A two-time World Champion Drag Racer, Brittany Force is our guest this week on Nevada Week In Person.

♪♪♪ Support for Nevada Week In Person is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt.

-Welcome to Nevada Week In Person.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon.

In 2017 she became the first woman in 35 years and only the second woman ever to win an NHRA Top Fuel World Championship.

Now a two-time World Champion and the reigning Top Fuel Champion, Brittany Force, thank you for joining Nevada Week In Person.

-Of course.

-We're lucky to have you, as you compete this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

What you do for a living is so unique.

-Thank you.

-Racing at 300 miles per hour in a race that lasts less than four seconds, can you describe to our viewers what that feels like, both physically and mentally.

(Brittany Force) You can't compare it to anything.

There's really nothing like it.

I mean, it's like being strapped to a rocket.

You're going 330 miles per hour in less than four seconds.

So it feels like it's over before it begins, but so much goes on in those four seconds.

I will come back with my crew chief, and we'll pick apart a run on everything that I did.

I mean, it's crazy.

It's a lot on your body physically, mentally.

It's about seven-- six Gs within the first second and negative Gs when we throw the shoot.

It's like getting the wind knocked out of you when you leave the starting line.

Then when you hit the finish line, throw those shoots out.

-Do you remember the first time you felt that and how you reacted?

-I was terrified, absolutely terrified.

I remember I decided to jump into a Top Fuel car.

I was going to get licensed in a Top Fuel car, spend a season really getting to learn the car and the feel of it and driving the car.

And I remember driving out to the racetrack.

We were in Florida, and I was like, holy crap!

What did I signed myself up for?

Like, I hope it starts to rain.

There were clouds coming in, and I suddenly was completely terrified.

And it's just being terrified of the unknown.

I've never been in this type of car.

I drove Super Comp in A/Fuel, you know, in the Sportsman Division years before.

I have experience in those, but nothing to follow on, nothing to help me getting this new type of car.

So it's just that fear of the unknown.

Once I got in the car, warmed it up, I didn't go all the way down.

I worked my way down the racetrack over months of time.

But that first time, absolutely terrified.

It's something, like I said, I've jumped out of airplanes; I've been skydiving.

I'll do roller coasters.

There's nothing-- there's nothing like it.

It's like being strapped to a rocket, and you hang on till you get to the end.

-Oh, my gosh.

How old were you then when you first started?

-So I-- -This sport is in your blood.

-Yes, it is.

2013 was my rookie season.

So 2012 was the first time I jumped into a Top Fuel car.

-Okay.

And you're 37 now, so you got to do the math.

But your family, referred to as the "First Family of Drag Racing."

Two of your sisters competed, your father, of course, John Force, a 16-time Funny Car world champion.

Unlike your father and sisters, though, as you mentioned, you chose to ride in a Top Fuel dragster.

Why did you make that choice?

-I drove Super Comp in A/Fuel, which were dragsters.

So for me, I love dragsters.

That's what I was really familiar with.

I wanted to get into a Top Fuel car.

And in our camp of John Force Racing, under our John Force Racing umbrella, we only had Funny Cars.

So I thought pulling a Top Fuel car would be a new challenge for our team.

It would be something different, something exciting for the fans and exciting for, you know, all our teams as well.

So for me that just made the most sense.

I have been in a Funny Car.

I got licensed in a Funny Car.

Those things are absolutely crazy.

I like my dragsters.

I like the engine behind me when it blows up.

I don't like it in my lap.

So for me, Top Fuel is what's home for me.

-How was that received by your family when you made that decision?

-Completely supportive.

They kind of knew we were going that direction.

My sisters wanted to go the Funny Car route, the same route as my dad, and I wanted to go into a Top Fuel car.

And again, I got licensed in one, so I've been-- I've felt both cars.

You know, two completely different animals, two different beasts.

But again, it's I like Top Fuel, but family has always been supportive.

-That's really-- that's special.

-Yeah.

-In a recent interview of yours that I saw, you were asked what your dad teaches you.

And you responded, "Well, we teach each other things."

I thought that was so unique.

At what point did that start, because I imagine it started with him teaching you everything.

-Probably my rookie season, so 2013.

It was my first year coming out in a Top Fuel car.

I mean, he gives too much advice sometimes.

Just give me something little I could work with.

But he likes to give all his years of experience, lay it all out there for you.

And sometimes it's a little too much.

But we've figured out how to manage each other.

I mean, it's tough.

Father/daughter, we're on the road together.

We traveled together.

We worked together.

We spent a lot of time together.

So we butt heads at moments.

We get along.

We're best friends, and then we're fighting the next.

But we do, we teach each other things.

And it's usually in the car: What worked for me this weekend?

What helped me get my confidence up.

Whatever it is.

Help me come back from a bad run.

How do you flip that around and get motivated, confident again.

Just little things that work for us is usually what we end up helping each other out with.

-What does he say when you've had a bad run?

How do you come back from that?

-He always says, "Drive from the heart."

So if you ever see him up there in front of my car, first round, final round, whatever it is, he'll always put his hand over his heart and I know what it means.

-Oh, that's special.

How much do you think back on your own dad's history?

Because he didn't have the greatest start in this sport, but, wow, went on to become so successful.

-His story is incredible.

And honestly, that's probably the biggest lesson is watching him in things he's done, things he's achieved and come back from.

That's probably been the biggest lesson, more than what he's verbally told me, is watching him.

Because when he first started, I mean, he was terrible.

He couldn't get down the racetrack.

He blew up, ruined the racetrack, you know, blew a car.

He just couldn't get down the racetrack for the life of him.

He had a lot of support, a lot of friends out there that, gave him parts and helped him out.

And you know now, look at him, fast-forward all these years.

He has four teams.

He's won 16 championships, which is absolutely unheard of.

He's done so much to grow the sport of any trade drag racing.

If you look in the stands, it's mostly John Force shirts that everybody's wearing across their back, sitting up in the stands.

He's incredible.

His story is incredible.

And, again, probably the biggest lesson I learned from him, he wrecked terribly in 2007, broke his arms and legs, and doctors told him, You're never gonna drive again, probably won't walk again.

And watching him fight back to get back into the seat and drive again, because he loves his sport, he loves his job, and he has so much passion for it, he's like, No one is gonna tell me what I can and can't do.

I love that car.

I'm gonna get back in.

It was watching him do that, fight his way back was probably the biggest lesson for me.

-He's how old now?

-75?

-Do you want him to still be racing?

-I want it-- I want him to do what makes him happy.

And he still loves it.

-Yeah.

You had a crash of your own in 2018.

How severe were the injuries?

-I got pretty lucky.

I was in the hospital for a couple nights.

Concussion.

I don't really remember any of the wreck, which maybe is a good thing.

I tore things in my neck and my back and my arms.

Nothing crazy.

I was black and blue.

I was beat up.

I took a pretty hard hit.

And you know, I had two weeks off before we went to Phoenix.

My crew chief, my teams were like, Let's sit Phoenix out.

And I know who I am.

I know if I set out too long, there will be a mental block and I will not be able to get back in the car.

I know myself.

I was at Phoenix.

Let's get me in this car, and they're like, Your face is still swollen.

Your arms are black and blue.

Are you sure you want to do this?

I'm like, get me in the car.

We'll do one run and decide from there.

And I was terrified.

It was probably more terrifying than the first time I ever climbed into a car to make my first pass.

That run coming back from, you know, still feeling all the, you know, the bruises on my body from that wreck and just memory from watching the footage.

I watched the footage, and you can't get that out of your head.

It just plays over and over in your head.

So climbing back in my car, I got fitted-- or climbed back in the car, new seat, new car, new everything.

Got fitted for a new car and took it out in Phoenix, terrified again, again, just the mental note of, you know, memory of what had happened.

Once I made that first pass, okay, we're good.

I'm ready to get back into competition and back into fight mode.

You can't have one bad, terrible moment in your career outweigh all the good ones.

And I've had so many good ones.

And we went out and we won Houston.

I think it was just three or four races later.

And it was an emotional one for me.

I think I cried through my interview, but it was a big moment to recover from that wreck, come back and win.

-How do you think that changed you?

-Um, it made me realize what I'm capable of.

You know, if you push, you know, your mind could do anything.

You could push yourself to do anything no matter what kind of block is there, at least give yourself a chance.

There's that fear of-- you know, there's that fear of failure.

There's that fear of are you going to be able to recover from this?

And to put that aside, step in, take a chance, yes, you should be afraid to do something like that.

But give yourself a chance to do it.

And then if you decide, I'm still afraid.

This isn't for me.

Okay, at least you gave yourself a shot.

But give yourself a shot.

-I want to go to an interview you did in 2019 with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

It was after both of your sisters had retired to start families.

And in it you said that, "You can't be a mom and a drag racer.

You can't have both."

Why is that?

-It's tough.

It was a tough decision that both my sisters had to make.

You can't drive this car if you're pregnant.

And you don't know, you know, if you decide you want to start a family, you have to make that decision before you go into a season because you have a team on the line and all their jobs, crew chiefs on the line, his job, and sponsors that are investing all their money into you winning and winning a championship for a whole season.

So you can't be mid-season, I want to start a family.

It has to be a decision that you are ready to make, and you have to step out.

It's a tough thing for females in the sport.

There's only a handful of us.

There's not too many females.

Both my sisters made that decision.

They were married, and they were ready to start a family.

So they stepped out of the seat and pursued that.

My oldest sister has two little boys, and my younger sister has two little girls.

-And at that time you said, quote, I'm not there yet.

I'm not married.

I'm not planning on having kids anytime soon, but I'll address that down the road if it ever comes to that.

I hate to get personal, but I bet your fans want to know how close is marriage or motherhood?

-Definitely not yet.

I have a boyfriend.

And for me, it's down the road.

I still am on the fence about having kids.

I love my little nieces.

My nieces, my nephews, all of them, they're great.

They're amazing.

And you know, spending time with them, usually by the end of the night, I'm like, I think I'm good.

I'm ready to send them home.

I don't know if kids is for me.

I've always been on the fence about it.

I think when that time comes, I'll know.

I would like to be married before starting a family.

So I'm definitely not there yet.

-Okay.

That's gonna give a lot of guys out there some hope.

Any inkling that those kids will get into drag racing?

-Yeah.

Actually, my two nephews, they are junior drag-- Jr. drivers.

So they have little Jr. Dragsters that they compete in.

Actually, they haven't competed much this year, last few years.

Now they're into hockey.

They change it up all the time.

But they do have, they do compete in Jr. Dragsters.

-And before we run out of time, what has Las Vegas meant to your career?

-Las Vegas has always been a special one for me.

I've been coming here since the track opened.

I remember before the track even opened, flying in with my dad and my sisters and my mom.

And I remember we stayed at MGM Grand.

I'd never been to Vegas before, and my mind was blown.

Oh, my gosh, the lights!

Like this is the craziest thing I've ever seen.

I'd never been to Vegas before.

So I do remember that.

And we came out, you know, to the first event that was held here 20-something years ago.

So I've been coming since I was a kid.

I raced here in Super Comp.

I raced here in A/Fuel.

I sat in the stands, watched all my sisters race.

I've won in Top Fuel.

And a lot of really good memories are here in Las Vegas.

I'm in Orange County,so it's only four hours down the road.

It feels like home track to me.

It's just one of my favorite spots.

-You won here last year, and then you won in 2019.

And that was supposedly a bucket list win for you.

Why?

-It was because it's Vegas.

Like I said, it feels like a-- Pomona is my home track, but this also feels like home to me.

It's because there's so many good memories here and I've been coming here for so long.

I love Las Vegas.

And just the way they do the celebration when you do win, the winner's circle celebration.

It's something different.

You have these showgirls on stage, and it's you're in Las Vegas and you know it.

You could tell by the photos.

You could tell by just the way they do everything.

So I always wanted to win here.

This was always on my bucket list, and we checked it off a few times.

-Brittany Force, thank you for making the time to come into Nevada Week In Person.

Two-time world champion, reining Top Fuel champion, thank you again.

And thank you for watching.

For more interviews like this, go to vegaspbs.org/nevadaweek.

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