Drag racing great Courtney Force announces retirement
NHRA Funny Car driver Courtney Force signs autographs in a hospitality tent during day one of qualifying for the Mello Yello NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Friday October 27, 2017. Josh Holmberg/Las Vegas Review-Journal
Courtney Force takes off during a race at the NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
Antron Brown, left, driver of the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster, Courtney Force of the Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro Funny Car, and J.R. Todd of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car, during a press conference on Thursday, March 30, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bizutesfaye
Funny Car John Force, left, and daughter and fellow Funny Car driver Courtney Force are seen after John defeated her in the final round of Funny Car during the NHRA Mello Yello Series Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016. Cruz was shaken but not injured. Josh Holmberg/Las Vegas Review-Journal
YORBA LINDA, Calif. — Courtney Force, the winningest female Funny Car driver in NHRA history, is stepping away from driving.
Force is a 12-time Funny Car winner, was the No. 1 qualifer 28 times and ranked in the top 10 of the NHRA standings in six of her seven seasons. The daughter of 16-time world champion John Force plans to stay involved with the race team and maintain her corporate sponsorships.
Force said in a statement Thursday that stepping away from drag racing was a personal choice as she pursues the next chapter of her life. The 30-year-old Force is married to IndyCar driver Graham Rahal and the two spend more than half the year on their careers and rarely can attend each other’s events.
