FORCE CHANNELS EARNHARDT BEFORE FINAL ROUND IN LAS VEGAS
YORBA LINDA, CA (October 31, 2013) – During the NHRA teleconference yesterday John Force recounted a story he told in The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway media center after he clinched his unprecedented 16th Mello Yello Funny Car championship. Prior to the final round Force took a ride on his Kymco scooter to the NASCAR facility to clear his head before the final round race with his daughter, Courtney Force. While the then 15-time champion was focusing David Hakim the Castrol social media representative shot a photo of Force underneath the Dale Earnhardt terrace.
Following his win in Las Vegas where his Castrol GTX Mustang outran the Traxxas Ford Mustang piloted by Courtney, 4.06 to 4.08 seconds Force elaborated on how he wound up under the photo of the seven-time Sprint Cup champion.
“I need to clear my head and I went across the street to look at that Earnhardt photo. I remember Dale Earnhardt used to say ‘I’ll do the winning and you marketing guys sell me.’ I never had the nerve to say that but that guy was a winner so he could do it. I have had luck on my side the last three races,” said the 16-time Funny Car champion. “I read an article this morning about being humble but after a day like today I would like to say it was me. Jimmy Prock is unbelievable. The team he has around him is awesome. I used to race against his dad, Tom, who ran the Tom and Jerry Funny Car and the Detroit Tiger. He and Danny DeGennaro got the job done. Look at how those cars run side by side. If there is anything I have done right is putting together this team effort. We pulled together when it looked like we were falling apart. I have great companies with me and they allow me do this. We won them a championship. We got a Mello Yello championship but next year I am going to try and win again.”
Prior to the beginning of the 2013 NHRA Countdown Force announced the hiring of Indianapolis and London based Just Marketing, Inc., to lead the sponsorship recruitment efforts for the 18-time Funny Car team. Force is looking to replace the loss of long-time sponsors Ford Racing and Castrol at the end of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.