John Force, the sixteen time Funny Car champion, never figured he’d have to politician his team into an all-star event. All of that changed on Father’s Day, when Tommy Johnson Jr. claimed the Thunder Valley Nationals crown and captured the final guaranteed spot in the $100,000 Traxxas Nitro Shootout. The shootout is a race within a race during the Chevrolet Performance NHRA U.S. Nationals.
John Force had a huge part in the birth of the program. Ironically, he now has to depend on his legendary fan base to help him get in to the Traxxas Nitro Shootout. The PEAK Anti-freeze sponsored driver did get back-to-back wins this season. Unfortunately, all they did was supply a few nice pay days and boost him in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series point standings.
The achievements were not enough to get him into the Traxxas Nitro Shootout. The feisty veteran is one of four Funny Car drivers eligible for the fan lottery vote. John Force is also trying to make his own case leading up to the August 31st shootout.
“I have a great race car, and it just took us a while to get a win,” Force admitted. “We are No. 7 in the points, and we got wins in Denver and Sonoma which were two tough races. I have raced in a lot of All-Star races, and I definitely want to race in this year’s Traxxas Nitro Shootout. The competition has never been tougher, and I love being in my race car. These young kids led by my crew chief Jon Schaffer are working hard at every race, and I want to keep them busy at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.”
Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers will rely on fan votes and random lottery drawings to claim the final spot in the NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout. Consequently, the final position in each category of the All-Star event will be determined in the next week at the Fan Fest previewing the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals on Wednesday, Aug. 31.
Force is in the process of trying to tally as many votes as he can to gain extra ping-pong balls in the lottery drawing on August 30th. Force might not need a lot of help convincing the drag racing enthusiasts. The beloved dragster has signed more autographs and posed for more photos than most can count. In addition to the countless victories, round wins, and record setting #1 qualifiers, Force has participated in 28 All-Star bonus contests over his storied career.
In fact, John Force has won the Traxxas Nitro Shootout twice. The future Hall-of-Fame driver picked up wins at the inaugural event contested at the Texas Motorplex in 2012. He repeated his performance two years later when he picked up his 8th Traxxas Nitro Shootout victory over his teammate Robert Hight.
The all-time Funny Car winner, has won specialty races eight different times. John Force collected his first triumph back in 1987. He didn’t stop there. Force also won again in 1990, 1993, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2014. As a result, the boisterous racer has amassed over 1.25 million dollars in All-Star event prize winnings.
In an attempt to continue his participation, Force has tried to learn some new marketing strategies. Some of these tactics include social media, in an attempt to get the job done. Force once again commented that old dogs can learn new tricks.
“I am learning Twitter and also the internet, but I still have a lot to figure out,” Force admitted. “Fans can also vote for me on the NHRA’s Facebook page until the Tuesday before Indy. I wanted to make a funny video showing me messing around with my team, Courtney, Brittany, and my grand kids. I also wanted it to show what I am good at, which is driving this PEAK Chevy Funny Car and winning races.”
The NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootouts, are races within a race. They will take place in the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. The Top Fuel division will be showcased Saturday, Sept. 3, and Funny Car division will be featured on Sunday, Sept. 4.
Teams qualify for the NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootouts in several ways. They can accomplish the feat by winning an NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series regular season event. Furthermore, they can reach the goal by holding the #1 spot in the standings after the races at Brainerd Speedway. They also can receive a spot by a fan vote in a lottery-style drawing.
The NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout awards $100,000 to the victors in the Top Fuel Division and Funny Car category. The program will award the top four finishers in each event and the runners-up will collect $15,000. The semifinal losers receive $7,500 for their efforts.
The Traxxas Nitro Shootout is awarded to the first seven winners of a NHRA Top Fuel or Funny Car event heading into the U.S. Nationals. However, the points leader in both divisions automatically receives a birth if they have not qualified themselves in.
The final placement in each class is determined by a fan vote via a lottery drawing. Furthermore, if there are still positions available in the Traxxas Nitro Shootout, the remaining spots will be filled by the highest rated drivers in the NHRA Mello Yello point’s standings that have not won a race.
The following drivers are qualified for the NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootouts:
TOP FUEL
1. Steve Torrence (Pomona 1)
2. Leah Pritchett (Phoenix)
3. Brittany Force (Gainesville)
4. Antron Brown (Las Vegas 1)
5. Doug Kalitta (Houston)
6. Shawn Langdon (Bristol)
7. Tony Schumacher (Denver)
8. Determined by fan vote
FUNNY CAR
1. Ron Capps (Pomona 1)
2. Tim Wilkerson (Phoenix)
3. Robert Hight (Gainesville)
4. Alexis DeJoria (Las Vegas 1)
5. Courtney Force (Houston)
6. Matt Hagan (Atlanta)
7. Tommy Johnson Jr. (Bristol)
8. Determined by fan vote
