Their Races Don’t Just End at the Finish Line

John Force, a 13-time National Hot Rod Assn. funny car champion, has been a finalist in more than half of the NHRA races contested since 1989 -- 172 of 343 events. During that span, he has won 114 times.

Though he hasn’t won this season, Force is runner-up to points leader Ron Capps, who has won four races heading into this weekend’s event in Chicago, the 10th of 23 races on the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series schedule.

Capps has learned to take his victories anywhere he can get them.

“John Force is the man to beat,” Capps says. “Beating John Force is a big deal. There’s been times we’ve raced from the restaurant to the hotel in the rental car, and I’ll call people to tell them, ‘I just beat John Force.’ ”

Trivia time: Which Belmont Stakes winner sired three horses that also won that race?

Hack a Shaq: With Ben Wallace and the Detroit Pistons dispatched, the Miami Heat will find the middle less clogged in the NBA Finals. But look for the Dallas Mavericks to commit intentional fouls against Shaquille O’Neal.

Predicted Jim Armstrong in the Denver Post: “Not that the Mavs’ centers are going to expend their full allotment of fouls, but Shaq is going to get whacked more than an entire season of Tony Soprano’s enemies.”

Making his pitch: With the tournament beginning today in Germany, David Letterman presented his top 10 signs you have World Cup fever, which included:

* “You change your name from Kenny to Pele.”

* “On tax return you list occupation: ‘Hooligan.’ ”

* “After you successfully toast an English muffin, you rip off your shirt and run around the house.”

Feeling a draft: Tim Brewer, a left-handed pitcher from St. Thomas Kean High in the Virgin Islands, was the Angels’ last draft choice, taken in the 50th round Wednesday.

And even though he’s only a high school senior, it’s the second time he’s been drafted.

Brewer was chosen in the 35th round by the Colorado Rockies in 2005 -- a choice that was voided when MLB discovered Brewer was, at the time, a junior.

Desperate journalist: Wrote Jerry Greene in the Orlando Sentinel: “The Devil Rays used the third pick to take Eva Longoria, the best move that franchise has ... What? Evan Longoria? ... Never mind.”

Looking back: On this date in 1961, Ryne Duren -- known for wearing Coke-bottle glasses and throwing his first warmup pitch to the backstop -- set an American League record with seven consecutive strikeouts against the Boston Red Sox. He finished with 11 strikeouts in a 5-1 win for the then-Los Angeles Angels.

Trivia answer: Man O’ War, who won the Belmont in 1920. His winning progeny: American Flag in 1925, Crusader in 1926 and, in 1937, War Admiral, who won the Triple Crown.

And finally: German officials are concerned about racism affecting the World Cup. “To make sure that minorities are welcomed to Berlin with open arms,” comedian Argus Hamilton said, “they hired the U.S. Border Patrol to keep them out.”