Courtney Fallon Force-Rahal[1](born June 20, 1988) is an American formerdrag racerwho competed on theNHRAtour. She drove the Advance Auto PartsChevy Camaro SSFunny CarforJohn Force Racing.She is the youngest daughter of 16-timeNHRAWorld Funny Car ChampionJohn Forceand his wife Laurie. She is a graduate ofCal State Fullertonhaving majored inCommunications.On July 19, 2009, Force-Rahal won her first national event in the Top AlcoholDragstercategory at the 22nd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals inKent, Washington.[2]After her sister,Ashley,announced her retirement from competitive racing in 2011, Force-Rahal became the fourth driver for John Force Racing. On July 27, 2014, Force-Rahal passed her sister for the record of most Funny Car wins by a female driver in NHRA history.[3]
| Courtney Force | |
|---|---|
 Force in 2015 | |
| Born | June 20, 1988 Yorba Linda, California,U.S. |
| Related to | John Force(father) Ashley Force Hood(sister) Brittany Force(sister) Graham Rahal(husband) Bobby Rahal(father-in-law) Robert Hight(ex brother-in-law) |
| National Hot Rod Association(NHRA)career | |
| Debut season | 2011 |
Drag racing career
editForce earned her NHRA competition drivers license in 2005 and herAlcohol-Fuellicense in 2008.[4]She began racing inSuper Compbefore graduating toTop AlcoholDragster(TA/D), along with her sisterBrittany,in 2008. She reached the final round twice in 2009, at Seattle andPomona,picking up the victory in Seattle.[2]Force has raced her sister Brittany on three occasions, beating her every time. She recorded a career bestreaction timeof.006 in the final event of 2009 at Pomona raceway.
Force's primarysponsorthroughout her Super Comp career and first year of Top Alcohol Dragster was Brandsource. In 2009, Force picked upsponsorshipbySanyo,as well asFord.
During the 2011 season, Force tested a Funny Car and earned her NHRA Funny Car license.
On January 10, 2012, it was announced that Traxxas would be the primary sponsor of Force's rookie season.[5]
Force made her Funny Car debut at the 52nd annual O'Reilly Auto PartsNHRA Winternationals.She qualified 12th with a 4.199 ET at 307.44 mph (494.78 km/h).[citation needed]In the first round of eliminations, she defeated Bob Tasca III with a pass of 4.204 seconds at 309.27 mph (497.72 km/h).[citation needed]In the second round, she lost to teammate Mike Neff despite running a career best 4.143 ET at 313.88 mph (505.14 km/h).[citation needed]
During the second race of the season, the Arizona Nationals in Phoenix, she took out her father in the first round.
On 5 August 2012, Force won her first FC race, by defeating Matt Hagan in the final round of The Northwest Nationals, at Seattle, Washington.
To kick off the 2013 season, Force qualified in the number 1 position for the O'Reily Auto Parts Winternationals, becoming the first woman to do so.[citation needed]She would also go on to be the first female Funny Car driver to win that event, beatingRon Cappsin the final.
At Kansas in 2014, Force achieved the 100th win by a female driver in NHRA by defeating Cruz Pedregon in the Funny Car final.[6]
On January 24, 2019, Force announced she would stop driving, effective immediately.[7]
Television
editCourtney Force was featured with her family onA&E'sreality showDriving Force.
Personal life
editCourtney has two older sisters,Ashleyand Brittany.[2]She also has an older half-sister, Adria. Force attendedEsperanza High SchoolinAnaheim, California,where she was acheerleader.[4]In 2009, she participated in theFord Fiestamovement and won theInternet's most popular agent award. She is married to IndyCar racerGraham Rahal,who is the son of1986 Indianapolis 500winnerBobby Rahal.[8][9]In November 2020, she gave birth to a daughter, Harlan Ann Rahal.[10]In September 2022, Courtney gave birth to Tinley Leighton Rahal and announced on her Facebook page she was stepping back from her roles at her foundation and sponsorship to be a mom.[11]
References
edit- ^"Courtney Fallon Force, Born 06/20/1988 in California".CaliforniaBirthIndex.org.Retrieved11 April2024.
- ^abcBlount, Terry (July 19, 2009)."Courtney Force Continues Family Dominance".ESPN.Retrieved6 March2010.
- ^"Courtney Force wins NHRA Sonoma Nationals".USA TODAY.27 July 2014.Retrieved7 September2015.
- ^ab"Courtney Force".Menstuff.org.Retrieved6 March2010.
- ^"NHRA Story » Courtney Force, Traxxas team up for 2012 rookie Funny Car run".nhra.Archived fromthe originalon 7 March 2016.Retrieved7 September2015.
- ^"Courtney Force earns 100th NHRA win by female driver".USA Today.
- ^"COURTNEY FORCE STEPPING AWAY FROM DRIVING DUTIES | John Force Racing Official Site".Archived fromthe originalon 2019-01-24.Retrieved2019-01-24.
- ^Associated Press(November 27, 2014)."Courtney Force, Graham Rahal announce engagement".Foxsports.RetrievedNovember 27,2014.
- ^Terry Blount [@TBlountSports] (22 November 2015)."So happy for @courtneyforce & @GrahamRahal. Great racers, but more importantly, exceptional young adults"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^"Graham Rahal, Courtney Force welcome their first baby - NBC Sports".MotorSportsTalk | NBC Sports.2020-11-06.Retrieved2021-05-30.
- ^"Log into Facebook".Facebook.Retrieved2022-11-03.
{{cite web}}:Cite uses generic title (help)
External links
edit- Official WebsiteArchived2009-08-22 at theWayback Machine