I am always positive about growing the sport and Geiger's Web site is sure to create a lot of excitement for the reader. Media attention for drag racing is always good. I’ve always enjoyed Geiger's writing and I am excited to come on board to write this blog for his Web site.

As usual, I'm always on a bit of an overload so if I miss a week here or there we can always bring in Ashley, Robert, Mike Neff, or maybe some of the crew chiefs in to fill-in because we need this exposure. Plugging Castrol, Ford, Mac Tools, BrandSource, AAA, Old Spice, and the others is what it is all about.

I'm excited to see what Geiger will do with this site now that he's out there on his own. My PR guys, Elon Werner and Dave Densmore, said this Web site is going to be big so I appreciate Geiger giving me the chance to come on first.

Everyone knows about our racing so I'll try to make this deal about other stuff we're doing. Ever since my wreck last year in Dallas my life has been all about rehab. You know Bazemore said it best. He said when you go into rehab you’ve got to make it your happy place. You’ve got to make it a way of life. You’ve got to put down the phone and put down the business. He said, 'I only broke a leg, you're broke everywhere.' He said I was going to have to live it to get back to racing and I really took those words to heart.

I told Bazemore he was right. I said, 'I don’t want you to think I love you, but I do respect you,' because I’ve got to say Bazemore fought me for a lot of championships, just like Scelzi and Capps and Al Hofmann. Plus, I listen to people that have been through the process and I dedicated myself to that.

My main deal has been getting out of bed in the morning, going to rehab, hitting it hard, being with my family, checking-in with the teams, and checking the money in the office. There were no appearances -- there was nothing -- for six months. I was telling the sponsors to give me time so I could get back. I did what Baze said. Disneyland was every day because once you get unhappy you get mental and then you can’t do the training. Even now that I'm out of rehab, I'm in the gym every morning for two hours. I even hit it hard on the road.

I’ve got to tell you a funny story. Normally I get up at 6 o'clock in the morning to go the gym. But when I went to Atlanta I was real tired that first day and I slept in. Then I had a press conference, so I didn't get a chance to work out until we got back to the hotel to change clothes for the Coca-Cola dinner that night. I knew I had to get that workout in because if I came back after the dinner at 11 o’clock I’d never get it done and I have not missed a day since this whole deal started.

So I go down to the gym, got into my program, and started working the machines, and in walks our Pro Stock champion, Greg Anderson. I was embarrassed at my workout. I knew this guy was a young kid in very good shape but I was down there my barbells that looked like a stick with two doughnuts on the end of it and this kid was over there looking like a body builder. I was embarrassed. I didn’t say nothing. I could hear him breathing and panting, working hard. I guess that's why him and his wife look the way they do but I never realized the guy could push that kind of weight. I was impressed and of course I had nothing.

I go to the gym and the women come in and get on next to me and it is embarrassing. I’ve lost 25 pounds and I am trying to put it back with muscle. Because muscle when you lose it will come back real quick and I want the strength. I want to be young again. I want to have that fire that Ashley and Robert and Neff have. I’d lost that and I know that. I am going to be in better shape when I come back. You know what I am saying?

I eat right now. We were at Ruth Chris Steakhouse and I passed on the steak. It's my favorite place. I'm just going to eat my vegetables, my fish, everything I can because I'm 59 now. I’ve got to get back to where I was or I can’t compete. I’ve got a real goal to race with my children and I am so excited for Ashley just to be slugging it out with the boys. I told her don’t get comfortable with that points lead these guys are tough and they want it bad and they’ll be back, so just keep being consistent like you are. Try and win some more and maybe you’ll get a shot at the title. I am really proud of the kid.

Well, that's all I got for now.

John Force

Welcome to go2geiger.com! To say we're all excited would be an understatement. I believe we've put together a very talented team completely dedicated to bringing drag racing news coverage to a new level. It all starts here. This is Ground Zero.

As many of you know, I've spent the last several years at NHRA.com. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and my friendship with my editor, Phil Burgess, who taught me everything I know about covering the sport. Phil remains a close friend and someone I admire very much.

The simple goal for go2geiger.com is to give readers an alternative voice that won't be influenced by the sanctioning body, any advertisers or sponsors, or race officials. We're also going to stray outside of the NHRA world on occasion, whenever we find compelling drag racing stories out there, and bring them to our readers.

Another thing we hope people enjoy is expanded Sportsman coverage. I've met so many cool people in the various Sportsman ranks and I firmly believe some of their stories need to be told right alongside the ones on our beloved professionals.

I promise to run this Web site like a newspaper with breaking news being the top priority. It's important to note that we won't be playing the rumor game or have any sort of bulletin board where people can post whatever they want. I just don't see the journalistic value in that stuff. All of our stories will be researched and backed up by facts.

We're starting off strong. My first phone call was to Craig Wack. Craig covers motorsports for The Commercial Appeal in Memphis and his talent will be immediately obvious to anyone that reads his prose. I'm thrilled he's on my team. I've also contracted the services of Amanda Brahler, an up-and-coming motorsports writer who will be joining the straight-line set after starting her writing career covering stock cars. She's sure to bring a fresh perspective to our coverage.

Additional team members -- ones drag racing fans are sure to know -- will be announced in the days and weeks ahead.

We have a flattering commitment from John Force to write a weekly blog for our readers. He promises that his three daughters and various teammates will join in the fun. We also have two-time Top Fuel champ Larry Dixon signed on, along with his wife Ali and her sister Andrea, who is married to Tony Pedregon. The former Lukovich sisters are sure to entertain us with their perspective.

Keeping true to our commitment to Sportsman fans, we've enlisted Super Comp world champ Shawn Langdon to add his thoughts. I'm sure more will pile on in the future. We even have John Force car chief Rob Wendland offering a crewman's perspective.

I'll never forget my first interview in the sport. It was with Gary Scelzi, who was on his way to his first Top Fuel championship back in 1997. It was a memorable media luncheon for me because it sold me on the sport. Gary spent two hours with me, filling in all the blanks long after everyone else had left. By the end of that meeting I had a notepad full of notes, a new friend, and a new calling.

Coming from my years covering the Dallas Cowboys, I was unaccustomed to athletes taking such a genuine interest in educating a newbie reporter on their sport. I could tell very quickly that drag racers were different.

Eleven years later, I'm still having fun, and I'm fired up about this latest endeavor. Please join us for the ride. I hope it's exhilarating as we expect it to be.

Sidelined eight months ago after his accident in Dallas, John Force had no choice but to take on the role of team cheerleader. It was an odd position for the guy drag racing fans are so used to seeing centerstage, but it's one Force took to heart, even painfully hobbling out to the starting line on a walker to watch his "Next Generation" of drivers perform.