Posted on 11/14/2025 8:14:07 AM PST by WhiteHatBobby0701
11,000 HP.
Pro Stock ace Greg Anderson turns 65 next year, only 2,000 horsepower but he’s still racing those Factory Hot Rods.
Ron Capps (a contemporary of Force in Funny Car, started in the mid-1990’s) just turned 60 this season.
Tony Stewart (Top Fuel regular season champion) is 54.
Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta is 61.
When 60-year old champions are active and winning the three professional car categories, and now Angelle Sampey, the legendary drag queen in PSM is past 50 and now in Top Alcohol Dragster in preparation for a future move to Top Fuel in Antron Brown’s likely second car.
Rickie Smith (Pro Modified) won in 2024 at 70 and won non-NHRA 1/8 mile events in 2025 with the Pro Modified genre.
Two-Lane Blacktop ping
This guy was an absolute legend in the drag-racing world. Time and age catch up to all of us.
Three of his daughters were racers also. I think they may be retired already or going to.
One of the in-laws is a tuner. (Dan Hood) Drag reminds me of the old show “Pinks”. If you lost, your car was taken.
That's what I said: 11K HP.
Ya gotta be careful these days. Saying you blew a tranny at a drag race could mean something completely different from having a mechanical failure at an automotive speed contest.
Drag racing?
I know. You would think he would be going 10 MPH under the speed limit with his left hand blinker going the whole way down the strip.
The engines haven't been manufacturer specific in top fuel for decades. Top Fuel engines are all loosely based on the Chrysler Hemi, of which the largest factory version was 426 CID. Top Fuel engines run 500 CID. Only Cadillac had a production engine that big with respect to passenger vehicles, and is sure as heck wasn't a Hemi. No automaker made engines like this for production. Even without the supercharger.
Some of my friends know the Force famiky, his shop and his home are about a mile down the road. Pretty amazing to read all of the ignorant negativity aimed at them on the thread.
Agree. NHRA is drag and is about power.
THE CREW CHIEFS ARE NOT YOUNGSTERS, EITHER
Sorry to tell you, but Chode passed away a short while ago.
I’m sorry to hear that. Thank you for letting me know.
Austin Prock’s brother Thomas (early 30’S) is his tuner. And Dan Hood (CC/Jack Beckman) is Ashley’s husband.
Speculation is Madison Payne could drive a Force third Funny Car. Would be interesting to see Shelley Anderson’s daughter driving a John Force car.
I used to watch him years ago. I can’t believe he’s still racing.
He earned it years of hard work and great driving skills hat tip.
He’s 76. I’ll be lucky to keep a regular driver’s license to that age.
By the time the rear tires cross the starting line, they’re already doing 60 mph. Those things get up to 6 g-forces coming out of the hole. That’s accelerating so hard it can detach your retinas.
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