CHEVROLET AT TOPEKA

What:
28th NHRA Kansas Nationals
When:
Friday, May 20-Sunday, May 22
Where:
Heartland Park Topeka, Topeka, Kansas
TV:
FS1: Qualifying – 11 p.m. ET Saturday (taped highlights)
FS1: Eliminations and finals – 2 p.m. ET Sunday (live)

Chevrolet Teams Aim to Add to Unrivaled Success in Eighth Race of Season
John Force to take initial runs in the new Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car at Topeka

DETROIT (May 19, 2016) – Courtney Force would enjoy nothing more than attempting to break her year-old Heartland Park Topeka Funny Car speed record of 325.06 mph in the new Chevrolet Camaro SS.

That honor this weekend, however, is reserved for her father and 16-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car champion John Force in the NHRA Kansas Nationals.

“She’ll just have to wait,” the team namesake said following the unveil this week of the car based on the sixth-generation Camaro SS.

Courtney Force, the pacesetter of the Funny Car standings as the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season reaches the one-third mark, is scheduled to take delivery of her new Funny Car in time for the July 7-10 event in Joliet, Illinois. John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight, who has one victory this season and is fifth in points driving the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS, is scheduled to test next week and drive the re-styled car in competition in early June at Epping, New Hampshire.

“It’s exciting for us as drivers. We can’t wait to get behind the wheel and see what we can do,” said Courtney Force, who has a victory and semifinal appearance in her past two races in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS. “I think it looks amazing and the fans will love it, too.”

The race car takes styling cues from the production car, while computational fluid dynamics and scale-model wind tunnel testing aided in the design to generate more downforce with less drag.

“I couldn’t be more excited to put this new Camaro SS Funny Car on the track,” said John Force, who has advanced to two semifinals this season in the Advance Auto PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS. “With all the assistance from Chevrolet, it not only looks great, it’s designed to perform better than anything we’ve had before, with a shape that should help us get down the track quicker and with greater stability.”

Force is a nine-time winner at Heartland Park Topeka. At the 2014 Kansas Nationals, Courtney and Brittany Force were No. 1 qualifiers in Funny Car and Top Fuel, respectively, to become the first sisters to share that stage at the same event. Courtney went on to win the event, claiming the 100th professional victory by a female driver in NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series history.
Brittany Force, who has recorded two Top Fuel victories this season in the Monster Energy Chevrolet Dragster, is third in the standings.
Chevrolet teams have had unequaled success in the Pro Stock class this season, with KB Racing teammates Jason Line and Greg Anderson earning the seven victories. Line (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS), the points leader, has four wins and has been to the finals in every race.
Anderson (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS), who is a four-time winner at Topeka, is second in the standings. Two-time finalist Bo Butner (Butner Auto Sales Chevrolet Camaro SS) is third, followed by second-year Pro Stock driver Drew Skillman (Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro SS), and Chris McGaha (Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevrolet Camaro SS).
Aaron Strong (A&J Furniture Chevrolet Camaro SS) returns to Pro Stock competition this weekend.
In addition, two competitors will drive Chevrolet COPO Camaros in Super Stock and four drivers in Chevrolet COPO Camaros will compete in Stock Eliminator this weekend.

Chevrolet also will welcome fans to its Chevrolet Performance Display during the weekend. It will include a number of Chevrolet’s award-winning production vehicles, examples of Chevrolet engines, and a selection of performance parts and accessories that are available for fans to purchase from their local Chevrolet dealer.

FOX Sports 1 will telecast taped highlights of qualifying at 11 p.m. ET Saturday. FS1 will telecast eliminations and finals live at 2 p.m. ET Sunday.

CHEVROLET IN NHRA 2016 STANDINGS: Top Fuel – Brittany Force, third (two wins). Funny Car – Courtney Force, first (one win); Robert Hight, fifth (one win); John Force, ninth; Pro Stock – Jason Line, first (four wins); Greg Anderson, second (three wins); Bo Butner, third; Drew Skillman, fourth; Chris McGaha, fifth; Vincent Nobile, eighth; Alex Laughlin, 10th; Shane Gray, 11th.

CHEVROLET ENGINEERING OUTLOOK FOR NHRA KANSAS NATIONALS
ROGER ALLEN, CHEVROLET RACING PROGRAM MANAGER, NHRA: “John Force Racing has met our expectations maybe more than their performance has met their expectations in the second year of Chevrolet’s involvement with the team. We went into it knowing that we were on a steep learning curve with a different set of people at John Force Racing, which has such a history of winning. With the new Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, we’re looking forward to the team having more success on the track. Brittany Force has a history of strong performances at Topeka in Top Fuel, and will be among the challengers this weekend. In Pro Stock, Jason Line and Greg Anderson of KB Racing have had a spirited competition and have dominated the class so far this season. And Chevrolet drivers occupy the top five spots in the standings. We’re looking forward to this weekend of racing.”

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT – NHRA KANSAS NATIONALS
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER: “I am really proud of this Monster Energy team. We have two wins already this season and I am looking forward to the Kansas Nationals. The last two years we have gone to the semifinals and we have qualified well there, too. I think we can continue to run well there and we’ll see what happens. The biggest positive for me is how well this team is working together with Alan Johnson and Brian Husen. I am excited to get back to the track.”

FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO ZONE PEAK CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I can’t wait to get to Topeka. I have a brand new hot rod that looks awesome. We unveiled the new Camaro SS Funny Car at our shop in Brownsburg (Indiana) and now we have to get it on the track and see what it can do. We’ll run the Chevy look for at least one run on Friday and then we’ll be in our usual PEAK look for the rest of the race. We are working on a few things in the car with how I am sitting but I think I’ll be able to see a lot better looking through that big ole movie theater window on this new Funny Car. Last year I almost got the win in Topeka and it was an amazing race for performance. There is a new owner and president so we will come in and put on a show for the fans.”

COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, TRAXXAS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I think we’ve all come a long way, especially from last year when we were struggling. We’ve learned a lot, and you can see it in the performance. We’ve already picked up a win and gone to the semis, and we extended our points lead. Now we’re staying in the points lead; that’s the main goal. And we’re looking forward to having a consistent car this weekend.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: ““I am looking forward to getting back to Heartland Park. I have a lot of great memories from that track. I won twice in a couple of years ago and I have had some good runs there. The last couple of races have been tough there, but I think we are figuring out some things with this Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car. The Funny Car points are so tight if you can get on a run on Sunday you can make a big jump. We are about to get into a busy stretch so you want to have some momentum.”
PRO STOCK:
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPOMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I’m still working on my relationship with Topeka. We’ve been off to a rocky start the first 13 years. Hopefully this year I can fix that.”
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “When you have a slight advantage like we have, you want to race every day of the week. We’re looking forward to Topeka. It looks like the weather is going to be great over there. We’ve had some success there so we’re looking forward to trying to get another Wally.”
SHANE GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, VALVOLINE/NOVA SERVICES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “Dave (Connolly) came in (as crew chief) and suggested some little tweaks to what we had and it definitely showed promise. We’re not entirely running at 100 percent but we are a lot closer to that goal. I’m actually really excited to get to the track and run this car.”
VINCENT NOBILE, MOUNTAIN VIEW RACING, MOUNTAIN VIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I’ve qualified No. 1 there back in 2014. Obviously, my team and I would like to do that again. Ideally, we would like to just go some rounds. I’m confident in my team and I know we can get this Chevrolet Camaro where it needs to be.”
CHRIS MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS RACING, HARLOEW SAMMONS OF ODESSA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I felt we were really good at the first of the season and we kind of went backwards a little bit the last few races. I think we’ve gotten back to where we were in Phoenix when we went to the finals. I think we’ll put this Harlow Sammons Chevrolet Camaro in the winner circle soon. We’re fixin’ to be the one to beat in Topeka.”