John Force Racing to skip remainder of 2020 NHRA season

The team had already missed the first two races of the season

John Force Racing announced Friday that the team would be skipping out on the remainder of the 2020 NHRA season, according to a statement. The team had already miss out on the first two rounds of the season restart that began earlier in July.

Founder and owner of the team John Force, the winningest driver in NHRA history, cited the coronavirus pandemic as the main cause of his team's inability to try and get back into the season.

"We had to make cuts everywhere," said Force. "We ran numbers over and over. In our contracts with sponsors, we have guarantees. They get social media, certain number of races, certain number of race days, activation at races and other commitments. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't deliver on those commitments. It just wasn't fair to them.

"The impact of not being able to deliver on these commitments makes sitting out the rest of the 2020 season the right thing to do. No matter how I looked at it, no matter how much I personally invested, I couldn't make it."

In skipping out on this season, Force says his team will come back "stronger than ever" in 2021. The four-car team includes Robert Hight, Austin Prock and Brittany Force, John's daughter.

"I made the decision to live to fight another day," Force's statement continued. "We can't fight now, we can't race right now, but with what I have, with the help of my sponsors and my own personal money, I can maintain. I have to protect my family, my employees, my teams and my sponsors. What I built was a team that could win. All I have to do is get to next year."

NHRA's 2020 season concludes in November, with 12 events remaining until then. The next race is the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals on Aug. 6-9 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indiana.