Brittany Force enters NHRA Countdown to the Championship looking to build off past success at Maple Grove

Sep. 13—Ahead of the 2013 season, Brittany Force decided she wanted to pave her own way within the NHRA.

The second-youngest daughter of legendary NHRA driver and team owner John Force and the sister to Ashley Force Hood and Courtney Force-Rahal — all of whom carved out successful careers in the Funny Car division — Brittany Force determined she wanted to bring something new to her father's race team.

"I wanted to do something a little different," Force said. "We already had enough Funny Cars in our pits, why not bring a Top Fuel car into the John Force Racing pits."

Ashley Force did just that, jumping into the Top Fuel division and eventually developing into a championship-caliber driver. After being name the 2013 NHRA Rookie of the Year, Force scored her first race win in 2016 and won the 2017 Top Fuel title.

"It was a challenge," Force said about the early years of her career. "It wasn't easy."

Now in her 10th season, Force heads into the 2022 Countdown to the Championship, the NHRA's postseason, focused on winning another title. The current Top Fuel points leader, Force will look to start off strong at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, which begin Thursday at 9 a.m. and serves as the first event of the six-race postseason.

"This first one is a big one," Force said. "It'll set the tone, set the mood for the rest of the Countdown."

Force is no stranger to Maple Grove, as she set the all-time Top Fuel elapsed time record at the dragstrip in 2019 with a run of 3.623 seconds. She also holds the all-time speed record of 335.57 miles per hour at the facility.

"It definitely helps when you're returning to a track that you've been successful at in the past," Force said. "It's an amazing racetrack. You can put great numbers on the board."

Force won the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove in 2017 on her way to the Top Fuel championship. She reached the semifinals of the event in 2019 and 2021 and was the No. 1 qualifier at both events.

"To go back to a racetrack that you've had success at, it puts a positive energy in our team," Force said. "It gives the whole team an extra bit of motivation and confidence."

This year, Force has scored four wins and heads into the Countdown to the Championship as the points leader for the first time in her career. Last year, she won just one race despite being the No. 1 qualifier 12 times.

"The key to our success this year has been our performance on race day," Force said. "That's where we've really turned it around."

A 15-time race winner, Force finished second in points in 2021 and third in 2019. She finished just 52 points behind the leader in 2019.

"It just makes you want it more," Force said about striving for her second title. "To come that close to something and lose it right at the very end, it's tough."

With the points reset, Force enters this year's Countdown with a 20-point lead, which she hopes to build upon this weekend at one of her most successful tracks.

"We want to start strong, and we're hoping to do it this weekend at Maple Grove," Force said. "Our plan is to come out and dominate right off the bat."