Courtney Force, Advance Auto Parts team looking for consistency after upset loss in Vegas first round

LAS VEGAS (April 2) – After an upset loss in the first round of the NHRA Nationals on Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Courtney Force huddled with her Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS team to figure out a plan of attack moving forward.

Force, the No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car, stumbled in the first round against veteran Gary Densham, losing after a slowing pass of 5.118 seconds at 153.39 mph.

“It’s a bummer,” Force said. “Our Advance Auto Parts team has had some great runs, and we know the car is capable of running some stellar numbers. We’re having a hard time finding some consistency with it, especially being able to run it in the heat.

“So we’ll be back out here tomorrow testing all day in the heat to see if we can get the right tuneup going into the next race.”

Immediately after her run, Force and her team began working on a plan to make the Advance Auto Parts Camaro more consistent.

“When I got back to the pit, it was straight to the computer to figure out the problem with the car, what’s going on, how we can fix it and how we can move forward going into the next few races and what we’re going to try out for testing tomorrow,” Force said. “Then I headed out to the ropes to sign for the fans. They definitely help lift your spirits up after a rough day. I’ll be out there cheering on the rest of my teammates.”

Force and her team, led by crew chief Daniel Hood and Ronnie Thompson, will test here Monday. Force, who has qualified in the top four in all four NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series races in 2017, knows her team can dig itself out of the current rut.

“These guys do an amazing job, and I’m sticking by them,” Force said. “I know we can get this thing figured out. I’d rather get the bad luck out of the way now than when we’re in the Countdown.”

The Countdown to the Championship includes the final six races of the season and settles title battles in each of the four NHRA pro classes. Points are reset before the Countdown, meaning each of the top 10 drivers who reach NHRA’s playoffs have a shot at the championship. Force will maintain her spot inside the top 10 of the Funny Car points standings after Vegas.

The next race is the NHRA Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, just outside Houston.