Courtney Force, Advance Auto Parts team ready to bounce back after DNQ in Norwalk

Courtney Force, Advance Auto Parts team
ready to bounce back after DNQ in Norwalk

NORWALK, Ohio (June 24) – Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force vowed to bounce back after failing to qualify for this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals for the first time in her professional career.

Force had qualified for the first 130 races of her Funny Car career before coming short of the top 16 for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on Saturday at Summit Motorsports Park.

“I guess it was a great run for my team, not having any DNQs until this weekend,” Force said. “We’re bummed out. Obviously, we expected better out of our car. We even just tried to get any sort of decent run down there, but we’ve really struggled with the track and the bumps in the lanes here for some reason.

“But it’s our own fault for not getting it figured out and not getting it in the field. I tried to pedal it down there in the last run, but it wasn’t good enough to get the car in the field. We’re going to have to turn our focus to Chicago and cheer on our teammates to a win tomorrow.”

Force had qualified in the top four in all 11 races of the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series before Norwalk. Plus, she raced to two final rounds this season, including in Epping, N.H., earlier this month.

But Force and her team struggled in Norwalk. After overpowering the track in Friday’s night qualifying session, the team was determined to simply get down the track in the two sessions Saturday. But the best Force could run was 4.627 seconds at 176.24 mph in Q3. She had to pedal the Chevrolet Camaro SS in the final session but fell short with a 5.201-second pass at 194.41 mph.

Force and her team now turn their attention to the Fallen Patriots Route 66 NHRA Nationals on July 7-9 at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill.

“We’re going to learn what’s changed in these last few races, what’s killing our consistency,” Force said. “We’re going to have to get it figured out. I stand by my team, and we’re in this together through the highs and the lows. We’re definitely at a low right now, but we’re excited to get to Chicago. I’d like to get this DNQ out of the way, move on, find the positive and turn this season around from here on out.”