NHRA’s John Force reaches milestone

MADISON, Ill. – John Force cemented his position as the most prolific Funny Car driver in NHRA history, becoming the first to reach 1,000 round wins with a first-round victory over Ron Capps in the O’Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals.

Sunday wasn’t a complete success for the veteran, however. Force was beaten in the next round by teammate Robert Hight. Not much of a way to finish off your 59th birthday.

“You can’t win without a good crew, sponsors … and crew chiefs like Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly,” Force said. “Five hundred races (a milestone he achieved last week in Atlanta) just means you showed up a lot. But winning 1,000 rounds, that means that at a point in time, we were pretty good.”

Force has won 125 titles overall.

Tim Wilkerson denied one of John Force Racing’s other drivers, Mike Neff, his first career win. On his hometown track, Wilkerson earned his second victory of the season and seventh of his career. He drove his Chevy Impala SS to a 4.874-second finish at 317.27 mph to Neff’s 4.886 at 321.58 in his Ford Mustang.