CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS
NEW ENGLAND DRAGWAY AT EPPING, NEW HAMPSHIRE
POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
SUNDAY, JUNE 4, 2017
An interview with Top Fuel winner BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 2 qualifier; fourth career win in 105 races):
Q: YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN WORKING ON STUFF AND WORKING ON STUFF, AND NOW ITS PAYING DIVIDENDS AS THE CAR HAS BEEN VERY CONSISTENT THE LAST FEW RACES
BRITTANY FORCE: “We had really been struggling and we got lost for a while but we really seemed to figure it out last week at Topeka. I knew we had a good race car, we had our Monster car back, our team back, and I knew that first win was right around the corner. Our last final round was Phoenix and that whole time in between was tough for the team. But we never lost focus, and we never gave up and that was what was important. That is what held us together as a team and got us here today.”
Q: HOW IMPORTANT WAS THAT INDY TEST?
BRITTANY FORCE: “The Indy test turned everything around. Really after Atlanta, we already knew what the problem was and we were going to prove it on the racetrack in testing. We knew we were right, and that we had a problem with the clutch and we were good after that.”
An interview with Pro Stock winner ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier; 22nd career victory, first since Las Vegas in 2015):
Q: WAS IT RELIEF, ELATION. WHAT WAS THE IMMEDIATE EMOTION OF SEEING THE WIN LIGHT?
ERICA ENDERS: “C, all of the above. It’s kind of a culmination of everything that’s happened over the past year and a half. 2016 was nothing short of a challenge for us, but we stayed together. I keep talking about my team, but I have the most unique group of individuals, and it’s so awesome to have a group that has my back. That’s 100 percent of the reason I am able to drive the way I do just because I have their support and their confidence. Throughout those trials and tribulations, the challenges and adversity that we faced, they always rose to the top. We might have turned on many win lights in 2016 or yet this year, but we still hade a blast together and they still dug deep, gave it all the heart that they had and stayed positive. That’s what is so awesome. I wished my entire career for a group like I have, and I intend to keep them for as long as I can.
Q: THIS IS YOUR FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON, BUT YOU’VE HAD A COMPETITIVE CAR AND HAVE BEEN IN THE THICK OF THINGS.
ERICA ENDERS: We really have and it’s going back to a proven combination, which is our Chevy power plant at Elite Performance and I’m actually driving my 2014 championship car with a new front end on it. I’m super proud. I think that this is just the tip of the iceberg for us. We needed some things to fall our way. We were fortunate in 2014 and 2015. We had a fast car, we drove well, we had things fall our way as well. Maybe this is the turning point for us.
FUNNY CAR:
COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier; fell in final): “I’m really proud of my team. Honestly, coming from the explosion that we had in Friday qualifying and to bring out a spare car that we haven’t run and to put it on the racetrack … our first pass down the racetrack was the first round of eliminations, and to go by and get the win and to have a consistent car and then to continually improve on our ETs throughout the day, I’m really proud of my guys. We hurt some parts and pieces on the final-round lap. That’s why it slowed us down to a .92. We were hoping to run a little better than our .89 that we did in the semis, but good job by (Matt) Hagan and his team. They outran us, but feeling pretty good about this spare car. Bringing out a whole new car, getting it figured out as quickly as Dan Hood and Ronnie Thompson did and to be able to get it running consistently on race day – where it counted – is incredibly important. It’s job well done by the team. To go all the way to the finals is a testament to their work.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AAA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier; fell in first round): “When you’re racing No. 16, you’ve got to be careful. But we dropped a cylinder at the hit, and that screws up the power and everything else. It goes out there and it rattles, and I gave it a quick pedal and hooked it back up. Literally, we needed about 20 more feet and we would’ve got him. It wasn’t meant to be. Our car’s running good, and we’ve got to put (Epping) behind us and move to Englishtown and make four good qualifying and win some rounds on race day. That’s our goal right now.”
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK COOLANT & MOTOR OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 13 qualifier; fell in first round): “Not the way I wanted it – I keep saying it. I’ve won one race so far and I’m third in the points but I think I’m going to get knocked down here. What we’re learning with the car, it’s working. Robert (Hight) was No. 1 with the AAA car, and Courtney (Force) was No. 2 with Advance Auto Parts. Brittany (Force) was No. 2 with Monster, and I’m just not there. But this is the excitement about it: I’m going to claw my way back to the top – you can count on it.”
PRO STOCK:
TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, GRAY MOTORSPORTS VALVOLINE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier; fell in final): “I am very thankful to have qualified No. 1 in order to set me up for the favorable run schedule today. I was lucky in Rounds 1 and 2. On some days would rather be lucky than good. We had a heck of a day racing today. It was unpredictable. We may have lost the race, but we made great improvements toward the championship.”
BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO, BUTNER AUTO SALES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “It wasn’t a terrible day – we kind of found something, Jason (Line) and I did, when I sort of screwed up on something before Round 2. It’s funny that you can actually find out a lot of stuff by mistake, but it was faster. I think we learned something with that, at least with my combination, so it was good. I can’t wait to go race next week.”
GREG ANDERSON, SUMMIT RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; fell in first round): “We missed the starting line, overspun, and shook the tires. It’s disappointing, but we have to leave here and put it behind us. This is one of my best racetracks, but that didn’t get us much today. But it was a learning experience. We’ve got sharp guys. We will learn from this.”
JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM ELITE PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier; fell in first round): “Good job by (teammate) Vincent (Nobile). We both ran well that session in comparison to the field, but he got a better jump and that was enough to get the win. We’ve been working a brand-new tune-up this weekend and that probably caught up to us a little today because we sure feel like we could have been quicker. If we had been, that might have turned the result our way, but no matter what, we are very pleased with the direction we’re heading and we’ll definitely keep after it next weekend in Englishtown (N.J.)”
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 7 qualifier; fell in quarterfinals): “You know, it was a good race, and I’ll take a .022 [reaction time] any day of the week and four times on any Sunday. It just wasn’t good enough today. Sometimes, no matter what you do it isn’t good enough, but I have a lot of confidence in our KB Racing team and these Summit Racing Chevy Camaros. We’ve been in a little slump here lately, but you’ll have that. Hopefully, Englishtown will be better for me.”
VINCENT NOBILE, MOUNTAIN VIEW RACING, MOUNTAIN VIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 9 qualifier; fell in quarterfinals): “We got around Jeg Coughlin in Round 1, which was a tough match-up. Then we got back to the pits, swapped engines, everything seemed fine and then after I pre-staged the car just backfired. I tried to restart it several times but I only has seven seconds. At that point, I was a sitting duck. It definitely stung to lose that way but we will regroup and head to my home race in Englishtown, N.J.”
KENNY DELCO, JCM RACING, JCM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 10 qualifier; fell in quarterfinals): “We’ve got a whole new combination. It definitely makes more power even if it didn’t show in E.T. We know that we need to step up in order to be competitive. Our old stuff was good, but we need to be better.”
JOHN GAYDOSH JR., GAYDOSH PERFORMANCE, GAYDOSH PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 11 qualifier; fell in first round): “The red light was because I was trying to kill the tree. It’s race day. I’m either going to red or I’m going to be double-zero on race day. That’s my game plan.”