Courtney Force, the youngest daughter of drag racing’s most prolific and popular driver, 15-time NHRA Funny Car Champion John Force, is RACER magazine’s  runaway choice as Rookie of the Year, voted on by their global readership.

The 24-year-old from Yorba Linda, Calif., a former national event champion in Alcohol Dragster, reached four Funny Car finals in her 2012 rookie season. In July she defeated reigning Funny Car Champion Matt Hagan in the Seattle final for one of the most well-received victories by any driver in any drag racing class all season. A runner-up finish to Cruz Pedregon in the Pomona finals showed she’ll be a Funny Car title contender in 2013 – and victory in the season-opening Winternationals confirmed it.

“I want to thank the readers of RACER Magazine for voting for me as RACER Rookie of the Year. To be considered with top NASCAR, Indy Car and F1 rookies is an honor just in itself and to be voted as Rookie of the Year is unbelievable,” said Force, the 2012 Automobile Club Road to the Future Award winner. “I have to thank all my fans and especially RACER magazine for this honor. I also want to thank my dad, John Force, Ford and my sponsor, Traxxas for being so supportive last season.”

RACER editor David Malsher commented, “If Courtney Force thought she had a tough battle on her hands in NHRA Funny Car last year, she had an even tougher battle in the RACER Rookie of the Year award. Or so you’d think, considering she was up against Simon Pagenaud in IndyCar and Daniel Ricciardo in Formula 1. But actually, Courtney wiped the floor with all of them, earning over 60 percent of the readers’ votes, and became the first NHRA driver ever to win this award. Scoring a win and fifth place in the championship standings in your first year of wrestling an 8,000hp, 300mph car is a heck of an achievement, and RACER readers clearly understand that.”

The Spring 2013 issue of RACER includes full coverage of RACER of the Year presented by Hawk Performance, a wide-ranging interview with Ryan Hunter-Reay and the man he replaced as IZOD IndyCar Series champion, Dario Franchitti. The issue also features previews to the 2013 IndyCar, Formula 1, NASCAR, ALMS, Grand-Am, WEC and NHRA seasons. RACER is beginning its 21st year of publication and is offered in print and digital editions and also in iTunes, Kindle and Android apps. It is also available at national bookstore newsstands in the USA and Canada. Visit www.racer.com for all the latest racing news and subscription offers.

RACER Rookie Racer of the Year Hall of Fame:

2006    Colin Braun
2007    Lewis Hamilton
2008    Joey Logano
2009    Ben Spies
2010    Ryan Dungey
2011    James Hinchcliffe

After earning her award on Wednseday, Force took to the skies with the famed United States Navy Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron today. The driver of the Traxxas Ford Mustang flew in a Boeing F/A-18D Hornet strike fighter piloted by Lieutenant Ryan Chamberlain — Blue Angel No. 7. The pair took off from Naval Air Facility El Centro, California for an hour long flight on Thursday morning. Prior to the flight Force spent time with the Blue Angels officers and enlisted support team.

“First I want to thank the men and women of the U.S. Navy and the Blue Angels for their commitment to the United States. These folks are the best of the best and I can’t thank them enough for the sacrifices they make every day along with all the other members of the armed services,” said Courtney Force. “I had an incredible time. We hit 7.3 Gs and went over 700 mph and when we hit Mach 1 and broke the sound barrier I was amazed at the feeling. This day wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Auto Club of Southern California and I know I will never forget this experience.”

Force is the third John Force Racing Funny Car driver to fly with the Blue Angels.  Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club Ford Mustang and 2005 Road to the Future Award recipient, also took flight with the world famous aviators in 2007 prior to Hight’s flight former JFR driver Gary Densham flew with the Blue Angels.

“There is an historic affinity between the high performance military aviation and motorsports communities, and events such as Courtney’s flight help bring them together to share technology and experiences while at the same time enhancing visibility for the Navy and all of us associated with John Force Racing,” said Rick Lalor, program administrator for the Automobile Club of Southern California’s motorsports and special events programs who organized today’s flight.  “But most importantly, Courtney’s flight reminds the racing community and Auto Club members and employees that the men and women of our Armed Forces are on guard around the world each day, and their sacrifices make it possible for us to enjoy our freedom and quality of life.”

An estimated 15 million spectators view the Blue Angels squadron during air shows each year. The fastest speed flown during a Blue Angels air show is about 700 mph (just under Mach 1) and the slowest is about 120 mph. The F/A-18 can reach speeds just under Mach 2, almost twice the speed of sound or about 1,400 mph. Courtney Force’s Traxxas Ford Mustang has reached speeds nearing 320 mph.  She experiences 3 Gs as she accelerates down the race track and negative 5 to 6 Gs when she pulls her parachutes at the finish line.