POINTS LEADER COURTNEY FORCE READY FOR SUMMERNATIONALS
ENGLISHTOWN, NJ (June 8, 2016) — Courtney Force is gearing up for the second stop along a four race swing in the month of June. The 47th annual NHRA SummerNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park is the 10th of 24 races in the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season and Force’s next opportunity to compete for her ninth NHRA Funny Car win for Traxxas, The Fastest Name in Radio Control.
The 27-year-old driver is leading the Funny Car points for the fourth straight event, having tied for the lead with veteran driver Tim Wilkerson following her victory in Houston earlier this year and breaking the tie the next weekend in Atlanta.
“I’m thrilled to keep our rhythm going by heading straight into the second race of a four race swing. We are leaving Epping having learned some things about our car in the heat early and managed to hold on to our points lead heading into this weekend,” said Force.
Last year at the NHRA SummerNationals, Force qualified her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car in the top half of the field going into race day. Her No. 6 position was the highest of all the JFR Funny Cars and Force had the luxury of lane choice going into Sunday’s elimination rounds. The 2012 Auto Club Road to the Future Award winner for NHRA’s top Rookie of the Year picked up a total of four bonus points for being the second quickest car in both the third and fourth qualifying sessions, but lost in the first round against Tony Pedregon when her Traxxas Chevy spun the tires down track.
“Although we haven’t had the best luck at this track in the past, I feel that we have a better car now more than ever to be able to go rounds here. We qualified in the top half here last year, but had an early exit in the first round. This year I think we will be coming in with a pretty consistent running race car so I can’t wait to get to the track to see what we can do.”
This season Force has advanced out of the first round every race. So far the eight-time national event winner has 15 round wins which is three times as many round wins as she had after nine races last season.
“I think mentally and physically our team is ready for the race this weekend compared to last year. We had a good car here last year and had a good shot at going rounds but struggled with the car spinning down track. Our attitude as a team is amazing and we are all motivated to get out to this track to perform better than we had in the past here and hope to give the fans a great show. This is an important weekend for our team as we are trying to hold on to that points lead, and we are going to need to fight hard this weekend if we want to keep it because our competitors are closing our gap,” said Force.
JOHN FORCE LOOKING TO REVISIT HISTORY OF SUCCESS AT ENGLISHTOWN
ENGLISHTOWN, NJ (June 8, 2016) — John Force has been racing at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park since the late 1970s. The winningest driver in NHRA history started out match racing and raced to the final round at the NHRA SummerNationals the first time he attended the storied race in 1979. The upstart driver was defeated by racing legend Raymond Beadle in the final. Over the next nearly four decades Force raced to ten final rounds and picked up four SummerNationals wins.
The NHRA SummerNationals is regarded as one of the NHRA’s “Majors” joining the historic Gatornationals, the Chevrolet Performance US Nationals, and either the Winternationals or Auto Club Finals – depending on who you ask- at Auto Club Raceway as one of the premiere events on the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. This year’s 47th annual SummerNationals race will feature Force battling one of the toughest Funny Car fields in recent memory.
This season Force has raced to a runner-up finish at the Arizona Nationals at the beginning on the season and 16-time champion also have three semifinals finishes to his credit including the most recent NHRA New England Nationals last weekend n Epping, New Hampshire.
Two races ago Force unveiled the brand new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car a complete redesign for NHRA competition. Force has already experienced highs and lows with the new body when you consider in Epping he posted a career best time of 3.886 seconds at a career fastest speed of 329.75 mph during the second session of qualifying on Friday. Two weeks prior to that historic run during the second session in Topeka Force brushed the wall with his brand new “company car” and was forced to send it back to the Brownsburg, Indiana shop for major repairs.
“My guys had the body back in Brownsburg by Sunday and when I got there on Monday they were already over halfway done fixing it. I have to thank Aerodyne Composites and all the JFR employees in the fab shop and paint shop. I spent nearly two weeks in Brownsburg and we fixed a lot of things and it showed when we got the car to Epping. It was a team effort and I could not be prouder of my guys,” said Force after his Friday night run.
Force continued a hot streak in Epping racing to his fourth consecutive semifinal round at the New England Nationals before being edged out at the finish line by eventual winner Ron Capps.
“Capps is a tough competitor but he is also a friend. He is a good straight-up, hard-nosed racer. I really respect him. I go after him with all I’ve got. He is that good and I have to keep working to keep up with him. He makes me better,” commented Force from his pits.
While Force has had much success at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park recent years have been tough on the 4-time SummerNationals winner. The last time Force raced in a final round at the historic track was 2004 when he was edged out by long-time friend and competitor Gary Densham. Force’s last win in New Jersey was 1999 when he outran Cruz Pedregon for the title. The past two seasons rival Matt Hagan has ousted Force in the first round.
“I have a lot of history at Englishtown. I used to match race there with Vinnie Napp and I won a lot there in the 90s. I love going to that track and seeing all the fans and all the history. I have a great hot rod right now and we are running with the competition. I set career best numbers in Epping and I am ready to get back to the track in Englishtown. I have been on the road for almost two months and that is what I love about my job,” said Force.
ROBERT HIGHT WANTS TO MOVE ENGLISHTOWN INTO WIN COLUMN
ENGLISHTOWN, NJ (June 8, 2016) — There are only two tracks on the entire NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series where Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS have not reached a final. Old Bridge Township Raceway Park is at the top of the short list joining New England Dragway where the 37-time Funny Car winner has been thwarted the last three year by his teammates including last weekend.
In a tough first round match-up Hight faced teammate and sister-in-law Courtney Force for the second year in a row in New England.
“It was definitely a tough first round loss. We got the brand new Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car this weekend and on Saturday we made some good runs. We are still figuring some things out. You never want to race your teammates early and our Camaros were evenly matched in qualifying. I was doing my usual routine and it didn’t work out for us today. The good news is we will be back on track in a couple days for the SummerNationals,” said Hight after the first round.
Hight’s history at the NHRA SummerNationals has been hit or miss the last four races. In 2012 and 2014 he raced to the semifinals with racecars that qualified No. 2 and No. 3, respectively but he could not get the win or advance to the final round. In the odd numbered years Hight has been relegated to first round losses including an upset to teammate John Force in 2013 when Hight had the higher qualified Funny Car.
The history that surrounds Old Bridge Raceway Park is not lost on Hight and he views this track as one of the races where every racer wants to hoist a Wally. Much like the Gatornationals, the US Nationals and the races at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona this is a “Major” win and Hight wants to add this race to his expanding list of victories.
“This track has so much history. John started match racing here and when I was on his crew we would come here and there would be amazing races. The NHRA national events have been coming here since the 70s so you look at the list of races that have won here and you see all the Hall of Famers and big time racers. I definitely want to add my name to that list. We just need to qualify better and get some better match-ups,” said Hight.
Qualifying well has not been a problem for Hight at the track located outside Englishtown, New Jersey. Since Hight first took to the track as the driver of the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car in 2005 he has only qualified in the bottom half twice and on seven occasions he has been fourth or higher. His best qualifying position was 2010 when he raced to a quarterfinal finish against Del Worsham.
The new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car will be back in action for Hight and the Auto Club team this weekend and the 2009 Funny Car champion is eager to continue to make performance strides with the redesigned race car.
“I love the new Camaro. It looks great but I also can see so much better out of it. I think Mike Neff and this team will give me a great racecar and I just have to do my job. This weekend is the second race of four in a row and I am looking forward to getting back behind the wheel,” summed up Hight.
BRITTANY FORCE LOOKING FOR ONE MORE ROUND WIN AT SUMMERNATIONALS
ENGLISHTOWN, NJ (June 8, 2016) — Last year Brittany Force and the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster team came within one round win of picking up their first win at the historic NHRA SummerNationals. Force qualified No. 6 and raced to the final round outrunning Richie Crampton, Tony Schumacher and Terry McMillen before falling to Antron Brown. It was Force’s fifth career final and the race day success moved her into the Top Ten.
Force would stay in the Top Ten throughout the rest of the season and would sit as high as third during the Countdown before finishing the season in the No. 7 position her best career finish in Top Fuel. This year a brand new Force is rolling into the pits in Englishtown. Force no longer is the JFR driver looking for her first win but rather now as a two-time Top Fuel winner and points leader for much of the early season Force is a driver who has to be considered a favorite on Sunday.
“Getting the first win of my career in Gainesville earlier this year was amazing. It took me 75 races and then to get another win at the Four-Wide Nationals two races later; I just couldn’t believe it. I have to thank my Monster Energy team and especially Brian Husen and Alan Johnson. I have the best crew out here and they give me a great racecar every run,” said Force.
The off-season addition of guaranteed Hall of Fame tuner and Top Fuel consultant Alan Johnson along with crew chief Brian Husen has jump started the JFR Top Fuel program which is now entering its fourth season. A technical alliance with Steve Torrence Racing which Alan Johnson also oversees gives the Monster Energy team the benefit of having a second dragster to review data and see on-track results.
This season Force has raced to three final rounds and picked up two wins. Two races ago she raced to the No. 1 qualifier position at the Kansas Nationals and set the national record for elapsed time in the process, a blistering 3.676 second pass.
“It doesn’t even sound real when you say you ran 3.676 seconds. I knew it was on a good run during that qualifying session and when my Monster Energy guys told me what the time was I couldn’t believe it. We had run in the 3.6 second range in testing but to get the national record was awesome,” said Force.
Force joined the rest of her family members as a national record holder with the accomplishment. While they have never all held records at the same time every member of the Force family – John Force, Ashley Force Hood, and Courtney Force – that have strapped into a Nitro powered racecar has at least one national record to their credit.
“I think it is neat to be able to join my family with their list of accomplishments. The fact that we all now have set a national record at one time or another is cool,” added Force. “It is still pretty unbelievable to think about that record. It is exciting to set a record like that with this Monster Energy team. I have to thank Alan Johnson, Brian Husen and all my crew guys. That record is something we are all really proud of and we’ll always be able to hang onto that