CONCORD, N.C. – At 72 years old, John Force’s retirement continues to get closer, but that doesn’t mean he’s finished winning.
The 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion claimed his 152nd career victory in impressive fashion Sunday afternoon during the NGK NTK NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, defeating J.R. Todd, Alexis DeJoria and Cruz Pedregon in the final round.
Force, the No. 1 qualifier, got to the finish line first in the Funny Car final thanks to his 3.916-second pass at 328.78 mph. Todd finished second with a 3.944-second run at 327.82 mph.
Force dedicated the victory, his first since the U.S. Nationals in 2019 after taking the 2020 season off due to COVID-19, to zMAX Dragway owner Bruton Smith. He left his Wally and blue winner’s hat with Smith’s son, Marcus Smith, the CEO of zMAX Dragway parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc.
“I met Bruton 100 years ago in a coffee shop early in the morning. He came in and said he wanted to meet with me when he built Bristol. I just saw the fire in his belly and where he was going,” Force said. “I’m excited. I get to send this (trophy) home to someone I really love.”
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and Steve Johnson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also victorious in NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series competition Sunday afternoon.
Torrence continued his dominant performance in four-wide competition with second victory of the season and his 42nd victory of his career by defeating Gatornationals winner Josh Hart, fast qualifier Brittany Force and Antron Brown.
The three-time and defending Top Fuel champion roared to the finish line in 3.716 seconds at 329.10 mph to best Brittany Force to the finish line. Brittany Force, 2017 Top Fuel champion, came up short after a 3.723-second run at 333.16 mph.
The triumph Sunday was Torrence’s sixth four-wide victory in seven events split between zMAX Dragway and The Strip at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway.
“Overall a great race day. Everybody continues to put a little pressure on us about doing well at the four-wide,” Torrence said. “At first, admittedly, I wasn’t a fan of the four-wide but Bruton Smith and Marcus, thank you guys, I love it. We do really well at it and I don’t know why but I’d like to keep doing it. It’s the only thing I’ve got a winning record at.”
A quartet of winless drivers made up the final round of Pro Stock competition, meaning the class was guaranteed a first-time winner Sunday afternoon. The honor went to class rookie Dallas Glenn, who was making his fourth Pro Stock start after previously working as a crew member for KB Racing.
Glenn bested Mason McGaha, Troy Coughlin Jr. and Fernando Cuadra Jr. in the final round. An error in the scoring system when Cuadra went early at the starting line initially caused confusion, leading NHRA officials to review the finish line camera to confirm Glenn had won the race ahead of McGaha.
“I don’t think it’s really even hit me yet. I’m still just kind of going through it trying to soak everything up and enjoy everything I can,” said Glenn, who put down a 6.540-second pass at 209.88 mph in the finals. “I’ve never gotten to experience this side of winning. I’ve been on KB Racing for a bunch and we got a lot of success.
“This is a whole new perspective for me. These cars are so much fun, but they’re hard to drive. That was a very interesting final round.”
Johnson snapped a seven-year drought in the Pro Stock Motorcycle division with his victory Sunday afternoon. Wheeling his Suzuki-powered bike, Johnson roared to his seventh career victory with a 6.729-second pass at 198.03 mph to best Matt Smith, Karen Stoffer and Joey Gladstone in the final round.
The victory was particularly sweet because it was his first victory since his crew member Ervin “Jock” Allen survived a bout with COVID-19 last year that left Allen hospitalized and on a ventilator for nearly a month.
“Jock fought COVID. Less than 10 percent of the people come out alive from being on a ventilator for 21 days or more. He was on one for 24 days,” Johnson said. “His whole family had COVID so they couldn’t go in there and tell him his mom had died. I went in there to tell him.
“It was heavy, it was really heavy. But we got through it,” Johnson said.