Courtney Force bests her father at NHRA Sonoma Nationals

SONOMA - In a battle of Forces, daughter Courtney Force finally got the upper hand on father John.

In the battle of teammates, the birthday boy edged the so-called No. 1 team in the stable.

Courtney won her fifth NHRA Funny Car title, defeating her dad and drag racing legend John Force by .152 seconds.

Khalid alBalooshi, on his 35th birthday, won the Top Fuel title on Sunday at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.

Al-Anabi Racing, the team owned by Qatari prince His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Thani, stole the show in the Top Fuel finals, with drivers alBalooshi and defending Sonoma champion Shawn Langdon battling for the Sonoma crown. Langdon owned a 6-2 record against alBalooshi overall, with one victory in a final, but alBalooshi finally edged his teammate when it mattered, beating Langdon by .96 seconds.

In the two other NHRA pro divisions, Jason Line edged V Gaines by .016 seconds to win the Pro Stock title and Eddie Kraweic stole the Pro Stock motorcycle title by a margin of .007 seconds over Jerry Savoie. Kraweic’s victory was the 200th for Chevrolet in the Pro Stock motorcycle class.

The Force father-daughter duo faced off in the Top Fuel final Sunday, exactly nine months after John defeated Courtney in the final at the Las Vegas Nationals last October, a victory that won John his 16th NHRA championship.

Courtney hadn’t forgotten about last year’s defeat.

“That was a tough loss against my dad when he won the championship in Vegas,” she said. “It’s one of those times you want it so bad, it was kind of a bummer.

“I didn’t get to really celebrate the championship with him until a day later when I was kind of over losing it, which is a bummer.”

The father-daughter relationship ceases on the track, in Courtney’s eyes.

“I felt bad about that, but as a competitor, you want to win and at that point, it doesn’t matter who’s in the next lane next to you – you want to get the win. Especially when it’s him, who’s got so many wins and so many championships, and that he’s my dad, it kind of just gets you fired up that much more, to try and go out there and get it.”

Courtney said this event used to mark the start of her summer during her childhood, when she used to come watch her father race at the track.

“It’s crazy to see how far all of us girls (her sisters Ashley and Brittany) have come, and it’s just kind of cool that we all followed in my dad’s footsteps,” she said.

John’s second-place finish earned him a spot in NHRA Countdown to the Championship.

He’s currently second in the Funny Car points standings. Courtney is fourth.

“I’ve always tried to be competitive with him no matter what it is, but especially on the race track,” she said.

Defending Sonoma Funny Car champion Ron Capps was eliminated in the first round after blowing his engine against Alexis DeJoria.

AlBalooshi started the day with the second-fastest Top Fuel time of the weekend in his first-round victory over Steve Torrence. He said he was asked prior to Sunday’s finals who’s the driver he’d most like to beat. He answered Langdon.

“Because he’s a teammate and everybody has been talking about ‘Uh-oh, he’s the No. 1 car and you’re No. 2?’ No, no, no. I need to beat him.”

It was the fourth time the two had raced each other this season. Langdon now holds a 6-3 record against alBalooshi.

It’s alBalooshi’s fourth career win and his third finals appearance this year.

Langdon won the NHRA Top Fuel title last year, and currently sits in third place in the point standings, while alBalooshi sits in eighth.