isn’t just measured in Wally trophies, miles per hour or win lights, but in the thousands of fans who’ve felt something because of her.
The finish line is still ahead, but the imprint of this weekend, of this chapter, is already written in fire and heart. And for anyone lucky enough to catch a glimpse of John and Brittany do their regular track walk or the casual fist bump in the staging lane, the moment runs much deeper than it appears.
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