CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
MOPAR MILE-HIGH NHRA NATIONALS
BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY AT MORRISON, COLORADO
POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2017

An interview with Funny Car winner ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; ended winless streak dating to Gainesville 2016; 38th career victory; fourth win at the track; has 29-9 round record at the track; won a race for 13th consecutive year; sixth driver to qualify for Traxxas Nitro Shootout; recorded 249th Funny Car victory for John Force Racing):

Q: HAS ANY OF YOUR WINS BEEN AS FULFILLING AS THIS ONE?

ROBERT HIGHT: Not at all; this is the big one. You have the team behind you and Chevrolet and Auto Club. Everybody kept coming up and saying, You’re due. No, you have to go out and win (the Wally). There’s going to be more coming. You can’t sweep the western swing unless you win Denver. Great job and Chevrolet.

Q: TODAY I THINK YOU HAD A LITTLE GOOD FORTUNE ON YOUR SIDE.

ROBERT HIGHT: We did. All the Chevy Camaro Funny Cars had great qualifying runs; we were 1, 2 and 3. We just kept dropping cylinders. But when you have (crew chief) Jimmy Prock and the whole team behind you, you go to the starting line every time very confident and you know they can turn this thing around. In the final we ran 3.99 (seconds), and that was a great run. It’s been a while, but I think we’re back.

An interview with Pro Stock winner DREW SKILLMAN, RAY SKILLMAN RACING, RAY SKILLMAN AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier; first Pro Stock driver to win consecutive races this season; earned fifth victory in 60th Pro Stock event):

Q: WHAT IS THE KEY TO THE STRENGTH OF THIS TEAM AS WE HEAD TO THE LATER PART OF THE SEASON?

DREW SKILLMAN: I’ve got the best team out there and I’ve got a bad hot rod. To everyone who puts this deal on, thank you.

Q: WHAT WAS THE SECRET TO YOUR CAR HAVING AT LEAST A LITTLE ADVANTAGE OVER THE FIELD?

DREW SKILLMAN: We came out here and tested two days early in the week and were here from sun up to sun down and made a ton of runs. The Grays (engine supplier) are incredible and my crew is the best out here.

TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 6 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “Overall, a great weekend. We’ll move on to the next, but we’re using this weekend to motivate us all. I feel like I’m bringing my game. We’re getting ready to go into the Countdown and I feel like we’re all in a really good place, so we just keep moving forward, keep pushing and we’ll be in the winner’s circle before we know it.”

FUNNY CAR:
COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier; fell in first round): “JFR being 1-2-3, that’s starting off the western swing right. Unfortunately, we had a hole out on the hit of the throttle, so immediately, our car left slow. I brought it back in the center, and it stayed hooked up, but once it got down to the top end our pan pressure was through the roof, and it shut my car off automatically, so we had to coast to the finish line. It wasn’t the day for us. It actually looked like a close race, but we had to coast to the finish and couldn’t really do anything about it. That’s just how racing is, and it’s unfortunate. We’ve got to get this car figured out better in the heat. We don’t have a lot of qualifying passes that are in the kind of conditions that we run during race day. We’re going to have to guess and figure it out and learn off the runs we have made and try to figure out why this cylinder keeps dropping.”

JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK COOLANT & MOTOR OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier; fell in first round): “We’ve always run fast on the hill. I set the record here years ago: The first 300 (mph run) here on the mountain – that was even before the dragsters. Austin Coil and this team helped build a combination. You’ve got to spend a lot of money to come on the hill to change it. We did for all the Funny Cars. It showed: 1-2-3. And let me tell you, we backed them down, probably too far. Mine dropped a hole, and Courtney’s burned up at the other end and automatically shut off. There’s no excuses. Everyone’s got the same heat, the same racetrack. But I’m feeling good about this team because they’re staying together. We’re going to turn the corner.”

PRO STOCK:
BO BUTNER, BUTNER AUTO SALES, JIM BUTNER AUTO CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 9 qualifier; fell in final): “I woke up this morning and told Randi Lyn [fiance], ‘You know, if we go a round or two, we’ve kind won the race.’ We started from scratch here with the new car, and we had some new car blues. But it turned out pretty good. Drew (Skillman) has a fast car and is just on a roll. Believe me, I know how that feels. We’ve been like that most of the year. He’s doing a good job driving. We kind of set up for the sunshine for that round, and of course we didn’t get it. A lot of teams struggle when it gets hot, but Rob (Downing, crew chief) and these guys don’t. It’s a 50/50 shot if the sun will come out or not. We had a good run and I’m very happy. Can’t wait to get it back down to sea level.”

ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE/ELITE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “We’re pleased with the weekend, for sure. You always set out to win the race and after qualifying No. 2 on the ladder, we had high hopes of bringing home the Wally today. You know in this sport there’s only one happy camper at the end of the race but we’re optimistic about the way we’re running lately and we’re anxious to get to California next weekend and do it all over again. When I put the car on the chip it was pulling me forward. I still didn’t expect to red light but it happens. As a driver, you never want to red light but I’m not going to beat myself up over this one. There were other factors involved. Bottom line, the Melling Performance/Elite Chevy is running great and we’re going to keep our chins up and move on to the second race of the western swing in Sonoma. I’m going straight there to visit with some sponsor friends and maybe tour a winery or two. We should be rested and ready for Friday.”

GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 4 qualifier; fell in second round): “We were probably a little bit behind coming in here (because we did not test), and we were going to need every run we could get going down the racetrack. That meant we had to find a way first round, second round, and find a way to sneak a round win and get another chance at it. You have to learn each run. We did that, we got faster, but I needed just a little bit more. It was a good race with my partner, and the cars basically ran identical. But he got the win and got another chance to work on his car and I didn’t. That’s the long and a short of it. It didn’t work out, but we pack up and move on to Sonoma.”

JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “I just made a mistake today. For whatever reason, when I hit the gas my foot started to come off the clutch. Of course, then you think and it’s not about thinking. That just takes away focus long enough to where you’re late. Just did a bad job there, but it’s one of those things. You’ll have those moments and one of these days I’m going to piece it all together. Certainly been a little slump for us, but nothing lasts forever, good or bad. All in all, still a decent day for us. We didn’t come here to test but still salvaged a decent weekend out of it.”

VINCENT NOBILE, MOUNTAIN VIEW RACING, MOUNTAIN VIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; fell in second round): “We finally got the car going in the right direction. It was definitely a bummer to lose in round two because we had such a good car all weekend, but it also gave us a confidence boost headed into the swing. I am already ready for Sonoma.”

CHRIS MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS RACING, HARLOW SAMMONS OF ODESSA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 8 qualifier; fell in second round): “Man, whatcha gonna do about the .002 (red light). I could’ve gone up there and done everything the same and had a .00 on the green side I’m sure but that’s not how today worked out. The great thing with this deal is we get to do it again in a few days in Sonoma.”

TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, GRAY MOTORSPORTS VALVOLINE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 10 qualifier; fell in first round): “Losing on a holeshot to Jason (Line) is not my ideal way to end race day. My guys gave me the power that I needed and I just missed the tree. I am looking forward to racing the western swing. This is not the way I wanted to start it, but I will assure you my car is good enough to end in the winner’s circle. We pride ourselves on the Gray power that we make. Our team back at the Gray Motorsports engine shop should be extremely proud of themselves, because they have given me a great race car.”

JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM ELITE PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 11 qualifier; fell in first round): “That was obviously not what we had in mind. By far this is probably the low point of our season so far. We just do not have our act together right now, quite honestly, and that’s not a sarcastic comment. It’s pretty black and white. I know Richard Freeman (team owner) and Rick and Rickie Jones, Mark Ingersoll and Brian Self (Elite Motorsports crew chiefs) are gonna have a huge to-do with this car, probably tonight, and see if they can find something that’s off with it. We know we have horsepower. We know we have a good car. We know we’ve got all of the right pieces. I think we’ve got to take a step back and learn how to reassemble the puzzle. Sometimes that’s easier said than done because we’ve actually been trying to do that for two or three races, all with the exact same results. We’ll keep our heads up, keep working hard and drive to California and unload in Sonoma and see if we can’t be like we were Charlotte and Topeka when we raced to the finals. I have complete faith in our team. We will rebound from this very soon.”