J. FORCE RUNNER-UP AT TOYOTA NATIONALS; CLOSES IN ON FIRST PLACE
LAS VEGAS, NV — John Force, the winningest driver in NHRA history, was hoping to claim his 142nd career win today at the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas but the 16-time NHRA Mello Yello champ was denied that victory in the final round against vetran Del Worsham. However, Force’s bid for an unprecedented 17th NHRA Funny Car title will not be deterred as he more determined than ever to make history. To get that title, he’ll need to make up ground in two weeks when the Castrol GTX High Mileage team rolls into Pomona, California. Force will need to go rounds and drive around current leader, Matt Hagan, who’s currently 21 points ahead of Force.

“I want to win this championship for my partner of 29 years, Castrol, and the Ford Motor Company, who’s been with me for 11 years. They’re moving on and I’d like to bring that title home like the others. Auto Club has been with a long time and with Traxxas, Brand Source, Mac Tools, Freightliner, and my other wonderful sponsors including new sponsor Peak. I just want to win,” said Force.
“We won a moral victory today, that’s what we did. With the loss of Jimmy Prock, great kid and we still love him, but just the fact we can stay in the hunt and with John Medlen (crew chief) all over this Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang and Mike Neff (crew chief, Auto Club Mustang) taking the reins and running the Auto Club Ford and helping out with my car along with Ron Douglas (crew chief, Traxxas Mustang) on the Traxxas Ford and also helping out on the Castrol EDGE Dragster with team leaders Todd Smith and Dean Antonelli – talk about overload,” explained Force. “It was a moral victory today because no man is an island and nobody breaks down John Force Racing, nobody. I feel like won and that Del Worsham put up a good fight against me and I congratulated him at the top end for that. So where do we go from here? Well it’s all uphill and we’re heading to the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show this week, we got sponsors to talk to and we’ve got Peak coming onboard and I’m really excited.”
Heading into final eliminations, Force was competing from the No. 2 spot and was looking strong on race day. His Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang was more like cruise missile, zeroing in on its target with extreme accuracy rather than a nitro Funny Car, skating all over the drag strip. During each of Forces match-ups, from the opening round to even the finals, his Mustang thundered right down the track. The 8000 horsepower BOSS 500 engine, nestled under the sleek carbon fiber Mustang body, was deadly consistent on each run as it propelled Force to 4.085, 4.069, 4.069 and 4.104 second passes against his opponents.
Unfortunately, Force’s 4.104 second pass in the finals wasn’t enough to hold off Worsham’s 4.064. These two tough and seasoned racers have faced each other in the finals thirteen times with Force only claiming six victories in those matchups. Force did run more speed than Worsham as the Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang was trucking in high gear and closing in fast. Unfortunately, Force ran out of real estate on the track and Worsham got to the finish just ahead of him.
On the way to the finals, Force took out Jon Capps (4.085 to 4.299) in round one and fellow Ford Mustang driver Tim Wilkerson in the quarterfinals (4.069 to 4.144). When it came for the semi-finals, Force had to race teammate and son-in-law, Robert Hight. Force ran a stout 4.069 second pass to Hight’s respectable 4.130 run.
John Force leaves Vegas 21 points behind current leader Matt Hagan as they head into the final race of the year, the 50th Annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Mathematically, one of these drag racing titans will claim the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car title but the outcome will have to wait two weeks.
Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang came out swinging from the No. 11 qualifying position to race to a semi-final finish. Hight lost to teammate and eventual Toyota Nationals runner-up John Force but was not disheartened by not getting to the final round.
“That semi-final was a close race and we were going after it. We were in a no lose situation since no matter what happened one of our John Force Racing Mustang Funny Cars was going to the final round,” said Hight.
In the first round Hight’s Auto Club Mustang took out Jack Beckman before dispatching veteran driver Paul Lee in the second round. The Auto Club Mustang came alive on the performance side today posting a 4.091 second pass in the first round and following it up with a 4.102 second pass against Lee.
“My guys were great today. Mike Neff, Jon Shaffer and my crew guys pulled together and getting those first two round wins were critical coming off a tough race in Reading three weeks ago. Making great runs gives you confidence and we are going to test tomorrow so we will be ready for Pomona,” said Hight.
Courtney Force made a quick first round exit at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when her Traxxas Ford Mustang dropped a cylinder next to competitor Paul Lee. Force qualified her car in the No. 3 spot with a 4.024 second pass and had lane choice going into the opening round. She is now 1-1 to Paul Lee; both races were made at Las Vegas in the fall.
“We came into Vegas hoping to move up the ladder and go some rounds. Unfortunately in our first elimination round we went out early. We dropped a hole about two seconds into the run. Our car was out ahead from the beginning, but he got around us when we dropped that hole and slowed us down to a 4.14 and he beat us with a 4.11,” said Force.
Force entered the fifth of six races in the Countdown to the Championship just 72 points out of the lead. She picked up two additional qualifying bonus points for being the second-quickest of the third qualifying session. At the conclusion of today’s NHRA Toyota Nationals, the 26-year-old sits 121 points out of the No. 1 spot.
“It’s not a great day for our Traxxas team, but we’re going to have to keep our heads up and get ready for the Pomona race in two weeks. We came into this race third in points and luckily we’re leaving third in points,” said Force.
Brittany Force raced her Castrol EDGE Dragster to a quarterfinal finish at the NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 2013 NHRA Auto Club Rookie of the Year struggled in qualifying but bounced back on race day and was able to take down one of the toughest NHRA Top Fuel drivers in the opening round.
Unfortunately for the sophomore Top Fuel driver, she lost to Leah Pritchett in round two despite having a reaction time advantage over Pritchett. As Brittany’s race car left the line, her dragster smoked the massive Goodyear slicks and limped across the line with 8.961 second run at 76.09 mph to Pritchett’s strong 3.846 second run at 321.42 mph. With team leaders Todd Smith and Dean “Guido” Antonelli making the calls on the tune-up, Brittany’s dragster had the performance to race to another final round appearance like she did in Reading, Pennsylvania at the NHRA Nationals last month.
“I’m very proud of the Castrol EDGE team this weekend. We struggle all during qualifying so when we lined up next to Kalitta in the first round, we we’re a little nervous about it. However, I just had a feeling we were going to win. Ask any driver and they’ll say the same thing. Sometimes they know they’re going to win and sometimes they know they’re going to lose. So, I had a good feeling when went up against Kalitta and took him out, it was a small victory for us. I was so excited and pumped about it going into the second round but unfortunately my car smoked the tires 60 feet out and we lost that race. Overall, a great weekend for us and I’m looking for forward to Pomona,” said Brittany Force.
During round one, Brittany Force qualified in the 14th spot and was facing Doug Kalitta who was racing from the number three spot. The Vegas odds makers may have chosen Kalitta to defeat Brittany Force based on their prior performance numbers. Brittany had also raced Kalitta seven times before and came up on the losing end all but two of those matchups.
However, it was another day and Brittany, the always formidable competitor, was focused and knew she had a great car and a great crew behind her. With basically identical lights, both dragsters blasted off the starting line with Kalitta gaining a slight lead by half track. However, Brittany was right there and when Kalitta’s car started to haze the tires, Brittany drove right past him and got the win light. Brittany’s impressive 3.789 second pass was her quickest run of the weekend and with a top speed of 325.69 mph and her Castrol EDGE Dragster went right down the track.
“It was a good run. We struggled a little bit in qualifying, had some issues with the clutch, but we got it worked out and the car did exactly what we wanted to do in the opening round. We we’re glad to give Brittany a car that could beat Kalitta as he’s a tough racer. For the second round, we adjusted for the track and all the other conditions and we felt good about how we had the car set up as we rolled into the lanes for round two. Unfortunately, it spun the tires and we we’re just too aggressive. We’re going to evaluate that run and find out if maybe we had a mechanical failure,” said Todd Smith.
Brittany Force and the Castrol EDGE team still remain in 9th place in the NHRA Mello Yello standings as they’ve earned 2238 Countdown points for their hard work this weekend. The Castrol EDGE team will get the weekend off before heading to the final race of the year, the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Ca.
J. FORCE RUNNER-UP AT TOYOTA NATIONALS; CLOSES IN ON FIRST PLACE
LAS VEGAS, NV — John Force, the winningest driver in NHRA history, was hoping to claim his 142nd career win today at the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas but the 16-time NHRA Mello Yello champ was denied that victory in the final round against vetran Del Worsham. However, Force’s bid for an unprecedented 17th NHRA Funny Car title will not be deterred as he more determined than ever to make history. To get that title, he’ll need to make up ground in two weeks when the Castrol GTX High Mileage team rolls into Pomona, California. Force will need to go rounds and drive around current leader, Matt Hagan, who’s currently 21 points ahead of Force.
“I want to win this championship for my partner of 29 years, Castrol, and the Ford Motor Company, who’s been with me for 11 years. They’re moving on and I’d like to bring that title home like the others. Auto Club has been with a long time and with Traxxas, Brand Source, Mac Tools, Freightliner, and my other wonderful sponsors including new sponsor Peak. I just want to win,” said Force.
“We won a moral victory today, that’s what we did. With the loss of Jimmy Prock, great kid and we still love him, but just the fact we can stay in the hunt and with John Medlen (crew chief) all over this Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang and Mike Neff (crew chief, Auto Club Mustang) taking the reins and running the Auto Club Ford and helping out with my car along with Ron Douglas (crew chief, Traxxas Mustang) on the Traxxas Ford and also helping out on the Castrol EDGE Dragster with team leaders Todd Smith and Dean Antonelli – talk about overload,” explained Force. “It was a moral victory today because no man is an island and nobody breaks down John Force Racing, nobody. I feel like won and that Del Worsham put up a good fight against me and I congratulated him at the top end for that. So where do we go from here? Well it’s all uphill and we’re heading to the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show this week, we got sponsors to talk to and we’ve got Peak coming onboard and I’m really excited.”
Heading into final eliminations, Force was competing from the No. 2 spot and was looking strong on race day. His Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang was more like cruise missile, zeroing in on its target with extreme accuracy rather than a nitro Funny Car, skating all over the drag strip. During each of Forces match-ups, from the opening round to even the finals, his Mustang thundered right down the track. The 8000 horsepower BOSS 500 engine, nestled under the sleek carbon fiber Mustang body, was deadly consistent on each run as it propelled Force to 4.085, 4.069, 4.069 and 4.104 second passes against his opponents.
Unfortunately, Force’s 4.104 second pass in the finals wasn’t enough to hold off Worsham’s 4.064. These two tough and seasoned racers have faced each other in the finals thirteen times with Force only claiming six victories in those matchups. Force did run more speed than Worsham as the Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang was trucking in high gear and closing in fast. Unfortunately, Force ran out of real estate on the track and Worsham got to the finish just ahead of him.
On the way to the finals, Force took out Jon Capps (4.085 to 4.299) in round one and fellow Ford Mustang driver Tim Wilkerson in the quarterfinals (4.069 to 4.144). When it came for the semi-finals, Force had to race teammate and son-in-law, Robert Hight. Force ran a stout 4.069 second pass to Hight’s respectable 4.130 run.
John Force leaves Vegas 21 points behind current leader Matt Hagan as they head into the final race of the year, the 50th Annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Mathematically, one of these drag racing titans will claim the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car title but the outcome will have to wait two weeks.
Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang came out swinging from the No. 11 qualifying position to race to a semi-final finish. Hight lost to teammate and eventual Toyota Nationals runner-up John Force but was not disheartened by not getting to the final round.
“That semi-final was a close race and we were going after it. We were in a no lose situation since no matter what happened one of our John Force Racing Mustang Funny Cars was going to the final round,” said Hight.
In the first round Hight’s Auto Club Mustang took out Jack Beckman before dispatching veteran driver Paul Lee in the second round. The Auto Club Mustang came alive on the performance side today posting a 4.091 second pass in the first round and following it up with a 4.102 second pass against Lee.
“My guys were great today. Mike Neff, Jon Shaffer and my crew guys pulled together and getting those first two round wins were critical coming off a tough race in Reading three weeks ago. Making great runs gives you confidence and we are going to test tomorrow so we will be ready for Pomona,” said Hight.
Courtney Force made a quick first round exit at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when her Traxxas Ford Mustang dropped a cylinder next to competitor Paul Lee. Force qualified her car in the No. 3 spot with a 4.024 second pass and had lane choice going into the opening round. She is now 1-1 to Paul Lee; both races were made at Las Vegas in the fall.
“We came into Vegas hoping to move up the ladder and go some rounds. Unfortunately in our first elimination round we went out early. We dropped a hole about two seconds into the run. Our car was out ahead from the beginning, but he got around us when we dropped that hole and slowed us down to a 4.14 and he beat us with a 4.11,” said Force.
Force entered the fifth of six races in the Countdown to the Championship just 72 points out of the lead. She picked up two additional qualifying bonus points for being the second-quickest of the third qualifying session. At the conclusion of today’s NHRA Toyota Nationals, the 26-year-old sits 121 points out of the No. 1 spot.
“It’s not a great day for our Traxxas team, but we’re going to have to keep our heads up and get ready for the Pomona race in two weeks. We came into this race third in points and luckily we’re leaving third in points,” said Force.
Brittany Force raced her Castrol EDGE Dragster to a quarterfinal finish at the NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 2013 NHRA Auto Club Rookie of the Year struggled in qualifying but bounced back on race day and was able to take down one of the toughest NHRA Top Fuel drivers in the opening round.
Unfortunately for the sophomore Top Fuel driver, she lost to Leah Pritchett in round two despite having a reaction time advantage over Pritchett. As Brittany’s race car left the line, her dragster smoked the massive Goodyear slicks and limped across the line with 8.961 second run at 76.09 mph to Pritchett’s strong 3.846 second run at 321.42 mph. With team leaders Todd Smith and Dean “Guido” Antonelli making the calls on the tune-up, Brittany’s dragster had the performance to race to another final round appearance like she did in Reading, Pennsylvania at the NHRA Nationals last month.
“I’m very proud of the Castrol EDGE team this weekend. We struggle all during qualifying so when we lined up next to Kalitta in the first round, we we’re a little nervous about it. However, I just had a feeling we were going to win. Ask any driver and they’ll say the same thing. Sometimes they know they’re going to win and sometimes they know they’re going to lose. So, I had a good feeling when went up against Kalitta and took him out, it was a small victory for us. I was so excited and pumped about it going into the second round but unfortunately my car smoked the tires 60 feet out and we lost that race. Overall, a great weekend for us and I’m looking for forward to Pomona,” said Brittany Force.
During round one, Brittany Force qualified in the 14th spot and was facing Doug Kalitta who was racing from the number three spot. The Vegas odds makers may have chosen Kalitta to defeat Brittany Force based on their prior performance numbers. Brittany had also raced Kalitta seven times before and came up on the losing end all but two of those matchups.
However, it was another day and Brittany, the always formidable competitor, was focused and knew she had a great car and a great crew behind her. With basically identical lights, both dragsters blasted off the starting line with Kalitta gaining a slight lead by half track. However, Brittany was right there and when Kalitta’s car started to haze the tires, Brittany drove right past him and got the win light. Brittany’s impressive 3.789 second pass was her quickest run of the weekend and with a top speed of 325.69 mph and her Castrol EDGE Dragster went right down the track.
“It was a good run. We struggled a little bit in qualifying, had some issues with the clutch, but we got it worked out and the car did exactly what we wanted to do in the opening round. We we’re glad to give Brittany a car that could beat Kalitta as he’s a tough racer. For the second round, we adjusted for the track and all the other conditions and we felt good about how we had the car set up as we rolled into the lanes for round two. Unfortunately, it spun the tires and we we’re just too aggressive. We’re going to evaluate that run and find out if maybe we had a mechanical failure,” said Todd Smith.
Brittany Force and the Castrol EDGE team still remain in 9th place in the NHRA Mello Yello standings as they’ve earned 2238 Countdown points for their hard work this weekend. The Castrol EDGE team will get the weekend off before heading to the final race of the year, the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Ca.