JFR STEPS UP SATURDAY QUALIFYING EFFORT IN LAS VEGAS

LAS VEGAS – The John Force Racing team stepped up the performance numbers on a hot track today at the DENSO Spark Plug Nationals and will go into race day with all four race cars in the top half of their respective classes qualifying fields. Courtney Force and the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car lead JFR in Funny Car as the No. 2 qualifier right in front of the Auto Club Chevrolet team and Robert Hight. Last year’s winner John Force will have lane choice over Matt Hagan in a tough No. 7 versus No. 10 first round. The Monster Energy dragster will repeat the final round of the Gatornationals against Terry McMillen with Brittany Force picking her lane as the higher seeded No. 4 qualifier.

For the third race in a row this season, Courtney Force will enter race day in the No. 2 position at the wheel of the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. She posted a 4.017 second pass at 303.98 mph on Friday followed by a qualifying-best 3.928 elapsed time at 326.08 mph which was a track speed record. On Saturday she made two additional passes, 3.971 seconds at 322.11 mph and 3.945 seconds at 325.45 mph, to keep a strong hold on the No. 2 position.

“As a driver you are just thinking these are the kind of hot track conditions we will have on race day. To be able to go down there and run that is great. I saw all those guys running 4.0s and I was just hoping to be in the ballgame,” said Force.

Force will line up beside Bob Bode in the opening round for the first time ever. He is her 31st different opponent in the Funny Car category since her debut in 2012.

“To be able to run a three second run on a track like that gets you excited for race day. Yesterday we were the fastest car on the track and got the track speed record which is amazing for this Traxxas team since Traxxas is The Fastest Name in Radio Control. I think that definitely helps us prove it,” said Force.

Force has qualified No. 4 or better at over 75% of the Las Vegas races since her Funny Car debut in 2012, including one No. 1 and four No. 2 starting spots on race day. She has never won at Las Vegas, but has finished runner-up at both the spring and fall events at The Strip.

Teammate and president of John Force Racing Robert Hight will roll into race day as the No. 3 qualifier on the strength of his final run on Saturday a blistering 3.935 second run that was the second quickest Funny Car run of the session. In the first session on Saturday Hight’s Auto Club Chevy Camaro smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle basically erasing any chance to gain critical race day condition data for the team. Hight pleased to see his team bounce back with a strong run to close out qualifying at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“It cooled off a little bit for the last session and we took advantage of the better conditions. Moving up to the No. 3 spot was great and we got some more bonus points,” said Hight, who last year raced to both final rounds at The Strip. “We have been to the final round the last two years here and we are shooting for four win lights tomorrow with this Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro. All the JFR Chevys are on the same side of the ladder so hopefully we can get a Funny Car to the final and get another win for our sponsors.”

Hight will face veteran driver Jeff Arend in the first round of eliminations. This will be the twenty-first time the pair have squared off and Hight has won eighteen of the previous meetings including three previous first round races at the DENSO Spark Plug Nationals.

Team leader and defending event champion John Force in the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro Funny Car will be featured in the marquee match-up of the first round against Matt Hagan. Force will have lane choice as the No. 7 qualifier on earned that spot on the strength of his final run of the day a 3.960 second run that left crew chief Jon Schaffer once again looking for a little more performance.

“I know I told you this yesterday but I thought it would run quicker. It is making a lot of power and we are just trying to make it run good from 330 to half-track. We want to be consistent and see how tomorrow goes,” said Schaffer from the starting line after Force’s last qualifying run.

Force will face Hagan for the 30th time with the 16-time Funny Car champion holding a 15-14 edge against the cattle farmer from Virginia.

“We are coming off a good weekend in Gainesville with the double up. We ran 3.96 there at the end and we are in the game. We have been struggling with some other issues and we are coming along. Hagan is a good racer. He is a champion,” said Force a five-time winner at The Strip. “We will give them all we have. We are stacked up on one side of the ladder with Courtney and Robert and if we all do our jobs we can get a car to the final. Brittany is on her game with the Monster Energy dragster and we’ll just see where it goes. No complaints.”

Force touched on a number of topics in his post-race interview including the loss of NHRA started Mark Lyle. Earlier in the week Force remembered Lyle and his contributions to NHRA.

“The loss of Mark Lyle was a heart-breaker. It takes a certain type of person to put yourself out on the starting line. You have to put down your personal feelings and be able to be calm in some tough situations,” said Force. “Only three people have done that job and they were all very special. Mark will be missed. We would have discussions from time to time like all drivers or owners would and he was always honest. In the heat of battle he was calm and he never backed down. I always respected that.”

Tomorrow the entire John Force Racing team along with many NHRA drivers will race with heavy hearts and commemorative decals in Lyle’s honor.