Sixth No. 1 of 2017 has Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force pumped for Denver eliminations

Sixth No. 1 of 2017 has Advance Auto Parts driver
Courtney Force pumped for Denver eliminations

DENVER (July 22) – Courtney Force continues to pile up impressive numbers in qualifying on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour.

And after grabbing her sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season, she’s more than ready to take the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS to the winner’s circle in the Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.

Force qualified No. 1 in Denver for the second consecutive season, this time making a top pass of 3.889 seconds at 328.30 mph – setting both Bandimere track records in the process.

“It feels great being in the No. 1 qualifying spot for this entire Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro team,” Force said. “Due to all my guys, my crew chiefs Dan Hood, Ronnie Thompson, it’s pretty impressive what they can do up here for the Mile-High Nationals. It feels great to be in that top spot.

“I’m looking for a long race day (Sunday). That’s what we need, we need to pick up those points, we got to climb our way back up there. I think I’m feeling pretty good coming off of qualifying. I feel like we have made some pretty consistent runs, and we’re learning some things, for sure.”

Force now has 16 No. 1 qualifiers in her career, one more than her older sister, Ashley Force Hood. And she also has set five track elapsed-time records this season.

But Force is still looking for her first victory of 2017.

“I think we definitely learned something from today and I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” Force said. “It’s going to be a hot track all day long, so it will be interesting to see what we can do. It will be fun to see what kind of numbers people can lay down. I feel really good about where my team’s at and how we have been running. We will see what we can do.”

Force led a 1-2-3 qualifying sweep by John Force Racing, with dad John Force No. 2 and Robert Hight No. 3.

“I think it’s pretty amazing that dad and I are 1 and 2,” Courtney Force said. “I think it is really great for JFR. If you look at it last year, dad and I were in the final round. He took the win, and don’t think that’s not what I’m thinking about when we roll up for qualifying. I want to make sure he is not taking my top spot and that we hang on to it.”

Force will start eliminations against No. 16 qualifier Jim Campbell, who made a best pass of 5.316 seconds at 133.38 mph.

Final eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. Mountain, with Fox providing live coverage at 1 p.m. Mountain.

4-Second Reads:
Qualifying Round 1 (Left Lane): 3.889 seconds/328.30 mph; another strong JFR run right down the middle for top ET of the session (No. 1 of session and No. 1 overall; three bonus points)
Qualifying Round 2 (Right Lane): 8.008 seconds/79.95 mph; lost traction about 150 feet out (No. 6 of session and No. 1 overall; no bonus points in session and three bonus points overall)
Qualifying Round 3 (Right Lane): 3.940 seconds/316.15 mph; strong run and only sub-four second pass of the third session (No. 1 of session and No. 1 overall; three bonus points in session and six bonus points overall)
Qualifying Round 4 (Left Lane): 4.396 seconds/197.28 mph; lost traction near the 660-foot mark (No. 8 of session and No. 1 overall; no bonus points in session and six bonus points overall)
-This is the sixth time this season and 16th time in her career Force has qualified No. 1. She has qualified No. 1 at Las Vegas, Houston, Charlotte, Atlanta, Englishtown and Denver.
Force has four victories and five finals from the No. 1 qualifying position. She is 28-11 in 39 elimination rounds.
This is the second consecutive season Force has qualified No. 1 at Denver. She has qualified No. 1 more than once at five different tracks – Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Calif.; The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Texas Motorplex (Ennis, Texas); zMAX Dragway (Concord, N.C.); and Bandimere Speedway.
Force’s matchup against Jim Campbell marks the eighth time the two will compete against each other, with the most recent meeting taking place last month in Epping, N.H. Force holds a 5-2 advantage overall and is 2-2 against Campbell this season.