Can Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS driver Courtney Force turn green into yellow?

COMMERCE, Ga. (May 6) – The colors red and green go well together. But Courtney Force wants red and yellow as her fashion statement for the NHRA Southern Nationals on Sunday at Atlanta Dragway.

No. 1 qualifiers in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series receive green hats as a prize – and race winners get yellow hats. Force drives a bright red Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car and has now donned a green hat for four consecutive races.

She snared her fourth consecutive No. 1 with another track record – also her fourth in a row – with a pass of 3.893 seconds at 322.65 mph on Saturday.

“Obviously, our ultimate goal is turning this green hat into a yellow one,” Force said. “We haven’t had very much luck from the No. 1 spot, so I’m hoping for some better luck tomorrow. My team definitely deserves a win after all these No. 1 qualifiers they’ve been putting out there. I really hope we can get it done.”

Force’s No. 1 streak started in Las Vegas and continued through Houston, Charlotte and now Atlanta. But Force has mysteriously been unable to turn that speed into round wins, falling in the first round in two of those events.

Force is driving a new Advance Auto Parts Camaro in Atlanta after crashing in Charlotte last weekend. Her team brought a backup here but lost two qualifying sessions Friday because of rain.

“We’re just trying to get this car consistent from the first pass,” Force said. “I shut it off early (in the first session Saturday); it was trying to get a little bit to the centerline. We looked at it, and it was running how we wanted it. It was supposed to be an early shutoff originally, and it did exactly what we wanted.

“For my Advance Auto Parts team, for this Chevy Camaro, for PEAK, for Auto Club, for Monster Energy, I’m really excited for my sponsors to give them another No. 1 qualifier hat and hopefully a win tomorrow. That’s what my team deserves. For round one, we’re looking for consistency. It’s really important for our team to find it and maybe with this new car, we will.”

Force’s team made a quick turnaround after Charlotte, where Force’s car darted right after losing cylinders on one side of the car in the first round. She tagged the wall and was disqualified, and the car was damaged enough to warrant her team to send another Camaro from the John Force Racing shop in Brownsburg, Ind., to Atlanta.

And Force was still able to continue her streak of qualifying No. 1.

“It definitely feels good, especially after last weekend,” Force said. “Four No. 1 qualifiers in a row, that’s pretty insane. I’m really proud of my team. After last weekend, we had to pull out a spare car to run this weekend, and that was the first lap we got in that car (in the first session). To go out and run an .89 and set the track record and get that top spot feels pretty good. It feels pretty good for a new car and adjusting to the steering of the car, the brake handle for staging – a lot of minor things to get used to with this car, but for the job my team has done to get this put together so quickly and have it ready for this weekend, I’m really proud of them.
“I’m really excited for (crew chief) Dan Hood, (co-chief) Ronnie Thompson for what they’ve achieved so far this weekend. It makes me excited to see what we can do tomorrow.”

The record for consecutive No. 1s in Funny Car is seven, accomplished by Don Prudhomme in 1976-77 and John Force in 1994-95.

Elimination rounds for the NHRA Southern Nationals begin at 11 a.m. Eastern. Fox Sports 1 begins its coverage at 6 p.m. Eastern.

4-Second Reads:

Qualifying Run No. 1: 4.015 seconds at 256.36 mph; third quickest of session (1 bonus point in session); third quickest in qualifying
Qualifying Run No. 2: 3.893 seconds at 322.65 mph; straight down the track; quickest of session (3 bonus points in session; 4 bonus points overall in qualifying); quickest in qualifying
This marks the fourth consecutive race in which Force has earned the No. 1 qualifying time and the 14th of her career. Her four consecutive No. 1s are the most in Funny Car since Jack Beckman accomplished the feat during a four-race streak in 2015.
Force has three previous victories from the No. 1 qualifying position. Her last victory from the No. 1 spot came Sept. 21, 2014, when she defeated Del Worsham at Texas Motorplex.
Force’s most recent victory came May 1, 2016, in the SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway, where she defeated Tim Wilkerson.
Force’s matchup against Jeff Diehl marks the fourth time the two will compete in an elimination round. Force holds the advantage 2-1, having won the last matchup two weeks ago in Houston.
Force has one previous final-round matchup at Atlanta Dragway – a 2014 loss against JFR teammate Robert Hight.