Force: "It's like we lost Babe Ruth."

The comparisons are inevitable.

Seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, who was tragically killed in a last-lap crash during last Sunday's Daytona 500, was NASCAR's biggest star of the last two decades.

John Force has much of the same fire and determination that Dale Earnhardt displayed on the NASCAR circuit.

Ten-time Winston Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion John Force has been the NHRA's biggest star for more than a decade himself and is the sport's all-time winningest driver (93 national event victories).

Since his first Funny Car championship in 1990, there is no question that Force has become to the NHRA what Earnhardt was to NASCAR: it's most popular, beloved icon.

That's why Force can relate to the death of Earnhardt. In a business where speed dictates who is No. 1, Force routinely hurtles down a two-lane quarter-mile dragstrip at speeds approaching 320 mph.

"We didn't just lose a legend, we lost a way of life," Force said of Earnhardt. "People, especially in the South, are getting up in the morning, walking outside to their trucks or cars to go to work, see the No. 3 they have on their truck and they don't know what to do. They're lost. His fans are so loyal to him that if the boss would tell them to take the No. 3 off their car or truck, they'd probably quit their job. You don't mess with Dale.

"Losing Earnhardt, to me, was like losing Elvis. It took a piece away of my life, a piece of all our lives. What Earnhardt's death shows everybody is 'enjoy life.' It's like we lost Babe Ruth."

Force learned of Earnhardt's death in a most ironic place: while taking pictures in the winner's circle following his win last Sunday at the Checker-Schuck's-Kragen Nationals drag race in suburban Phoenix.

"When I first heard it, I couldn't believe it," Force said. "After that, it was like let's get the pictures done in the winner's circle, pack up and go home. How can you celebrate when a guy like Dale Earnhardt, who meant so much to racing, is dead?

"When we first heard he crashed, the reports were that he was only hurt. I said, 'Hell, you can't hurt that guy, he's indestructible.' When we heard he died, my guys said what is there to celebrate now? We just did our deal for the photographers in Victory Lane and got out of there."

Force has cheated death himself so many times, flipping and rolling his Funny Car in some of the most spectacular crashes in NHRA annals. If it's going to be dramatic, Force is usually the man behind the wheel, only to climb out of his twisted heap afterward, crack a sheepish smile and say "Wow, what a ride, huh?"

“ Everybody wants to grow old, and I don't want to die. I don't have a death wish, trust me. But if John Force is going to go down, I hope it's at 90 years old and in a Funny Car. ” —Force

Force has also been behind the wheel when his car has caught on fire. How many times? Force can't count the number anymore on one or two hands. He's endured more than a dozen fires in his career now, including twice this past Monday, one day after winning at Phoenix, while testing. Again, he miraculously escaped unscathed both times.

"Things like that are just God's way of slapping you upside your head to make you focus more on safety," Force said.

In light of Earnhardt's tragic death, safety is obviously on the mind of every racer in the business today. Several Winston Cup drivers will be wearing the HANS (Head And Neck Support) restraint device in Sunday' s race in Rockingham, N.C. Likewise, a number of NHRA drivers are planning on wearing the HANS device next month in Gainesville, Fla.

Force initially resisted attempts to use the HANS, claiming it was too uncomfortable, limited his range of motion and vision in the cockpit, and caused concern that he might not be able to release the device quick enough if he found himself on fire and had to scramble to safety.

"It can get you hung up in a race car and you can't get out of a fire," Force said. "There are a lot of reasons why I don't wear one. It's got nothing to do with being macho, and Earnhardt didn't wear one because he wanted to be macho. It's because no one could convince him it was right. A man has to go by his own decisions."

But after Earnhardt's death, even Force is going to give HANS another look.

"When I beat (fellow Funny Car driver) Ron Capps during last Sunday's eliminations, he had one of those things on. I thought there was something wrong with his neck," Force said. "But, I've been reading about (the HANS device), I've been studying it, and I'm going to try it again.

"They're getting one for me now. I'm going to try it, but I'm also going to look at the safety that it gives you. I have to be 100 percent positive that if I crash or get in a fire, that I can get out of that thing as quick as I can get out of my seatbelt.

"But let me tell you, if you hit a wall head-on at 320 mph, there ain't nothing that's going to save you. I don't care what they say. But it doesn't mean I won't look at stuff. I'm not a guy who says 'I won't do that.' I'm very much for safety. That's why I'm going to try it again and see if I can work with it."

John Force recalls the last time he saw Earnhardt. It was a month ago when both drivers took part in a promotional appearance at a auto show in Nashville.

"I went up on the stage, got on my knee and kissed his hand," Force said, bowing to what was the top royalty of NASCAR. "I had everybody laughing. He looked at me, laughed and said, 'You're nuts. Why do you do the stuff you do?' But, we had this huge crowd, and the fans loved it. There were people who started standing in line at 7 in the morning, and Earnhardt and I didn't come on the stage until 7 at night. They stood in line for 12 hours, just to get an autograph. It was unbelievable.

"I was amazed at the following he had. Let me tell you, when the Ford people cheer for a Chevrolet guy, they love 'ya. I stood there with the Ford fans. They might boo him at a race, but when he walked in to that show in Nashville, and there were thousands of people, and they cheered him, I applauded. I didn't applaud just because of the Earnhardt name, I applauded for the response I saw from the people. I saw people wearing Dale Jarrett jackets cheering for Earnhardt. If a guy was in a Mopar jacket, it didn't matter. They all applauded for him and his talent."

Force had a smile on his face when he spoke fondly about the last time he saw Earnhardt alive. But the sobering reality of Earnhardt's death came back to Force a minute later.

"The guy, to me, was a real racer," Force said. "Racing was what he was all about, and that's what I loved about him. He didn't take any crap from anyone.

"I'm the kind of guy that cares about what other people, other racers, think. I believe that Earnhardt loved all the people in NASCAR, but he was a guy who was paid to win and that's what he did. A lot of times, people didn't like what he did, but he said 'Tough luck, I'm paid to win.' That's why he commanded such respect from other racers. You either loved him or hated him, cheered or booed him, but everyone respected him."

Earnhardt's death conjures up immediate memories of the tragic loss of Top Fuel driver Blaine Johnson, killed while making a qualifying attempt at the 1996 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Force was friends with Johnson, Blaine's brother and crew chief Alan Johnson and most of the team.

"They were both too young to go," Force said. "Blaine was just a kid, he had his whole career ahead of him, and Earnhardt, heck, the man was younger than me (Earnhardt was 49, two years younger than Force). But, if you've got to go, to me, I would think you'd either want to be right with your children or where your heart is -- in that race car."

Force knows that, but be for the grace of God, he could easily see his life end the same way Earnhardt's did. It still may happen that way, he says.

"You never know, but when it's your time, it's your time, and there's nothing I or anyone else is going to do about it," Force said. "You get a real wakeup call about life, and no matter who you are, when God chooses to take you, it's time. I truly believe that.

"Everybody wants to grow old, and I don't want to die. I don't have a death wish, trust me. But if John Force is going to go down, I hope it's at 90 years old and in a Funny Car."