Courtney Force talks about nude appearance in ESPN’s ‘Body Issue’

Courtney Force won the NHRA rookie of the year award last year.
Courtney and Brittany Force sit on one of the great past cars of their father, legendary racer John Force at their Yorba Linda headquarters. The car is one of Force's first funny car's, the 1976 Brute Force Chevy Monza. He earned the nickname “Brute Force” from fellow drivers on the NHRA circuit.
Courtney Force has driven this Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car which has 8,000 horsepower, and can reach over 300 miles-per-hour in four seconds.
In this photo provided by NHRA, Funny Car driver John Force celebrates his victory with daughter and Funny Car driver Courtney Force, Sunday, June 16, 2013, at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. Force, a 15-time Funny Car world champion, picked up his first win of 2013 in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang and fourth at legendary Bristol Dragway, defeating Cruz Pedregon in the final. John Force also knocked off Courtney in the first round of eliminations on Sunday en route to the victory, which ended a 31-race winless streak and is the 135th of his career.
Brittany Force, left, and Courtney Force who has previously driven the Ford Mustang Funny Car behind her. It has 8,000 horsepower and can reach 300 miles per hour in 4 seconds. Both of their current cars were being worked on at the Force shop in Indianapolis.
Yorba LInda natives, Brittany and Courtney Force, are the daughters of legendary racer John Force.
In this photo provided by NHRA, Funny Car winner Courtney Force, left, celebrates with her father John Force after the pair raced in the final round at the Inaugural Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals, Sunday, June 23, 2013, at New England Dragway in Epping, N.H. It marked the first time that they have raced in a Funny Car final round, and Courtney improved to 4-2 overall in head-to-head matchups against her father, a 15-time Funny Car world champion, by going 4.301 seconds at 261.67 mph in her Ford Mustang to claim the victory. John Force, who was making his second finals appearance in as many weeks, finished with a 4.367 at 262.28 in his Mustang.

By Daniel Langhorne | Orange County Register

July 9, 2013 at 9:52 p.m.

YORBA LINDA – Courtney Force wears nothing while sitting on a giant racing tire in the El Mirage Dry Lake Bed.

This is one of eight cover photos that have been broadcasted on ESPN and been hitting websites in advance of the upcoming issue of ESPN The Magazine’s “The Body Issue.”

The NHRA drag racer’s nude photo shoot has overwhelmingly raised cheers from the 25-year-old Yorba Linda-native’s fans. The team’s Facebook page saw hundreds of likes and comments since the photos were released Tuesday.

“It was definitely nerve-wracking,” Force said. “I had my sister Brittany with me for the shoot, so I definitely think that helped calm my nerves.”

Professional female and male world-class athletes strip for “The Body Issue.” This year’s spread includes 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick; golfer Gary Player; a pregnant Kerri Walsh Jennings, the three-time Olympic gold beach volleyball player; and Miesha Tate, a UFC bantamweight title contender.

Force said she wants to show the public that drivers have to be physically and mentally fit to drag race a 10,000-horsepower funny car.

“If it drops a cylinder, it will take you into the wall and you need to be able to counteract that and bring it back into the center of the track,” she said.

ESPN approached Force about “The Body Issue” last year but she believed it was too early in here career to do it.

“I didn’t want it to be the first media attention I brought in and not because of my driving,” she said.

Force did the photo shoot in May but didn’t break the news to her racing team until a celebration dinner after her win at the New England Nationals in New Hampshire last month. She was happy to receive the support and hugs from her all-male team.

The Force family is no stranger to “The Body Issue.”

John Force, Courtney’s dad, who has won 15 drag-racing championships, posed in an ESPN The Magazine’s “Bodies You Don’t Want” in 2011 that focused on his crash scars. Force thought he’d be able to wear his boxer briefs, said Elon Werner, the team’s spokesman.

“It took some convincing,” Werner said.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3704 or dlanghorne@ocregister.com