CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
NGK SPARK PLUGS NHRA FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS
ZMAX DRAGWAY IN CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA
QUALIFICATIONS RECAP
SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2018
Chevrolet Sweeps Three Pro Categories in Four-Wide Qualifications
• Reigning Top Fuel champion Brittany Force is low qualifier
• Courtney Force claims third Funny Car No. 1 qualifier of season
• Drew Skillman claims sixth career Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier honor
CONCORD, North Carolina (April 28, 2018) – The Force sisters wore matching green hats for the third time in their National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) careers.
Brittany Force, driving the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster, reset the Top Fuel track elapsed time record on the way to earning the No. 1 qualifier honor and Courtney Force was the low Funny Car qualifier for the third time this season in the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS heading into race day of the NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.
Drew Skillman, driving the Ray Skillman Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro SS, completed the Bowtie sweep of No. 1 qualifiers with the best pass in Pro Stock.
Brittany and Courtney previously doubled up as No. 1 qualifiers at Topeka, Kansas, and Sonoma, California, during the 2016 season.
“I got to get on the starting line and watch her make a killer run in her Monster dragster,” Courtney Force said. “I saw that number and knew that she got the top spot. Hopefully, Brittany and I can celebrate in the winner’s circle tomorrow.”
Brittany Force, who won the NHRA SpringNationals last Sunday, earned her ninth P1 award of her career with pass of 3.689 seconds at 318.39 mph. The reigning Top Fuel champion has qualified second, third and first in the past three events. She won the Four-Wide Nationals in 2016.
“We’ve had a few great weeks and we’re hoping this will be another one,” she said. “We’re No. 1, we got the (green) hat, but tomorrow is a whole new day. We want to go rounds and win this thing. It is pretty exciting to be able to share this with my sister. Every weekend, whether it is a great weekend or a tough weekend, she is right there beside me. I go to her for advice. It just feels good to do this together. It is pretty special.”
Courtney Force, who reset the track Funny Car elapsed time record last April, registered the 20th low qualifier honor of her career with a best pass of 3.873 seconds at 332.92 seconds. Force has qualified first or second in the past five races, including the inaugural four-wide event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“It was a great start to our weekend,” added Force, who has been the No. 1 qualifier in the Four-Wide Nationals three of the past four years, including 2017. “We had some top dogs out here (in qualifying), so for us to take home that top spot along with my sister Brittany is pretty amazing.”
John Force Racing teammates Robert Hight (Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS) and John Force (PEAK Motor Oil & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS) qualified seventh and eighth, respectively. Hight holds the track Funny Car speed record, set last April.
Skillman recorded his sixth career low-qualifier honor and first since Sonoma in July 2017 with a best pass of 6.534 seconds at 210.37 mph. Greg Anderson, who was the No. 1 qualifier the past three races in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, qualified second at 6.548 seconds (211 mph).
Five drivers of the Chevrolet COPO Camaro advanced to the quarterfinals of the School of Automotive Technology (SAM Tech) NHRA Factory Stock Showdown race, including reigning series champion David Barton of Robesonia, Pennsylvania.
Also reaching the next round were Stephen Bell of Shreveport, Louisiana, the winner of the initial race of the seven-event series in March at Gainesville, Florida;
Robert Falcone of Pleasant Valley, New York; Arthur Kohn of Richmond, Texas; and Randy Taylor of Artesia, New Mexico.
FS1 will telecast eliminations at 6 p.m. ET Sunday.
An interview with Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (ninth P1 of Top Fuel career; has qualified second, third, first in past three races; won at Houston in most recent race; competing in 126th career Top Fuel race):
TALK ABOUT THE SUCCESS YOUR TEAM HAS HAD THESE PAST TWO WEEKENDS
“We are feeling really good and just looking at our season overall and everything we pulled off these last few weekends is incredible. This is the third car that we have run in the season and it’s not easy when you have to rebuild a whole new car, especially for my guys. They have had a lot of extra work getting it ready for last weekend. We went out the first weekend where we debuted it and won the race. You know, that is pretty impressive. So I owe it to Alan Johnson and Brian Husen and my Monster guys for making that happen. We are on a roll and I am happy that we qualified No. 1 last night and we hung on to that spot today, but tomorrow is a whole new day and our plan is to go some rounds and to win this thing.”
YOU HAVE WON THE FOUR-WIDE, TALK ABOUT THE STRATEGY IT TAKES TO WIN IT
“Actually, there is a lot going on up there. The nice thing is that coming into the Charlotte Four-Wide is that we just did it a few weeks ago. And it definitely helps that we won it a few years ago. That just puts our head in the right place. We did it once, and we want to do it again. The Four-Wide is awesome and to have that win under our belt … that was a special win for us. But, we want to do it again. We did it once, and we want to do it again. And Courtney (Force) is No. 1 and to see both of us do it would be incredible.”
HOW WILL YOU AND YOUR SISTER CELEBRATE TONIGHT OR WILL YOU JUST CONCENTRATE ON TOMORROW?
“We will definitely talk about it and celebrate it. It’s pretty cool that two ladies ended up No. 1 especially because we are sisters and that makes it special. Just the fact that the ladies are dominating this sport, I think that is outstanding, and it’s something I am very proud of. More importantly we want to win on race day. That is something I want to do and check off my bucket list, is to double up with my sister or my dad. You know, we have had a strong weekend so far so hopefully this will be the weekend that it happens.”
WEATHER CONDITIONS SEEM TO BE COOLER TOMORROW, IS THAT A GOOD THING OR A BAD THING?
“I am OK with that just because we struggled a little bit today in the heat and I think everyone struggled. You didn’t see too many cars go down there. Friday was when we made our good runs so I am hoping that it stays cool tomorrow and I think we will have a better shot at making some better runs and finishing strong.”
An interview with Funny Car No. 1 qualifier COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (20th No. 1 qualifier of career and third of season; has qualified first or second in past five races; won at Phoenix; competing in 149th career Funny Car race):
YOU’RE NO STRANGER TO BEING A NO. 1 QUALIFIER HERE, BUT WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO WIN THE FOUR-WIDE TOMORROW?
“It’s going to take learning from our runs in the heat today and our runs from yesterday and put it all together. I think it’s going to cool off quite a bit, so hopefully the runs tomorrow will be a bit more comparable to the Friday runs that we had, which was our No. 1 qualifier run. We’ve been the No. 1 qualifier for the four-wide before and would like to take home a win. It would be pretty awesome to do it this weekend, especially being the home track for Advance Auto Parts. Their employees, team members, customers, everyone was out here today and it was really exciting for us to hold onto that top spot.”
DID YOU GET ANY TIPS FROM YOUR CREW CHIEF BRIAN CORRADI ABOUT HOW TO DRIVE THIS TRACK?
“No, he always tells me to get into my routine. Throughout all of qualifying and race day, it should be the exact same routine. I try to get in a different mind-set on race day and trying to take his advice with that and have everything the same every single run. It’s been amazing working with him and Dan Hood. They do an amazing job and have given me a fast hotrod. It’s been a lot of fun to drive. To have our No. 1 qualifier hats and already have a win at Phoenix at the start of the season and hopefully another one tomorrow.”
ANY PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RACETRACK THAT HE TOLD YOU ABOUT?
“I don’t think there’s anything specific. We got here and learn from the lanes. We sit at the computer and study it. I study my run from video and we look at the data and see what it’s telling us. That last run it dropped a hole immediately. (Corradi) was telling me before the run we were going to stage the car a little to the outside, but I don’t think that had anything to do with it. It’s kind of take it run by run and see how it goes.”
THERE’S AN INTERESTING STORY BEHIND THE WEEKEND AT TOPEKA, KANSAS, WHEN YOU AND BRITTANY WERE LOW QUALIFIERS?
“There is an interesting story actually. Brittany and I were rooming together that weekend and we have an inside joke with a movie. The room was 414. We already thought that was the coolest thing, and then we both went out and were No. 1 qualifiers. Brittany posted something on social media. Didn’t say what hotel we were at, but obviously a fan saw us coming into the hotel and knew what our room number was. We get a note under our door the morning of the race from a fan that said, ‘Hey, I saw your social media post. I want to wish you both the best of luck. I’m writing you this letter at 4:14 in the morning.’ We said that’s crazy but really cool. We go out there and I end up winning the race. We get in the winner’s circle and Brittany asked me ‘Do you know what you ran?’ I said, ‘No.’ She said, ‘You ran a 4.14.’ That typically doesn’t win a race in Funny Car.”
An interview with Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier DREW SKILLMAN, RAY SKILLMAN MOTORSPORTS, RAY SKILLMAN AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (sixth low qualifier of career, most recently in July 2017 at Sonoma; competing in 76th career Pro Stock race):
TALK ABOUT TODAY AND HOW YOU PLAN ON CAPTURING YOUR FIRST FOUR-WIDE VICTORY
“Our car has run pretty good all weekend. After the second hit, we picked up momentum. We have a little bit of work to do yet before Sunday, but team is ready and the car is ready, and I’m ready to go.”
HOW MUCH DATA WERE YOU ABLE TO CAPTURE TODAY FOR PREPARATIONS FOR RACE DAY?
“I think tomorrow is going to be totally different; we’re going to have cool weather. You race the track on Sunday. It’s always different. With the cool weather coming in, the track is just going to get better and better throughout the day.”
YOU’VE HAD EIGHT PASSES DOING FOUR-WIDE THIS YEAR. HOW PREPARED DO YOU FEEL FOR RACE DAY?
“Getting more comfortable with four-wide. It’s a little less confusing as we go on and all the drivers seem to be on the same page finally. Everyone knows that when they pull in (stage) it’s time to go.”
WITH THE FOR-WIDE, YOU CAN LOSE TWICE AND STILL ADVANCE. IS THAT LIKE A MULLIGAN?
“It’s drag racing. It is the game we’re playing this weekend. It does give you a little extra opportunity. If you screw up, you’re still in.”
PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier): “It’s been an interesting weekend. It seems like the scoreboards won’t change and every car that goes down the track runs the same E.T. Seems like everybody has a pretty good handle on this racetrack. I guess that is good and that is bad. I hope we can get more competitive for Sunday and I can’t pick a favorite right now. We are certainly one of them, but we don’t stand out any more than anyone else. It’s going to come down to execution on Sunday just like it always does.”
VINCENT NOBILE, MOUNTAIN VIEW RACING, MOUNTAIN VIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier): “Yeah, track is going to be different, weather is going to be different. We were just a little aggressive today trying stuff and trying to be the fastest we can, but obviously the track can’t hold it. We will just go backwards and go back to Q1, where we made a pretty decent run, and tune it from there.”
BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO, JIM BUTNER AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 4 qualifier): “Being a bracket racer and looking at the ladder, you want to be fourth first round. You shouldn’t be the fastest car in a quad and it doesn’t necessarily need to work that way to be fast. We have picked the car up tremendously throughout this year. We have kind of struggled a little bit in qualifying, but we just need to score a couple rounds tomorrow and we will be happy. Let’s just get there.”
TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, VALVOLINE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 7 qualifier): “Even though we’re not qualified where we want to be we’re still in the top half of the field going into tomorrow. The car has been consistent all weekend and my lights have been very consistent as well. Hopefully it will all transfer over to tomorrow for three rounds of racing. I’m hoping I can get another win in front of the hometown crowd.”
JASON LINE , KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 9 qualifier):
“We brought out this red car while my blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro is getting some TLC. I’ve never driven this car before, but I’m feeling better each run. Tomorrow is my daughter Emma’s birthday, and that’s more important than anything. It would be fun to win tomorrow on her birthday. She’s not the biggest drag race fan you’ll ever meet, and she does not think her dad is cool because he races a car. But lately she’s shown a little more interest, and she has actually mentioned winning to me. It would be kind of fun to do that tomorrow for sure.”