September 15th 2025

Brittany Force to step away from full-time NHRA competition at end of 2025 season

Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Brittany Force, the quickest and fastest driver in NHRA history, will step away from full-time competition at the conclusion of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series to focus on starting a family. According to sources, the Top Fuel team will race in 2026 with a driver to be named later.

The announcement was made in the John Force Racing pit area as the team prepares for this weekend’s NHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading. Force was joined by her father and team owner, 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force, and teammates Austin Prock and Jack Beckman.

“After dedicating the last 13 years of my life to the NHRA and to John Force Racing, I have made the difficult and bittersweet decision to step out of the seat of my Top Fuel dragster at the end of the season to try to start a family with my husband, Bobby,” said Brittany Force. “I’m thankful for such an amazing career and all the opportunities that came with it. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years, including the NHRA, the fans, and all my sponsors, past and present. Thanks to Monster Energy, HendrickCars.com, Chevrolet, Cornwell Tools, PEAK, and Graham Rahal Performance for helping me compete at the highest level in the sport.”

After completing Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School and then earning three runner-up finishes in 19 Top Alcohol Dragster starts (2008-2010), Force began her Top Fuel career in 2013. She earned NHRA Rookie of the Year honors that season and then captured her first Top Fuel victory at the 2016 NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville.

Just one year later, 2017, Force captured her first Top Fuel title, becoming the first woman to do so since Shirley Muldowney in 1982. She earned her second championship in 2022. In all, Force has 18 Top Fuel victories in 39 final-round appearances and 56 No. 1 qualifier spots.

“I’m really proud of Brittany and all she has accomplished throughout her career,” said John Force. “She’s won races, set countless records, and captured two world championships; her presence in this sport will be greatly missed. Although she’s stepping out of the seat at the end of the year, her focus is still firmly set on winning the championship and ending this season strong for all of her sponsors: Monster Energy, Chevrolet, HendrickCars.com, PEAK, Cornwell Tools, and Graham Rahal Performance. Her mom, Laurie, and all her sisters are proud as well, and we’re all looking forward to seeing what the next chapter of her life holds.”

Force holds both ends of the NHRA Top Fuel performance record, with the quickest run, 3.623 seconds at Maple Grove Raceway on Sept. 14, 2019, and the fastest run, 343.51 mph at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Sept. 1, 2025. She has nine of the 10 fastest runs in NHRA Top Fuel history.

“I’m grateful to my team and all our success together,” said Brittany Force. “I know there is still so much out there for this David Grubnic- and John Collins-run team, and we are in the works of keeping them together under the John Force Racing umbrella. Their hard work and dedication over the years have meant the world to me, but I’m excited about starting a new chapter in my life.

“None of this would have been possible without the support of my family. Thank you to my dad, John Force, my mom, Laurie, my sisters, Adria, Ashley and Courtney, and Bobby for their ongoing support and encouraging me to chase down all the big moments and continue to push the limits and boundaries of success.

“Thank you to everyone at John Force Racing, including my teammates Austin Prock and Jack Beckman, for standing by John Force Racing through the various transitional periods over the last few years and thank you for always keeping JFR a championship team.”

What’s Brittany’s role in the future of John Force Racing?
“I didn’t want her to leave," said John Force during the press conference. “We argued over it, but Brittany makes her own decisions.”

John went on to say, “When sponsors ask about where Brittany will go off to, I tell them she’ll be with you because she owns all this. See, years ago I put money away in real estate in California and Indy, and [Laurie and I] decided a while back that we would gift everything to our four girls, “ disclosing that John Force Racing is already something Brittany owns part of.

“She’s an owner," said John. "If I fall over dead, she’ll run all this stuff.”

But that doesn't mean John Force Racing is on cruise control now that Brittany is planning to start a family. John shared that his vision of the future is to grow, "I’m going to grow my teams. I’ve already started to build, and we’ll have a place for Brittany to come back to. In fact, if anyone has any trailers for sale, I’m looking for two.”

Force enters this weekend’s first event of the six-race Countdown to the Championship in fifth place in the points standings, just 56 points behind leader Tony Stewart and only 18 behind Justin Ashley in fourth. The Yorba Linda, Calif., native has earned one win (Epping) and one runner-up finish (Seattle) this season, as well as four No. 1 qualifying positions. She also has set the national speed record three times this season, most recently with her 343.51-mph run Sept. 1 at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

“I love this sport deeply, and I’m not closing the door on driving in the future,” said Force. “That’s a decision for further down the road, but right now, my focus remains firmly on this season. We’re fifth in points entering Reading, and with six races left, this team is ready to fight for the championship all the way to the end.”

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