Third-year Top Fuel driver and well-publicized second-generation drag racer Brittany Force made history on Friday at the Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix, Arizona during a closed pre-season testing session when she rocketed to the first 3.6-second pass in the history of 1,000-foot drag racing, with a truly stunning 3.690 at 321.88 miles per hour.
Brittany and the entire John Force Racing team were in Phoenix for testing leading up to next weekend’s season-opening Circle K Winternationals in Pomona, putting laps on the team cars for the first time sine announcing their new partnership with Chevrolet. For Brittany and her team, led by crew chief Todd Smith and the newly-hired assistant Ronnie Thompson, the monstrous run — which is the first to exceed Antron Brown’s two-year-old national record 3.701 — was surely a confidence booster for a crew that’s currently without primary sponsorship going into the season.
As John Force pointed out during the Chevrolet press conference, however, the sponsorship agreement that will put the team out on the road with full funding for the year is just around the corner.
“John Force isn’t broke. I’ve got rental companies; I’m financially strong. I’ve got my endorsements. I could fund a car. I don’t want to, but when it comes to my baby girl I always said I would if I have to, and now I don’t have to. I have a handshake. I pretty much know where I am going with the Top Fuel car. There are reasons that you will all understand when it comes out. I hope we make Pomona, but I don’t think so. I don’t want to put a carrot out there that I can’t give you an answer. I will be business by Gainesville. She will be there with a full budget, because anywhere we are short, we have others like Mac Tools in our programs.”
According to sources, Force was .807 to sixty-feet (which makes the run particularly suspect), 2.088 to 330-feet, and 2.961 at 290.76 miles per hour to half track. The run is, of course, unofficial regardless, but is the first of what many believe will be a number of runs in the 3.60’s this season for the Top Fuel class.