Defending race winner John Force, PEAK Chevy team take the fight to Sonoma Raceway

Defending race winner John Force, PEAK Chevy
team take the fight to Sonoma Raceway

SONOMA, Calif. (July 25) – Sixteen-time Funny Car champion John Force rolls into Sonoma Raceway with his PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS team for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals this weekend as the race’s defending champion.
Force has also been in the final round in three of the last four seasons at a track that has been a good one for the legendary driver. He has eight victories at the northern California track, the most among any driver in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
And Sonoma also holds other special memories for Force, who in 2006 witnessed Eric Medlen win here for John Force Racing. Medlen was critically injured in a crash during testing the next year and later succumbed to those injuries.

Sonoma Raceway annually holds the Eric Medlen Ice Cream Social after the final round Sunday in the late driver’s honor, as Medlen was often said, “You can never be sad when you’re eating ice cream.”
“I’ve won a lot of races there,” Force said. “We were there when Eric Medlen won. It’s always fun to go back and eat the ice cream.
“It’s a great race track. It’s a Bruton Smith track, and they promote it well. They’ll pack in the grandstands like we did in Denver.”
Force earned his eighth win at the track last season, beating Alexis DeJoria, JFR teammate Robert Hight, daughter Courtney Force and current Funny Car points leader Ron Capps en route to his second consecutive victory to start the Western Swing.
Force qualified No. 2 last weekend in Denver, the first of the three-race stretch known as the Western Swing. Things continue to evolve for Force’s team, as crew chief Mike Neff and co-crew chief Jon Schaffer of nearby Discovery Bay evolve the PEAK team.
“I’m ready to keep fighting this fight,” Force said. “That’s what we’re going to do. We made some changes, and we’re heading in the right direction.”
Qualifying in Sonoma kicks off Friday with two sessions, 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Pacific, with two more Saturday at 2 p.m. and 5:35 p.m.
Fox Sports 1 will broadcast one hour of qualifying coverage on Friday at 8 p.m. Pacific and one hour on Saturday at 7 p.m. Pacific. Three hours of live eliminations coverage will be on Fox starting at 1 p.m. Pacific.
4-Second Reads:
John Force has competed in 29 races at Sonoma Raceway, including every race since 1988.
Force has eight victories at the track – 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 2000, 2002 and 2016. He competed in seven consecutive finals at the track between 1990 and 1996, and has been to 14 finals overall.
Force’s eight Sonoma victories are tied for the fourth-most he has at any facility. He also has eight victories at Phoenix, Seattle and Gainesville.
Force is 62-21 in 83 elimination-round races at Sonoma Raceway. Including Sonoma, Force has 60 or more elimination-round wins at 10 tracks.
Force has a .747 winning percentage in elimination rounds at Sonoma, the third highest at any track at which he has competed. Only Richmond (.815) and Brainerd (.787) are higher.
Force has qualified No. 1 at the track eight times – 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2004 and most recently, 2011. Only twice has he won from the No. 1 qualifying spot – 1994 and 2002 – but he has advanced at least to the semifinals all eight times.
Force is 22-7 in 29 first-round matchups at Sonoma Raceway. He has won four consecutive first-round meetings, starting in 2013. His longest first-round streak was 10, between 1988 and 1997.
Force has qualified in the top half of the bracket for 25 of the 29 races at Sonoma.
In 83 elimination rounds at Sonoma, Force has faced 44 different drivers, and has at least one victory against 35 of them.
Force is currently seventh in Funny Car points standings. He has been as high as third in the standings earlier this season.
Force has swept the Western Swing in 1994, becoming the second driver in NHRA history to sweep the three-race swing and become the only Funny Car driver to win all three races.
In his career, Force has 148 victories and 1,276 elimination-round wins, both records. He has 155 No. 1 qualifying spots, of which 60 have resulted in victories, also both records.
Force’s most recent NHRA victory – 2017 NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville.
Force’s most recent No. 1 qualifying effort – 2017 NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville.
Force’s best time/speed at Sonoma – 3.890 seconds (2016 Q4); 329.10 mph (2016 Q4)
Force’s best time/speed of career – 3.832 seconds (2017 Gainesville); 335.15 mph (2017 Pomona 1)
Co-crew chief Jon Schaffer, the crew chief on Force’s car in last season’s Sonoma victory, is from nearby Discovery Bay, Calif.