CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
DODGE MILE-HIGH NHRA NATIONALS
BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY IN MORRISON, COLORADO
SUNDAY, JULY 22, 2018
Chevrolet Strikes Gold in Denver at Start of the Western Swing
• John Force earns Funny Car career victory No. 149, eighth at racetrack
• 16-time champion extends NHRA record with 1,300th elimination round win
• Greg Anderson becomes ninth different Chevy Pro Stock winner of season
• Courtney Force secures John Force Racing’s 300th No. 1 Funny Car qualifier
MORRISON, Colo. (July 22, 2018) – Whether it’s the first, 14th or final race of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, victory is sweet for multiple-time champions John Force and Greg Anderson.
The Chevrolet drivers claimed their initial wins of the season in their respective classes of the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway to increase their combined career victory total to 240.
Force earned his 149th Funny Car career victory in his 251st final round and 749th race when he defeated Ron Capps on a holeshot in the final with a pass of 4.075 seconds at 315.42 mph in the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS.
Anderson, the No 2 qualifier in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, registered his 91st career Pro Stock win in his 152nd final-round appearance by defeating KB Racing teammate Jason Line (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS) with a run of 6.943 seconds and 196.53 mph.
Through 14 of the 24 events on the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series calendar, Chevrolet has racked up 21 victories in Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock. Drivers of the Chevrolet COPO Camaro have also accumulated four wins in the Sportsman ranks.
“I owe thanks to the fans, the sponsors all over my car, Chevrolet, my team. We’re starting to put it back together,” said Force, has won eight times at the racetrack in suburban Denver. “I found myself with all the crashes and everything that happened probably at the lowest point in my career. It has been worse than when I crashed in 2007. I have been fighting to get back. I had four crashes and after my last one I had John Bandimere called me and said, ‘We have to talk.’ I said ‘I know you love God and I know where you want to go.’ He told me to listen to him and he set me straight.”
In the first round of eliminations, Force recorded his NHRA record-extending 1,300th career Funny Car round victory. Force picked up his first elimination round win, driving a Chevrolet, in 1979 against Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Courtney Force powered her Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS to the No. 1 Funny Car qualifier spot for the ninth time this season, 26th of her career, and third in a row at Bandimere Speedway. The effort was the 300th Funny Car No. 1 qualifier honor for John Force Racing.
Force increased her Funny Car points lead with qualification bonus points and advancing to the semifinals, where she fell to her father in their 29th career meeting. Teammate Robert Hight, the 2017 winner at the racetrack in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, also advanced to the semifinals. Hight, the No. 3 qualifier, lost on a holeshot to Capps.
“I think we definitely had a pretty good comeback from a race where we struggled in qualifying and on race day,” said Force, who clinched a spot in the Countdown to the Championship. “It says a lot about my team and what we’ve got going on. For all of our Chevys, they’ve been strong all weekend here.”
Reigning Top Fuel champion Brittany Force was the No. 2 qualifier in the Carquest Brakes Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster, marking the 11th consecutive event she has qualified in the top half of the field. Force fell in the first round of eliminations.
Anderson won for the third time – first since 2008 – at Bandimere Speedway. He is the ninth different Chevrolet winner this season, and heads to the second leg of the Western Swing this weekend at Sonoma Raceway as the Pro Stock points leader.
“This team never gives up,” said Anderson, who is second to Warren Johnson (97) in Pro Stock wins. “Even in losing efforts you learn. You have to learn from your losses and wins. A wonderful weekend on the mountain. Both of our Summit Racing Chevys were wonderful. Two Summit cars in the final. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Anderson, the No. 2 qualifier, defeated Jeg Coughlin Jr. (JEGS.com/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS) in the semifinals in their 94th elimination round matchup, while No. 4 qualifier Line eliminated Chris McGaha (Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevrolet Camaro SS).
Sterling, Colorado, resident Deric Kramer, the No. 1 qualifier in the American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro SS for the third time this season, was a first-round winner. Others included Vincent Nobile (Mountain View Tire Chevrolet Camaro SS), Alex Laughlin (Fitzgerald USA Chevrolet Camaro SS), and Tanner Gray (Gray Motorsports/Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro SS).
Todd Patterson of Augusta, Kansas, was the No. 1 qualifier in Stock Eliminator in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro. He advanced to the quarterfinals. Drew Skillman, who won the Pro Stock category at Bandimere Speedway in 2017 in his Skillman Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro SS and was the No. 6 qualifier this past weekend, won the Sportsman class.
The NHRA Mello Yello season continues July 27-29 with the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. FS1 will telecast taped qualifications at 8 p.m. ET July 28. FOX will telecast eliminations and finals live at 4 p.m. ET July 29.
In 2017, Gray led the Chevrolet charge with his third Pro Stock victory of the season. Hight set the national Funny Car speed record of 339.87 mph last year in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS.
PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
An interview with Funny Car winner JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK COOLANT & MOTOR OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; first win of season and 149th of Funny Car career; eighth win at Bandimere Speedway; surpassed 1,300 elimination round wins; competed in his 749th Funny Car race):
EVERY SEASON HAS UPS AND DOWNS, BUT I DON’T THINK THE DOWNS HAVE EVER BEEN AS FAR AS THEY WERE EARLIER THIS SEASON. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE HIGHEST OF THE UPS
“I found myself with all the crashes and everything that happened probably at the lowest – worse than ’05 when I crashed — fighting to get back. I never let on to anybody but it showed that I looked like a mess. Then, after my last crash – I had four of them – John Bandimere calls me and says ‘We’ve got to talk.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, I know you love God and I know where you want to go. And I love Him, too, don’t get me wrong.’ He said, ‘You have to listen.’ He sent me stuff and I started reading. And he took me down this road and I said I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to get back ever and win a race. He said, ‘You can.’ He said, ‘When you get to Denver you’ll be fixed.’ He didn’t say I was going to win Denver. He said when you get there you’ll be fixed. ‘Now go out there and show me who John Force is.’ I found myself.”
YOU BEAT SOME GREAT RACERS
“All great racers. I love them all. The fire was in me. I’m fighting. I got tired of hearing me snivel to myself. My wife didn’t even want to talk to me. She said, ‘I know you more than that. I know what you’re going through. I don’t know why I won this race. Maybe God is just showing me.”
An interview with Pro Stock winner GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier; first win of season and 91st of career; ninth different Chevrolet Pro Stock winner in 14 races; Pro Stock points leader):
IN THE 14TH RACE OF THE SEASON YOU GET THE WALLY. WHAT KEPT YOU PUSHING?
“This team never gives up. This KB Racing team is the greatest. Even in losing efforts you learn. You have to learn from your losses; you have to learn from your wins. Wonderful weekend. We had a great car here right from the start. Both of our Summit Racing Chevys were wonderful. Can’t thank the guys enough. They did it for me. Thank the Lord we’re back. Two Summit cars in the final. It doesn’t get any better than that. Love this place.”
YOU WANT TO WIN EVERYTHING YOU DO. HOW DOES THIS FEEL?
“I do want to win. This class is surrounded by people like that. That’s what makes Pro Stock so great. For those who have been watching this year, it’s been a knock-down-drag-out fight. Every Sunday we lock horns. Everybody can win; nobody’s a favorite. To win one feels so great; it’s just so tough.”
ALL-TIME WINNERS ON THE WESTERN SWING, YOU JUST TIED WARREN JOHNSON WITH 11
“That’s pretty cool. I spent a lot of years with Warren. I learned a ton from the man. I respect him, but this is a different life right here and we’re going to try to beat some of those fantastic records he set. He set the bar high and I’m still digging. Some day maybe and that will be a hell of an honor.”
AFTER WHAT YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH THE LAST THREE YEARS, IT MUST FEEL LIKE FOREVER THAT YOU STOOD IN THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
“I just knew when and if I got back up here I would definitely be the oldest man on the stage and I look next to me and there’s John Force. I’m not even close. It’s just an honor to be on the stage with him. What a great racer. NHRA Mello Yello drag racing is just the best it’s ever been right now. You saw it today. And it has a great future. I’m just happy to be a part of it”
IT WAS AT THIS RACETRACK A FEW YEARS BACK WHERE A WINNING STREAK STOPPED. WILL THIS BE THE START OF A WINNING STREAK?
“I’d like to think that would be the best start to a great season coming forward. We’ve had a heck of a battle this year and we’ve had great-running cars but we’ve made mistakes on Sunday when we haven’t been able to close the deal. We’ve garnered a lot of green hats and that’s a great feeling, but we’ve not been able to find our way to the yellow hat. And that’s what it’s all about. The yellow hat is everything. The class is so tough this year, but the bottom line is we just haven’t been able to put forth our best effort on Sunday. We haven’t lost giving it our best shot and today we did. All weekend we did. This is probably the last place I thought we would come and break the streak because we’ve struggled here. It takes a completely different way of running your race car and we just haven’t figured out the combination the last several years. Kind of surprised that we came off the trailer Friday fast and continued all through the weekend. Unlike every other race this year, we didn’t lose our performance gap that we had and that’s what it took. Somehow the two drivers got the job done today. Jason (Line) and myself we didn’t screw up, we didn’t mess up and we carried the great cars we had to the finish line. Great day for KB Racing and great day for Summit and Chevrolet and all our great supporters. Hopefully this is a breakthrough and we’ll go on to more wins this year. Either way, it’s a great feeling today. They’re just so hard to get. You better cherish them. You better feel happy about it. I’ve always said you never know if your last race win will be your last race win. You go through dry spells and you win and you may never win again.”
DID YOU ENTER THE FINALS SAYING ‘I’M NOT GOING TO LET MYSELF GET AHEAD OF MYSELF’?
“Unfortunately, we’ve had to lower our standards a little bit. We just haven’t been overachieving this year. I think my celebration after he (Line) crossed the finish line in the semifinal when he won was just as big as in the final round. Just very proud of the whole team. It’s a great team effort. I couldn’t think of a better place to get it done because this place has thrown us a curve the last 10 years. It’s a great momentum booster on the Western Swing.”