John has been my favorite Pro Drag racer for years. And after meeting him at Firebird here in Phoenix many years ago, he became larger than life to me. Down home, personality persona and I don't think he has ever met a stranger.
A bump for the Christmas Season, and for new Members who haven't heard this touching story ! Here is the link,
Thanks Marty, that definitely should be considered a gift for anyone that hasn't seen it. Like Alices restaurant at Thanksgiving this never gets old. Johns opening comment.......classic John Force! Still can't wrap my arms around the fact that he is still as competitive as he is.
Alice's Restaurant, now that is from the way back machine. Thanks for the memory and the good memories of "remember Alice?"
See my DAD was a Logger too and I understand where John is coming from, we had those kind of Christmas too, there was 5 of us kids and we didn't always get what we wanted but we had the family, so what else do you really need. I miss you dad, RIP!
Wow Marty. Thanks for bumping it up. Hadn't seen it before. My Dad would have been 100 this week. As one of six kids who grew up without a lot, it's great to see how deep he can dig. Hard to deny his raw emotions, that he regrets being a selfish kid and how much he loves his family. Fantastic.
Thanks for the bump Marty. It's really good to see the man behind the bluster. I knew that he'd brought himself up through the ranks the hard way, but his story is great! Behind the bluster is a humble man who has worked hard to build his 'empire', and he deserves it!
Wow what a shame the original scans of the articles are gone, replaced by the dreaded red "X". I must have had it hosted on PhotoBucket or something. Oh well. Merry Christmas to All.
Tis The Season to be Johnny ! https://www.google.com/search?q=joh...8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:a86dfdc8,vid:D-v_6lsY63
Merry Christmas Marty, Thanks for bringing this up again as I had never seen it before today. Gotta LOVE John Force for being REAL ! Had me an American Toy Co yellow log truck also as my Dad was a jippo Logtrucker too..1948 KB 11 International and I'm sure it wasn't easy for my folks at Christmas with 5 of us.. ...Did you get down to visit Paul yet ? Thanks again brother, Randy
He still owns the shop/building here in Yorba Linda, although it's closed. I run into him almost every weekend he's not racing, at the donut shop. He likes my Coupe. haha Very friendly, as long as you don't talk about racing. I mentioned his new grandkid, and he talked to me for about 45min. We chatted about Taco Quicky, in Bell Gardens where the street racers used to meet on Sunday nights.
Randy, I did visit with Paul at the Albany Swap Meet, he just had his eyes operated on, and wasn't seeing clearly, but he he sounded happy. It was great seeing him. There were 6 of us kids with a handicapped mother, and times were tough, so I have a bit of an idea of how John grew up. He is quite the guy, and self made ! Take care, old friend.
Deuce3wCpe, Thanks so much for your original post and kudos to Marty for the bump. Had never seen this story and have always liked and respected John Force .... more so now. he's a genuine guy ! Merry Christmas to you, Randy
Marty thanks for keeping the tradition going all these years . Recently I was cleaning out some old flash drives and came across the original files I used almost 15 years ago. Much to my surprise I was able to edit my original post and repair the broken links so for those who like to read the story it's been restored ! The files are now uploaded to the HAMB server and should live on in perpetuity . Have a John Force Christmas All !
I always love to hear this story and it reminds us all of the true meaning of the holidays, if this doesn’t make you tear up then I don’t know what will. Thanks for the bump and Merry Christmas to all!!!
Thankyou for posting, and for repairing this thread. Think I might have got something caught in my eye though. Merry Christmas all, Harv
You'd think I'd get used to reading this story by now, but every year the same damn thing happen's to my eye's...