Entering her third season in Top Fuel on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit, Brittany Force is still aiming to track down her first career victory.

That fact says more about the impressive competition in the Top Fuel class than it does about Force’s young career, which already includes a growing number of accolades. The 2013 Auto Club Road to the Future Award winner, Force has advanced to four final founds and also racked up three No. 1 qualifiers.

But that first victory has eluded her thus far, something Force hopes to change at the 46th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville, March 12-15. It marks the third of 24 races in the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season and the tradition-rich drag race would mark an ideal location for Force to break into the win column in her 10,000-horsepower John Force Racing dragster.

“I am pumped and ready to get to the next race,” Force said. “I am proud of my entire team. We had two pretty good runs (in Phoenix) and got to the second round. We stepped it up in the second round so that was nice to see that performance improvement on race day. Going into Gainesville we will start all over again. Our plan will be to make some good runs and get a good qualifying spot.”

The traditional East Coast opener on the Mello Yello Series circuit will feature the biggest stars in the NHRA. Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Steve Johnson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of the event that will once again be televised on ESPN2.

Force certainly qualifies as one of the biggest stars in the NHRA as she tries to climb the star-studded Top Fuel ranks headed by reigning world champion Tony Schumacher, who won the most recent event in Phoenix. Other standouts include Kalitta, Antron Brown, Spencer Massey, 2014 rookie of the year Richie Crampton, three-time world champ Larry Dixon, Amalie Motor Oil fan-favorite Terry McMillen, category newcomer Dave Connolly, last year’s series runner-up J.R. Todd and determined Texan Steve Torrence.

But Force continues to find her way, making steady improvement. That included her first appearance in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship a season ago, but Force’s mindset is only on the present and that means improving at Gainesville.

“I try not to focus too much on last year,” Force said. “I have to focus on today and right now. It is tough out here. I know this team will put everything they can into this dragster and I will do my best job driving, and hopefully we’ll get that first win soon. I am just trying to get back into the groove of driving this Top Fuel dragster.”

That’s no easy task and Force doesn’t consider herself a veteran in that department by any stretch. After a first-round loss to start the 2015 season in Pomona, Force picked up her first round win of the year in Phoenix, knocking off Torrence before falling to Kalitta in the quarterfinals.

Despite a talented team, led by crew chiefs Todd Smith and Ronnie Thompson, Force knows how vital seat time is for long-term success.

“Even going into my third season seat time is so important,” Force said. “I have been out of the seat for a while so now that we are getting the season started I am getting back in the groove. It takes a little while until you are 100 percent comfortable in the seat.”

That day is coming soon and Force will work diligently to get that to happen. She knows the potential is there, as evidenced by an extremely successful test session in Phoenix before the season started. The next step is putting those performances together on a consistent basis.

“We have a new team and some new guys, but I am excited,” Force said. “We jumped back into it and got off to a tough start but we got it turned around. You just want to get back in that groove, and you want to get comfortable and in the zone as quickly as possible.”

Robert Hight was the hero of Funny Car at Gainesville in 2014 defeating team owner John Force in the final. Courtney Force will try to become the first female Funny Car winner at the Gatornationals but reigning world champ Matt Hagan has been red hot, winning the first two events of the year. Ron Capps, Tommy Johnson Jr., Del Worsham, three-time national event winner Alexis DeJoria and two-time world champ Cruz Pedregon are all expected to be competitive in Gainesville as well.

Allen Johnson, the 2012 Pro Stock world champ, got the best of eventual world champ Erica Enders-Stevens in the final at Gainesville last season. Enders-Stevens is looking for her first Gainesville victory while other top challengers include Winternationals winner and four-time Gatornationals winner Line, Shane Gray, Greg Anderson, Vincent Nobile, Phoenix winner Roger Brogdon, rookie sensation Drew Skillman, Chris McGaha and Jonathan Gray.

The Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals is the first of 16 events for the Pro Stock Motorcycle category. Riders will be looking to knock reigning series and four-time champion Andrew Hines off his title perch. Last year, Hines and his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammate Eddie Krawiec dominated the series by combining to win 11 of the 16 events. Others to watch in the two-wheel category include defending Gators winner Johnson, father and son duo Hector Arana Jr. and Hector Arana Sr., three-time world champ Angelle Sampey, and the husband and wife duo of Matt and Angie Smith.

As always, fans will have the opportunity to interact with their favorite drivers as they’re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful motorsports attraction on the planet. While visiting the pits, interactive NHRA Nitro Alley and the NHRA Manufacturers Midway, fans will also want to check out NHRA’s popular Hot Rod Junction presented by the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum that offers a spectacular display of many nostalgic dragsters, race cars and hot rods on display, including vintage machines that were driven by “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, K.S. Pittman, Big John Mazmanian and Bruce Larson, among others. There will also be several NHRA Legends of Drag Racing autograph sessions, allowing fans the rare opportunity to meet drag racing stars of the past.

Pro qualifying begins on Friday, March 13, with sessions at noon and 3 p.m. The final two qualifying sessions will take place Saturday, March 14, also at noon and 3 p.m. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 15.

The 2015 Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals will also feature thrilling competition in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series as well as the season-opener in the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

To purchase general-admission or reserved seats, log on to www.NHRA.com/tickets or call the NHRA Ticket Sales Center, 800-884-NHRA (6472). General admission tickets for children 12 and younger are free with any paid adult ticket. Fans can save by purchasing their tickets in advance.

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