When we first cracked the cover of this book, John Force: The Straight Story of Drag Racing’s 300-mph Superstar by Erik Arneson, we admittedly had low expectations because frankly, John Force is everywhere in the drag racing world. Those expectations were quickly raised when we realized that this was a detailed account of one of the most improbable stories in the history of any type of racing.
The story of John Force is really the story about a guy living the American dream. He grew up in serious poverty, had an undying ambition to be a professional racer, and despite years of public failure, actually managed to do it. And that’s selling him short—he managed to become the winningest professional drag racer in history as well as the most publicly recognizable.
If this were simply a fan book we’d be right here telling you that. It’s not because Arneson manages to really humanize Force and does not gloss over the fact that for years on the national scene the name John Force meant leaker. For those not familiar with the term, referring to someone as a leaker is about the worst insult you can throw at anyone who considers themselves to be a professional level racer.
A brilliant, tenacious salesman, Force did not acquire his level of success by luck. Instead he was crafty with how he managed to lure in sponsors. His greatest coup ever was landing Austin Coil to tune his race car. If he had not been able to sweet talk Coil into entering a situation that was so perilously close to completely folding up altogether there would probably not be anyone writing books about John Force.
If you’re a Force hater (and there are lots) skip this one. If you are a drag racing fan who thinks they know the story of John Force, you need this book to fill in the gaps in your knowledge and really get the whole story behind a guy who can lay claim to the title of “greatest professional drag racer of all time.”
You can find this book at amazon.com, motorbooks.com, and your local bookseller.
