John Force, one of the most successful racers in the history of drag racing, has switched to PPG Envirobase High Performance paint. The team, John Force Racing, installed a new paint spray booth at its Brownsburg, Ind., facility and switched to the waterborne coatings for all its cars at the beginning of the 2009 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) season.
“We focus on performance,” says Force. “Performance in racing includes safety and safety includes taking care of the environment, keeping it safe for ourselves and generations to come. Going green is very important to me. We can’t control everything around us, but we can control what we do as a team, and the paint we use has an impact on the environment. Using PPG waterborne paint is just one part of us being green, but it’s a key part.”
Force’s 34-year NHRA career has seen him set a number of records, including 14 Funny Car championships, winning more than 1,000 rounds of competition, winning 126 NHRA national events and more. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in August 2008. The John Force Team he leads comprises of daughters Ashley Force Hood, Brittany Force and Courtney Force, son-in-law Robert Hight and Mike Neff. John, Ashley, Robert and Mike run in the Funny Car category while Brittany and Courtney compete in the Top Alcohol Dragster class. The team was the focus of the A&E cable channel’s “Driving Force” reality show.
Brandon Baker, in charge of the appearance of the team’s six cars, says Force wanted to find an ecologically sound paint line he could count on for all the colors in the John Force Racing spectrum – green, white, red and a variety of blues.
“As you can imagine, our paint problems are a little different than most people’s,” says Baker. “Our cars go through a lot of abuse – crashes, fires, fuel spills. We’re always painting and repainting.”
“PPG has been extremely supportive,” adds Baker. “Plus, our painter Dave Gregory really likes the Envirobase HP product. There are no fumes, no smell. He can really get into the work without noxious distraction.”
“Force and his team have shown tremendous foresight and responsibility by going green and not compromising on their paint quality standards,” says Randy Cremeans, director of marketing N.A. for PPG.
For more information about PPG, call (800) 647-6050 or visit www.ppgrefinish.com. To learn more about John Force Racing, visit www.johnforceracing.com.
