Courtney Force to start No. 3 with Advance Auto Parts Chevy for Winternationals at Pomona

POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 11) – Courtney Force will stand on her second-round qualifying time of 3.849 seconds and start No. 3 in the Funny Car class for Sunday’s Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway, the opening round of the 2017 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

Force – driving the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS – set the 3.849-second time Friday, with a speed of 330.23 mph. While she was second after Friday’s qualifications, her father and team owner, John Force, matched her time Saturday, and set a speed of 335.15, the second-fastest speed in Funny Car history. That dropped Force to No. 3.

Courtney Force earned a bonus point in the third round of qualifying with a 3.855-second run at 327.82 mph, the third-fastest of the session, but during the fourth round, her car had tire shake and was unable to improve on her best time.

“We were pushing the car hard in Q4 and it was a really cool track,” said Force, the 2013 Winternationals winner. “(Sunday’s) going to be a lot warmer, so we can run the setup we had from the heat of the day and dial in on race day. My dad got around us with that 335 mph, but it’s really cool that we’re running so close to each other, and (teammate) Robert (Hight) is right behind.

Her first-round matchup will be against No. 14 qualifier Jim Campbell, whom she is undefeated against (3-0). All three victories against Campbell have come in a first round.

“I’m looking forward to race day, the first one on the 2017 season,” she said. “I’m really excited to hopefully put on a good show for the Advance Auto Parts team, and the Chevy Camaro is obviously running pretty solid. We going to try to keep it consistent through race day.”

John Force will start No. 2 in Funny Car in his PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS, while Hight, in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, will be No. 5.

Elimination rounds for Funny Car are scheduled to start 11 a.m. Sunday, with Top Fuel immediately following. The Winternationals will be televised live on FOX starting at 4 p.m. Eastern.