RACE FOR 17TH FUNNY CAR TITLE STARTS IN CHARLOTTE FOR JOHN FORCE
CHARLOTTE (September 15, 2015) — The only thing standing between legendary Funny Car driver and his unprecedented 17th Mello Yello NHRA Funny Car world championship is six races and the toughest Funny Car field the 143-time winner has ever faced. This weekend the Countdown to the Championship starts at zMax Dragway and Force will be ready to take on all competitors behind the wheel of his one of a kind Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car that is a rolling tribute and thank you to NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon.
“This special Chevy Funny Car is just a way for me, my family, my team, my sponsors, NHRA and the fans to say thank you for being a great champion and being such a great driver in NASCAR. I put as many flames as could fit on my hot rod in Jeff’s honor,” said Force, who will unveil the Funny Car on Friday at the NHRA Carolina Nationals.
Force was runner-up at last year’s Carolina Nationals even though the event was completed at the Texas Motorplex due to persistent rain showers in Charlotte. His lone win at zMax Dragway came at the 2010 at the inaugural Four-Wide NHRA Nationals and the Funny Car champion stepped up his game to win the special event.
“Winning that first Four-Wide race was big. Bruton and Marcus Smith built this amazing race track and I wanted to get that first Four-Wide trophy. This is NASCAR country so we will see a lot of new fans and I love talking to them about all kinds of racing. I’ll be spending a day with the media on Wednesday preaching the gospel about NHRA and the Countdown. I have a lot of new sponsors like Peak, Lucas Oil, Chevrolet, and Monster Energy but I also have to take care of the sponsors that have been with me for years like Auto Club, Traxxas, and Mac Tools. This will be exciting to get the Countdown started and I have a really good young team,” said Force, who has two wins so far in 2015.
Force overhauled his team to start the 2015 season and by his own estimation the young group led by 27 year-old crew chief Jon Schaffer has exceeded his expectations. They will enter the Countdown to the Championship as the No. 5 team in points and they have amassed two wins and four final round appearances. The team also has two No. 1 qualifiers to their credit. In the last nine races Force’s team has qualified top three or better six times including No. 1 in Denver and Bristol.
“I feel really good about these young guys. They make me feel young and energized because I see their excitement and their passion. I have always had that fire but it helps to see all these guys working together and being led by Jon Schaffer who learned a lot from Mike Neff, my lead crew chief at JFR. We still have a great brain trust here and I am ready for the fight for this championship,” added Force.
BRITTANY FORCE SET TO UNLEASH THE BEAST IN NHRA COUNTDOWN
CHARLOTTE (September 15, 2015) — For third year Top Fuel driver Brittany Force the NHRA Countdown to the Championship is the perfect time to continue her march towards her first Top Fuel victory. The 2013 NHRA Rookie of the Year has raced to two final rounds and two additional semi-finals this season and enters the Countdown No. 5 in the Mello Yello point standings.
“I feel really good about the Countdown this year. My crew chiefs Todd Smith and Ronnie Thompson have been doing a great job. We are going rounds and the best part for me is I am continuing to get more comfortable behind the wheel of this Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster. Getting to the final round in Brainerd and then the semi-finals in Indy has us moving in the right direction,” said Force.
This weekend Force and the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster team will head to zMax Dragway just north of Charlotte for the first of six races to decide the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car championship. The 8th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals will start on Friday afternoon with two qualifying sessions at 4 and 6 p.m.. On Saturday the pros will have two more qualifying sessions at 1:30 and 3:45 p.m. before final eliminations on Sunday at noon.
In May John Force Racing announced Monster Energy as the primary sponsor for Brittany Force Top Fueler and since that race in Atlanta the team has been on a constant move up the point standings. They raced to their first final round of the season in Englishtown two races after the announcement and since the Western Swing the team has jumped from No. 8 to No. 5 in the Mello Yello point standings. The team has qualified for every race this season and Force feels that the addition of Monster Energy has really helped motivate everyone on her team.
“When Monster Energy came on board it gave everyone a huge boost. It was great financially because we had a primary sponsor and that helped with the budget. We could race harder and be more aggressive. It also really got everyone on the team excited because we are all fans of Monster Energy products and their slogan ‘Unleash the Beast.’ These Top Fuel dragsters are 10,000 horsepower beasts and trust me when you are going nearly 330 mph you feel it. We have had a lot of success this season and we want to get that win and do well in the Countdown,” said Force.
As the No. 5 driver entering the Countdown Force will get the play-offs started with a quick media tour in Las Vegas on her way to Charlotte. The added pressure or attention does not affect Force who has handled all her obligations on and off the track like a seasoned pro.
“My dad (16-time Funny Car champ John Force) has always taught all of us that we have to take care of our sponsors, the fans and the media. I love getting out on the ropes and signing autographs for the fans. We’ll see a lot of NASCAR fans in Charlotte and it is fun to talk to them about the differences in what we do compared to what they are used to seeing. It will be a busy race but there is also a lot of excitement racing for the championship. I couldn’t be happier to be with this Monster Energy team and this group of guys. They are the best,” added Force.
COUNTDOWN LAUNCH STARTS FOR ROBERT HIGHT IN CHARLOTTE
CHARLOTTE (September 15, 2015) — Robert Hight and his Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team are peaking at the right time heading into the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. The 2009 NHRA Funny Car champion has been to three straight final rounds picking up a win at the Brainerd Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals that catapulted him into the Traxxas Shootout where he was runner-up for the $100,000 top prize. On Labor Day the three-time Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals winner almost picked up his fourth win at the most prestigious race on the NHRA tour racing to the final round before losing an incredibly close race.
This weekend Hight and the Auto Club Chevy Camaro team will head to zMax Dragway just north of Charlotte for the first of six races to decide the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car championship. The 8th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals will start on Friday afternoon with two qualifying sessions at 4 and 6 p.m.. On Saturday the pros will have two more qualifying sessions at 1:30 and 3:45 p.m. before final eliminations on Sunday at noon.
“You want to be winning rounds headed into the Countdown. This is the plan my crew chief Mike Neff and I have been working on all season. We feel confident we can run with anyone out here and it will be a very tough Countdown. You look at the drivers and the performance numbers and there has never been a tougher time to be racing a Nitro Funny Car. You have people losing races by less than a thousandth of a second. There have been teams that have run in the threes and not gotten lane choice. These next six races will be a battle and I am looking forward to racing with this Auto Club Chevrolet team and all my guys,” said Hight, who last won the Carolina Nationals in 2013.
As the winningest Funny Car driver in zMax Dragway history Hight knows his way around the all-concrete race track situated in the heart of NASCAR country. He has won the Four-Wide Nationals twice (2012 and 2014) and also picked up two wins at the Carolina Nationals (2013 and 2009). His first win at zMax Dragway was significant because it started his run for this first NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car championship. That year, 2009, Hight entered the Countdown as the No. 10 driver and raced to three victories including the win in Charlotte. This year Hight will start his quest for his second championship as the No. 7 driver in points and only 80 points out of first place.
“When the NHRA resets the points for the Countdown it really gives everyone a fresh start. I moved from the No. 10 spot to the No. 1 spot in three races in 2009. You can make some big moves if you get off to a fast start. The key is to be consistent in the Countdown. You want to avoid first round loses obviously and you want to just stay focused on the importance of every run. Getting a good start on Friday will be key for every race because that is going to set up your strategy for the whole weekend. One bad qualifying run won’t ruin your race but having good consistent runs all weekend will definitely give you a lot of confidence,” said Hight, who since the start of the Western Swing in July has not qualified lower than No. 6.
Hight has been on a qualifying streak since Denver where he started the race from the No. 5 spot. Over the next four races Hight and his Mike Neff tuned Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS have qualified 5th, 4th, 6th and 2nd. The combo has raced to a semi-final finish in Sonoma, a win in Brainerd and a runner-up in Indianapolis over that stretch. Those are impressive numbers coming at the perfect time heading into the defining six races of the season.
“I feel like Mike Neff and I are really on the same page and my team is working really well together. We started hot and then took some races to make changes that we hoped would help our entire organization in the Countdown. We are seeing some of the positive results from those changes and I can’t wait to get to Charlotte and the Carolina Nationals this weekend,” said Hight.
COURTNEY FORCE FOCUSED ON WINNING AND KEEPING CHAMPIONSHIP MENTALITY
CHARLOTTE (September 15, 2015) — For the first time in four years, Courtney Force is going into the 2015 Countdown to the Championship playing the spoiler role starting with the 8th Annual NHRA Carolina Nationals this weekend at zMAX Dragway.
“It’s very unfortunate that this is the first season I will not be able to compete for the championship, however we are still going into each race with that ‘championship mentality.’ We’re still looking for our first win of the season and we may be able to play the spoiler at these events,” Force said.
Force occupied the No. 11 spot going into the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals two weeks ago at Indianapolis. On race day, she paired up with Alexis DeJoria. She needed to beat the fellow female Funny Car driver and advance to the final round in order to bump into the Top Ten. Force won the first round feat, but was dismissed in the quarterfinals.
In the past three years at the Carolina Nationals, Force has qualified in the top half of the field and gone into race day with lane choice over her first round opponent. To date, the 27-year-old driver has only lost in eliminations to teammates Robert Hight and John Force.
“This has been a well-qualified track for our Traxxas team and we have had a pretty good car here in the past. I’ve been taken out by my family the most at this race track, but I’m definitely hoping to turn our luck around to start the Countdown,” Force said.
Last year, the Traxxas team qualified No. 8 and posted an impressive 4.070 ET in the opening round, their best pass of the weekend, but lost to John Force’s 4.058 ET. Force understands the importance of qualifying well and positioning the team for race day success.
“Qualifying high will play a huge roll this weekend to go rounds. This is a fast track and a lot of teams can run their race cars well here. It’s important for us to lay down a good first qualifying run and hopefully improve afterwards to qualify is in the top half and keep our top half qualifying freak going here. Now we just need to get by my dad on race day to turn that streak around for the better!”
The driver of the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car and youngest daughter of John Force is a seven-time NHRA Funny Car event winner, which makes her the winningest female Funny Car driver in history. She surpassed her sister, Ashley Force-Hood, for most Funny Car wins in a season last year in St. Louis when she claimed her fourth victory of 2014. She has started from the front of the Funny Car field nine times and has raced her way to fourteen final rounds with her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS team.
Force will get the race weekend started in Las Vegas on Wednesday as part of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship national media tour. Courtney will join sister and Top Fuel racer Brittany Force promoting the penultimate Countdown race in Las Vegas as well as talking about the excitement the NHRA Countdown generates over the final six races of the season.