BRITTANY FORCE A MONSTER ON FRIDAY AT GATORNATIONALS
GAINESVILLE, FL – The Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster and racer Brittany Force continued to turn heads with another day of exceptional qualifying. On Friday of the 47th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals Force picked up four qualifying bonus points and secured the provisional pole position with a 3.745 second run at a pedestrian 309.56 mph.
“To be able to come out here and run well was great. We didn’t know what we could expect with the weather conditions. We were hoping to get one good run in and we did that first round. We really stepped it up on the second run. When I got out of the dragster at the top end and they told we what we ran I was blown away,” said Force, who has four career No. 1 qualifiers. “It felt like an awesome run early on but at the end of the run I pulled my foot up early because I thought it was getting into trouble. I am excited and proud of this Monster Energy team. We made quite a few changes and we are starting to see that on the race track.”
In the first session Force was the third quickest Top Fuel dragster tucked in behind Steve Torrence and Tony Schumacher. The technical alliance between Torrence Racing and John Force Racing which is led by Alan Johnson continues to pay dividends for both organizations and gives Force a boost of confidence as well. On the heels of her runner-up finish in Phoenix Force is ready to take the next step of her professional career.
“I have been to quite a few finals now and the first few I was excited to be in a final. Now I don’t feel the same way. You are happy to be there but you want to bring home the win now. That is all we want. We want to bring home that win,” said Force whose previous best qualifying position was No. 7 in 2015. “I feel good about this season and I think you are seeing it with the performance at the first two races and then today. This shows you what we are capable of and what is to be expected.”
In the Funny Car category Courtney Force has not only started the weekend on a high note, but the 2016 season as well. Today she made two impressive passes to put her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car in the No. 3 position and wrap up the first day of Gatornationals qualifying.
Right out of the box, the team led by crew chiefs Dan Hood and Ronnie Thompson put a 3.989 ET on the board at 315.56 mph. They were able to improve on that number in round two and move to the No. 3 spot with a 3.944 ET at 321.42 mph, collecting one bonus point along the way for making the third-quickest run of the session.
“It’s great to be back here in Florida with this Traxxas Chevy Camaro team. Ronnie Thompson and Dan Hood and all my crew guys gave me a great race car on the first run. We posted an incredible number, a 3.98, to qualify in the top half. We were pretty fearless to lay a number down like that in the considering there was a chance of rain this weekend at this track. It really helps a driver’s confidence to go out there in Q2 and knowing you have nothing to worry about getting the car qualified because you’re already in the show. That first run was great and made me feel comfortable in the seat immediately so I’m really proud of my guys for all their hard work.”
“We dropped a hole in the first session so we were trying to get that fixed up. In the second session we ran it harder and it showed on the scoreboards. We ran a 3.94 and it dropped a hole again, but it was right in the lights. I think for our Traxxas team it’s definitely a pretty good way to start the weekend. It may not be perfect and on all eight cylinders, but at least it’s getting down there and putting some really good numbers on the board,” said Force.
Right behind Courtney Force sits her brother-in-law Robert Hight driver of the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car and two-time Gatornationals winner. In the opening session Hight blasted to the top of the class with a stellar 3.945 second run that was quickest of the session.
“That was an awesome run. (Crew chief) Mike Neff has been aggressive and that run shows it. We have to start strong and now we need to build on that. The goal is to make runs like that all day on Sunday,” said Hight from the top end.
In the second session with another aggressive tune-up in the Auto Club Chevy Hight’s Funny Car made a strong move off the starting line and over powered the track. Hight battled to keep his Funny Car in the groove but it sashayed down the left lane and crossed the finish line with a throw away time of 4.475 seconds.
Team leader John Force was also aggressive both sessions. In the first session his PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Funny Car was on a great run but spun the tires down track. In the second session his Chevrolet Camaro moved out of the groove and Force had to muscle his 10,000 hp Funny Car to keep it straight. His best time on Friday was 4.063 seconds and was quick enough to keep him in the top twelve with two sessions scheduled for tomorrow.