CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
AAA INSURANCE NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS
GATEWAY MOTORSPORTS PARK AT MADISON, ILLINOIS
POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
SEPT. 25, 2016

QUICK QUOTE FROM FIRST TIME PRO STOCK WINNER ALEX LAUGHLIN, GAS MONKEY ENERGY CHEVROLET CAMARO SS:

Q: CAN YOU EVEN PUT INTO WORDS WHAT THIS DAY MEANS TO YOU?

ALEX LAUGHLIN: “We had a really good feeling about it all day and had a great car all weekend. I’m speechless.”

Q: YOU’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER ST. LOUIS

ALEX LAUGHLIN: “I definitely was nervous; everything the past few hours is a blur. I just can’t thank enough the guys at Gray Motorsports who give us our power, my dad – I wouldn’t be here without him – Gas Monkey Energy, all our sponsors, and Chevrolet. I’m just ecstatic.”

NOTE: Laughlin victory is 250th win for Chevrolet in NHRA Pro Stock Division.

TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 8 qualifier; fell in second round): “It is a little tough because we could have made big strides today. We picked up some points in qualifying and we made it to the second round. We will have to focus on the positives and head to Reading. The key is to stay positive. We run pretty well in the cooler weather and we just have to find our groove. We just need to go out there and make four good runs in qualifying and then have some success on race day. There are four races left and if you want a shot at the championship you are going to have to get down the track every single run.”

FUNNY CAR:
COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, TRAXXAS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier; fell in second round): “We were on a good run and I was out ahead of (Ron Capps). I didn’t see him the whole way down the track and I really thought we were going to get that win. I was feeling good but right there at the end I had a mechanical issue and the car slowed. I just watched him go by but I kept my foot in the throttle not giving up. Unfortunately, he went around me for the win and we are going to have to pack up and go home early. This Traxxas team has really been fighting hard. This is the time that we need to catch a break. I know our luck is going to turn around. We didn’t need a mechanical issue on that run, for sure. We hurt some parts on this Chevy and we’ll get some things changed and get it ready for Reading.”

ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier; fell in second round): “I really thought we were going to win this race today. We definitely had a race car that could have won. These Auto Club guys have done an awesome job since Charlotte. We tested and switched a lot of things on this AAA Insurance Camaro and we came in here and were the No. 1 qualifier. That first run was stout and we just lost a close race in the second round. Breaks are going to start going our way. No one is hanging their heads in this Auto Club pit.”

JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE & COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (qualified 10th, fell in second round): “This PEAK Chevy hot rod was really good today. We got a big win over (Del) Worsham in the first round. We needed those points. (Jack) Beckman just got us at the finish line and I thought I won that race it was so close. I’ll be ready for these last four races. The fans have been great in St. Louis and we put on a good show for all the AAA Missouri people. We are right up there at the top of the points and it will be fight until the end of the season.”

PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; fell in second round): “We did a poor job of qualifying this weekend and all three of us ended up on the same side of the ladder, and unfortunately that was our demise. So we self-destructed today and we have one car in the final but two cars that couldn’t be there. Obviously, nobody made any big moves today so it’s still wide open. We’ll go to Reading and try to do a better job on Friday and Saturday and get the table set better and it will be a better day on race day.”

JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “We did a very, very poor job of executing during qualifying and unfortunately we weren’t a whole lot better on race day.”

VINCENT NOBILE, MOUNTAIN VIEW RACING, MOUNTAIN VIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 4 qualifier; fell in second round): “You can’t win a championship by losing that early in the day. We needed to go rounds today. Definitely a disappointment, but I am confident we will be back and ready to go in Reading.”