CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE U.S. NATIONALS
LUCAS OIL RACEWAY, BROWNSBURG, INDIANA

Courtney Force Prevails in All-Chevrolet Traxxas Nitro Shootout
· John Force Racing driver is first female to win Funny Car special race
· Teammate Robert Hight is runner-up in rebuilt Auto Club Chevy Camaro SS
· Three-time winner Brittany Force is No. 3 qualifier in Top Fuel
· Bo Butner leads Chevrolet drivers to top six spots in Pro Stock qualifying

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 4, 2016) – Courtney Force gingerly lifted the Traxxas Nitro Shootout trophy above her head. The $100,000 winner’s check, which she waved to the cheering crowd, was a feather by comparison, but equally as weighty.

“That thing is heavy, but it’s awesome and I can’t wait to take it back to the team,” she said.

Force, driving the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS, defeated John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight in the final to become the first female driver to win a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car specialty race. The event was folded into the third day of the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway.

“My belt was shredding down there at the top end and I was just waiting for Robert to drive around me but we were able to get the win,” Force said. “For everyone at Traxxas, at Chevy and all our sponsors, this was really a big win. This is so awesome for me and I just want to thank everyone at Traxxas and the series.

“It definitely feels good to finally get it, especially because my title sponsor is Traxxas and it’s a huge win for our team.”

Hight has been the runner-up in the bonus event for three consecutive years. The president of John Force Racing was driving a rebuilt Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS after his car exploded in a ball of fire during his third-round qualifying pass Saturday night. He was uninjured.
“I had to do my job for my guys. They worked hard all night and I couldn’t let them down,” the 37-time winner said. “What happened last night was a fluke. I don’t worry about it happening again. Anything can happen at any time.”

Team owner and driver John Force watched the finale from just behind the starting line.

“We’re going to get that 100 grand, and we could use it to pay for some parts,” said the 16-time Funny Car champion, who will be the grand marshal Monday of the event and qualified sixth at 3.872 seconds in the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS.

Courtney Force, who qualified for the Traxxas Nitro Shootout with a victory at Houston, enters Funny Car eliminations as the No. 4 qualifier with a best pass of 3.867 seconds at 327.66 mph in the third of the five qualifying sessions. She is second in the Funny Car standings. Hight is the No. 8 qualifier at 3.881 seconds.

“I am already just trying to get in qualifying mode and focus on race day,” Courtney Force added. “So I am going to act like that was a qualifying run and I don’t even want to see the check right now. I have a race to win tomorrow but just so proud of my guys and want to thank all the fans for coming out all weekend.”

Locked into the Countdown to the Championship

The prestigious Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals is the last of 18 regular-season NHRA races, during which drivers earn points to qualify for one of the 10 spots in each Mello Yello Series class for the Countdown to the Championship that begins Sept. 16-18 at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The John Force Racing Funny Car trio and teammate Brittany Force in Top Fuel are locked into the six-race playoff.

Brittany Force, driving the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster, held the No. 3 qualifier spot at 3.706 seconds and 326.00 mph.

She also was the No. 3 qualifier two weeks ago at Brainerd, Minnesota, when the fourth-year Top Fuel driver won her third race of the season. Force has qualified in the top half of the field in all regular-season races, including the No. 1 qualifier at Topeka, Kansas, and Joliet, Illinois.

Is this the day for Indiana resident Butner to break into win column?

Bo Butner claimed his third No. 1 Pro Stock qualifier honor of the season in the Jim Butner Auto Chevrolet Camaro SS with a run of 6.571 seconds at 210.24 mph, and led Chevrolet drivers to the top six positions entering eliminations Monday.

Butner, of Floyds Knobs, Indiana, is seeking his first class victory. He’s recorded four runner-up finishes this season and five overall. “We have had the car all year, and now we just have to finish it,” said Butner, who is 24-17 in elimination rounds this season. “Five (qualifying) runs is almost too many, but I think we will be in good shape tomorrow. We will just need to keep making the kind of runs we have been making.”

Greg Anderson (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS), a six-time winner at Lucas Oil Raceway and a seven-time winner this season, had a best qualifying run of 6.576 seconds. He has qualified first or second in 10 of the 18 races.

Shane Gray (Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro SS) was third, followed by Vincent Nobile (Mountain View Tire Chevrolet Camaro SS), Jason Line (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS), and Alex Laughlin (Gas Monkey Energy Chevrolet Camaro SS).

Laughlin, who is competing in his first full Pro Stock season, is aiming to slide into the 10th and final spot in the Countdown to the Championship. He entered the weekend 36 points arrears of Jeg Coughlin Jr., who qualified 15th.

Matt Hartford (Total Seal/Nitro Fish Chevrolet Camaro SS), Chris McGaha (Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevrolet Camaro SS), and Brainerd winner Drew Skillman (Ray Skillman Auto Chevrolet Camaro SS) are qualified in the top 10.

Nobile, who held the provisional top qualifier position through two rounds of qualifying, was the No. 1 qualifier the past two races. “I’ve just never had such a fast, consistent race car in my entire career. I just need to do my job,” he said. “My main goal is to be fast and consistent.”

Race winner looking for a strong finish

On Saturday, Nobile red-lighted by one-thousandth of a second to lose to Aaron Strong in the all-Chevy final of the Aug. 7 Seattle race postponed by rain.

“Naturally, I’m super bummed out I didn’t win the race, but if there is anyone I’d want to loss to it would be Aaron Strong,” Nobile said. “He had never won a round before and now he’s won his first race, and that’s not an easy feat.”

Strong, who was the No. 14 qualifier in the event at the track less than 15 minutes from his residence, became the 62nd different winner in Pro Stock.

“With all my years of bracket racing, I did look at the scoreboard – even though I shouldn’t in a Pro Stock car – and saw my win light on. I was like, ‘Is my win light on or is that just the sun on it?’ but it was lit up,” said Strong, a former Comp competitor who has run a limited Pro Stock program in 2015 and this season.

He will close out the season with entries at St. Louis, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Pomona.