Bobby Bennett
Nitro Member
Second round kicks off Friday morning with blockbuster match …
It was the greatest race that never happened and luckily for John Force it didn’t.
“I would have been crying so much that I couldn’t have raced,” said Force, a 14-time NHRA Funny Car Champion.
Force crosses paths on Friday with his quarterfinals opponent Shirley Muldowney in the second annual CompetitionPlus.com War Stories. This unique contest pits sixteen drag racing figures in a head-to-head competition to determine who can tell the best drag racing story. Readers vote on the stories and the winners advance in competition while paired on an NHRA professional eliminations ladder.
“You have your heroes and for me, these were the people who inspired me when I couldn’t win,” Force admitted. “I never beat the people like Don Prudhomme, Raymond Beadle or Kenny Bernstein to win a championship and I’m glad because they were my heroes coming up. Then you had those people like Don Garlits and Shirley, well she was in a class of her own.”
Force came within a hair of withdrawing when he found his opponent was Muldowney.
“I get psyched up for this like it is a real race and when you race like I do, you get fired up to go for the kill,” Force admitted. “I was sitting around at Christmas with my girls and they told me I had to race Shirley and it took all the wind out of my sails.”
Explaining why he wanted to withdraw spawned a story of not having enough money to race at the first event he won, misplacing Ashley in the afternoon and then winning the event only to discover there was no television crew. Then he crossed paths with Shirley.
The editors of CompetitionPlus.com condensed and edited down a nearly 30 minute story from Force.
Muldowney, the first lady of drag racing, enters their match with lane choice. Lane choice determines who tells their story first, and the four-time Top Fuel champion earned that by scoring more votes than Force in the first round.
“When you come up in the sport the way he did, you’re bound to have some stories to tell,” Muldowney said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Her story is a real side-splitter which runs the gamut of excitement and laughter, and of course, some good old fighting.
The other match scheduled for tomorrow features another four-time champion in Gary Scelzi and he’s up against Chris Kaufmann, who upset the team of Bob and Etta Glidden in the first round.
The “B” side of the ladder kicks off on Monday, January 5 with a fierce battle between “Waterbed” Fred Miller and Pat Musi.
“Big Daddy” Don Garlits and Kenny Nowling close out the second round.
It was the greatest race that never happened and luckily for John Force it didn’t.
“I would have been crying so much that I couldn’t have raced,” said Force, a 14-time NHRA Funny Car Champion.
Force crosses paths on Friday with his quarterfinals opponent Shirley Muldowney in the second annual CompetitionPlus.com War Stories. This unique contest pits sixteen drag racing figures in a head-to-head competition to determine who can tell the best drag racing story. Readers vote on the stories and the winners advance in competition while paired on an NHRA professional eliminations ladder.
“You have your heroes and for me, these were the people who inspired me when I couldn’t win,” Force admitted. “I never beat the people like Don Prudhomme, Raymond Beadle or Kenny Bernstein to win a championship and I’m glad because they were my heroes coming up. Then you had those people like Don Garlits and Shirley, well she was in a class of her own.”
Force came within a hair of withdrawing when he found his opponent was Muldowney.
“I get psyched up for this like it is a real race and when you race like I do, you get fired up to go for the kill,” Force admitted. “I was sitting around at Christmas with my girls and they told me I had to race Shirley and it took all the wind out of my sails.”
Explaining why he wanted to withdraw spawned a story of not having enough money to race at the first event he won, misplacing Ashley in the afternoon and then winning the event only to discover there was no television crew. Then he crossed paths with Shirley.
The editors of CompetitionPlus.com condensed and edited down a nearly 30 minute story from Force.
Muldowney, the first lady of drag racing, enters their match with lane choice. Lane choice determines who tells their story first, and the four-time Top Fuel champion earned that by scoring more votes than Force in the first round.
“When you come up in the sport the way he did, you’re bound to have some stories to tell,” Muldowney said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Her story is a real side-splitter which runs the gamut of excitement and laughter, and of course, some good old fighting.
The other match scheduled for tomorrow features another four-time champion in Gary Scelzi and he’s up against Chris Kaufmann, who upset the team of Bob and Etta Glidden in the first round.
The “B” side of the ladder kicks off on Monday, January 5 with a fierce battle between “Waterbed” Fred Miller and Pat Musi.
“Big Daddy” Don Garlits and Kenny Nowling close out the second round.
