"Take care of them Girls"

I picked up my eight year old daughter from school the other day and the first words out of her mouth was "Daddy, I prayed for John Force today." It took me by surprise, but after a second it made sense. She has a heart of gold, and she is a fan of John Force. My other two girls wanted an update on his condition. We had seen the video, and they had overheard me trying to deal with it.

I first started following John because I loved Mt. Dew and Jolly Ranchers. I can remember seeing his car with those sponsors and thought it was too cool. Plus this guy seemed crazy. I followed his progress and cheered him on. I picked him in my online contests. I wear his apparel with pride. He speaks to me as to what a drag racer should be. A little nuts, always trying to go faster, and all the time keeping an eye on the PR factor. When message boards came around, I often found myself cheering and defending my favorite driver. I have four diecast cars, three of them are John Force cars. I can remember my first national event, and getting that first hat. The funny thing is I just got my first autograph this year at Indy. I am not a big autograph guy. I didn't bring my diecasts for him to sign, or a hat. I stood in line for my daughters. When I asked him to sign three shirts for my girls, he said "take care of them girls." I looked into his eyes and I could see he meant it. Don't worry John, I will....and they will be praying for you.