Brittany Force reminded the drag racing world exactly what she’s capable of on Sunday at Pacific Raceways, blasting to a national record speed of 341.85 mph in a semifinal win over Doug Kalitta and powering her HendrickCars.com Top Fuel dragster to a runner-up finish at the NHRA Northwest Nationals.
Although her final-round match against Shawn Langdon ended in heartbreak due to an automatic shutdown caused by pan pressure, Force’s semifinal run marked the fastest pass in NHRA history, surpassing her own previous national record of 341.59 mph. The moment solidified her position as the only driver to own five of the six fastest speeds ever recorded in Top Fuel.
“Overall, it was a pretty solid outing for this HendrickCars.com team,” said Force. “We were able to make our way to the final round but, unfortunately, came up short. Pan pressure automatically shut us off in the final. I had no power and was just coasting to the finish line and saw Shawn go around me.”
Force’s road to the final was anything but easy. She started strong with a 340.82 mph run in round one to take down former European champion Ida Zetterstrom, followed by a 3.659-second, 340+ mph charge to eliminate Austin Prock in round two. Then came the record-setting 3.651 at 341.85 mph against No. 1 qualifier Kalitta in the semis.
“Obviously, the highlight of our weekend was in the semifinals when we made a killer run and went even faster than our national record,” Force added. “It’s really exciting for this whole team. We work really hard to turn on win lights and put the best numbers up on the board, and we’re hoping that record will hold for a while.”
Though she came up short in the final, the performance bumped Force from sixth to fifth in points and gave her momentum heading into the second leg of the Western Swing — the NHRA Sonoma Nationals.
This story was originally published on July 21, 2025. 
