As we write this, the 2014 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is heading to the countdown. At this late date in the season, it’s hard not to look at John Force Racing drivers as the prime favorites to win an unprecedented 19th NHRA Funny Car championship and possibly­­­ a first NHRA Top Fuel championship.

The season started with reigning Funny Car champion John Force winning the historic Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. It clinched a spot for the 65-year-old driver in the Traxxas Shootout—the $100,000 winner-take-all specialty race—during the U.S. Nationals in Indy and got the momentum rolling for the team.

Going into the final round against Hagan, the brain trust of Jimmy Prock and rest of the Castrol GTX High Mileage team put a tune-up on John’s Mustang that could’ve rotated the earth. “I’ve got a good race car. It is amazing and we are trying to build our sport. We are out here trying to run good for the fans. Jimmy Prock and the whole brain trust are working together,” John said, after setting the national E.T. record of 3.965 seconds in the final.

“I get really excited racing Matt Hagan,” John said, “and the ESPN announcer in the semi-round said ‘Do you see those muscles on that kid, do you think you can beat him?’ I said, ‘What is this, the WWF? We aren’t in a cage!’”

After the Castrol-backed driver got the first win, Robert Hight in the Auto Club Ford Mustang raced to the next six finals in a row and picked up four wins. Hight continued a streak of winning at least two races every season of his career, which started in 2005, and also saw the former crewman start a streak of leading the Funny Car category for at least one event, something he has also done every year of his career with the exception of last season.

Hight won the Gatornationals to get his first win of the season and the crewman turned driver was excited about the historic implications of his second win at the historic event. Hight moved into 6th place all-time in Funny Car wins. “I can’t even believe my name is associated with guys like Kenny Bernstein, John Force, Don ‘The Snake’ Prudhomme and Tom ‘Mongoose’ McEwen. Those guys were my heroes,” said Hight.

While Hight and Force were winning and separating themselves from the rest of the pack, the female drivers of John Force Racing, Courtney Force in the Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car and second-year driver Brittany Force in the Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster, were coming into their own as well.

In one weekend in May in Kansas, Brittany and Courtney made history as the only sisters to post the quickest times in Funny Car and Top Fuel qualifying and ending Saturday of qualifying as the No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories. Courtney went on to win the race, grabbing the 100th win by a professional woman in NHRA history. The third-year driver missed a chance to get the record earlier when she lost to brother-in-law Robert Hight in Atlanta. The loss motivated and focused Courtney to not let the opportunity slip through her fingers again. “This is huge. You could see the emotion on my face after I lost (in Atlanta). It is a big deal and it is a milestone for women. Every girl out here wanted to get it. It was close, every girl put her heart out there to try and get it. I was crushed after last weekend because I thought to myself that opportunity will never come again and that chance to get 100 will be gone forever,” said an excited Courtney after the historic achievement. “I am still trying to soak it in right now. I have to thank my team and all my sponsors. Once my dad and Robert went out today, you could see all those colors coming over to our pit area and thrashing on my car. I want to thank all of them and all of the crew chiefs. They gave me a good, consistent race car all weekend, and that is what we were missing from the start of the season.”

In the midst of the Funny Car successes, Brittany Force raced to three Top Fuel finals including a strong performance at the second race of the season in Phoenix. It was the 2013 NHRA Auto Club rookie of the year’s first final and set the stage for a season surge that has seen Brittany hold her position in the Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings all season. With consistent performances including three No. 1 qualifiers, the first JFR driver in Top Fuel is excited about her chances to wrap up a historic season. “I told my guys earlier, I’m so proud on how we did all weekend in Denver. With four qualifying runs, we only made one good pass, so to be able to only work off one good run and go all the way to the finals here in Denver on race day is pretty exciting. I know I’ve already said it, but again, I can’t tell you how proud I am of every single one of these guys, they’ve worked so hard, especially my crew chiefs, Todd Smith and Dean Antonelli, they’ve been so patient with me. They are awesome in how they got this dragster turned around,” Brittany said, following her third final round appearance of the season.

The excitment of the summer and the historic Western Swing saw John heat up again, winning for the first time in Norwalk, Ohio at Summit Racing Motorsports Park. John has raced at the track for decades during the Night Under Fire, but this NHRA race was one of only two the 141-time winner has never stood in the winner’s circle. On the heels of that win John Force Racing took off, sweeping the three races of the Western Swing and nearly sweeping the finals completely. Hight outraced John in Denver, Courtney took out her father in Sonoma, and the legendary driver took out former teammate Gary Densham in a race for the ages in Seattle. John Force Racing also swept the No. 1 qualifier position in Funny Car during the Swing with John starting from the No. 1 spot in Denver and Seattle while Courtney took the Sonoma win from the No. 1 spot. It was four finals in a row for John, and at the conclusion of the Swing, he’s less than three rounds behind teammate Robert for the Funny Car points lead.

Force wasn’t finished with his domination after the Western Swing. He rolled into Brainerd and reached the final, but due to weather, the last race of the event was postponed to the biggest weekend of the season, the Chevrolet Perfomance U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. John raced in three finals in three days, coming up short against Ron Capps in his bid for his Brainerd win on Saturday night in Indy. On Sunday John raced from the No. 1 spot in the Traxxas Shootout to the win his second Shootout in three years, taking the $100,000 prize back to JFR. John had to defeat teammate and son-in-law Hight in that final.

On Monday morning Force took out Hight, Matt Hagan and rival Capps before losing to Alexis DeJoria in the final round of the U.S. Nationals. It was John’s sixth consecutive final round, locked up his No. 1 spot in the Countdown and solidified the winningest driver in NHRA history as the favorite to win is 17th Mello Yello championship.

By the time this story is published, the four drivers of John Force Racing may very well have already won the Mello Yello Funny Car championship, which would add a 19th NHRA championship trophy. With only 16 races contested so far this season, JFR has 10 wins, 10 runner-ups and 10 No. 1 qualifiers. It’s been one hell of a season.

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