THIS DAY IN JFR HISTORY (1988):
For the first time on U.S. soil,
John Force won an
NHRA Funny Car race, taking the Wally in the
NHRA Springnationals at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio. Force defeated DA Santucci, Ed McCulloch and Kenny Bernstein in the first three rounds to set up a showdown with Bruce Larson in the finals. Force won with a pass of 5.525 seconds at 262.46 mph, while Larson smoked the tires and ran 13.693 seconds at 50.65 mph. The win was the second for Force – his first came north of the border in St. Pie, Quebec –, first victory on television, and his first on Father’s Day. But his Father’s Day was about to become even better. Following the victory, he rushed home to California, in time for his youngest daughter, Courtney, to be born the next day.