John Force’s NHRA champion daughter set to retire to start a family after record-breaking season

Brittany Force, daughter of legendary NHRA drag racer John Force, has said that following the conclusion of the 2025 NHRA season, she will retire from full-time racing in order to start a family. The two-time NHRA Top Fuel World Champion and record-holder is ending a record-breaking season where she recorded the fastest Top Fuel speed in history at 343.51 mph.

At 39, Force looked back at an outstanding career of numerous speed records and 18 Top Fuel wins in the NHRA, having become one of the most successful female racers in the sport's history.

Force thanked her family, her team and her sponsors and recognized that female drivers have it difficult in a male-dominated sport. She emphasized the fact that her sisters made the same decision to retire from racing to concentrate on family, which emphasized the combination of work and personal life. Force also did not rule out a possible comeback in the future in some form.

“It’s something that as a female in NHRA drag racing that has always been in the back of my mind,” she told the AP. “I watched my sisters get into the scene and have their careers and then ultimately had to make the decision to step out so they can try to start a family. Ashley has two little boys, Courtney has two little girls and has a third on the way. Because of that, it’s always been in the back of my mind because being a female in the sport, it is definitely more of a challenge.”

John Force is among the most renowned people in the history of NHRA drag racing, with a reputation of domination and longevity in the sport. Over the course of his career, he won 16 NHRA Funny Car World Championships, 157 NHRA events, and 269 final rounds, which is more than any other driver in the NHRA history.

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John Force makes feeling known on possible NHRA return as driver

John Force gave an account of the emotional and physical impact that his near-fatal accident of 2024 has had on his life and his family. Force, on the "Out of Bounds" podcast at 75 years old, said he might never get behind the wheel again, citing the serious injuries he has sustained and the pain his accident has inflicted on the people he loves.

Although he loves racing, Force understands that he may be too old to race again, and he does not know whether his doctors will ever issue a comeback order for him.

"I got a career out here seventy years and probably too old to be driving and I don't know if the doctors will ever let me drive again, don't know if I want to. (I) put my family through a lot of pain and my daughters that drove they knew the drill and my wife, and it was like you got to get well, and that's what I'm striving on. But I'm telling you maybe the head never gets well," John Force said. (3:36 onwards)

While his days as a driver may be over, John Force continues to play a vital role in the NHRA community by overseeing team operations and inspiring the next generation.