I have purposely avoided acting as an apologist for John in the aftermath of what happened Monday. Some willl disapprove of his actions (or those of the Pedregons) and others will feel that such things can happen in the heat of battle. I'd be foolish to try to get everyone to join hands and reach total agreement on what happened. As someone who has been on network TV for 20 years, I've experienced the "Bill Stephens is great"/"Bill Stephens sucks" see-saw of public opinion first hand. There are no 100-percenters in this business.
I will, however, ask everyone to at least consider this. If you measure the behavior of people who live their lives in the public eye under the relentless pressure of performing flawlessly, satisfying their sponsors, fans, crew, sanctioning body, family, friends, and complete strangers 24/7 without ever making a mistake in a sport where in a single instant, you can be grievously injured or killed, the same way you measure the behavior of the fellow who works behind the counter at the local Subway, there's a major disconnect there. As the old saying goes, "Try walking a mile in his shoes".
I never said John was frequently coming to ESPN and voicing displeasure with the coverage, in fact, I can count on one hand how many times he did. What I said was any time it happened, he was always willing to offer his apologies--something I have seen happen very rarely in episodes involving other racing personalities.
You've all seen the enormous amount of emotion and energy John radiates. I have known him as a driver and as a friend for 15 years. What you see is what you get. He understands the politics of his craft to be sure, but one thing he isn't is a counterfeit. Someday his life story will be written and I hope everyone here takes the time to read it because there are many aspects of John's life and personality which deserve to be revealed. May I also say that if you go back the past few years, you'll recall he's seen a young man who was essentially the son he never had killed in a race car. He's had to stand back and watch all three of his daughters climb into Funny Cars or Dragsters and drive insanely fast while all he can do is hope and pray they get to the other end safely. He was almost killed himself numerous times, most recently in Dallas a couple of years ago. He hasn't won a race since last year and is in danger of having his first season without a win since the 1980's. Pressure? I'd say so.
One other thing. John Force--rightly or wrongly--has become the face of the sport. Thanks to him (and now Ashley) more people than ever before are aware of NHRA drag racing. He has attracted a whole new generation of drag racing fans who quite probably never would have found us otherwise. I can tell you without question that when John loses in the first round, ESPN TV ratings for the race decline. I will also tell you this: When John finally calls it quits, there are no more John Forces coming along to replace him. We've been pretty fortunate to have someone like him shine the spotlight on the sport for so long and people will be telling John Force tales for years to come.
Enjoy him while you can. And if he occasionally loses his temper, I'm OK with that.