CHEVROLET AT NEW HAMPSHIRE

What:
Fourth NHRA New England Nationals
When:
Friday, June 3-Sunday, June 5
Where:
New England Dragway, Epping, New Hampshire
TV:
FS1: Qualifying – Midnight ET Saturday (taped highlights)
FS1: Qualifying – 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday (live) and midnight ET Sunday (taped highlights)
FS1: Eliminations and finals – 4 p.m. ET Sunday (taped)

Chevrolet Aims to Continue Success in All Three Pro Classes
NHRA New England Nationals kicks off four consecutive weekends of racing

DETROIT (June 1, 2016) – Last June at New England Dragway, John Force stood in the winner’s circle for the 143rd time of his illustrious National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car career.

This weekend at the racetrack in Epping, New Hampshire, the leader of John Force Racing returns with a mission to add to his career win total in the 2016 PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS. In the on-track debut of the sleek high-performance car two weeks ago at Topeka, Kansas, Force brushed the wall during the second round of qualifying and had to resort to a backup chassis for the remainder of the weekend.

The break in the schedule allowed Force and the crew to prepare the car for the four-week stretch of NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series action that kicks off with the NHRA New England Nationals.

“We have been able to go through the car and really get me fitted and comfortable,” Force said. “I think we made it a little better. So many people have worked on this new Camaro body we are excited to get it back at the track. My Camaro will be ready for Epping and so will I.”

Teammate and team president Robert Hight also will compete in the new Chevrolet Camaro SS this weekend. Hight, who sits fifth in Funny Car points in the Auto Club-sponsored entry, is looking forward to gathering data from the car’s performance and piling up points in June.

“We got off to a hot start this season and we have struggled the last three or four races. We are working through a couple issues and I am excited we’ll be making some runs with the new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car this weekend in Epping,” he said. “I have to thank everyone at Chevrolet and John Force Racing for putting in so many hours to get this body just right. So much goes into the process that it takes at least a year and a half to do it right.”

Funny Car points leader Courtney Force of John Force Racing is coming off three consecutive semifinal appearances in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS, including a win at Houston. She is scheduled to take delivery of her 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car in early July.

Her sister, Brittany Force, set the Top Fuel national elapsed time record at Topeka and is seeking to claim her third victory of the season in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster.

Pro Stock points leader Jason Line, who has five victories and three runner-up finishes to KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson, can tie Bob Glidden and Lee Shepherd for the most consecutive finals to start a season.

“I’m quite sure my name doesn’t belong being mentioned with those two. It would be cool. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t,” said Line, who drives the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS. “It takes a lot of good fortune.”

Chevrolet drivers occupy the top three spots in the standings and seven of the top 10. Anderson (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS) is second. Bo Butner (Butner Auto Sales Chevrolet Camaro SS) is third, and Drew Skillman (Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro SS), who will be working with a new tuner this weekend, is tied for fourth. Chris McGaha, the No. 1 qualifier last year at Epping in the Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevrolet Camaro SS, is sixth, followed by Vincent Nobile (Mountain View Tire Chevrolet Camaro SS) and Alex Laughlin (Gas Monkey Garage Chevrolet Camaro SS).

Kenny Delco, a semifinalist at Atlanta in the JCM Racing Chevrolet Camaro SS, and John Gaydosh Jr., driving the Gaydosh Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS, return to competition this weekend.

In addition, two Chevrolet COPO Camaro drivers will compete in Stock Eliminator and Super stock classes 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 first- and second-round qualifying at midnight ET Saturday in addition to a live qualifying telecast at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday. FS1 will telecast taped eliminations and finals at 4 p.m. ET Sunday.

CHEVROLET ENGINEERING OUTLOOK FOR NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS
ROGER ALLEN, CHEVROLET RACING PROGRAM MANAGER, NHRA: “Chevrolet Racing teams will be put to the test as they enter a grueling stretch of four consecutive race weekends and five events in the next six weeks. Everyone has been impressed with the success the Chevy NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series teams have had through the first third of the season, and Chevy Racing is committed to providing all the support necessary in the push to the Countdown to the Championship. Courtney Force in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS continues to lead the Funny Car standings following three impressive events in a row that included a victory for John Force Racing, and Jason Line has continued to pace the Pro Stock class in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS for KB Racing with five victories and three runner-up finishes in the eight races. Brittany Force, who has two Top Fuel wins this season, is not far out of first place in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster. This weekend, John Force returns to the track in the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, and teammate Robert Hight will have the new car on the track for the first time. We’re all looking forward to an exciting and successful weekend of racing in New Hampshire.”

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT – NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER: “I am just excited to be heading into four races in a row. Epping is a good race track where you will see good numbers. I am anxious to get there with my team. Four straight races is awesome. There is no down time. You get right back into that seat weekend after weekend that is where I feel most comfortable as a driver.”

FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I want to get into the winner’s circle more than anyone I think. You want your team to have success, but when you are trying to get one of the last spots in the Traxxas Shootout plus get that win for our sponsor PEAK Antifreeze and BlueDef you put a lot of pressure on yourself. I can handle the pressure and so can my team. I got my first win for PEAK last year in Epping and I think I have a great chance to get another win for them.”

COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, TRAXXAS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I’m excited to be back in Epping, where our Traxxas team won the inaugural race in 2013. We’ve done well at this track in the past and even qualified in the No. 4 spot here last year. We went all the way to the semis so we have high expectations for ourselves this week. This is the first of four back-to-back races so we hope to start things off on the right foot.”

ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I am looking forward to racing every weekend in June. We got off to a hot start this season and we have struggled the last three or four races. We are working through a couple issues and I am excited we’ll be making some runs with the new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car this weekend in Epping. The goal for our team is to get all three of our Chevy Funny Cars in the top four in qualifying. You achieve a couple goals when that happens. One you get some qualifying bonus points hopefully, which as tight as the Funny Car standings are will come in handy later in the season and most importantly if we are all in the top four we won’t race each other until the semifinals or final round.”

PRO STOCK:
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “It’s an incredible run for our team and for me personally. I’ve never had a start like this, obviously, which I guess not many folks have. It’s one of those things where I’m starting to think about it a little bit. But the truth is at this point it doesn’t matter. It’s what’s coming up next. So we’re working hard. We have to find more power. They’re getting closer. That’s kind of how we look at it.”

GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “We are comfortable with our Chevrolet Camaros now. We are finally back to the same comfort zone we were in the past few seasons. At first these cars were worse to drive with the new set-up. It took test passes and time. The driving different is now a non-issue. We feel there are still big gains to be made with these cars, so we need to work harder to put the gap back between us (and the competition).”

BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO, BUTNER AUTO SALES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “The first part of the year has been better than expected for the whole (KB Racing) team. We’re kind of 1, 2, 3 everywhere. I’m looking forward to this stretch; I’ve never been to New Hampshire before. I really should have won a race by now. It’s exciting to know I have a car capable of it and definitely the team. I’m looking forward to winning one soon.”

DREW SKILLMAN, RAY SKILLMAN RACING, RAY SKILLMAN CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “We’ve had a few tough weeks in a row. The guys spent all last week testing and working on some different things with other teams to try to get an idea of what direction we should to go. This weekend will be a big tell what we’ve picked up. I’m confident it will get better; I just don’t know how much better. We just have to stay on the path and we’ll get there.”

CHRIS MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS RACING, HARLOW SAMMONS OF ODESSA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “Going No. 1 (qualifier) last year was really neat. The Epping race always seems to be a turning point in our season for us. It’s not the halfway point, but it to me is a turning point in the season and a make or break situation because there are so many races happening in a row. How you run at these next few races it’s going to dictate a lot of how the rest of the season is going to go because there’s not a lot of time to work on your stuff at home after this point. You get even more comfortable when you do it week in and week out because it’s more repetitive. By the time you get to the fourth race, you hope it’s just second nature. The goal for the four in a row would be being the team to break up the stint right now where there is another team kind of running away with the points. I think the Harlow Sammons team can make that happen in Epping.”

SHANE GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, VALVOLINE/NOVA SERVICES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (about his workout regimen): “I usually go to a gym somewhere (while on the road). I’m a member of about every chain of gyms in the country. I’ll usually find a gym and get a good workout in. If I’m not in a hurry, it usually takes me about an hour and 15 to 20 minutes by the time I get cardio in and get a weightlifting regimen in.”

VINCENT NOBILE, MOUNTAIN VIEW RACING, MOUNTAIN VIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “It’s great to be back on the East Coast and so close to home. We always have a lot of friends and family come out here and Epping has some of the best fans on tour. We still may be a little behind the KB guys but I’m hoping with this four-race swing we can get some momentum going, I would really like to take the Chevrolet Camaro to the winner circle.”