Courtney Force loses to teammate in NHRA Winternationals

Despite her best run of the weekend, rookie Courtney Force lost to teammate Mike Neff in the second round of funny car eliminations Sunday in the NHRA Winternationals.

Force, the 23-year-old daughter of 15-time funny champion John Force, covered the 1,000-foot drag race in 4.143 seconds and 313.88 mph in the left lane at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

But she couldn't catch Neff, who made a pass of 4.070 seconds at 315.49 mph.

Neff nonetheless was impressed with Courtney, who ran consistently well in her first Full Throttle Series event.

"She's done a fantastic job, I really want to congratulate her," Neff said.

Courtney had defeated Bob Tasca III in the first round to advance to the semifinal round, and despite her loss to Neff she was all smiles after climbing from her car.

So was her dad, who defeated Tim Wilkerson to advance to the semifinals immediately after Courtney's race.

John Force, 62, then got out of his car, walked over to Courtney, gave her and hug and a kiss and said, "Proud of you, baby."

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Photo: Courtney Force in her funny car at the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona on Friday. Credit: Marc Gewertz / Associated Press

Courtney Force wins first funny car race, advances in NHRA Winternationals

Courtney Force won her first drag race in the NHRA's premier funny car series Sunday to advance in final eliminations at the Winternationals in Pomona.

Force, the 23-year-old daughter of funny car legend John Force and one of the most anticipated rookies in the National Hot Rod Assn. in years, defeated Bob Tasca III at Auto Club Raceway with a run of 4.204 seconds at 309.27 mph.

Tasca jumped in front after the green light flashed but then his 7,000-horsepower funny car lost traction and Courtney Force pulled ahead on the 1,000-foot drag strip to earn the win.

"I was nervous going up there" to the starting line, she said. "I was just holding on the whole time hoping [the car] would go and it did.

Courtney Force's goal this weekend simply was to qualify for the final eliminations so "I didn’t picture [going] this far into Sunday," she said. "This weekend is going way better than I expected."

Her 62-year-old father, a record 15-time funny car champion, then narrowly defeated another rookie female driver in the series, Alexis DeJoria, in the first round despite DeJoria's strong run of 4.141 seconds at 310.27 mph.

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Photo: NHRA funny car drag racer Courtney Force. Credit: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times

Courtney Force, Alexis DeJoria pick up pace at NHRA Winternationals

Rookie funny car drivers Courtney Force and Alexis DeJoria both ran slightly faster times Friday in the second round of qualifying for this weekend's NHRA Winternationals in Pomona.

DeJoria jumped to the seventh-fastest spot after a pass Friday of 4.198 seconds and 300.40 mph, an improvement over her initial qualifying run Thursday of 4.438 seconds.

Force also improved slightly with a run of 4.199 seconds and 307.09 mph; she had traveled the 1,000-foot drag strip at 4.210 seconds in first-round qualifying Thursday.

"I’m just having so much fun out here," Force said. "We’re just trying to step it up on each run. Hopefully we’ll get it going a little quicker tomorrow."

Force's father, 15-time funny car champion John Force, was sixth after the second round, and Bob Tasca III was the provisional No. 1 qualifier after he shot down the track in 4.109 seconds at 309.34 mph.

The 16 fastest cars after the third round of qualifying Saturday advance to the final eliminations Sunday.

In the top-fuel division, defending Winternationals winner Morgan Lucas retained the No. 1 qualifying spot at 3.832 seconds and 320.28 mph.

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Photo: Top-fuel driver Morgan Lucas on his way to recording the fastest qualifying run Thursday in the National Hot Rod Assn. Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. Credit: Teresa Long / Associated Press-NHRA

Drag racing's Courtney Force makes impressive first run in Pomona

Courtney Force, daughter of drag-racing icon John Force, made an impressive run in her first trip down the drag strip Thursday driving in the sport's elite funny car series.

In the first day of qualifying for the NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona,  23-year-old Courtney Force covered the 1,000-foot run in 4.210 seconds with a top speed of 303.16 mph.

That placed her sixth fastest in the field. The fastest 16 drivers after three days of qualifying advance to the final eliminations Sunday in the National Hot Rod Assn.'s Full Throttle Series event.

Courtney's 62-year-old father, a 15-time funny car champion, ran a tick faster than Courtney and was fifth at 4.192 seconds and 302.89 mph in his 7,000-horsepower, nitro methane-fueled funny car.

Under clear skies and with temperatures in the high 70s, Jack Beckman of Norco qualified fastest at 4.139 seconds and 308.14 mph.

Defending funny car champion Matt Hagan was fourth at 4.177 seconds and 307.23 mph.

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Photo: Drag racer Courtney Force climbs out of her funny car at her team's shop in Yorba Linda on Feb. 1. Credit: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times