John Force hits the 100 mark

Baytown, Texas - Houston Raceway Park (April 14) -- The "midas" touch in NHRA Drag Racing belongs to John Force -- his level of success has surpassed almost every record in the books. Today, Force reached the 100 win mark when he beat Tommy Johnson ...

Baytown, Texas - Houston Raceway Park (April 14) -- The "midas" touch in NHRA Drag Racing belongs to John Force -- his level of success has surpassed almost every record in the books. Today, Force reached the 100 win mark when he beat Tommy Johnson Jr. in the final.

Since scoring his 99th career victory at Pomona Winternationals this year, Force, the team, the fans and the media have waited for today.

A double burn-out with John Force in the foreground.

Photo by Greg Gage.

NHRA released the following statement:
"I'm glad to get it over," said Force, the owner and driver of the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. "The driver always gets all the credit, and that's why I brought (crew chief Austin) Coil here with me. I hired Coil 17 years ago and we've won all 100 of our races with Austin and Castrol GTX."

Last year, Force became an 11-time Funny Car champion. He is the first driver to earn 100 victories in the modern era of motorsports. Only two other drivers in motorsports history have won 100+ victories -- Richard Petty and David Pearson in NASCAR.

Earlier during an NHRA interview, Force answered the following question:

Q: What do you think about that 100th victory?

Force: I'll get it this year. (Breaking records) never gets old. Sometimes you take it for granted because it happens and you want it to be over so you can move on the next deal. A lot of times you win a race and you know that you need to be on a plane at 5 a.m. and you can't even have a beer to celebrate. You can't enjoy it because you are running to the airport or you have to get a good night's sleep and you have an early morning meeting, pitching MBNA in Delaware. I've always respected the car, but maybe sometimes I don't take a moment to enjoy what it has accomplished.

Force has been named to top motorsport driver awards including being named to the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) All-American Team more often than any other motorsport racer. He has won the prestigious 'Jerry Titus Award' three times: 1996, 1999 and 2000.

John Force race to 100 notebook

Ford Racing

Motorsport.com extend their congratulations to John Force and the Castrol GTX Ford team on reaching this milestone.