John force @ ocir

[Bobby Bennett]

Drag Racing Internet Magazine - Competition Plus.com - 1979 - JOHN FORCE AT OCIR

Dry hops and everything. An El Camino too.

 

[RJM323]

THANKS!! That video was pretty cool

 

[Percboy]

Thanks for the link. Great stuff.
That sure looked good for a "home video" in 1979.
Portable home video in those days set you back about 3 grand and took 2 men to lug it around.
The Myspace users page also has some great old photos of John , Laurie and crew http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=67433896&albumId=485674

 

[club]

Wholly cow I feel 19 again!

If the show was like that today the TV ratings would be through the roof. Instead on we get 5 replays of each run and 1-2 minutes of Blah Balh Blah and then we get to see a new run and very little starting line procedure.

 

[Mooseman]

I wonder how many average fans realise just how long John Force has been racing for .

 

[Rumblebones]

Wholly cow I feel 19 again!

If the show was like that today the TV ratings would be through the roof. Instead on we get 5 replays of each run and 1-2 minutes of Blah Balh Blah and then we get to see a new run and very little starting line procedure.

Yea. 19 again, me too. No way would that happen today on so many different levels.

Right on! A drag race isn't just a car staging. It's the whole "run" from startup, burnout, backing up, staging, launch, finishline, chutes, turnoff.

I've e-mailed ESPN at nauseum over the years to tell the director or whoever, they need insets when they do interviews/replays and keep a camera on the track all the time.

 

[d'kid]

Yea. 19 again, me too. No way would that happen today on so many different levels.

Right on! A drag race isn't just a car staging. It's the whole "run" from startup, burnout, backing up, staging, launch, finishline, chutes, turnoff.

I've e-mailed ESPN at nauseum over the years to tell the director or whoever, they need insets when they do interviews/replays and keep a camera on the track all the time.

Ya dang kids... try mid twenties again... way it was, burnout ... dry hop, test launch, lil more VHT under the tires, dry hop, dry hop, stage, 1400 feet to cover 1320....

and then I got married...

d'kid

 

[Porkchop]

Shows everyone how much John has improved since then,he was a no drivin sob back then now one one of the greatest ever,took to long then to stage... too much heat in the moter,thats why he was so loose.Like Force said before indy........."took to long to get good now i cant beat Snake,cause hes in Top Fuel"

 

[Tim5636sc]

I used to love the wed afternoon-night test sessions at 'the county'. I remember force, grose, both dunn's, the epperly's, teach, and many more would show up to make a few SQUIRT's. Loved those days. And i agree, these days need to come back!
I would take dry hops over 330 any day.

 

[Mooseman]

Apparently clutch technology these days is the reason for no dry hops , I remember reading that somewhere .

 

[Tim5636sc]

Apparently clutch technology these days is the reason for no dry hops , I remember reading that somewhere .

Well change the clutch and fuel package back to the way it was. We get the Show and slow them down which brings them back to 1320...talk about killing two birds with one stone!
Maybe todays tires and track prep would hamper the dry hop need?

 

[Just Paul]

Apparently clutch technology these days is the reason for no dry hops , I remember reading that somewhere .

Dry hops went away with 2 speeds in nitro cars.

 

[The Swegian]

Dry hops went away with 2 speeds in nitro cars.

Yep, the last time I recall seeing dry hops was at Brainerd in 1987 and there was one TF car that didn't do the dry hop because he was trying out a high gear only transmission. I thought to myself "boy, that'll never work" as the guy couldn't get the car down the track very well. I don't remember who it was but it was a lesser known driver/team.

 

[BaldyLochs]

That's a great video. I love how fast he backs up. Do any of you old time So-Cal, JFR fans have any recollection of the band Motley Crue doing a gig at a match race John was running at? I've heard Nikki Sixx talk about it in the past. It obviously happened before Motley got thier record deal and hit the "big time". Had to of been around '79-82? I'd like to hear john's side of this story someday.

 

[marlin]

Way too cool ...many thanks indeed ...Wildman John !

 

[MW]

That's a great video. I love how fast he backs up. Do any of you old time So-Cal, JFR fans have any recollection of the band Motley Crue doing a gig at a match race John was running at? I've heard Nikki Sixx talk about it in the past. It obviously happened before Motley got thier record deal and hit the "big time". Had to of been around '79-82? I'd like to hear john's side of this story someday.

Don't think Motley played at the track, but the Force & Craig Epperly (HB Gold) cars were on stage for the Crue's first headling gig at the Santa Monica Civic.

 

[ricko999™]

Great find!!! The motor popping louder than s$%@. A 400'+ burnout, 2 VHT dry hops, prestage and full on launch, back again, and more dry hops, all for a 213 mph 1320ft run, and the crowd loves it!!
I loved it then and would again today, it was all about "the show"!
THX,
RO