CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS
BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY AT BRAINERD, MINNESOTA
AUG. 21, 2016
Chevrolet Racing Grabs Top Fuel and Pro Stock Victories
• Brittany Force records third win of season in Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster
• Drew Skillman earns second Pro Stock victory in Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro SS
• Courtney Force advances to Funny Car semifinals in Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS
• Pro Stock points leader Jason Line is runner-up at home track for second consecutive year
BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 21, 2016) – This year, Brittany Force closed the book at Brainerd International Raceway, while Drew Skillman opened a new chapter in his career.
Force recorded her third Top Fuel victory of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) season – and of her career — by defeating No. 1 qualifier and class points leader Antron Brown in the final round of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. Force, the No. 3 qualifier in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster, also ousted No. 2 qualifier Shawn Langdon in the semifinals to advance to her 10th career Top Fuel final and fourth this season.
The fourth-year John Force Racing driver was runner-up at Brainerd in 2015. Her victory was the 16th in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals for John Force Racing among five different drivers (also John Force, Eric Medlen, Gary Densham, Robert Hight).
“Being able to come here last year and go to the finals and not quite get it, we just wanted to completely finish it this weekend. So it feels good to do that,” said Force, who is fourth in the Top Fuel standings and had clinched a spot in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.
“We had been struggling a little bit and to come out here and get the win is exactly where we want to be going to the Countdown and the biggest race of our season in Indy (the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals).”
The Aug. 31-Sept. 5 Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in suburban Indianapolis carry 50 percent more points than other events on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series calendar, and is the final event to qualify for the six-race championship playoff.
Skillman also had solidified a spot in the Pro Stock Countdown, but his first victory of the season laid a marker that the 2015 rookie of the year will be a strong opponent in the drive to the title in the Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro SS.
He defeated Pro Stock points leader and Minnesota native Jason Line, who was making his 12th final-round appearance of the season. Skillman had reached the semifinals four previous times this season.
“When I was with Elite (Motorsports) those guys worked really hard and then I changed to Gray (Motorsports) midway through the season and they have been working extremely hard. This is proof of their work today,” said Skillman, whose other Pro Stock victory came at St. Louis.
“It solidifies our efforts for the whole season. We’re here to win and we finally did it.”
In the semifinals, Skillman defeated Vincent Nobile (Mountain View Tire Chevrolet Camaro SS), who earned the No. 1 qualifier spot for the second consecutive race, and Line bested Erica Enders-Stevens, who won the 2015 final round at Brainerd on a holeshot over Line.
Bo Butner, the No. 5 qualifier in the Jim Butner Auto Chevrolet Camaro SS, Chris McGaha (Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevrolet Camaro SS), and Greg Anderson of Duluth, Minnesota, a seven-time winner this season in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, were first-round Pro Stock winners.
Courtney Force, who sustained a bruised right knee in the first round of Funny Car eliminations at Seattle two weeks ago, returned to the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS and advanced to the semifinals for the third time in the past four races. Force won her first-round elimination matchup with a pass of 3.878 seconds, which was quicker than her best qualifying run that netted the No. 6 spot. She defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. in the second round and, despite cutting an .031 light, fell in the semifinals to No. 2 qualifier Del Worsham. She remains second in the Funny Car standings.
John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight was the No. 9 qualifier in the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS. Hight won his first-round matchup but fell in the second round to No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan, who set the Funny Car national elapsed-time record of 3.822 seconds at a track-record 333.82 mph in qualifications.
John Force, who had won two of the past three Funny Car races in the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS, was the No. 7 qualifier and lost in the first round of eliminations.
Scott Libersher, driving the COPO Parts Direct Chevrolet COPO Camaro, was the No. 1 qualifier among 80 Stock Eliminator contestants, and Al Corda (Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center Chevrolet COPO Camaro) was the No. 8 qualifier. Both fell in the first round of eliminations. Dan Fletcher, a winner earlier this year in the PEAK/K&N/Denso Chevrolet COPO Camaro, advanced to the fourth round before losing.
ROGER ALLEN, CHEVROLET RACING NHRA PROGAM MANAGER: “Congratulations to Brittany Force and everyone at John Force Racing for the exhilarating Top Fuel victory today against a tough competitor. Brittany, who recorded her third victory of the season, is coming on strong in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster just at the right time of the season heading into the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and the Countdown to the Championship.
“And Drew Skillman had an outstanding weekend in Pro Stock in the Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro SS, defeating some tough Chevrolet drivers on the way to winning his first event of the season and second Pro Stock final of his young career. Congratulations also to Jason Line of KB Racing, who reached the Pro Stock final round for the 12th time this season in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS and retains the points lead.
“Courtney Force and her crew also showed grit and determination in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS advancing to the Funny Car semifinals just two weeks after making hard contact with a concrete barrier in eliminations at Seattle that left Courtney with a bruised knee and the crew needing to basically build a new car for Brainerd. Now it’s on to the biggest race of the year, the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, where every run will be magnified and important.”
AN INTERVIEW WITH TOP FUEL WINNER BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER:
Q: WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO GET THAT MONKEY OFF YOUR BACK AND YOUR THIRD WIN OF THE SEASON?
BRITTANY FORCE: “It’s just awesome to be able to win here. I felt good coming in here this weekend just because we had some success (runner-up finish) last year. We had been struggling a little bit and to come out here and get the win is exactly where we want to be going to the Countdown and the biggest race of our season in Indy (the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals), so we’re exactly where we want to be. I have to say thank you to my entire Monster Energy team for all their hard work, and it feels so good to bring home another win.”
Q: ARE YOU GUYS GETTING TO THAT NEXT STEP INTO THE COUNTDOWN?
BRITTANY FORCE: “We’re hoping that we’ve turned everything around and keep heading up. Sometimes you push the car; you want to try new things and you struggle because of it and you don’t turn those win lights on. But this weekend we got all four of them on.”
Q: THIS HAS BEEN A GOOD TRACK FOR JOHN FORCE RACING OVERALL. HOW MUCH CONNECTION DO YOU HAVE TO THIS PLACE?
BRITTANY FORCE: “Being able to come here last year and go to the finals and not quite get it, we just wanted to completely finish it this weekend. So it feels good to do that. Actually, this is kind of a new track for me. I’d been to just about every track on the circuit as a kid coming out and watching my dad, but this was actually a new one for me in 2013. So to be able to win here is pretty awesome.”
Q: COULD YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT FINAL ROUND?
BRITTANY FORCE: “It was definitely a crazy one. If we’re going to blow everything up, at least get a win light on. And we did that. I didn’t see Antron (Brown) next to me. I had no clue where he was, what he was doing. But I just had to keep my foot into it and I just felt it blow up and felt the tug and as long as I could hang on until I got to that 1,000-foot stripe and get the win light, and it did. I jumped out of the car and saw that it was on fire, but we’re in the winner’s circle.”
Q: IS IT A LONG SECOND AFTER IT BLEW UP TO GET TO THE STRIPE?
BRITTANY FORCE: “Always. It’s almost feels like it’s in slow motion. It’s happened to me before, and actually it may have been here. I’ve done that many times and you see the 1,000 foot and you’re just trying to get to it and you see someone come around you. There’s no worse way than losing like that when you can’t do anything. You’re just hoping your car is going to coast to the finish line first. It worked.”
Q: YOU RACED DOUG KALITTA, SHAWN LANGDON AND ANTRON BROWN. TO OUTRUN THOSE THREE GUYS, WHAT’S THAT LIKE?
BRITTANY FORCE: “I definitely think it makes this one a very special one. All those guys we took down to get to the winner’s circle, none of them are easy. They are some of the best drivers out here, so to be able to be lined up against them and turn to win light on I think makes the entire team proud.”
AN INTERVIEW WITH PRO STOCK WINNER DREW SKILLMAN, RAY SKILLMAN RACING, RAY SKILLMAN CHEVROLET CAMARO SS:
Q: THIS WAS YOUR FIRST FINAL ROUND SINCE ST. LOUIS IN 2015. DID YOU THINK IT WAS GOING TO TAKE THAT LONG?
DREW SKILLMAN: “When I heard the world changes, I thought we were either going to be on top or on the bottom. We just worked very hard – both teams. When I was with Elite (Motorsports) those guys worked really hard and then I changed to Gray (Motorsports) midway through the season and they have been working extremely hard. This is proof of their work today. I have a new crew; they’re all young guys. I’ve been blessed to have all the people I have around me.”
Q: IS THIS A CASE OF THE CLASS STARTING TO BUNCH UP?
DREW SKILLMAN: “We’re all getting much closer. It’s natural. We’re all picking at the same parts and pieces and we’re all getting closer. I think by the start of next season I think you’re going to see a real competitive class right across the board.”
Q: WHEN ONE ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN HOGGING THE WINS, HOW GRATIFYING IS IT TO BREAK THROUGH?
DREW SKILLMAN: “I’m glad I got to race one of them (KB Racing’s Jason Line) in the final. It solidifies our efforts for the whole season. It just doesn’t mean I beat another guy who got lucky. We’re here to win and we finally did it.”
Q: DOES IT GIVE YOU EXTRA MOTIVATION GOING INTO THE FINAL (TO BEAT THE HOMETOWN FAVORITE)?
DREW SKILLMAN: “We have a weird situation. I travel the entire country and race the same guys. They’re just friends of ours. You don’t want to beat your friend, but I don’t want them to beat me. We’re all competitive. Not one has any animosity toward anyone. We’re a small group. I like Jason (Line) a lot. He’s a really good guy, he’s given me pointers. I wish he could have won here, but I’m glad I did.”
Q: HOW DOIES THIS WIN COMPARE TO THE WIN YOU HAD LAST YEAR?
DREW SKILLMAN: “Every season is different. You could be the best in the world one year and come out the next year and be horrible. This is a game of consistency and keep trusting your guys moving forward, and that’s what we’ve done. The proof is in the pudding today.”
Q: WHAT WAS THE SUMMIT TEAM ABLE TO DO THAT YOU GUYS WEREN’T EARLY IN THE YEAR?
DREW SKILLMAN: “They outworked us. Period. They out-engineered us, they outworked us. And it’s our turn to kind of pull up that same rope. It wasn’t an overnight thing we were going to catch them because they already did that legwork. We were just a little behind the 8 ball to starts and we’re back.”