John Force builds an empire in NHRA Funny Cars

	Funny Car superstar John Force has built a racing empire that has enticed his daughter, Ashley, and the rest of his family to join him. AP
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John Force has the type of name that just can't be real. No last name, in fact, has ever been more appropriate for a driver -- with the possible exception of F1's Scott Speed.

Surely, Force must be a stage name that John gave himself when he was a starving truck driver, dreaming of making it big in racing. Or perhaps Force is the name that some big-time agent came up with when he and John plotted to invade reality television.

Sorry, it's not that cunning. Force is his real last name. And it's just a coincidence that the 57-year-old NHRA Funny Car driver is the most dominant force in American auto racing outside NASCAR. Force is a veritable hurricane of energy, exploding through life. He's proven there's little he can't accomplish through willpower and his energetic personality.

And he'll tell you about it, too. He's one of the greatest quote machines in sports history -- in the same class as, yes, Yogi Berra or Vince Lombardi. He talks 300 mph, making outrageous statements he truly believes. He also has an ability to say all the wrongs things in all the right ways, no matter how foolish they sometimes sound. He's got a gift.

After once saying he'd eat his words if a pre-race prediction didn't come true, he chomped away at a newspaper in the Texas Motorplex press box. After a horrible crash in Memphis in which his car exploded 1,000 feet down the track and ended up burning up in the sand at the end of the track, he observed: "I saw Elvis at 1,000 feet." Recently he put his show on display at the Daytona press box during the week of the 500, wowing the NASCAR media who had previously missed his act.

But he's more than just the mouth that roared. For all of his bluster, Force is legitimately a great drag racer, a super ambassador for the sport, a strong manager and a great marketer.

In NHRA circles, Force is Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty and Jack Roush all rolled into one.