Auto Club driver Robert Hight leaves Sonoma with
ninth top speed of season, quarterfinals appearance
SONOMA, Calif. (July 30) – Robert Hight came away with his ninth fastest event speed of the season, the fastest speed in NHRA history, his third Funny Car No. 1 qualifier of the season and a quarterfinal finish in the Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway, the latest stop on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.
Hight was coming off a victory at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo. and was seeking to becoming only the second driver in Funny Car history to sweep the annual Western Swing. The Alturas, Calif., native won his first-round matchup against No. 16 Tim Gibbons before falling to No. 8 Tim Wilkerson in the second round here.
Hight’s matchup against Gibbons showcased yet again what a strong package the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS team has put together. Hight ripped off a pass of 3.853 seconds at 335.23 mph, the sixth-fastest pass in his career, to advance and face Wilkerson for the 39th time in his career.
The matchup became a pedalfest. Hight got the jump on the light and led at 60 feet before smoking the tires. He pedaled, with Wilkerson running away before striking his tires near the top end. Wilkerson’s pass was 4.316 seconds at 245.40, while Hight crossed the line at 4.999 seconds at 157.83 mph.
“In the first round, it was pretty amazing with low E.T. and speed, and I really thought we were on our way again,” Hight said. “But we just missed the starting line the second run. It just wasn’t anywhere near as good as we thought it was and it just got the tire hot and smoked the tires. If we had backed it off enough we would still be out there.
Still, Hight found positives in the weekend, including the record 339.87 mph pass (career-best 3.807 seconds) and nearly eclipsing the 3.7-second threshold in the second round of qualifying.
“We know that 3.7 seconds is out there, and I think we could see it this year,” Hight said. “I want to be the first driver to do it.
“We just have to quit beating ourselves. We have to race better. We have the performance. All our Funny Cars and our dragster, we have everything we need, we just have to manage it better and race smarter. You can see our performance in qualifying and the big runs that we have put up, we are there. We just have to do a better job. The good thing is that we only have a couple of days to shake this off, get to Seattle, and try to get back in the winner’s circle.”
The NHRA Northwest Nationals, the 16th round of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, is scheduled for Aug. 4-6 at Pacific Raceways outside Seattle.
4-Second Reads:
Best Qualifying Effort: 3.807 seconds/339.87 mph (Round 2, Qualified No. 1)
Elimination Round 1 (Left Lane): 3.853 seconds/335.23 mph, def. No. 16 Tim Gibbons; strongest pass of the session in going straight down the track; vs. Gibbons – now 1-0 all-time; 1-0 this season; 1-0 at Sonoma
Elimination Round 2 (Quarterfinals, Left Lane): 4.999 seconds/157.83 mph, lost to No. 8 Tim Wilkerson, 4.316 seconds/245.40 mph; smoked tires early and pedaled to catch Wilkerson, who slowed at top end but had enough at the line; vs. Wilkerson – now 21-18 all-time; 1-1 this season; 0-1 at Sonoma
Now 395-251 (646 rounds) all-time in elimination rounds in career (.613); only five round wins away from 400
Now 83-45 (128 rounds) all-time in elimination rounds after qualifying No. 1 (.648)
Now 17-12 (29 rounds) all-time in elimination rounds at Sonoma Raceway (.586)
Now 22-14 (36 rounds) this season in elimination rounds (.611)
Funny Car Points Standings: 1. Ron Capps 1,276; 2. Matt Hagan 1,093; Jack Beckman 1,049; 4. Robert Hight 1,035; 5. Tommy Johnson Jr. 982.