Rick Hendrick has had tremendous success going in circles, but the NASCAR team owner actually developed his love for motorsports in drag racing, a discipline to which he returns to this weekend as primary partner on the national record-holding Top Fuel dragster in which Brittany Force will try to win the 1,000th Top Fuel race in NHRA history.
“We’re really excited to be partnered with HendrickCars.com again and flying their colors this weekend (in the 15th running of the original NHRA 4-Wide Nationals),” Force said of a relationship that began three years ago.
“Our team made history when we won the 900th NHRA Top Fuel race,” the two-time World Champion said of her 2019 win at Las Vegas, Nevada. “So winning this weekend and taking home the trophy from the 1000th race, especially at the Bellagio of dragstrips, ZMAX Dragway, would be a great milestone and a great highlight for the season.”
As for Hendrick, the chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group and founder of a NASCAR team that has won a record 315 Cup races and 14 championships, his interest in drag racing spans decades.
“I love drag racing,” he said. “It’s where I found a love for motorsports, going to the local dragstrip with my dad and competing in my ’31 Chevy. I’ve been a fan of John (Force) and his family for a long time, and it’s been a great collaboration. They’re terrific representatives for the HendrickCars.com brand.”
Indeed, the HendrickCars.com logo will be prominent on all three John Force Racing entries this weekend.
The 2016 winner of the Charlotte 4-Wide, an event her dad won the first time it was contested in 2010, Brittany is seeking her first win of the current season, the 18th in a Monster of a professional career.
“This team is building momentum,” she said. “And we’ve done well in the past at four-wide events. Crew chiefs David Grubnic and John Collins and all my guys are looking to land this HendrickCars.com dragster in the winner’s circle on Sunday and make Mr. H proud.”
The only woman other than Shirley Muldowney to have won a championship in one of the NHRA’s fuel categories, Brittany will begin Friday’s qualifying ritual from the No. 5 position in the driver standings.
In addition to setting the current NHRA national records for both time and speed (3.623 seconds, 338.94 miles per hour), the 38-year-old Force is one of only a handful of drivers to have started as many as 50 NHRA tour events from the No. 1 qualifying position.
She’ll be seeking her 54th No. 1 start and second this season when qualifying begins with a pair of sessions on Friday.
This story was originally published on April 23, 2025. 
