[D.Johns]

http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-...a-rough-tumble

John Force

"It's all part of life," Force said, of his relationship with Ford, which is scheduled to end after 18 seasons at the end of 2014. "It's the bumps in the road; you just take them one day at a time. Ford has been nothing but good to us. They are doing what they feel is right for their business. I still have a year-and-a-half left. That's a lot longer than back in the day when I originally signed deals with Wendy's and Jolly Rancher for a year at a time. What we have left is a lifetime when compared to those days.

"When you look at life and this world, sometimes it can be a big roller coaster. I'm not trying to become a philosopher, I just try to wake up every morning and thank the God Lord above that I am alive and healthy and my family is too."

Force wants his fans, and the drag racing community, to understand the manufacturer has been good to not only his team but the overall safety of Funny Car racing.

"When Eric Medlen had his accident and passed, my career was over," Force confided. "The Ford engineers came in and people always want to help when you have catastrophic accidents. Ford was there and kept me in business. They made it where it wasn't a dream to build a safer Funny Car chassis through their engineers. When you have that, it allows you mentally to be able to move forward and race. I had the fear that others didn't have.

"I can't complain. I don't know their business and what they do because they are all smarter than me. I'm just a drag racer. I thank them for those years. I know it's going to be hard and I will have to reevaluate my whole program."

Force is weighing his options for the future.

"I'll probably have to go into business selling parts, something I didn't have to do in the past because of the Ford program. Or, I am going to have to find a new manufacturer. That's exciting and sometimes change is good. But, it ain't like I lost my wife. That would be a real problem. When those wives go, they take all of the money not just some of it.

"But, this deal has a year and a half left, and that's a lifetime when you are my age."