11/13/06

Now THAT’S the way to end a season!

Win the championship, win the race and finish 1-2-4 in the points with your son-in-law and Eric!

Only John could have pulled together the remarkable chain of events which will make the 2006 NHRA POWERade Funny Car championship even more dramatic than last year’s incredible finale. Gary Scelzi won the title last year with Ron Capps finishing second and John third, but those three racers didn’t have to face one another on their way in the year’s final event to decide the championship. John was beaten by Tony Pedregon in the second round (on a painful hole shot) that ended his quest for championship No. 14, while Scelzi and Capps also fell at someone else’s hands.

This year, it was the second round again that put the punctuation mark on the title when John beat Capps head-to-head. And as we now know, the Champ took care of last year’s unfinished business.  What an amazing championship run it was with a spine-tingling, see-saw points battle raging from race to race between two determined teams led by drivers who may differ somewhat in age and experience but both possess all the tools needed to wear the POWERade crown.

"You can win a lot of championships and you give credit to your team -- Austin Coil, Bernie Fedderly, the kids Jimmy Prock, John Medlen -- we all do it as a team," said John as he accepted his AAA Finals trophy. The fans are what give you heart. NHRA gives us a great playing field (and) POWERade puts up those checks but, for us, in our hearts, it's about beating the competition. It's about hearing the cheers of the crowd. That is what it is all about."

Last year, the top three in points when the season ended included two Schumacher Racing drivers, Scelzi and Capps. This time around, the table was turned with John and Robert cleaning up the top two spots and Capps No. 3. And that leads me to restate a conclusion that I have expressed to many colleagues, fans, drivers, and anyone who will lend me an ear when the question of John Force’s secret to success comes up.

Call it chemistry, loyalty, morale, espirit-de-corps, whatever works for you. The fact is, John has not only hired the very best personnel and most gifted tuners and team members in the sport, he has created an atmosphere of mutual trust, personal attachment, and unbreakable devotion among each and every person who comprises this most unique racing operation. While other teams fall into disastrous ego battles, misunderstandings, and open displays of disapproval and hostility, the JFR team is in a league of its own and John’s deep and heartfelt devotion and commitment to his entire workforce is an object lesson for every team owner in the sport.
I’ve spent a lot of time with John and his team over the years and I’ve been present during some rather emotional conversations regarding team business on several occasions. It never ceases to amaze me how disagreements or differences of opinion never escalate to dangerous levels; problems are resolved without anyone storming off in a huff, feelings being hurt, or grudges being created. The admiration and respect that John feels for his entire team trickle down to every person on the roster and there isn’t another example of that anywhere else in the sport—and perhaps in ALL of motorsports.

Those 14 championships were won with more than just race victories and win lights when all the money was on the table. They were won with an attitude and a mindset that John has instilled in his teammates for a long time. And those are the qualities that other teams would love to have but just can’t duplicate.

And how can I not mention what has to be the most dramatic and block-busting payoff in NHRA Top Fuel history thanks to Tony Schumacher? There have been several historic wrap-ups in the annals of Top Fuel on the final day of the season including Dick Lahaie’s inspired title in 1987 and Joe Amato’s extraordinary championship clincher in 1990. But in neither case did Dick or Joe absolutely need to set a new national record during the last race of the year to lock up the championship. Tony Schumacher (and tuner Alan Johnson) deserve enormous congratulations for what equates to throwing a Hail Mary pass in the final seconds of the Super Bowl to win the whole enchilada. What a finish and a fitting way to send off the current points system before the new “Countdown” format begins next year.

Time for me to go into off-season mode and catch up on a bunch of other TV projects I’m looking forward to as we close in on 2007. Look for me next month on the new show debuting on Discovery HD Theater titled “What’s My Car Worth?” Then in January, as part of ESPN2’s new “ESPN Garage” block on Saturday mornings, I’ll be hosting a new show called “Bidding Wars”. I’ll be heading into a new season of “Inside Drag Racing” next year which will have a new network home to be announced soon, plus the “Mother’s Polish Car Show Series”, and a number of other automotive programs are also in the works. Hey, I love being busy!

In the meantime, I want to thank everyone for dropping by the JFR website this year and tuning in to my various observations. Here’s to a safe holiday season to one and all and best wishes for a bright and happy 2007.

See you when it’s time to go racing again!