FORCE RESTRUCTURE MARKETING PLAN | Competition More

Starting to come back stronger from his 2020 pandemic-caused hiatus and buoyed by a season that brought him three wins in five finals, John Force has tweaked his four-team schedule a bit this year.

On the one hand, it has hired its own internal team of sponsorship-procurement specialists.

“I realized it was time to build my own marketing team, not go with an agency,” the multi-car team owner said. “And it costs me. I took money out of my savings to hire them. I brought some basketball guys. I brought in guys from IndyCar and NASCAR to chase the money. Racing is a rich man’s sport. That’s why the Torrences can do it; that’s why [Connie] Kalita and [Don] Schumacher, people who have money can do it. I am a truck driver. That’s where I come from. And I have to have sponsors to do it.

So we have to work on these agreements, seven days a week. People think that we mistake winter for Christmas. I worked every day. On Christmas day, I’m on the phone. Robert too [John Force Racing President and three-time Funny Car champion Robert Hight]. It’s what we do to keep it alive.

Force said its new marketing hires have volunteered to help with the transition since crew chief Kelly Antonelli left John Force Racing to start street work on Southpoint Circle in Brownsburg, Ind., for the new Tony Stewart Racing. But Force simply told them to “focus on finding money”. He said, “Let’s not forget why we came. When you’re up to your ass in alligators, don’t forget you’ve come to drain the swamp. You do what you do and deliver it, and this business will be strong. He said, “It’s about selling. It’s what I do every day, and Robert runs this business for me. I can’t have Robert without a trick. I have to keep him in the game.

“I do what I do because I have these big machine shops and paint shops and I always try to run them as a half shift. But I’m starting to sell a few parts. I go over there and I sell them to people. This is the business I have to run in the future – and I will,” Force said. “But now all four teams will be financially able to afford this stuff. Every team pays in the machine shops and the chassis and paint shops.All of this helps to make it work.

It took a major hit with the advent of the pandemic. And he said, “If I lose it again, I’ll probably head for two Chevrolet Funny Cars. I stayed in the drag business because that’s where my daughter wanted to be. But the day Brittany says, “I’m done,” unless the sponsor money is there. . . Some years it is difficult, because I have to contribute to the budget. Sometimes I have to take a few million dollars. I contribute so that my teams remain funded. You accumulate money over the years if you work it financially. This is why Robert is so important.

And Force changed its request: “I am looking to seek several sponsors on a car instead of just one.”

On the track, he constantly has to make adjustments.

Force crossed the halfway line in Friday night’s qualifying session and his race was disqualified. He said after the race that he would take a look at the management. “I just didn’t want him to come off. I wish I could have done better, but I let him get away from me. I didn’t take it too far. I’ll have to fix it, come back for all the sponsors and get this thing working tomorrow.