YORBA LINDA, California, May 5, 2026, 05:19 PDT
Adria (Force) Hight, who spent years as a top executive at John Force Racing and was the eldest daughter of 16-time NHRA Funny Car champ John Force, has died at 56, the team announced. The news broke moments before one of the squad’s drivers dedicated a milestone win to her.
The loss comes as John Force Racing—still under family control—navigates big changes. Force stepped away from driving in November 2025, following his major crash in 2024, and the NHRA squad has been adjusting ever since. Five events into the 2026 season, they’re still running up front.
Hight wasn’t just a figurehead. According to John Force Racing, she joined early on as one of the first hires and, after years handling essentials—fielding calls, selling T-shirts from the trailer—eventually stepped into the chief financial officer job, taking charge of company finances.
John Force Racing announced Hight’s death “with heavy hearts,” the team said in a statement posted to social media and picked up by Performance Racing Industry. “Her impact, dedication and legacy will never be forgotten,” they added. Home page | Performance Racing Industry
Roselawn Funeral Home & Memorial Park noted in an obituary that Hight died peacefully on April 28 in Indianapolis, with her family at her side. Born June 4, 1969, in Huntington Park, California, she eventually settled in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Hight came on board her father’s racing venture straight out of Huntington Beach High School, getting involved as the team was just finding its footing. According to NHRA, she was there with Force when he notched a milestone — his breakthrough NHRA national event win in Montreal back in 1987.
John Force Racing claims 24 championships and hundreds of wins. The team expanded out of Force’s lengthy Funny Car run into a stable with multiple cars, bringing in daughters Ashley Force Hood, Courtney Force and Brittany Force. Hight mostly stayed out of the driver’s seat.
Force owns the NHRA records for most event wins—157—and 16 Funny Car titles, Reuters/Field Level Media reports. In 2025, he said he’d step away from driving, though he intends to continue developing the team.
Sunday in Georgia saw Jordan Vandergriff pick up his first NHRA Funny Car win behind the wheel of John Force Racing’s Cornwell Tools Chevrolet. He dedicated the win to Hight, saying, “Adria got this one for me,” and called her a “pivotal part” of the team. John Force Racing
Pressure among rivals is dialed up right now. At the NHRA Southern Nationals, both Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta from Kalitta Motorsports delivered an all-Kalitta showdown in the Top Fuel final. Over in Funny Car, J.R. Todd—also with Kalitta—lined up against Vandergriff in the final; NHRA later confirmed Todd now leads the Funny Car points standings after this event.
The big unknown now: who steps in to fill Hight’s shoes at John Force Racing, especially on the finance side and sponsor relationships—not to mention the nuts-and-bolts of running the operation. Their statement left out any mention of a replacement or management structure. Family-run teams, after all, tend to keep those crucial ties in individuals, not in neat org charts.
According to her obituary, Hight leaves behind her daughter Autumn Hight, her parents, fiancé Jimmy Collins, and three sisters: Ashley, Brittany, and Courtney. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews. Services will be private, with burial scheduled at Roselawn Memorial Park in Terre Haute. Plans are in place for a later celebration of life in California.
