Inaugural Epping winner Courtney Force ready to take Advance Auto Parts Chevy back to winner’s circle

EPPING, N.H. (May 31) – Few drivers on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit can say they won the inaugural event at one of the current tracks.

Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS driver Courtney Force is one of them, and she believes this weekend’s NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway is the perfect site for her to get on a roll and win her first Funny Car race of 2017.

Force won the first race at the track in 2013, besting father John Force in the first of their two career final-round matchups against each other. Courtney Force also set two career-bests in the most recent race – the NHRA Menards Heartland Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka – with an elapsed time of 3.815 seconds in qualifying and 338.68 mph in her first-round race. The career-best ET was, for a short time, a national record.

“I think our Advance Auto Parts team is ready to go for four in a row,” Force said. “We feel good about the car and know we can compete. We’ve won here before and looking forward to going back to a place that is familiar to us. We can always go back and look at data from previous races. A lot has changed, but we can learn from certain things. We’re just hoping to come off Topeka on a high note and go back to a track that’s been good to us.”

Force seeks her first victory of the season despite setting four consecutive No. 1 qualifying efforts, between races at Las Vegas and Atlanta. While it’s nice to be quickest on Friday and Saturday, it’s the quick times on Sunday that matter most.

“It’s nice that we’ve had a fast and quick race car, to set for a time a national record and be one of the few to run over 338 mph – it definitely feels good – but we have to learn from that and be more consistent,” Force said. “We’ve got to start going rounds. Our biggest struggle is not having that ET on Sundays. It’s a corner we’re turning now, but my team is finding time and speed out of this race car, and it’s only a matter of time before we get into that winner’s circle. We’re hoping to do it there in Epping, N.H.”

Not only is the four-race stretch key in obtaining momentum, it is also an opportunity to gain valuable points toward the Countdown to the Championship, the NHRA’s version of the playoffs, which includes the final six races of the season.

“When you start a four-race swing, you want to kick it off on a high note,” said Force, sixth in Funny Car points standings. “We want to do well at the first race so we can keep the momentum going for the (other) three. It’s going rounds and getting this car on a roll. This is where it will be really important to build up points. Four in a row is going to fly by, so it will be a time to get up there and start getting some of those points back.”

The New England Nationals kicks off Friday with two qualifying sessions (5 and 7:30 p.m. Eastern), the second session to be televised live on Fox Sports 1. Qualifying continues Saturday with two more rounds (noon and 4:30 p.m.), with an hour of television coverage scheduled on FS1 at 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

Elimination rounds begin at 11 a.m. Sunday, with three hours of television coverage on FS1 starting at 4:30 p.m.

4-Second Reads:

Courtney Force has competed in four races at New England Dragway and every race since the inaugural event in 2013.
Force has advanced to the final round of the NHRA New England Nationals once, winning the inaugural race in 2013.
Force is 9-3 in elimination rounds at New England Dragway.
Force’s best qualifying efforts at New England Dragway came in 2013 and 2014, when she qualified No. 3.
Force is 4-0 in first-round matchups at New England Dragway.
Force is currently sixth in Funny Car points standings.
In her career, Force has eight victories, 138 elimination round wins, and 14 No. 1 qualifying spots.
Force’s most recent NHRA victory – 2016 NHRA SpringNationals in Houston
Force’s most recent No. 1 qualifying effort – 2017 NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta.
Force’s best time/speed at Epping – 3.915 seconds (2016); 327.27 mph (2016)
Force’s best time/speed of career – 3.815 seconds (2017 Topeka Q2); 338.68 mph (2017 Topeka E1)