6/19/06

Not the kind of weekend that JFR will draw lots of satisfaction from.

While Ron Capps was adding his fifth win of 2006 to his impressive scorecard, John and the team were anxious to put this weekend’s K&N SuperNationals well behind them. The heat and humidity on Sunday was bad enough, but to see Eric and Robert both lose in Round 1, John lose in Round 2, Ashley fall in the semi-finals of Top Alcohol Dragster, and both Brittany and Courtney lose in Round 1 of Super Comp, the weather was the least of everyone’s problems.

This wasn’t what the team was anticipating, especially after John picked up his first win of the year last week in Joliet. I spent a lot of time in John’s pit during the weekend and the mood was definitely upbeat despite some struggles in qualifying. But somehow when racing began on Sunday, things fell apart little by little and the heat had a lot to do with it. The 130-degree track temperatures were brutal and getting any of the three Mustangs to hook up was very tough to do.

John’s schedule has been as frenetic as it has ever been since he began drag racing 30 years ago. With the A&E people hard at work producing the upcoming “Driving Force” reality series, John, Laurie, Ashley, Brittany, and Courtney are literally in the eye of the camera 24/7. It’s a grueling experience and it has hiked the stress level around the pits and back at the shop, but it’s also pretty exciting and the A&E network has been doing an outstanding job promoting the new series which debuts on July 17. It promises to be the kind of show that a non-drag racing audience will get hooked on because it isn’t a series about racing; it’s about how racing can influence the direction and attitude of a family. How this sport can sometimes divide a family and then bring it back together and there are many, many families that will be able to identify with what the Force family will be revealing about themselves on Driving Force.

I was very pleased to be able to enjoy the race in E-town on Father’s Day with my 16-year-old son Billy alongside as I covered the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Modified series for ESPN2 and filled-in for my friend Bob Varsha on Friday as host of “Focus On Racing Radio” for CBS Radio Sports and Westwood One. Billy is a major motorsports fan, but because of his school schedule and my frequent travel commitments, he doesn’t get a chance to accompany me to the various racing events I attend as a television commentator, nor does my 10-year-old son, Sean. But this weekend, Billy got the VIP treatment as we watched the racing and schmoozed with many of the pro drivers as they graciously welcomed my son to the event and gave him an experience he always remember. His dad is very appreciative and eternally grateful.

The third of three events in three weekends will rev up in just a few days at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois as the O’Reilly Midwest Nationals usher in the second half of the 2006 season. Now, the pressure will really be on everyone at JFR to play catch-up with Ron Capps and overcome that three-digit points lead that Ron was able to fatten back up this past weekend in NJ. After the race in Madison, I’ll have more from “In the Groove” so stop back here at the official website of John Force Racing early next week.

Thanks!