JFR drivers Robert Hight, Brittany Force
each snare provisional No. 2 spot at Norwalk
NORWALK, Ohio (June 23) – The wait was worth it for John Force Racing drivers Robert Hight and Brittany Force.
After a long Friday that saw rain and qualifying run late into the night for the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, both Hight and Force soared to the No. 1 spot for short stints before both settling into the provisional No. 2 qualifying position in Funny Car and Top Fuel, respectively.
Team owner John Force snared the No. 3 spot in Funny Car, while Courtney Force had a tough day and stands No. 17.
Conditions were ripe for good runs Friday night, and Hight roared down the Norwalk track with a pass of 3.870 seconds at 334.65 mph in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS. Both numbers were track records and Hight jumped to the top of the board, but he had to settle for the No. 2 spot. Still, he held on to the Norwalk track speed record.
“It was a great run,” Hight said. “Any time you run that fast, 334 mph, you know everything is happy, the motor looked beautiful. It’s kind of a shame we didn’t make it down the first run, because you’re kind of on defense. When you don’t go down the first run, you’ve got to be careful and make sure it goes on the night run.
“Had we run great the first run, which we should’ve, we’d have bene really swinging tonight because there was a lot left out there. Great race track.”
And it was a fun experience for Hight, too.
“(The) Bader (family, who owns the track) put in these lights last year. It used to be real dark and not much to race here at night,” Hight said. “But now it’s awesome. You can still see the sunset down there in the sky, and you just drive toward the sunset.”
Brittany Force didn’t make it down the track in the first qualifying session either, but her Monster Energy dragster sped to the top spot with a run of 3.714 seconds at 327.66 mph. She held that until the last pair of cars when she was knocked back to No. 2.
“No. 2 is an awesome spot to be Friday night,” Force said. “It’s going to be hotter tomorrow, so we really needed to get a solid run in. A .71 isn’t bad at all. We’re not complaining; it’s an awesome run for the Monster Energy team. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
John Force made a solid pass in the second session, making a run of 3.911 at 319.98 mph, and he sits in the provisional No. 3 spot with the PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet. Courtney Force and her Advance Auto Parts team had a tough Friday, but she has two more sessions Saturday to crack the top 16.
Two rounds of qualifying are slated for Saturday (12:45 and 3:15 p.m. Eastern), with final eliminations at 11 a.m. Sunday.
Fox Sports 1 will televise one hour of qualifying on Saturday midnight. FS1 plans three hours of finals coverage at 6 p.m. Sunday.