BRITTANY FORCE RACES TO SEMIFINALS IN ENGLISHTOWN
ENGLISHTOWN, NJ— Brittany Force and the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster raced to their second consecutive semifinal at the NHRA SummerNationals. Last year Force advanced to the final round but today she was defeated by technical alliance teammate Steve Torrence in a tire smoking semifinal run.
Brittany left first but Torrence pulled beside her as the their Top Fuel dragsters powered down the track. They both lost traction as about the same spot on the track and both of the drivers were able to wrestle control of their racecars with Torrence getting to the finish line less than a car length ahead of Force. Torrence’s winning time of 4.327 seconds just edged out Force’s 4.427 second run.
“It definitely feels good to be going rounds. It was a tough weekend for us. We struggled a little bit in qualifying. As a driver, I was really struggling on the Tree. I just couldn’t seem to find it so it felt good on that third round to finally have a decent Tree. We didn’t get the win, but it feels good to leave on that note and overcome the struggle I was having this weekend. We go straight into Bristol, which is one of my favorite tracks on our circuit. I would love to get a win there, so hopefully we can get it done there.”
In the opening round Force dispatched Luigi Novelli then in the second round she beat points leader Doug Kalitta. This was the fourth time Force advanced to at least the semifinals this season and the fourth year pro held form in the No. 4 points position.
John Force and the PEAK/Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS lost a tough second round race to eventual race winner Ron Capps. Force had lane choice and his Camaro was starting to pull away from Capps when it hazed the tires in the right lane. Capps got the win light with a session quickest 3.996 second pass while Force crossed the finish line right behind him at 4.474 seconds.
In the first round Force had to race teammate and youngest daughter Courtney Force. The Traxxas Camaro had lane choice but the four-time SummerNationals winner was able to outrun the No. 8 qualifier and get the win.
The upset of the day unfortunately involved Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car who were ousted by Jeff Diehl. They were the first pair of Funny Cars in the first round and just past the Christmas Tree Hight lost traction. He tried to regain control of his 10,000 hp race car to no avail. Diehl also lost traction further down track but Hight was unable to track him down before the finish line.
“We just overpowered the track. Like I said yesterday we are trying a lot of new things and we are still figuring out this Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro. The good news is we will be back on the track in a couple of days. I’ll put this race behind me and focus on Bristol. I definitely want to win here in Englishtown. This is a huge race and the fans were great all weekend,” said Hight. “We made some really good runs and I think we have a lot to build on. This is a long season and we will definitely keep getting better.”
Hight’s struggles in Englishtown continue for another season as this track will remain one of only two that the 2009 NHRA Funny Car champion has not advanced to at least the final round.
Courtney Force suffered an upset in the first round of eliminations today at the 47th annual NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park beside her father and 16-time Funny Car Champion John Force. The youngest Force daughter smoked the tires and watched her father make a clean run to the finish line. It was the first time this season that Force has made a first round exit. It was the unfortunate meeting in the opening round that allowed Force to slip from the points lead into the No. 3 position.
“It was a little bit of a tough weekend for us. In the first round today we set up our car just like we did in Q3 when we ran a 3.96 because we had the same kind of conditions for E1, but the track was even a little bit better. We were definitely surprised that it shook towards the end of the run and I had to get out of it,” said Force.
The 27-year-old is now 7-11 to her father in eliminations. Today was the second time the pair of JFR drivers have met in eliminations this season, but the first time they have raced each other during the SummerNationals in Englishtown, NJ. This was the second stop on a four race swing in the month of June, the 10th of 24 races in the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Series season and Force’s next opportunity to compete for her ninth NHRA Funny Car win for Traxxas, The Fastest Name in Radio Control.
“If I have to lose a race, I’d rather it be to a teammate. This Traxxas Funny Car has been great this year and my team has been on point; today just wasn’t our day. We slipped to the No. 2 spot in points after hanging onto the lead since Atlanta. We have one Funny Car win under our belt this season and have qualified in the top half of the field at every race this year so we have no complaints about the performance of the car, it was just a tough race weekend,” said Force.
The 2012 Rookie of the Year led the Funny Car points for four straight events after tying 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.