“Laurie is the love of my life. She is the backbone of my family. In the early days, she drove the pickup truck, mixed fuel, and did the parachutes on my race car.”
On June 23, 2024, legendary drag racer John Force was involved in a horrific high-speed accident triggered by an engine explosion. With the aid of the NHRA Safety Safari, John emerged from the wreckage and was taken to a nearby trauma hospital in Virginia. As of now, he continues to receive treatment in the ICU.
As fans closely monitor John’s journey and his battle for recovery, many are interested in his personal life, particularly his family. For starters, who is his wife? Here’s everything we know about his spouse, Laurie.
Who is John Force’s wife?
According to NBC Sports, John and his wife, Laurie, first crossed paths at a wedding in 1972, where John served as the best man and Laurie as the maid of honor. They had an on-and-off relationship for 10 years before tying the knot in 1981.
Their first child, a daughter named Ashley, was born on Nov. 29, 1982. John and Laurie’s second daughter, Brittany, arrived on July 8, 1986. Their youngest daughter, Courtney, was born on June 20, 1988.
Throughout John’s career, Laurie has stood by his side, providing support and a steadying presence during challenging times. Since the early days, Laurie has been the cornerstone of John Force Racing, undertaking diverse tasks — from drafting contracts and managing merchandise sales to packing parachutes for John’s car, preparing meals for the team, and even handling the nitro fuel that powered John’s Funny Car. Laurie has even been known to work directly on the car herself!
“Laurie is the love of my life,” John told NBC Sports in 2016. “She is the backbone of my family. In the early days, she drove the pickup truck, mixed fuel, and did the parachutes on my race car. She did all that while she was going to college to get an education. I was lacking in that. I wrote the first Wendy’s contract and they sent it back to me. She re-wrote it and I knew then she was in and I needed to marry her.”
John Force’s daughters have followed in his footsteps.
As mentioned earlier, John and Laurie have three daughters together: Ashley, Brittany, and Courtney. John also has a daughter named Adria Hight from a previous relationship. She currently serves as the chief financial officer at John Force Racing.