Who is John Force’s wife? Insights into the drag racer’s love life
“Laurie is the love of my life. She is the backbone of my family. In the early days, she drove the pickup truck, mixed fuel and operated the parachutes on my race car.”
On June 23, 2024, legendary drag racer John Force was involved in a horrific high-speed crash caused by an engine explosion. With the help of the NHRA Safety Safari, John was able to escape the wreckage and was transported to a nearby trauma hospital in Virginia. He currently continues to receive treatment in the intensive care unit.
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While fans closely follow John’s journey and his fight for recovery, many are interested in his personal life, especially his family. First of all, who is his wife? Here’s everything we know about his wife, Laurie.
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Who is John Force’s wife?
According to NBC Sports, John and his wife Laurie first crossed paths at a 1972 wedding where John was best man and Laurie was maid of honor. They had an on-off relationship for 10 years before marrying in 1981.
Their first child, a daughter named Ashley, was born on November 29, 1982. John and Laurie’s second daughter, Brittany, was born on July 8, 1986. Their youngest daughter, Courtney, was born on June 20, 1988.
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Throughout John’s career, Laurie has been by his side, offering support and encouragement through difficult times. Since the early days, Laurie has been the cornerstone of John Force Racing, taking on a variety of tasks – from setting up contracts and managing merchandise sales to packing parachutes for John’s car, preparing meals for the team and even handling the nitro fuel that powers John’s Funny Car. Laurie has even been known to work on the car himself!
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“Laurie is the love of my life,” John told NBC Sports in 2016. “She’s the backbone of my family. In the early years, she drove the pickup truck, mixed fuel and operated the parachutes on my race car. She did all of that while she went to college to get an education. I was missing that. I wrote the first Wendy’s contract and they sent it back to me. She rewrote it and that’s when I knew she was in and I had to marry her.”
John Force’s daughters have followed in his footsteps.
As mentioned, John and Laurie have three daughters together: Ashley, Brittany, and Courtney. John also has a daughter named Adria Hight from a previous relationship. She is currently the Chief Financial Officer at John Force Racing.
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John and Laurie’s daughters followed in the footsteps of their father, a 16-time NHRA Top Fuel Funny Car national champion. Ashley began racing in 2004 and moved up to the professional class in 2007. The following year, Ashley made history when she became the first woman to win an NHRA Funny Car race.
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In 2011, Ashley retired from racing to focus on raising a family with her husband, Daniel Hood. Today, she is Vice President of John Force Racing and owns her own production studio, John Force Entertainment.
Brittany entered the NHRA drag racing scene in 2013. In 2017, she made history when she became the second woman ever to win a Top Fuel championship, following Shirley Muldowney’s success in 1982. In 2019, Brittany also became the first female driver to secure the first qualifying spot in Top Fuel at the U.S. Nationals.
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She set her record on October 2, 2022 at the NHRA Midwest Nationals, where she set a national record of 338.17 mph, the fastest Top Fuel run ever. Brittany went on to win the 2022 NHRA Top Fuel Championship.
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Courtney, the youngest child of John and Laurie, received her NHRA racing license in 2005 and her alcohol fuel license in 2008. On July 19, 2009, Courtney earned her first national win in the Top Alcohol Dragster category at the 22nd Annual NHRA Northwest Nationals.
During the 2011 season, Courtney received her NHRA Funny Car license. And after her sister Ashley announced her retirement that same year, Courtney joined John Force Racing as the fourth driver.
Her career continued to grow, culminating on July 27, 2014, when Courtney passed her sister and set the record for most Funny Car wins by a female driver in NHRA history.
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On January 24, 2019, Courtney announced her retirement. In November 2020, she had her first child, a daughter named Harlan, with her husband, IndyCar racer Graham Rahal. In September 2022, Courtney gave birth to Tinley Leighton Rahal and announced that she would be stepping back from her roles with her foundation and sponsorships to focus on motherhood.
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