HIGHT RACES TO SEMIS AT SONOMA NATIONALS
SONOMA, CA – Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car moved closer to the get well race they were looking for this weekend at the Sonoma NHRA Nationals racing to a semi-final finish. Hight moved from 10th to 9th in the point standings and moved closer to the drivers in the 8th and 7th positions.
On the strength of his No. 5 qualifying position Hight outran teammate Courtney Force in the first round in one of the closest races of the day. Both JFR Chevrolet Camaro Funny Cars launched hard and at the finish line it was Hight’s 4.052 second run that got the win over Courtney’s 4.081 second run.
“That was a big round. We find ourselves No. 10 in the points. We know we are a better team than a tenth place car. You have to dig yourself out. Good job to all the Auto Club guys. Unfortunately it was against Courtney but you they are tough and they are running good. They will be back,” said Hight, at the top end.
In the second round Hight ran against a tough veteran in Ron Capps and once again the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS got the win and advanced to the semi-final. Hight and Capps left the starting line together but Hight began pulling away and took the win with a 4.095 second run. It set up a tough race against the No. 1 qualifier.
“They (Jack Beckman’s team) are running good but I guarantee you (crew chief Mike) Neff has something up his sleeve. We are going to keep going down the track and we are learning and getting better. It will be a good race I promise,” said Hight, the 2008 Sonoma Nationals winner.
In the semi-final race Hight left the starting line first and but his 4.095 second run as not enough to defeat Beckman’s quicker time. At the end of the day Hight will head to the final stop of the Western Swing with a 31 point deficit (less than two rounds) on the team in the No. 8 points position and momentum.
John Force and the Blue Def Peak Chevrolet Camaro had the best starting qualifying position of any JFR driver heading into race day as the No. 5 Funny Car. Force took out John Hale in a tire smoking battle that saw Force get the win light with an uncharacteristic 4.891 second run. Force’s veteran skill definitely came to bear when his Goodyear slicks came loose and Force immediately gathered up his 10,000 hp race car and took the win.
In the second round Force was outrun by two-time world champion Cruz Pedregon in a classic battle between two great champions. Both driver left the starting line together but at half-track Force hazed the tires and Pedregon was able to power down his lane.
“We haven’t changed our game plan. We just had a team meeting and our cars aren’t bad. We ran in the threes. We had two cars qualified in the top five. We knew we would have to rebuild a little this season and we expected this. We took a hit last year and this is another weekend where we may not have gotten a trophy but we are seeing progress that will pay off at the end of the season,” said Force. “We are staying ahead of the curve by trying new things and that is why we have been successful for all these years. I am proud of my Blue Def Peak Chevrolet team because we are in this fight together and we are all working together with the Auto Club team and the Traxxas team and the Monster Energy Top Fueler.”
Courtney Force and her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team went into the opening round of Funny Car eliminations today with a 5-8 record against teammate Robert Hight. It was a big round for both drivers, but more so for Force, who currently occupies the No. 11 position in the NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car point standings.
The Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS made the fourth-quickest pass of the opening round in a losing effort.
“We had another huge round for our Traxxas team and unfortunately we didn’t get the win, but you know what, we had a great car. I’m really proud of my team. They did their job; we just had a really tough first round with Robert. He edged us out and got the win and it’s definitely a tough loss for us. We had the fourth quickest car of the session so it’s really hard to see that we had one of the best cars today and just had to face one of the toughest guys out there. We’ll just have to move on from this race, but it does feel good knowing that we ran a good number.
“We’re looking forward to Seattle and getting back on our feet there. The Western Swing has been tough so far and we’re in the No. 11 spot in the points so that makes it even tougher. A couple cars who are in front of us in the points went out early so it gives us hope going into Seattle that we can still catch up and get ourselves in the top ten,” said Force.
It was a short day for Brittany Force and the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster. The team struggled in qualifying but came into race day as the No. 12 qualifier and facing No. 5 qualifier Tony Schumacher. Force had a solid head to head record against Schumacher but today Force had her hands full in the first round.
On the run Force’s dragster smoked the tires and Force pedaled it to regain control. She began chasing down Schumacher when her Goodyear tires lost traction again. After the run Force had already put this run behind her and was focusing on Seattle.
“It is definitely hard coming off a great weekend in Denver where we made four great passes down the track and going to the semis. You go from high energy to struggling through all our qualifying passes and only getting down the track once,” said Force, who sits in the No. 8 position in points. “You come out and you are paired up with Schumacher in the first round and we knew it would be a tough race. We were pushing the car and it just didn’t go down there. It blew the tires off it and I pedaled it. It hooked up and went track a little then smoked the tires again at about 700 and by then I knew it was done. We will pack up our bags and head to Seattle.”