CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS
WILD HORSE PASS MOTORSPORTS PARK IN CHANDLER, ARIZONA
POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
SUNDAY, FEB. 25, 2018
An interview with Funny Car winner COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier; claimed ninth career Funny Car win and first since Houston in 2016; reached 18th career final; set track Funny Car elapsed time record in qualifying and speed record in final round):
WHAT DOES (CO-CREW CHIEF) BRIAN CORRADI BRING TO YOUR CREW?
“It’s been huge. It’s been great having Corradi on our team, working with Dan Hood. They’re kind of like family; they’ve known each other for a long time. It’s been a really great connection with the entire team. Every single one of my guys on the Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro has been working so hard. Today was actually a tough day. We had a 40-minute turnaround in the semis. They got it up there. We were able to get that win. Obviously, my dad wasn’t in the other lane for that run, but we still managed to have a solid pass down the racetrack. Didn’t have lane choice in the final and weren’t able to warm up the car but still got it up there. It was nice for TJ (Tommy Johnson Jr.) to wait for us. We were able to go up there and lay down a killer number. It’s thanks to my guys. They gave me the confidence to get in that car today. They make me feel safe in that car because of the amazing job they do on it. Corradi and Hood have been unbelievable getting the No. 1 qualifier we had this weekend and then to top it off. To take home the Wally at the end of the weekend is pretty incredible. It’s definitely a great start to our season. We’ve been looking for a win for a long time now. It feels like forever and this one definitely feels good, and I know it will help my dad feel a lot better.”
THE FINAL ROUND PASS WAS LIKE AN EXCLAMATION POINT
“We lost lane choice and we hadn’t gotten down (the track) in the left lane. It’s final round and I knew they were going to be gunning for it. They told me all day long – if anything doesn’t feel right in this car we aren’t going to be mad at you if you have to shut it off. My dad told me to go out there and kick their a—s, and I told him I was going to do it. I’m excited I’m able to bring him home the Wally and hope that he’s doing better.”
An interview with Pro Stock winner CHRIS MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS RACING, HARLOW SAMMONS OF ODESSA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 7 qualifier; sixth career Pro Stock win; 19th different Pro Stock driver to win in 34 years of NHRA Arizona race; has won each of the past three times he’s reached finals):
AS AN ENGINE GUY, WHAT’S MORE IMPORTANT TO YOU – THE SPEED OR THE .007 REACTION TIME (IN FINAL)?
“The speed because it shows horsepower and the .007 reaction time because it means I didn’t screw it up. When the crew chiefs give you a good car, it’s kind of like a field goal kicker. He sits there on the bench the whole time and then he has to come out and win the game, so it’s kind of like what you feel like as a driver – don’t mess it up because you’re the last guy. Maybe it was adrenaline in the finals. Jason (Line) is over there and that’s one of the guys I come to race right there. You know you have to bring you’re a game because he’s good at what he does.”
ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE CAR IN THE DIFFERENT CONDITIONS WE SAW?
“Absolutely. We picked up some power this winter that we had been lacking and looking for. When we unloaded and it went No. 1 in the first session, then we said ‘OK, we have something that can compete.’ Then we lose a pushrod in Q4. I’ve done that so many times since we’ve gone to EFI and it was like déjà vu again. We overcame it.”
FUNNY CAR:
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 11 qualifier; fell in first round): “It was a racetrack that was in the 90s (temperature-wise). We’ve run 3.79 on a racetrack in the 90s so you go up there anticipating running a low 80 to win. Obviously, we didn’t make enough changes based on what we were seeing out there with the cars not making it (down the track). When you look at the data, it was out of control. We needed to make a lot bigger move than we ever anticipated we needed to. There was just no racetrack (from a traction standpoint). If we had gone up there trying to run 3.95, we probably could have navigated it. We’ll test tomorrow (with) some new stuff that hopefully we’ll have on our car at Gainesville and get ‘em there.”
PRO STOCK:
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; fell in final): “”We didn’t come out of here with what we wanted, but we still had a decent weekend. We certainly learned some things – and going forward that’s going to help us. We’ll be better in Gainesville, no question. I’ve said it before, but the next win will be my 50th, and this is Summit Racing’s 50th anniversary year. That will be really special, and I’m super motivated to make that happen. I’ve let two slip away already, but it’s a tough game. It’s not easy, but that’s what makes it special when you do win. When I finally get it, it’s going to feel good.”
ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier; fell in quarterfinals): “Regardless of the outcome, I always try to focus on the positives. The good news is we have a great race car again. I have the same core group that stands behind me and I’m looking forward to redeeming myself in Gainesville. We have a lot to be optimistic about and 22 races left to score some wins.”
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 4 qualifier; fell in quarterfinals): “The problem we had was because we didn’t accomplish what we needed to in qualifying. Jason and I ended up on the same side of the ladder, which meant that we had to run each other second round. That is never what we want. It kind of deflates you a little bit. That’s not the goal – you always want to be on opposite sides of the ladder and meet in the final round. When you know that can’t happen, it’s kind of depressing, but you still have to go out there and race. We did that today. We both made decent runs, he just did a better job on the light, and I lost. The bottom line was that we didn’t get it done in qualifying. We have to do a better job than that. As tough as this class is right now, there is no room for error at all.”
DREW SKILLMAN, RAY SKILLMAN MOTORSPORTS, RAY SKILLMAN AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 9 qualifier; fell in quarterfinals): “We didn’t qualify well and we’re trying to figure out why. We had a good run in the first round (of eliminations), setting the low ET of the round, but didn’t have it in the next round. We’ll look at the data and be ready for the Gatornationals in a couple of weeks.”
JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM ELITE PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 11 qualifier; fell in quarterfinals to teammate Alex Laughlin): “That was a great race. It was the classic door-handle-to-door-handle deal most of the way down the track. I had to look at the win lights on the wall to see who won because it was very close crossing the finish line. I guess he edged us by about a foot so good for that group. We obviously know what kind of horsepower they have so I wouldn’t have expected anything different. I’m pleased with the progress we’re making as a team. It’s a very stacked field once again this year so I’d expect a lot of close racing like we had today every weekend.”
BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO, JIM BUTNER AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier; fell in first round of eliminations on holeshot): “You know, it’s going to happen. That’s what I have to tell myself, because this is the tightest, toughest racing in the world. I wasn’t happy with a single run we made in qualifying; it definitely wasn’t there, but you’re going to have those weekends. You can get spoiled, and this sport is so humbling. It was still cool, and there are so many great fans that were rooting for both me and for Randi Lyn (Shipp, fiancé and Stock Eliminator racer). We’ve been fortunate to win a lot, and I’m still having fun.”
TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, VALVOLINE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 10 qualifier; fell in first round): “We got the electrical problem we had fixed. The track was better than we expected. We got the tune-up a little bit closer and the car’s good, we just didn’t make the right call in the first round. I think we’re definitely going to learn from it and I think we’ll be fine in Gainesville.”
VINCENT NOBILE, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MOUNTAINVIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 12 qualifier; fell in first round): “Definitely wasn’t the day we had pictured. I fired up my Chevrolet Camaro in the burnout box and it just died on me. I tried everything I could to restart but it was budging, at that point you can’t do much. It was a weird weekend, we made two runs Friday and didn’t get down at all Saturday. We will put this behind us and focus on prepping for Gainesville.”
MATT HARTFORD, HARTFORD RACING, TOTAL SEAL PISTON RINGS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 8 qualifier; fell in first round): “(talking about engine deal with Elite Motorsports after using Gray Motorsports engine in 2017 finale) The Grays, their engine deal was really good, and we were really happy with them, and we made a deal with (Elite owner) Richard Freeman over the winter to go over to his engine program. We bought a truck and trailer from him, we just kinda put a bigger package together versus staying where we were with Gray. We could go back to Gray in a heartbeat, our car is still set up to run their power if we wanted to, we decided we’d try the Elite stuff because their program looked really good for this year.”