By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The most dominant driver in drag racing history admits that he does wear down.
But usually all John Force needs to do to get his second, third or fourth wind is get to the race track.
A beaming John Force, the winningest driver in NHRA history, visits with a race fan Saturday at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"I'm not Superman, I ain't no different than anybody else out here,'' said Force, who has won 16 world Funny Car championships while posting 155 race wins. "I'm 73 and you bet I get tired, but if you're doing something you love your energy changes. You get up and want to do a good story and I want to give you a good story.
"Let me tell you, the racing's not hard for me, it's the best part. Driving down a racetrack, being with a team of guys, that's what I love. Chasing (sponsorship) money's getting tougher and tougher and that's what we've got to keep doing, but we're just coming out of a pandemic and we've had a lot of problems in the world, so it's not easy. We've having to make deals and we are.''
Force, who has won a track-record 10 times at Heartland Motorsports Park, including the 2021 race, is the midst of another very solid 2022 season, starting the weekend fourth in Funny Car points and earning the No. 3 qualifying spot for Sunday's Menards NHRA Nationals elimination rounds.
"I'm making some mistakes as a driver but I've got a good racecar and if I can correct some of this stuff we've got a shot at the title,'' Force said.
John Force Racing, which has won 21 world titles as an organization, is in the midst of another banner campaign overall, with three-time world champ Robert Hight leading the Funny Car point standings and former world champ Brittany Force setting the Top Fuel pace.
There have been challenges, including problems within the airline industry that have complicated travel for people throughout the United State, but Force said it's well worth the hassle to have the opportunity to continue to do what he loves.
"When I was sleeping in airports the last few weeks that was really probably the hardest for me,'' Force said. "But I get in the gym and do workouts and I keep doing it to keep my energy right. I get depressed over things and I get in that gym working out or get out here and get in a race and it goes away. So as long as I'm working I'm happy.''
And that's why Force was at the track some seven hours before his first of two Saturday qualifying sessions and why he was out mingling with fans on a day when the temperature flirted with the 100-degree mark.
"I can't explain it,'' he said. "I called my wife early (Saturday) morning and she said, 'John, it's early here (in California). It's six o'clock and you're at the race track. You don't run until 3 in the afternoon.' I said, 'Because I woke up and I just felt like everything's wrong in the world and I've got to get to the people.' And that ain't no bull story. I just wanted to get here.
"I got on my bike and I rode around and there was hardly nobody here. It was probably 8:15 and people were like, 'What are you doing here Force?' I said, 'I just want to be happy and this is my happy place.' ''
