Why NHRA Top Fuel Champion Brittany Force Is Already Feeling 'Gut Aches' of New Season

• Top Fuel drivers have dual bonus races to complicate their strategies at the Gatornationals.

• Steve Torrence said Brittany Force is the one with the huge target in her back.

• Last year’s rain postponement of the Callout tosses element of the unknown into matters.

Echoing her 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion father John Force, two-time Top Fuel champion Brittany Force has spoken of “gut aches” she has experienced in high-stress situations.

And as the 21-event Camping World Drag Racing Series prepares to kick off this weekend with the Amalie Oil Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla., those feelings are churning inside her once again.

This campaign, like the 2021 season, is breaking with tradition. It’s beginning on the East Coast rather than at Pomona, in the Southern California cradle of drag racing. The move is a collaborative effort by the sanctioning body and race teams to save money and prevent two customary cross-country trips at the first of the season. And the opener is about one month later than the Pomona Winternationals, a circumstance that can be either a blessing or a disadvantage to racers.

“We've been out of the seat way too long and we've had extra time starting later in the month, starting in March,” Force said. “So everyone's anxious to get out there. And you want start with a win that just really sets the groove for your season and to be back in that winners circle. That'd be exciting. That's what we want to do. That's our goal going into it. But it's going to be tough. It's the first race of the season, and it's always tough. You're kind of getting back into your groove.

“There's going to be pressure going in Day 1,” she said.

Her stress meter was dialing up in the weeks leading to the Gatornationals, she said.

“Actually it started a few weeks ago. We went testing out in Gainesville four days of testing. We went back and forth, because we got some rain and didn't quite get everything in,” Force said. With more testing immediately before the event, she said, “So we go right into the season.”

Competitor Justin Ashley said pressure is a positive constant: “There’s always pressure when you're racing, even if it's qualifying. There's pressure inherently to be able to go out there and perform well for your sponsors and team and do your job. No one really loves pressure, but you like it because it means you probably did something right. It means you put yourself in that situation, meaning that there's a lot on the line because you did something right and you're running well.”