Brownsburg, Indiana is Becoming Famous?
by CP Staff
At the end of August, a 40,000 square foot shop facility built for California-based John Force Racing, Inc., became the newest addition to the Eaglepoint Business Park complex being developed in Brownsburg, Indiana. In addition to Force, a 12-time NHRA Funny Car Champion, several other prominent racers have built in the Brownsburg area over the past three years. They include Don "the Snake" Prudhomme, the Pedregon brothers (Cruz and Tony), Terry Vance and Byron Hines.
Located seven-and-a-half miles west of I-465, within driving distance of Indianapolis Raceway Park, the Force shop is state of the art. It features drive-through overhead doors on either side of the building which provide easy access for the team's six 18-wheel transporters and other vehicles.
In addition to 15 permanent offices, the building includes a machine shop, space for an on-site apparel store, two conference rooms and mezzanines for storage at either end. The design of the facility is unique in that it mimics the layout of the JFR compound at each of the racetracks in the NHRA POWERade series.
In essence, the five tractor-trailers that house the team's three Ford Funny Cars, their back-ups and all the equipment, parts and pieces necessary to keep them on a 325 mile-an-hour pace will pull into the shop exactly as they would at the track. "The layout is unique to anyone else's (with regard) to the bay placement for the rigs," acknowledged Dean Antonelli, a Brownsburg resident who is Chief Mechanic on Force's Castrol GTX Start Up Ford Funny Car and was project liaison for the team.
"With new guys, it's easier to train them as to how things work at the racetrack because you're working in the same environment," Antonelli continued. "It's also good for the guys who've been here awhile because they can stay in their same routine, using the same tools they do at the race on the same tables attached to the same trailers.
At ceremonies held in conjunction with the grand opening of his newest shop facility, John Force became the 21st inductee into the Mustang Hall of Fame, joining such luminaries as Carroll Shelby, Jack Roush, Bob Tasca Sr., Lee Iaccoca and William Clay Ford II.
Above: John Force and Carrol Shelby together at the Mustang 40th Anniversary in Nashville, TN
The Mustang Hall of Fame was created to preserve the heritage and spirit of the Ford Mustang, to honor those who by achievement have made lasting contributions to the Ford Mustang and its culture, and to inspire all involved with the Ford Mustang to strive to reach their highest potential, said Chuck Micele, vice-president of the Mustang Club of America.
Many of those already in the Hall of Fame got their start in drag racing including Shelby, Roush (who once drove a Mustang in the Pro Stock class), John Coletti, Larry Shinoda, Jim Osborn and Tasca Sr., who sold thousands of Mustangs and sponsored several Mustang-based teams in the 1960s and 1970s and who was instrumental in bringing Force into the Ford fold.
"It's a great honor," Force said. "The day Bob Tasca introduced me to the Ford people was a turning point in my career. There's no better sponsor in racing and to be included in the Mustang Hall of Fame with people like Grandpa (Tasca Sr.), Carroll Shelby and Jack Roush is something I never imagined."
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