Chevrolet Pro Stock Drivers Run to Top of the Chart of the ‘Big Go’
Vincent Nobile is No. 1 through first round of Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals qualifying
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 2, 2016) – Vincent Nobile promised himself to look at the four-day Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals as individual events. So far, he’s pleased with the results.
Nobile, who has been the No. 1 Pro Stock qualifier the past two National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events, ran to the top of the chart in the first round of qualifications at Lucas Oil Raceway.
“Certainly not bad way to put Chevy in the No. 1 spot on the first day at Indy,” said Nobile, who made a pass of 6.582 seconds at 209.79 mph in the Mountain View Tire Chevrolet Camaro SS. “We just have to take it one step at a time and keep our head on straight and there’s no reason why we can’t keep on doing this.”
In addition to two rounds of qualifying Saturday, Nobile will face off against Aaron Strong (A&J Furniture Chevrolet Camaro SS) in the final of the Aug. 7 Seattle race postponed because of rain.
“I’m just going to go up there and cross my fingers that everything goes in our favor. The car is just unbelievably fast right now and I just have to do my job and we should be good,” added Nobile, who has locked up a berth in the six-race Countdown to the Championship.
Greg Anderson (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS), who has six victories at Lucas Oil Raceway, was second at 6.600 seconds, and KB Racing teammate and Pro Stock points leader Jason Line (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS) was third at 6.611.
Chevrolet drivers held the top seven spots through the first of five rounds of Pro Stock qualifications leading into eliminations Monday.
John Force Racing teammates chase big prize
A $100,000 prize is on the line Saturday in the Traxxas Nitro Shootout for eight Top Fuel competitors.
Brittany Force, a three-time winner this season in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster, is the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 Tony Schumacher in the first round of the single day event-within-the-event.
Her three John Force Racing Funny Car teammates compete for the $100,000 bonus on Sunday. Courtney Force, driving the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS, is the No. 2 seed and will face Alexis DeJoria in the first round. No. 4 seed Robert Hight (Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS) is matched against No. 5 Tommy Johnson Jr., while No. 8 seed John Force (PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS) meets top seed Ron Capps.
The Traxxas Nitro Shootout will be the 30th specialty race for John Force, who has eight wins including the inaugural Traxxas Shootout in 2012 and the 2014 edition.
Force checked in fourth in the first round of qualifications for the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals with a pass of 3.872 seconds at 329.58 seconds to pace the John Force Racing Funny Car crew.
Five years and running
The Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals mark the five-year anniversary of Chris McGaha’s Pro Stock debut.
McGaha, who drives the Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevrolet Camaro SS, entered the weekend in eighth place in the standings and will qualify for the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship for the third successive season.
“Going back to Indy five years later definitely brings up a lot of memories of where it all started,” he said. “I was just thinking about it the other day and how we qualified No. 11 in a car that we were renting and we had a lot of big expectations back then. The future looked really bright at that race and it still does now.
“We’re eighth in the points right now but even if we were third in points, we want to do good at Indy. Indy is a special race and it makes you feel like you need to do good there to set the stage for what you’re fixin’ to do in the Countdown.”
Recognizing 150 years and counting
Shane Gray is sporting a special paint scheme on the Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro SS this weekend to commemorate 150 years of Valvoline and highlight its Max Life products.
“I’ll tell you, if this new paint scheme helps us get to the winner’s circle, we may just keep it on there full time,” said Gray, who has advanced to the semifinals in three of the past six events.
Barton seeks sweep in Chevrolet COPO Camaro
David Barton of Robesonia, Pennsylvania, is the No. 1 qualifier as he seeks to sweep the four-race School of Automotive Machinists & Technology Factory Stock Showdown in his Wolkwitz Racing Chevrolet COPO Camaro.
Barton, an engine builder, won at Gainesville (Florida), Englishtown (New Jersey), and Norwalk (Ohio). At Englishtown, Barton ran the quickest Stock Eliminator run (8.25 seconds) at an NHRA event.
“Indy is the big one,” he said. “The program is great, and we hope there will be six or eight events next year. There is a growing following of heads-up racing. The entire Chevrolet COPO Camaro program is great, too, because they are committed to it. They support it with people and parts.”
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