Natwerk Designs

Which John Force made, or assisted safety breakthroughs are the most innovative?

John Force has recently become a visionary in the safety innovations he has either developed on his own, or has assisted in the development of. The question is, which innovation, either dreamed up by Force himself, or one he has assisted in developing, have made the biggest impact? They are as follows: The forward application handbrake: This is so far only available in Funny Car, and is an option only. The handbrake is set in a such a way so that, instead of needing to be pulled toward the driver, it is pushed away from the driver, Force designed this himself during the off season, after his near fatal 2007 crash at Texas Motorplex. The Engine backfire monitor system: This was developed by Force, Kenny Bernstein, and Tony Schumacher, with aid from NHRA's Track Safety Committe, as a direct result of the death of Scott Kalitta, and is a mandatory device in the Nitro burners (Funny Car, and Top Fuel categories) only, when the engine backfires, the fuel pump is shut down, and the parachutes are deployed, the idea behind this was to cut down, if not eliminate the circumstances that led to Kalitta's death. The detachable dashboard: Force helped to develop this with the aid of Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme. The idea is to have quicker access to the driver, rather than to pull him over the dashboard, the dashboard can be separated from the chassis. By merely loosening four wingnuts, the driver can be removed from the car. The high mount cockpit: Developed by Force himself. This places the cockpit more behind, and over the top of the rear wheels, giving the driver an almost unobstructed field of view of the track, the only obstruction to the driver is the very top of the supercharger, which sits lower than the driver himself.

Public Comments

1. He also helped in the development of a better roll cage in funnycar and top fuel because Eric Medlen's death
2. i like the pop out side windows he designed for Ashley in case she winds up on her lid and the tighter head restraint since Eric Medlen's wreck
3. No one has more time in a single class of car than the champ. he is a solid character guy and these are not the only improvements to the cars he has assisted in since he started running them. I think the single biggest improvement was the drivers Bathtub . (shielding system he helped implement around the driver so he does not get injured during blowouts or debris pickup. ) then maybe his work on the modern slip tube chassis. then the highmont cockpit. good question. tanx. ps when someone else has 10 championships in a row I will call that person champ(actually he has more than that)