Funny car champion John Force: Car catching on fire not new to him

John Force, one of the top funny car drivers of all time, says he can't recall how many times his car has caught on fire during a race.

"I've been on fire from here to Australia," said Force, a 15-time funny car champion.

Yet the 62-year-old, who jokes that his "office" gets hot from time to time, keeps coming back for more.

The NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona open Thursday with the first of three days of qualifying rounds, followed by final eliminations Sunday. Force will be among the funny car competitors.

Funny car racing is a sport in which drivers have zero margin for error. Their vehicles reach speeds of more than 300 mph in less than five seconds.

At Force's funny car museum in Yorba Linda, he recently talked about why, after more than 30 years of racing, he continues to risk seeing yet another fire.

"In the early days, I thought I was just pure crazy," he said. "But after you do it, man, the car becomes your office. This car becomes what I call your best friend."

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NASCAR unveils 2012 schedule; Fontana race is March 25

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Fontana will be held March 25 as part of the 2012 schedule announced Wednesday.

The 36-race season opens with the sport's crown-jewel Daytona 500 on Feb. 26, followed by races at Phoenix International Raceway (March 4) and Las Vegas Motor Speedway (March 11).

After crossing the country to race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, the Cup series returns West for its race at the two-mile Auto Club Speedway oval in Fontana on March 25.

NASCAR also noted that the fall race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, which this year is the sixth race in the series' 10-race Chase for the Cup championship playoff, will be moved up two weeks next year to Oct. 7 as the fourth race in the Chase.

The series finale is Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.

-- Jim Peltz

Fontana track sets date for IndyCar return in 2012

Auto Club Speedway in Fontana set Saturday Sept. 15, 2012, as the date that IndyCar racing will return to Southern California for a 400-mile night race.

The two-mile speedway had said in July that the Izod IndyCar Series, whose drivers include Dario Franchitti, Marco Andretti and Helio Castroneves, would return to the track next year after a seven-year absence but had not immediately set a date.

Tickets for the 200-lap race go on sale next Monday, and prices range from $30 for general admission to $60 for reserved club seats. Kids 12 and under are free in the general admission area, and camping packages also are available.

Auto Club Speedway also hosts a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock-car race, which next year is scheduled for March 25.

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-- Jim Peltz

Photo: Driver Will Power speeds toward winning the Izod IndyCar Series race Sunday on a street course in Baltimore. Credit: Patrick Semansky / Associated Press