Brittany Force Bio
Brittany Leighton Force (born July 8, 1986) is an American drag racer competing in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel category. She is a two-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion, having claimed the title in 2017 and 2022, and she currently holds the all-time Top Fuel speed record at 343.16 mph. Force drives for John Force Racing, the team owned by her father, and is sponsored by Monster Energy. She is widely recognized as one of the most successful women in drag racing history.
As the daughter of 16-time Funny Car champion John Force, Brittany grew up around the NHRA circuit and developed her own path into professional drag racing. Her career has been marked by historic firsts, including becoming the first woman to win the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals and the first female No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel at the prestigious U.S. Nationals.
Early Life and Background
Brittany Force was born on July 8, 1986, in Yorba Linda, California, and raised in a household defined by drag racing. Her father, John Force, is one of the most decorated figures in NHRA history, and her sisters, Courtney Force and Ashley Force Hood, also pursued professional racing careers. The Force family home was closely tied to the sport, and Brittany spent much of her youth around teams, tracks, and race shops.
Before turning to drag racing full-time, Force pursued an education outside of motorsports. She attended California State University, Fullerton, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English along with a teaching credential. Her academic background gave her an early post-college career option, but the pull of professional drag racing ultimately shaped her future.
Path to NHRA Drag Racing
Force transitioned into NHRA competition in 2013, making her Top Fuel debut that season with John Force Racing. She was the first driver from the family team to compete in the Top Fuel class, expanding John Force Racing’s presence beyond its long-established Funny Car program. In her rookie season, she was recognized with the Auto Club Road to the Future Award, given to the NHRA’s top rookie.
Over the next several seasons, Force built a reputation as a rising contender in one of the most demanding categories in motorsports. Her progress was steady, with consistent qualifying performances and growing comfort in 10,000-horsepower dragsters. By 2016, she had broken through with her first major victory, setting the stage for the championship success that followed.
Brittany Force Career
Early Career (2013–2015)
Force began her professional NHRA career in 2013 driving a Top Fuel dragster for John Force Racing, instantly becoming a headline name as the first member of her father’s team to enter the category. Her rookie campaign earned her the Auto Club Road to the Future Award, a sign of her immediate competitiveness. She spent her first seasons learning the nuances of Top Fuel tuning, fuel management, and staging strategy.
During 2014 and 2015, Force worked to refine her reaction times and consistency at the tree. She made several deep runs at national events and built a strong working relationship with her John Force Racing crew, laying the foundation for the victories that would soon follow.
Top Fuel Breakthrough (2016–2017)
The 2016 season marked Force’s first major milestone. In April 2016, she became the first woman to win the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, a unique event format that had previously been dominated by male competitors. Later that year, on May 20, 2016, she set a new NHRA Top Fuel elapsed-time record of 3.676 seconds over 1,000 feet at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas, underlining her team’s growing performance.
In 2017, Force elevated her career to its highest level by winning the NHRA Top Fuel World Championship. She became only the second woman in history to claim a Top Fuel title, joining Hall of Famer Shirley Muldowney, and she clinched the crown in the quarterfinals of the final race of the Countdown to the Championship before going on to win that event. She won four races during the 2017 season, three of them in the Countdown, a personal single-season best at the time.
John Force Racing Era (2018–2022)
Force continued to contend for championships in the seasons following her 2017 title, remaining a fixture in the Top Fuel top ten. In 2019, she added another historic first, becoming the first woman to earn the No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, the most prestigious race on the NHRA schedule.
The 2022 season produced the second championship of her career. On October 2, 2022, at the NHRA Midwest Nationals, she set a new national Top Fuel speed record at 338.17 mph, and she reset that mark later the same event to 338.94 mph, also establishing the elapsed-time record at 3.623 seconds. By the end of the 2022 campaign, she had reached 16 career NHRA victories, cementing her status as one of the Top Fuel category’s leading drivers.
Driving Style and Strengths
Force is known for calm, precise reaction times at the starting line and the ability to keep her John Force Racing dragster running at peak performance in changing track and weather conditions. Her tuning group, led by veteran crew chief David Grubnic and assistant Jason McCulloch during her championship years, has produced record-setting elapsed times and speeds. Her strength in high-pressure Countdown events has become a defining feature of her career.
Notable Races and Milestones
Her signature moments include the 2016 Four-Wide Nationals victory, the 2017 world title, the 2019 U.S. Nationals pole, and the 2022 Midwest Nationals record-setting weekend. Each milestone has been paired with a new mark in either elapsed time or speed, reinforcing her reputation as a record-setter in the Top Fuel class.
Brittany Force Career Wins
Brittany Force has accumulated 16 NHRA Top Fuel victories across her career, including her two world championships in 2017 and 2022. Her win total combines a mix of regular-season events, Countdown to the Championship races, and marquee national events.
Top Fuel Highlights
Her first major win came at the 2016 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, where she became the first woman ever to take the event title. She won four races during her 2017 championship season, including three in the Countdown to the Championship, and added further victories in the years that followed. Her most recent championship came in 2022, a season in which she also set multiple national records for speed and elapsed time.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond her win total, Force has also posted the No. 1 qualifying position at major NHRA events, most notably at the 2019 U.S. Nationals. Her national records include a Top Fuel speed mark of 343.16 mph, reset in 2025, and a Top Fuel elapsed-time record of 3.623 seconds, set in 2022.
Brittany Force Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Force is the daughter of John Force, a 16-time NHRA Funny Car world champion and one of the most recognizable figures in American drag racing. Her sisters, Courtney Force and Ashley Force Hood, also competed professionally in NHRA, making the Force family one of the most prominent dynasties in the sport. Racing has been a central part of family life, and Brittany’s career was supported from the start by her family’s team and infrastructure.
Personal Life
Force holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a teaching credential from California State University, Fullerton. She has been sponsored throughout her NHRA career by Monster Energy, a long-standing partner of John Force Racing.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 NHRA Top Fuel season has continued Brittany Force’s record-setting trend. On July 20, 2025, she broke her own national Top Fuel speed record with a 341.59 mph pass at the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Kent, Washington. Just over a week later, on August 28, 2025, she reset the mark again to 343.16 mph, the current all-time Top Fuel speed record.
Competing once more for John Force Racing, Force has remained a consistent contender in the Countdown to the Championship conversation, drawing on the experience of her two prior title runs. Her combination of low elapsed times and category-leading speed has kept her among the championship favorites heading into the final stretch of the 2025 season.
With a strong crew, established Monster Energy backing, and proven performance in pressure situations, Force’s outlook for the remainder of 2025 includes another potential title push. Her 2025 record-breaking runs have also reignited discussion of her standing among the greatest Top Fuel drivers in NHRA history.