Chevrolet Setting Sights on History at Final Stop of Western Swing
John Force aims to complete three-race Funny Car sweep in new Chevrolet Camaro SS

DETROIT (Aug. 3, 2016) – The sellout crowd July 31 at Sonoma Raceway cheered wildly when John Force raced to victory in the Funny Car final. As he passed the main grandstand a few minutes later in celebration, spectators rose to their feet again in a display of support for the 16-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) champion in his next race.

This weekend, Force will attempt to add to his Hall of Fame credentials by completing a sweep of the three-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series trek through Colorado, California, and Washington. He already is the only Funny car driver to accomplish the “Western Swing” feat in 1994.

Force, who drives the all-new PEAK Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS, has eight victories and a career 55-19 elimination-round record at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington, which hosts the ProtectTheHarvest.com NHRA Northwest Nationals. He last won at the track in 2014, when as the No. 1 qualifier he beat Gary Densham in the final.

“Do I want to get the swing? Without a doubt,” said Force, who at 67 is the oldest winner in NHRA history. “It doesn’t matter how good you are; how much you are outrunning the pack. I am not outrunning the pack. I am running with it. The Worshams are right there and so are all of the Schumacher teams. My daughter Courtney is outrunning me every week just like Robert Hight. It is the toughest Funny Car pack I have ever seen.

“To win the swing a lot comes into play. The pressure comes in from the media and the fans. Then you can’t let your mindset change. You have to be able to run with the pack. Keep your mindset right and you need destiny.”

Force set the table for destiny at Sonoma Raceway. He was the No. 6 qualifier and dispatched Courtney Force and Hight – John Force Racing teammates – on the way to his record-extending 145th career victory. Twenty-eight times Force has won back-to-back Funny Car events, and 12 times he’s strung together three in a row.

The previous week in suburban Denver, he was the No. 2 qualifier and defeated Courtney Force on a holeshot in the final.

All three John Force Racing Funny Cars have at least one victory this season. Along with input from Hight, Courtney Force and crew members, the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS, which Force introduced in late May at Topeka, Kansas, is developing into a powerhouse as the season heads toward the Countdown to the Championship.
“Mentally it helps to work with my president Robert Hight as we put the band back together so to speak and it is starting to show. It is starting to turn the corner,” he said. “If you look at the last two weekends the cars have gone out, Robert and Courtney are because of me. We all have the same tune-up and we are all helping each other. Its hurts us, but helps me, but in the end we are all part of the same team.

“I’m going in with three Funny Cars that are going to try to defend it, and if any of us get a win the win is what is crucial.”