Brittany Force thanks her crew, embraces positive attitude

Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill. hosts the third race of the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship — a six-race title run among four classes. During the Countdown, sisters Brittany and Courtney Force will share stories from the road with USA TODAY Sports. Brittany has qualified for her first Countdown in just her second season in Top Fuel. Courtney, in her third season, is vying for the Funny Car title. Both drive for father John Force, a 16-time Funny Car champion who also has qualified for the Countdown:

Twinkies are being passed around the Castrol EDGE team's trailer Sunday afternoon in Dallas. Some are being eaten and some are being thrown around like footballs. These Twinkies all have encouraging words written on them in sharpie: "Keep Smiling," "Stay positive," "Believe," and "Never give up" are just a few sayings I scribbled on these wrappers to help bring a smile back to the team.

We use to have more fun together as a team and every single one of us has made it a personal goal to get back to that; really enjoying what we do. We have gotten so caught up in our personal defeats that we have allowed that energy to rule out our team's positive vibe. We have all gotten down on ourselves after struggling these last few races and that all plays into how we perform as a team. When you have a negative attitude that is usually what your outcome will be. So, after another tough weekend of getting beat up we have decided to smile!

I have a truly amazing team and am so proud to be working with them. This car would not go down the track if it weren't for each and every one of my guys. My crew chiefs Todd Smith and Dean Antonelli have delivered a strong car this year and got this team in the Countdown. They are very patient with me and always take the time to sit down and talk to me about every single run. We watch recordings of our runs and they point out my strengths, weaknesses and how we can improve as a team. Arron Cave, the team's car chief who belts me in, always gives me a motivating fist pump before I head down the track.

Supercharger crew member Chris Adams always gives me the motivational chats at the start of the day or even at the end of the day. He also hates losing, but always reminds me it's about having fun and the car always reflects your attitude. Cylinder head crew guy Ethan Dooling always helps pump me up in the staging lanes by blaring our favorite music in the tow truck. Jim Underco our clutch guy lets me know he's paying attention to every run by reassuring me after a good pass. Carly Boyd our teams engine builder always stays positive at the top end after a run and lets the team know it.

Trevor Huff doubles up as clutch assistant and the team's very own comedian. Come rain or shine Trevor always keeps everyone laughing and he's a great reminder that the important thing is to have fun. Matt Carnes, who does bottom end, always reminds me to keep smiling no matter what! AJ Hess who builds racks always keeps a positive attitude which the team notices and feeds off of.

I'm lucky to be surrounded by not only a talented group of guys, but by some truly amazing people. At this point we don't care what happens from here on out, as long as we put our best effort into it and finish the year with a smile. You can't fail if you tried your best and that's what our team truly believes.

One of my favorite quotes is from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you."

The Castrol EDGE team will be going after it this weekend at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals with our hearts entirely in the game!