CHEVROLET AT SONOMA

CHEVROLET AT SONOMA

What:
29th Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals
When:
Friday, July 29-Sunday, July 31
Where:
Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California
TV:
FOX Sports 1: Qualifying – 7:30 p.m. ET Friday (taped highlights)
FOX Sports 1: Qualifying – 10 p.m. ET Saturday (taped highlights)
FOX: Eliminations and finals – 4 p.m. ET Sunday (live)

Chevrolet Funny Car Drivers Seek More Success in New Camaro SS at Sonoma
John Force Racing carries momentum into the middle leg of western swing

DETROIT (July 27, 2016) – John Force is unapologetic for talking almost as fast as he drives the PEAK Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS.

At 67, the gregarious 16-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car champion is going strong and taking the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series by storm again. On July 24, he set more career milestones by winning an NHRA race – his 144th overall — for the 29th consecutive year and becoming the oldest winner in NHRA history.

Force won the Funny Car final at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado, by besting daughter Courtney Force in the final round. Though her 3.963-second run in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS was infinitesimally quicker, he won on a holeshot.

“I told Courtney I love her, but I’m giving this everything I’ve got,” Force relayed ahead of this weekend’s Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway. “I still love this. I don’t have anywhere to go. I want to keep building this sport. I can still compete. I’m still good at what I do.”

Force proved it by making a statement in the all-new Chevrolet Camaro SS, which he introduced two months earlier at Topeka, Kansas. Along with input from John Force Racing teammates Robert Hight and Courtney Force, the team leader is quickly developing the 2016 car into a powerhouse as the season heads toward the Countdown to the Championship.

In the first round of qualifications at Bandimere Speedway, John Force became the first Funny Car driver to crack 4 seconds. Courtney followed in the next round with a track-record elapsed time of 3.917 seconds, which earned the No. 1 qualifier position for the first time this season and 10th of her career. John Force was the No. 2 qualifier, and Hight checked in at No. 5.

All three advanced to the semifinals, with John Force joining his teammates with at least one victory this season. Hight, driver of the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS, has reached the semifinals in the past three races in the new car.

“I’ll be looking for a little revenge on Dad after last weekend, but I’m super excited to see our Chevy Camaros running so good,” said Courtney Force, who moved to second in the Funny Car standings, and dismissed her father in the final round in 2014 at Sonoma Raceway.

John Force has won seven times in Colorado and also seven times at Sonoma, California. Already the only Funny Car driver to sweep the western swing – Denver, Sonoma, Seattle – in 1994, he’s aiming for more success this weekend.

“Two years ago Courtney whipped me in the final in Sonoma and I got her last weekend in Denver. That win was big for me since it was our first win with the new 2016 Camaro body,” he said. “We want to get higher in the points for sure. We have four more races before the Countdown and we want to win them all just like everybody else.”

Last year, Chris McGaha won the second and third rounds of the western swing in Pro Stock. He won a round last weekend for the second event in a row since taking over as crew chief of the in the Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevrolet Camaro SS and is confident that more success is on the horizon.

“I feel like Chicago was a bridge and we’re taking steps in the right direction. We qualified on our own, we lost a few rounds on our own and now we’re starting to win rounds on our own. It’s just a matter of time before we win a race on our own,” he said.

Chevrolet drivers occupy four of the top five and eight of the top 10 spots in the Pro Stock standings, led by seven-time winner Jason Line in first place. KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson, who also drives the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, is second and Bo Butner (Butner Auto Sales Chevrolet Camaro SS), a three-time runner-up this season, is third.

Vincent Nobile (Mountain View Tire Chevrolet Camaro SS), the runner-up at Denver, is fifth, followed by Drew Skillman (Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro SS), Shane Gray (Valvoline/Nova services Chevrolet Camaro SS), McGaha, and Alex Laughlin (Gas Monkey Garage Chevrolet Camaro SS), the No. 1 qualifier at Denver.

In the past seven Top Fuel races, Brittany Force has earned the No. 1 qualifier spot twice and not qualified lower than fourth. She’s advanced to the semifinals twice in that span in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster. Force, who has two victories this season and is fourth in the Top Fuel standings, was the No. 1 qualifier in 2013 at Sonoma Raceway.

Dave Bridgewater will double up by competing in Super Stock and Stock Eliminator classes, driving the Chevrolet COPO Camaro.

FOX Sports 1 will telecast taped qualifying highlights at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday and 10 p.m. ET Saturday. FOX will telecast three hours of live eliminations and finals starting at 4 p.m. ET Sunday.

CHEVROLET RACING ENGINEERING PREVIEW – TOYOTA NHRA SONOMA NATIONALS
ROGER ALLEN, CHEVROLET RACING NHRA PROGRAM MANAGER: “The first round of the western swing last weekend in Denver provided spectators and a national FOX TV audience so much excitement, and Chevrolet Racing’s success continued in the 14th round of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series season. John Force outdueling his daughter, Courtney, on a holeshot in the final round of Funny Car competition was among the most memorable moments of the season and historic. John drove the all-new Chevrolet Camaro SS to its first victory and he won a race for the 29th consecutive year, which is unprecedented in motorsports. We’re proud of the personal and team accomplishments, and know John Force Racing will continue to make performance gains with the 2016 Camaro SS that will lead to more victories and potentially the championship.

“Also, Vincent Nobile and Alex Laughlin in Pro Stock showed gains by reaching the final round and earning the No. 1 qualifier position, respectively. And Brittany Force continues to string together consistent runs and round wins in Top Fuel, and her third victory of the season is not far off. Sonoma Raceway always has been a quick track, and we’re looking forward to seeing what the Chevrolet teams will do in wine country.”