Auto Club driver Robert Hight secures No. 2 qualifying spot as part of JFR 1-2-3 at Four-Wide Nationals
CONCORD, N.C. (April 29) – Robert Hight seeks a third Funny Car victory in Sunday’s unique Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, and will mount his charge for the mark from the No. 2 qualifying position.
Hight – driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS – established a best pass of 3.873 seconds at a track record 333.91 mph in Friday’s second qualifying session. That means he’ll line up against No. 7 Tommy Johnson Jr., No. 10 Jack Beckman and No. 15 Jim Campbell in the first round of eliminations.
The sixth round of the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule, the Four-Wide Nationals is scheduled to begin at noon Eastern Sunday.
On Saturday, Hight made passes of 3.941 seconds at 325.06 mph in Lane 1 and 3.925 seconds at 324.83 mph in Lane 4. That final qualifying run was quickest of the session, but not enough to upstage teammate and No. 1 Courtney Force, who secured the top spot for the third consecutive race.
“It’s exciting,” said Hight, the 2012 and 2014 winner of the Four-Wide Nationals and four-time winner at the track. “It gives you confidence as a driver when your car goes up and down the track like this and making really good runs. I just have to do my job. We’re collecting those points, and we keep doing that and we’ll be right back in this thing.”
Hight – whose most recent Funny Car victory came in the 2016 NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway – said the unique format of the Four-Wide Nationals is perfect for his car.
“When you have a car that is running at the top like this and you only have a three-round race and the top two advance, it’s the best,” said Hight, who made it to the finals in last weekend’s SpringNationals in Houston. “This sort of scenario is great for a car that is running like ours. I can’t wait for tomorrow to see if we can’t put my third Four-Wide in the books.”
With Courtney Force’s No. 1, Hight’s No. 2 and John Force’s No. 3, it marked the first JFR 1-2-3 sweep in qualifying since the 2014 race at Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas.
Final eliminations begin at noon Eastern on Sunday. Fox Sports 1 will televise three hours of coverage starting at 5:30 p.m.