John Force wins at Indy for 5th time, tied for most ever

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — John Force raced to his fifth career victory at Indianapolis, winning the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals on Monday.

Force tied Ed “Ace” McCulloch for the most Funny Car wins in Indy history, powering his Camaro to a run of 3.919 seconds at 324.44 mph to beat Jack Beckman. It was the second win this year for the 70-year-old Force, the 151st in his career and his first at Indy since 2012.

“Someday I’ve got to go out that door, and I said two things: It would sure be nice to win a championship and it would sure be nice to win Indy one more time,” Force said. “This race really meant a lot. Winning this, I didn’t think I would ever get the chance again and I didn’t think I could be that good with the right team that supported me.”

Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Alex Laughlin (Pro Stock) and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won in their respective categories at the final regular-season race of the year.

Kalitta won for the first time at Indy and 46th time in his career thanks to his 4.144 seconds at 212.43 mph to slip past Billy Torrence.

In Pro Stock, Laughlin won for the first time in 2019 and at the U.S. Nationals, beating Erica Enders in the final round with a 6.648 at 207.43 in his Camaro.

Savoie claimed his second win at Indy in Pro Stock Motorcycle, going 6.851 at 195.25 on his Suzuki to beat points leader Andrew Hines.