By Dave Densmore. Photo by Jeff Burk

In an ironic plot twist, John Force's goal this weekend is to mimic the man who, for the last three months, has made his life miserable.

That's right, all he must do to mathematically clinch the record-breaking 11th NHRA Winston Championship for which many began congratulating him three months ago, is simply mirror the performance of outspoken Funny Car rival Whit Bazemore during this week's 16th annual O'Reilly Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex.

The reality is this. Force leads Bazemore by 285 points with three races remaining. If he leaves the Motorplex at least 277 points ahead, there's no way, under any circumstances, Bazemore or anyone else can catch him.

That's the phrase the 52-year-old Force has been waiting to hear since July: "no way."

"My guys think I'm paranoid," Force said, "but I remember 1992 when Cruz Pedregon ran us down and took away the championship. I still wake up dreaming about that. Those guys (Bazemore and Crew Chief Lee Beard) are capable of winning every week and setting the national record (a feat worth 20 bonus points per occurrence), so I'm not making any victory speeches. Not until (NHRA President) Tom Compton tells me it's a done deal."

Given his choice, the sport's most prolific winner would prefer to clinch the title by winning the O'Reilly Fall Nationals outright, especially since it is a race presented by one of his team sponsors, Castrol SYNTEC.

However, all he MUST do is qualify, something he's done in a Funny Car record 274 consecutive races and then win as many rounds as Bazemore, whether that number is none, one, two or three. He couldn't have stumbled into a more friendly environment in which to accomplish achieve those goals.

He has won the O'Reilly Fall Nationals each of the last three years. Not only that, on each occasion he has qualified his Castrol GTX Ford No. 1, has posted the quick time of eliminations and has come away with top speed of the event.

Force openly acknowledges that of all the tracks on the circuit, including showplaces constructed the last four years at Las Vegas, Bristol, Tenn., and Joliet, Ill., the Motorplex, with its all-concrete quarter mile, is his personal favorite.

It was on the concrete that he became the first Funny Car driver to break the 4.80 second barrier three years ago with a time (4.787 seconds) and speed (322.81 miles per hour) that still stand as the official track records.

The champion's affinity for the Motorplex, where he has won five times four times in the fall and once in the now defunct spring race, stems from the track's reputation for being able to handle high horsepower combinations like those in his Mustang as well as those of teammates Tony Pedregon and Gary Densham.

Since there is no transition from concrete to asphalt as there is at every other track in the 24-race series, crew chiefs like Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly admit that they are much more aggressive than they might be elsewhere.

That approach has served them well. Force hopes it works just one more time.

A TALE OF TWO SEASONS

Driver:	John Force	Whit Bazemore
Age:	52	38
Residence:	Yorba Linda, Calif.	Indianapolis, Ind.
Race car:	Castrol GTX Ford	Matco Tools Pontiac
Career Victories:	98	10
First 12 races:
Number 1 qualifier	3	0
Average qualifying position	3rd	8th
Quickest time in eliminations	3	0
Top speed of the event	5	0
Reached final round	7	1
Races won	3	0
Rounds won	29	14
First round losses	2	3
Winston points earned	1,071	659
National records set	1	0
Head-to-head wins	4	1
Last 9 races:
Number 1 qualifier	3	6
Average qualifying position	3rd	1st
Quickest time in eliminations	0	6
Top speed of the event	1	3
Reached final round	5	7
Races won	3	3
Rounds won	22	25
First round losses	2	0
Winston points earned	748	875
National records set	2	1
Head-to-head wins	2	3

JOHN FORCE/WHIT BAZEMORE FUNNY CAR RIVALRY

2001 Season:
Date	Site	Rd	Lane Choice	Winner	Advantage + React/Perform.	MOV*
2-4	Pomona, CA	First	Force	Baze	Force/Baze	.102
3-25	Baytown, TX	Semi	Force	Force	Baze/Force	.372
5-27	Topeka, KS	2nd	Baze	Force	Force/Force	3.905
6-3	Joliet, IL	Semi	Force	Force	Even/Force	.117
6-17	Columbus, OH	2nd	Baze	Force	Force/Force	.031
7-7	Pomona, CA	FINAL	Force	Force	Force/Force	.854
7-29	Seattle, WA	Semi	Baze	Baze	Force/Baze	.803
8-19	Brainerd, MN	Semi	Baze	Baze	Force/Baze	.048
9-30	Joliet, IL	FINAL	Baze	Baze	Baze/Baze	.062
10-7	Reading, PA	FINAL	Baze	Force	Force/Force	.042

Career Final Rounds:
			Reaction		Performance
Date	Site	Winner	F	B	Force	Bazemore	MOV*
5-16-99	Atlanta	FORCE	.527	.493	5.147/283.62	5.182/280.74	.002**
8-22-99	Brainerd	FORCE	.490	.473	4.929/313.80	5.000/305.77	.054
7-7-01	Pomona	FORCE	.491	.507	4.853/317.64	5.691/168.51	.854
9-30-01	Joliet	BAZE	.545	.535	4.875/312.93	4.823/320.97	.062
10-7-01	Reading	FORCE	.482	.484	4.792/312.06	4.832/318.54	.042

+ Indicates which of the two drivers had the reaction time advantage and the performance advantage

* Margin of victory (in seconds)

** Smallest margin for Force in 98 career victories