Terrible toy
05-01-2008, 06:11 PM
This is not a boat story, but I would guess that most everyone on this site has heard of John Force. He's certainly the most famous drag racer of all time and has even had his own TV show. He's probable a millionaire a couple of times over and has a championship string that has a good chance of never being broken.
With all the media coverage of Force's recent crash I flashed back to a personal encounter with the funny car legend. This is not a story about a famous person performing in the limelight with cameras rolling and thousands watching, but rather what he does when the press and fans are not around and only I was there to take note of a kind deed.
I was making license runs in an alcohol dragster at Famosa (Bakersfield) drag strip and a lot of pros were testing there for the Winternationals. It was a bitter cold saturday in late January. I was the last car to make a pass so it was well after dark. The track was so cold the car was all over the place, I was in and out of the throttle and up shifting early to keep the thing off the wall.
By the time I got back to the pits they were almost empty of people and I needed someone with a TAD license or higher to sign my license. So I ran down to the tower to see if they would ask over the sound system if there were any drivers left who saw the pass. I waited for what seemed an eternity. (if any of you have ever experienced the southern San Joaquin Valley when the winter fog rolls in you know how cold 32 degrees can feel) I was standing there hopping from one foot to the other trying to stay warm, not another soul around. Suddenly I see this lone figure coming out of the dark mist. As he gets closer I recognize it's John Force. Thinking to myself that he must have business with officials in the tower I was about to give up getting the license signed and go get warm. Force walks right up to me and asks, "are you the guy that needs his license signed"? I just stared at him with my mouth open trying to register that he was talking to me.:eek: Before I could say anything Force says "I saw the run, you used up a lot of real estate and didn't put a scratch on that hot rod so
sure I'll sign your license".
I wish I could say that I'd made some snappy response to express my appreciation for him to walk half a mile on a dark cold night just to sign my license, but I can't. The best I could come up with was, "Uhhhh thanks". One of these days, if I can get through the crowds, I will ask him if he remembers that miserable night and signing my license, I know I always will.http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll317/terribletoy/DodgeTAD.jpghttp://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll317/terribletoy/TAD.jpg
With all the media coverage of Force's recent crash I flashed back to a personal encounter with the funny car legend. This is not a story about a famous person performing in the limelight with cameras rolling and thousands watching, but rather what he does when the press and fans are not around and only I was there to take note of a kind deed.
I was making license runs in an alcohol dragster at Famosa (Bakersfield) drag strip and a lot of pros were testing there for the Winternationals. It was a bitter cold saturday in late January. I was the last car to make a pass so it was well after dark. The track was so cold the car was all over the place, I was in and out of the throttle and up shifting early to keep the thing off the wall.
By the time I got back to the pits they were almost empty of people and I needed someone with a TAD license or higher to sign my license. So I ran down to the tower to see if they would ask over the sound system if there were any drivers left who saw the pass. I waited for what seemed an eternity. (if any of you have ever experienced the southern San Joaquin Valley when the winter fog rolls in you know how cold 32 degrees can feel) I was standing there hopping from one foot to the other trying to stay warm, not another soul around. Suddenly I see this lone figure coming out of the dark mist. As he gets closer I recognize it's John Force. Thinking to myself that he must have business with officials in the tower I was about to give up getting the license signed and go get warm. Force walks right up to me and asks, "are you the guy that needs his license signed"? I just stared at him with my mouth open trying to register that he was talking to me.:eek: Before I could say anything Force says "I saw the run, you used up a lot of real estate and didn't put a scratch on that hot rod so
sure I'll sign your license".
I wish I could say that I'd made some snappy response to express my appreciation for him to walk half a mile on a dark cold night just to sign my license, but I can't. The best I could come up with was, "Uhhhh thanks". One of these days, if I can get through the crowds, I will ask him if he remembers that miserable night and signing my license, I know I always will.http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll317/terribletoy/DodgeTAD.jpghttp://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll317/terribletoy/TAD.jpg