Brittany Force, Monster Energy team snap out of funk in Topeka, advance to Heartland Nationals second round
TOPEKA, Kan. (May 21) – Brittany Force set career-bests for time and speed and advanced to the quarterfinals of Sunday’s NHRA Menards Heartland Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka before falling to Steve Torrence.
Force – the No. 4 qualifier of the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster – bested No. 13 Luigi Novelli in the opening-round matchup with a pass of 3.698 seconds at 333.66 mph, a national Top Fuel speed record. That speed was more than a mile an hour faster than her previous best, set during the event’s third qualifying session Saturday, when she ran 332.43 mph. That third-round qualifying pass was also Force’s career-best elapsed time, 3.674 seconds.
“We’d been struggling the last few races, so we went to Indy and tested, and this is the result,” Force said. “This is the run we knew we could achieve, so I’m happy.”
Her first-round victory set up a matchup against No. 5 Torrence, the winner of the two previous races in Charlotte and Atlanta and is a technical partner with the Alan Johnson Racing stable. While Force recorded a reaction time of .074 seconds, Torrence was slightly better at .060 seconds, which made all the difference. Force chased him down the track and – despite a quicker time – Torrence earned the holeshot victory by 0.0056 seconds, or about three feet. Force ran 3.736 seconds at 332.92 mph to Torrence’s 3.745-second pass at 326.95 mph.
“We worked with Torrence all of last year, and his car has been killing it the last few races,” Force said. “We’ll get him next time.”
While the second-round loss is disappointing, Force takes solace in the fact that she advanced out of the first round and set two of her top five quickest passes of her career and her three fastest speeds – all in succession.
“We definitely made some changes for Topeka, and we have a car that we are confident in,” Force said. “It went down the race track every time, set my career-best time and speed. We have a race car that I know we can win in; we’ve just got to get me straightened out. I’ll find it, I’ll be back. I have a great team behind me, and we’ll be ready for the next one.”
Force and the Monster Energy Top Fuel team return to action June 2-4 for the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway in Epping, N.H.
4-Second Reads:
Best Qualifying Effort: 3.674 sec./332.43 mph (Round 3), No. 4 qualifier
Elimination Round 1 (Left Lane): 3.698 sec./333.66 mph, def. No. 13 Luigi Novelli, 3.986 sec./288.95 mph; vs. Novelli – 3-0 all-time; 1-0 this season; 2-0 at Topeka
Elimination Round 2 (Quarterfinals, Left Lane): 3.736 sec./332.92 mph, loses to No. 5 Steve Torrence, 3.745 sec./326.95 mph; vs. Torrence – 3-4 all-time; 0-2 this season; 2-0 at Topeka
Force is now 7-8 this season in 15 elimination rounds.
Force is now 6-5 at Heartland Park Topeka in 11 elimination rounds.
Force is now 14-12 all-time in 26 elimination rounds from the No. 4 qualifying spot.
Force is now 94-97 all-time in 193 elimination rounds.
Top Fuel Points Standings: 1. Leah Pritchett, 721; 2. Steve Torrence, 691; 3. Tony Schumacher, 688; 4. Antron Brown, 680; 5. Doug Kalitta, 539; 7. Brittany Force, 405.