Auto Club of Southern California driver
Robert Hight ready to roll into Brainerd
BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 15) – To say Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight has been hot this summer is an understatement.
Heading into the NHRA Nationals this weekend at Brainerd International Raceway, Hight has won two of the last three NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events. Plus, he won the special Night Under Fire match race at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio last weekend.
“When you’re on roll like we’ve been on and the car’s running so well, this is what you want,” Hight said. “Even though last week was a match race, we still got the win, and we ran great. You don’t want this to ever end. It’s going to at some point, but we want to roll into Brainerd and get right back in there.”
Plus, Hight has two consecutive No. 1 qualifiers – and three of the last four No. 1s. His speed of 339.87 mph in Sonoma was a national record and helped extend his impressive qualifying streak. Hight has qualified third or better in nine consecutive races.
Hight expects his Chevrolet Camaro SS to be fast in Brainerd, too, and records could fall if the weather is right.
“If conditions are good, Brainerd can be a fast race track,” said Hight, the 2015 Brainerd winner. “I’m looking forward to going there, having a successful weekend. We have a good shot at getting up to second points, and going into Indy No. 2 would be pretty cool. We’re looking for another win.”
Hight moved to third in the Funny Car points standings after the win in Seattle, only eight points behind second place.
Hight is approaching a milestone, too. His victory over Tommy Johnson Jr. in the Seattle final was the 399th career round victory. Only five other Funny Car drivers have reached that 400-win plateau, led by John Force Racing owner/teammate John Force’s 1,278.
“That’s big,” Hight said. “You’ve got to get round wins before you get race wins, and that’s how you get race wins. John has 1,278 round wins, so 400 doesn’t seem like very much. I don’t know how 400 stacks up to other guys who have raced the similar amount of time, but I’m happy that the round wins are coming more frequently than there were for us. That’s encouraging, and that’s exciting.”
The NHRA Nationals begins Friday with two rounds of qualifying at 3:30 and 6 p.m. Central (television coverage beginning at 9 p.m. Central Eastern on Fox Sports 1). The final two rounds of qualifying are scheduled for 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Central on Saturday (television coverage at 9 p.m. on FS1).
Elimination rounds are scheduled for 11 a.m. Central on Sunday (three hours of live finals coverage at 1 p.m. Central).
4-Second Reads:
Robert Hight has competed in 12 races at Brainerd International Raceway, and has qualified for 11 races and every race since 2010.
Hight has advanced to the finals once at Brainerd, in 2015. He won that race, defeating Tommy Johnson Jr.
Hight is 9-10 all-time in 19 elimination rounds at Brainerd.
Hight’s best qualifying effort at Brainerd has been No. 3, which he has achieved three times – 2007, 2008 and 2010. Brainerd is one of two current tracks in which Hight is still looking for a No. 1 qualifier (Bristol being the other).
Hight has won five of his 11 first-round elimination matchups at Brainerd.
Hight’s 39 victories are the fourth most in Funny Car history, behind John Force (148); Ron Capps (55); and Tony Pedregon (43). He is tied with Del Worsham for 21st on the all-time professional victories list; Worsham has 31 wins in Funny Car and eight in Top Fuel.
Hight is one elimination round victory away from 400. His 399 round wins are 24th all-time in NHRA history. Angelle Sampey currently has 400 round wins.
Hight has been the No. 1 qualifier four times this season, and three times in the last four races. His 53 No. 1s are third most in Funny Car history, and he is tied for 11th with Larry Dixon across all professional categories. Only Force (155) and Cruz Pedregon (61) have more in the category.
In 2017, Hight has two victories, a 26-14 record in elimination rounds, and four No. 1 qualifiers. He holds a season-best 38 elimination-round wins in a season, in 2014. He has surpassed 30 elimination-round wins in a season seven times in 12 previous seasons.
Hight has set the fastest event speed a career-best nine times this season, which exceeds his previous season-best of seven set in his rookie season, 2005. He now has 50 fastest event speeds in his career, the 50th coming last month at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, where he set the NHRA record at 339.87 mph.
Hight has four final rounds this season and 61 in his career.
Hight has competed in 158 consecutive races, tied for 17th all-time with Doug Kalitta, dating back to the second race at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., in 2010.
Hight’s most recent NHRA victory – 2017 Northwest Nationals in Kent, Wash.
Hight’s most recent No. 1 qualifying effort – 2017 Northwest Nationals in Kent, Wash.
Hight’s best time/speed at Brainerd – 3.885 seconds (2016 E1); 330.31 mph (2016 Q1)
Hight’s best time/speed of career – 3.807 seconds (2017 Sonoma Q2; third quickest elapsed time in history); 339.87 mph (2017 Sonoma Q2; fastest speed in history)