In case you haven't noticed, John Force tends to ramble when he speaks, and he speaks a lot.

It can give the impression that the 14-time NHRA Funny Car champion doesn't know what's going on around him.

Impressions can be misleading. Force always is thinking ahead. He has a plan for the future to ensure that John Force Racing is secure and successful for many years to come.

That plan starts with son-in-law Robert Hight, who won his first Funny Car championship in 2009.

"I told Robert about it the other day," Force said last week in Homestead, Fla. "I'm doing my living wills and my trusts. I'm looking at Robert to take over if anything happens to me. We are going to lay out a structure and a direction that he'll take.

"He's my lead guy. Everything Robert says is totally the truth. He tells the story and [does] not sugarcoat it like I do. He keeps his nose clean. It's weird for me. I'm used to smoke and mirrors."

Hight, 40, is married to John's oldest daughter, Adria, who is the chief financial officer of JFR. They have a 5-year-old daughter, Autumn.

"John's trust means a lot to me," Hight said. "I know how hard John's worked to build this organization. I look at where John started. My road was paved a lot easier than his. He started from nothing. He bought his mom's trailer and kept it just to remember where he came from."

Don't get the wrong idea. Force is not hanging up his helmet or resigning his position as the boss at JFR.

"It's not time for retirement," said Force, who turned 60 in May. "I'm not giving up the seat."

But his long-term goals for the team were started back in 2003 when Tony Pedregon left JFR after winning his first championship.

"I knew I didn't want that to happen again,'' Force said of Pedregon's departure. "I brought Robert and Ashley [Force Hood] in here because they won't leave me, because they own it."

Force Hood had the best season of her career in 2009, finishing second to Hight in the Funny Car standings.

"She's proved she can be a big part of this," Force said.

Force's perspective on things changed after his crash during the Dallas event in 2007 when he suffered serious injuries to his legs and feet.

"I got a real wake-up call about family," Force said. "I thought I was doing everything right, but I wasn't. I used to spend two hours a day in the bar. Now I spend two hours a day in the gym.

"I just changed my ways. I have only so much time left and I have to put it into these kids and these cars to build safety, to win, and have time with them."

Force also plans to bring some new personnel to the operation before the start of the 2010 season to help his longtime crew chiefs Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly.

"We're making some changes," Force said. "I'm looking at two new crew chiefs. Coil and Bernie are my lead, but there are some issues with age, so I'm bringing in some young blood to hop them up a little bit. I need a young kid to light a fire."

Force has another young kid waiting in the wings to get an opportunity in the driver's seat -- Courtney Force, youngest daughter.

Courtney, 21, is racing in Top Alcohol Dragster, as is her sister Brittany, who is 23.

"Brittany talks about how she wants to be a school teacher," John says. "She's got her degree and she loves kids. I don't know where I stand with her. But Courtney would drop out of school right now to go drive."

Courtney won the Seattle event in July.

"The boys chase her out here on the circuit like crazy, but [she] doesn't have time for them," Force said. "She doesn't care. Racing is all she thinks about."

"If any of these girls have my personality, it's her. Ashley has a calm personality. Courtney is a screamer.''

John is targeting 2011 as a possible rookie season in Funny Car for Courtney.

"It won't happen in 2010, but I'm getting her ready to go,'' John said. "Courtney is doubling up on her [college] classes. She doesn't want to date. She wants to finish college [at Cal State-Fullerton] and go racing.

"I told her she has to get in a weight-training program with me before getting in a Funny Car. Courtney's real frail. She could have been a model. The William Morris Agency wanted to sign here. But she said, 'Dad, I don't want to be a model. I want to be a race car driver.' "

The Force family plan is coming together. Despite his rambling motor-mouth ways, John has a method to his madness.

"I wanted to make sure John Force Racing continued by building the next generation," he said. "Now I know this company won't fail when I'm gone."