The Monster Energy transport hauler of NHRA Top Fuel driver Brittany Force was spotted wrecked on the side of Interstate 70 West in Missouri around mile marker 99 heading towards Kansas City.

Witness accounts of the mangled transporter reported on Facebook that the hauler, traveling westbound on I-70 near Boonville, MO to this weekend’s Toyota NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, took evasive measures when an east-bound traveling vehicle crossed the median into the path of the 18 wheeler. The Monster Energy transporter, carrying Brittany Force’s Top Fuel Dragster and service equipment for the team, struck the railing and lodged itself beneath the concrete support pilings of an overpass.

Brittany’s team driver and the hauler’s occupants are all reported to be ok.

The tractor was found on its side with extensive damage, but it appears that the contents of the trailer may have weathered better in the scary collision.  No other details have been released.

Brittany Force currently sits in the #4 position in points following the Dallas event.   She is 207 points behind leader Antron Brown, but the remaining top 5 contenders are close in points.

Video of Brittany Force Transporter Wreckage

Despite the wet and cold conditions that have plagued the 31st Annual NHRA Keystone Nationals this weekend in Reading, Pennsylvania, Brittany Force lands No. 1 qualifying position, the first of the 2015 season and fourth of her young career.   The third year pro moved from 4th to 3rd in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship point standings, going around Larry Dixon by four points on the strength of her three qualifying bonus points and the points allocated for the No. 1 qualifier.

Brittany Force lands No. 1 Qualifying Position

Force’s run was the strongest of a session that saw most of the Top Fuel dragsters struggle with the cold conditions.   With a short field in Top Fuel of only fourteen race cars, Brittany Force will face No. 14 qualifier Dave Connolly in the first round.  The winner of that 1st round pairing will receive a bye into the semi-finals.

“It is definitely tough going into tomorrow with only one run under our belt. It is not just our team but everyone out here.  Everyone will battle that. Like Robert said we would like to have more runs but these are the conditions we all had to work with. We put down an awesome run in this Monster Top Fuel dragster,” said Force, who has raced to three semi-final finishes in the last four races. “We drove right through the shake zone and put an awesome number up on the scoreboard. We set a new career best record which we broke from our time and speed here last year. We like Reading and we went all the way to the final last year. We are hoping to take it all the way this weekend.”

The Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster launched hard off the starting line and flew right down the middle of the lane, running a 3.725-second pass at 331.53 mph. It was the smoothest run of the session and at the top end Force knew she had made a solid pass.

“I could tell that run was a good one because it just felt fast. Sometimes you know it is on a killer run. That run it just felt fast and clean. I knew it was a good one but my radio came unhooked so I was trying to talk with my guys to see what it ran,” said Force. “I didn’t know what it ran until I hoped out at the top end. Everyone was cheering when we rolled up so I knew it was something good.”

Brittany Force is 2-1 against Dave Connolly with her two wins coming in first round match-ups this season. Most recently Force dropped a semi-final race to Connolly last weekend in St. Louis.  She hopes to vindicate that loss, by taking the win against Connolly to put her in the semifinal.

Brittany Force throws the first pitch at St. Louis Cardinals home game

Thursday evening,  NHRA Top Fuel driver Brittany Force took the mound at Busch Stadium for the ceremonial first pitch before the Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 7-3.     Beforehand, Brittany Force, the 2013 NHRA Rookie of the Year, was nervous but excited.

“I was nervous about it all day and really have been nervous since we decided to do it. I had a bad experience throwing out the first pitch once before. I told myself I would never do that again. I decided to give it another try at the Cardinals game. We had a busy day before the pitch with a press conference and media interviews,” said Force. “We actually got down on the field for a few minutes and then we had some time to wait. I asked the Cardinals staff if there was a place I could practice. I just wanted to calm my nerves. I went into the hallway and practiced throwing a few pitches with Marc Gewertz who is one of the National Dragster photographers. I am so glad he helped me out. It calmed me down and he gave me some good pointers.”

As Force took the field she thought about how her racing career played a major role in not just affording her this opportunity but also putting her in position to make a solid pitch.Waving to the crowd, five-time Top Fuel finalist Brittany Force throws the first pitch – a nice straight pitch right to catcher Travis Tartamella a recent call up by the Cardinals.

“I think the biggest cross-over from racing to baseball was the importance of practice. I get in my race car for about ten minutes before we run and I just go over my routine. Going through the motions just makes me more comfortable. That is the same process I did for the game last night,” said Force.     “Everyone with the Cardinals was so nice. Will Patterson from the Cardinals let me get down on the field earlier in the day. He said the Cardinal fans would be awesome and he was right. Some time you climb in your race car whether it is first round or final round and there are some runs you are so nervous but I just tell myself it will be over in four seconds. You just have to do the best job that you can. The pitch turned out really well.”

Top Fuel driver Brittany Force continued her strong run in her Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster at this weekend’s 3rd annual NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire.  For the third straight event, the Monster Energy team advanced in rounds, coming just short with a 1/100th of a second loss in the semi-finals.

Brittany Force qualified in the number 10 position.   First round of eliminations, this would match her up against the number 5 qualifier, Doug Kalitta.   With Doug holding the winning record at 6-3 against Force, and having been to the finals of this event the year before, Brittany would need to be at the top of her game in the first round to defeat the veteran.    She took the starting line advantage and never trailed, finessing the throttle when the dragster teetered on losing traction and salvaging the pass to a 4.287 second elapsed time at 211.03 mph performance.

Pedaling the car happens so fast and it comes with experience. I am still learning and every run is different. I think I handled that run pretty well. I got out of it and let it settle down and then I got back on the throttle nice and smooth,” said Force. “It hooked up again and got us far enough down the track to get the win over Kalitta. I don’t mind pedaling this Monster Energy dragster and I am getting better at it.”

Though pedaling would get her the win out of round one, she would give up lane choice in the next round to number 2 qualified Richie Crampton.  The drivers are even at 3-3 in previous encounters.   But it would be Brittany this time, taking the win with a superior 3.885 second pass at 316.08 mph as Crampton hazed the tires.  The run was the second-fastest of the session, and gave Force lane choice into the semi-finals.

Now in her third consecutive semi-final round, a personal best for Force, she was paired with three-time Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon.  Hoping to propel herself to her first back-to-back final round finish, and another shot at her elusive first win, Force was ready to turn the tables on the veteran, who held a 2-0 record against her.   Though it would be Brittany out of the gate first, Dixon overcame a starting line disadvantage (.100 to .081) to get the win, with a 3.855 second E.T. to Force’s 3.894 second performance. The margin of victory was just 0.0105 seconds (approximately 5 feet).

“Looking back at the last three races I think this Monster Energy team is on fire right now. We have never performed like this. It is more than just performance this whole team has pulled together. We are pushing our dragster during qualifying and then showing up on race day and going rounds.  I am very proud of the entire team especially my crew chiefs Todd Smith and Ronnie Thompson. They had to be patient all year long because we couldn’t push the car because we didn’t have the funding. Now with Monster Energy we can really press it. Overall it was a great weekend and you can’t complain about going to two semi-finals and a final in the last three races. We are ready to get to Bristol and that is one of my favorite tracks.”

Brittany leaves the event No. 8 in NHRA Mello Yello Championship Points heading into this coming weekend’s 15th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee.

Brittany Force falls just short of first win

For the fifth time in her career and the first time this season, Brittany Force raced to a runner-up finish in Top Fuel at the 46th Annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals in Englishtown, New Jersey.     Her bid to become the eighth woman to win in drag racing’s Top Fuel class fell just short to New Jersey native Antron Brown in the final round.  Force qualified No. 6 and worked her way to the final round by defeating Richie Crampton, Tony Schumacher and Terry McMillen.

Overall this was an awesome day for this Monster Energy team. I am so proud of every one of my guys. They put everything into this dragster this weekend. We went all the way to the final and I don’t even know how that happened it was just a blur today. You can tell they are bummed and they really wanted to take home that win but I am so proud of them and especially my crew chiefs Todd Smith and Ronnie Thompson,” said Force.

Force and the Monster Energy team faced Richie Crampton in the first round, hoping to avenge the semi-final loss against Crampton in Kansas.    Both former Rookie of the Year recipients were quick off the line, but Crampton lost traction immediately and aborted, while Brittany thundered through to a  3.848 second elapsed time at 316.01 mph.  The win was critical for the team and would move Brittany into round two with lane choice against 8-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher.

Again, the pair would leave the line together, but Schumacher would also go up in smoke instantly, allowing Brittany to take the win with another consistent 3.838 second E.T. at 314.02 mph.  For the second race in a row, Force bested the former World Champ, evening her career head-to-head record against ‘The Sarg’ at 3-3.

It always helps when you get multiple round wins against anyone. We just use that to keep moving forward and to keep pushing a little bit harder. Really now having Monster Energy on board we now have the power to push harder. We can be more aggressive and push the performance,” said an excited Force.

Force moved on to face Terry McMillen in round number three.    She would again reach the finish line first with a 3.899 at 314.09 mph, but would lose a fuel line at the top end and upset the blower.  This would cost her lane-choice in the final against Antron Brown.   Though she would leave first, Brittany shook the tires shortly after the launch.  She tried to pedal, but seeing the hometown boy was out ahead she clicked off.   Antron drove straight through the finish, with a solid 3.843 at 318.47 mph.

We pushed it all the way to the finals this weekend. Earlier in the season we were playing it safe because we didn’t have a sponsor and we couldn’t press as hard on the parts. We are a lot more confident and we are proud to be teamed up with Monster Energy.”

Two weeks ago, Force raced to her first semi-final finish of the season, and her advance to the final round of Englishtown moves her up in the Mello Yello point standings from 11th place to 8th place.    The runner-up finish marked the first final for her new sponsor Monster Energy, who last saw the final round with Kenny Bernstein’s Funny Car team, where they lost to John Force at Brainerd August 2007.

Brittany Force, in her third professional year of Top Fuel, is only 29 points out of 7th place with nine races left in the regular season, and is now headed to Epping, New Hampshire for the 3rd Annual NHRA New England Nationals this weekend.

I love having back to back races. That is the best part about having some momentum. We ended on a good note and we went to our fifth final. We only have a few days off and we go right back into the next one. I like to get into that groove and so does my team,” said Force, on the prospect of racing three weekends in a row.