Auto Club driver Robert Hight speeds
to No. 3 qualifying spot in Topeka
TOPEKA, Kan. (May 20) – Robert Hight now owns two of the fastest three speeds in NHRA history, as his Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car snared the No. 3 qualifying spot for the NHRA Menards Heartland Nationals.
Hight made two spectacular passes in the three qualifying sessions – one of the four scheduled was canceled because of inclement weather – turning heads with his Chevrolet Camaro SS. His first pass, in Friday’s lone session, was 3.826 seconds at 337.66 mph. That temporarily put him in the No. 1 spot, and the speed was a national record.
Matt Hagan and John Force Racing teammate Courtney Force went even quicker on Saturday, though Hight and his team took a big swing with a pass of 3.834 seconds at 337.16 mph in the final session.
“To be able to run 337 miles per hour twice, that shows you that the engine is running good and is happy,” Hight said. “We just picked up 50 mph in the back half, and if we would have picked up 50 last night, it would have been 339 mph. When it’s picking up the kind of mph in the back half, it’s running good and it’s happy.”
Hight continues to improve after he and crew chief Jimmy Prock were reunited for the third race of the season. He has qualified fourth or better in four of the six races with Prock, racing to the final in Houston and the semifinals in Atlanta.
“It’s definitely coming around,” Hight said. “The problem is you don’t get a lot of practice swinging for the fence in runs and conditions like this. So you never know what its gonna give you when you get up there. It just has to be perfect.”
Hight will line up against No. 14 qualifier Dale Creasy in the first round of eliminations Sunday. Creasy’s best lap was 4.065 at 309.987 mph.
“But we gotta throw all this out and we gotta go out and race tomorrow,” Hight said. “We need a win here. I think if we went up there and ran .84, .85 all day tomorrow you’re gonna be in the winner’s circle, so that’s our goal. I’m ready.”
Sunday’s NHRA Menards Heartland Nationals begins at noon Eastern. Fox Sports 1 will provide three hours of live finals coverage starting at 3 p.m. Eastern.
4-Second Reads:
Qualifying Round 1: 3.826 sec./337.66 mph; straight down the track with national speed record
Qualifying Round 2: 5.833 sec./117.31 mph; lost traction early and coasted to the finish
Qualifying Round 3: 3.850 sec./337.16 mph; another solid pass but unable to improve and stayed No. 3
This is the first time this year Hight has qualified No. 3. His best qualifying effort of the season was No. 2 at Gainesville and Charlotte.
Hight has now qualified in the No. 3 spot 38 times and has eight victories, 11 finals, and 61 round wins in 90 elimination rounds. His eight victories at No. 3 are the most from any qualifying position.
Hight’s most recent victory from the No. 3 qualifying position came last year at Gainesville Raceway in Florida, when he defeated Ron Capps.
Hight’s most recent victory at Heartland Park Topeka came in 2011, when he defeated teammate Mike Neff in the final round. He also qualified No. 3 that year.
This is the fourth time Hight has qualified No. 3 at Topeka, with two of the three previous times ending with a finals appearance (also contested 2013 finals against Johnny Gray).
Hight’s matchup against Dale Creasy Jr. marks the fourth time the two will compete in an elimination round. Hight has won all three previous meetings (all in the first round), the most recent coming in 2011, when he defeated Creasy at Topeka, en route to winning the race.