Auto Club driver Robert Hight ready
to make more history at Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS (March 28) – Past NHRA Funny Car champion Robert Hight brings a strong history and a strong Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car to the NHRA Nationals this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Hight qualified No. 2 and ran career-bests in elapsed time and speed during the Gatornationals two weeks ago. That came after a crew swap at John Force Racing brought crew chief Jimmy Prock and co-crew chief Chris Cunningham to Hight’s team.
Now, Hight and his team head to Vegas, where he ranks as the winningest driver in this event. Hight has won the first Las Vegas race three times to lead all Funny Car drivers. Plus, he has five victories overall at The Strip, putting him tied for second behind only team owner John Force.
“I’m looking forward to Las Vegas, based on how we ran at Gainesville,” Hight said. “Jimmy and I have won Las Vegas quite a few times, and I’m the winningest Funny Car drivers in this race at Las Vegas. We’ve gotten it done before, and we know how to do it.”
Hight has been to the final round of this event five times and eight times overall. Hight made the final round here in both races in 2015, winning the fall event and falling to Force in the spring race.
The Strip is a unique track on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, as it’s not at sea level, nor is it the mile-high elevation seen at Bandimere Speedway in Denver.
“Vegas is challenging because you’re halfway to Denver,” Hight said. “You’re at 2,000 feet elevation, so it’s challenging to make power there. But we’re up for it.”
Though NHRA was off last weekend, Hight was still at a race track. He attended all three days of the Auto Club 400 NASCAR weekend at Auto Club Speedway, spending Sunday with John Force and Brittany Force as they watched the Monster Energy Series race.
“Had a great weekend,” Hight said. “I went all three days, and Auto Club kept me busy. I got some good interviews with MRN, and they even played the one I did on Friday all throughout the Cup and the Xfinity race, so I lots of people calling and texting me, ‘Hey, you’re on the big screen.’ That was cool.
“The Auto Club really go all in with everything they do. Their display at the NASCAR race, just like at the NHRA race, is showing the things we filmed over the winter with Joey Logano. A lot of people really liked the movie trailer, too. It was good to go out and represent them and at the same time hang out with the Monster Energy and Chevrolet guys.”
Fox Sports 1 will televise three hours of live finals coverage, beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.
4-Second Reads:
Robert Hight has competed in the spring race at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 12 times, and every year since 2005, his first race at the track.
Hight has advanced to the final round of the Las Vegas spring event five times, winning three times (2007, 2011, 2012).
Overall, Hight has five victories at Las Vegas, with two in the fall race.
Hight is 24-9 in elimination rounds in the Las Vegas spring event, and 38-18 in elimination rounds at the track.
Hight has qualified No. 1 in the Las Vegas spring race four times (2006, 2008, 2012, 2013). Overall, he has seven No. 1 qualifying positions at Las Vegas.
Hight is 10-2 in first-round Las Vegas spring race matchups, having won the last six.
In his career, Hight has 37 victories and 375 round wins. He has 49 No. 1 qualifying spots, tied for 13th all-time in NHRA’s professional categories.
Hight is currently sixth in the Funny Car points standings, up four spots from 10th from the previous race.
Hight’s best time/speed at Las Vegas – 3.885 seconds (2016 #2 Q2); 325.37 (2016 #1 Q4)
Hight’s best time/speed of career – 3.828 seconds (2017 Gainesville E1); 334.82 mph (2017 Gainesville E1)