PEAK Funny Car driver John Force claims
No. 6 qualifying position at Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 17) – Sixteen-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force qualified No. 6 for Sunday’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway and will face No. 11 Del Worsham in the opening round of the race.

Force, in the PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS, made a pass of 3.983 seconds at 322.96 mph in the second round of Friday’s qualifying, the best of four runs, including two Saturday. His first run Friday was his second best.

“We’re still struggling, but we’re getting there,” said Force, a four-time Bristol winner. “We’re in a hole, but we’re going to climb out. We’ll just see what tomorrow brings.”

While he slipped from No. 4 to No. 6 in the final session, he can look at his other two No. 6 qualifying efforts at the track as motivation. Two of his four Bristol victories have come from the No. 6 qualifying position – in 2010 and 2013. Both of those also came on Father’s Day.

Force’s matchup against Worsham will mark the fourth meeting between the two on the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Force has won all three matchups, all in the first round. His first victory over Worsham in March came at Gainesville, Fla., in which Force went on to claim his record 148th career Funny Car victory. Force has also won five of the last six matchups against Worsham, the 2015 Funny Car titlist.

Final eliminations are scheduled for noon Sunday. Fox Sports 1 plans broadcast three hours of finals coverage at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

4-Second Reads:
Qualifying Round 1 (Left Lane): 4.069 seconds/317.57 mph; straight down the track with no problems and top speed of session (No. 4 of session and No. 4 overall; no bonus points)
Qualifying Round 2 (Right Lane): 3.983 seconds/322.96 mph; another straight shot from A for B (No. 4 of session and No. 4 overall; no bonus points during session and no bonus points overall)
Qualifying Round 3 (Right Lane): 5.266 seconds/144.23 mph; lost a cylinder and backed off about 400-foot mark (No. 6 of session and No. 4 overall; no bonus points during session and no bonus points overall)
Qualifying Round 4 (Left Lane): 6.465 seconds/105.98 mph; smoked tires around the 300-foot mark (No. 12 of session and No. 6 overall; no bonus points during session and no bonus points overall)
This is the second time this season and 57th time in his career Force has qualified No. 6. He also qualified No. 6 in last month’s NHRA Heartland Nationals in Topeka, Kan.
This is the third time Force has qualified No. 6 at Bristol. Both of his previous No. 6 qualifying at the track resulted in victories – in 2010 and 2013.
Force’s matchup against Del Worsham marks the 86th time the two will compete against each other, with three previous matchups this season (all of which have resulted in a Force first-round victory). Force has won the last three and five of the last six, and holds a 56-29 advantage. Their only previous matchup at Bristol came in 2003, in which Worsham won in the second round.