Courtney Force

Last updated
Courtney Force
GoPro Grand Prix 2015 19 - Stierch.jpg
Force in 2015
NationalityAmerican
Born (1988-06-20) June 20, 1988 (age 35)
Yorba Linda, California, US
Related to John Force (father)
Ashley Force Hood (sister)
Brittany Force (sister)
Graham Rahal (husband)
Bobby Rahal (father-in-law)
Robert Hight (brother-in-law)
National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) career
Debut season2011

Courtney Force-Rahal (born June 20, 1988) is a former drag racer who competed on the NHRA tour. She drove the Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing. She is the youngest daughter of 16-time NHRA World Funny Car Champion John Force and his wife Laurie. She is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton having majored in Communications. On July 19, 2009, Force-Rahal won her first national event in the Top Alcohol Dragster category at the 22nd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals in Kent, Washington. [1] After her sister, Ashley, announced her retirement from competitive racing in 2011, Force-Rahal became the fourth driver for John Force Racing. On July 27, 2014, Force-Rahal passed her sister for the record of most Funny Car wins by a female driver in NHRA history. [2]

Contents

Drag racing career

Force earned her NHRA competition drivers license in 2005 and her Alcohol-Fuel license in 2008. [3] She began racing in Super Comp before graduating to Top Alcohol Dragster (TA/D), along with her sister Brittany, in 2008. She reached the final round twice in 2009, at Seattle and Pomona, picking up the victory in Seattle. [1] Force has raced her sister Brittany on three occasions, beating her every time. She recorded a career best reaction time of .006 in the final event of 2009 at Pomona raceway.

Force's primary sponsor throughout her Super Comp career and first year of Top Alcohol Dragster was Brandsource. In 2009, Force picked up sponsorship by Sanyo, as well as Ford.

During the 2011 season, Force tested a Funny Car and earned her NHRA Funny Car license.

On January 10, 2012, it was announced that Traxxas would be the primary sponsor of Force's rookie season. [4]

Force made her Funny Car debut at the 52nd annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals. She qualified 12th with a 4.199 ET at 307.44 mph (494.78 km/h).[ citation needed ] In the first round of eliminations, she defeated Bob Tasca III with a pass of 4.204 seconds at 309.27 mph (497.72 km/h).[ citation needed ] In the second round, she lost to teammate Mike Neff despite running a career best 4.143 ET at 313.88 mph (505.14 km/h).[ citation needed ]

During the second race of the season, the Arizona Nationals in Phoenix, she took out her father in the first round.

On 5 August 2012, Force won her first FC race, by defeating Matt Hagan in the final round of The Northwest Nationals, at Seattle, Washington.

To kick off the 2013 season, Force qualified in the number 1 position for the O'Reily Auto Parts Winternationals, becoming the first woman to do so.[ citation needed ] She would also go on to be the first female Funny Car driver to win that event, beating Ron Capps in the final.

At Kansas in 2014, Force achieved the 100th win by a female driver in NHRA by defeating Cruz Pedregon in the Funny Car final. [5]

On January 24, 2019, Force announced she would stop driving, effective immediately. [6]

Television

Courtney Force was featured with her family on A&E's reality show Driving Force .

Personal life

Courtney has two older sisters, Ashley and Brittany. [1] She also has an older half-sister, Adria. Force attended Esperanza High School in Anaheim, California, where she was a cheerleader. [3] In 2009, she participated in the Ford Fiesta movement and won the Internet's most popular agent award. She is married to IndyCar racer Graham Rahal, who is the son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal. [7] [8] In November 2020, she gave birth to a daughter, Harlan Ann Rahal. [9] In September 2022, Courtney gave birth to Tinley Leighton Rahal and announced on her Facebook page she was stepping back from her roles at her foundation and sponsorship to be a mom. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Hot Rod Association</span> North American drag auto racing organization

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a governing body which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsports sanctioning body in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funny Car</span> Type of drag racing vehicle

Funny Car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Funny cars are characterized by having tilt-up fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a custom-fabricated chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers' showroom models. They also have the engine placed in front of the driver, as opposed to dragsters, which place it behind the driver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Force</span> American NHRA drag racer

John Harold Force is an American NHRA drag racer. He is a 16-time NHRA and 1 time AHRA Funny Car champion driver and a 22-time champion car owner. Force owns and drives for John Force Racing (JFR). He is one of the most dominant drag racers in the sport with 155 career victories. He graduated from Bell Gardens High School and briefly attended Cerritos Junior College to play football. He is the father of drag racers Ashley Force Hood, Brittany Force, and Courtney Force. His oldest daughter Adria Hight is the CFO of JFR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Force Hood</span> American NHRA drag racer

Ashley Force Hood is a former NHRA Funny Car drag racer for John Force Racing. She is the daughter of 16-time NHRA Top Fuel Funny Car national champion John Force and Laurie Force. She is married to Daniel Hood, who works for John Force Racing. She was on hiatus from racing in 2011 as the couple expected their first child. Since their child's birth, Force Hood has announced her retirement from competitive racing.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brittany Force</span> American NHRA drag racer

Brittany Leighton Force is an American NHRA drag racer and 2-time NHRA Drag Racing Series Top Fuel dragster champion. She is the daughter of drag racer John Force and the sister of fellow racers Courtney Force and Ashley Force Hood.

Chuck Beal Racing is a drag racing company owned by professional drag racer Chuck Beal. The company is located in San Diego, California. Chuck Beal started as a racer of front- and rear-engine vehicles until he changed to the alcohol funny car class and then nitro-class vehicles. His grandson Brandon Welch took over the duties of racing his Funny Car after having graduated from Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School. He also serves as the Vice President of Marketing. Other racers who have raced for Chuck Beal include Jeff Arend and Jeff Diehl. The company's vehicles have multiple sponsors, including AutoAnything, UnderCover Truck Bed Covers, TruXedo Tonneau Covers, ProZ, and TruXP.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Blount, Terry (July 19, 2009). "Courtney Force Continues Family Dominance". ESPN . Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  2. ↑ "Courtney Force wins NHRA Sonoma Nationals". USA TODAY. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Courtney Force". Menstuff.org. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  4. ↑ "NHRA Story » Courtney Force, Traxxas team up for 2012 rookie Funny Car run". nhra.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Courtney Force earns 100th NHRA win by female driver". USA Today .
  6. ↑ "COURTNEY FORCE STEPPING AWAY FROM DRIVING DUTIES | John Force Racing Official Site". Archived from the original on 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-01-24.
  7. ↑ Associated Press (November 27, 2014). "Courtney Force, Graham Rahal announce engagement". Foxsports.com . Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  8. ↑ Terry Blount [@TBlountSports] (22 November 2015). "So happy for @courtneyforce & @GrahamRahal. Great racers, but more importantly, exceptional young adults" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ "Graham Rahal, Courtney Force welcome their first baby - NBC Sports". MotorSportsTalk | NBC Sports. 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  10. ↑ "Log into Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 2022-11-03.{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
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