CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE U.S. NATIONALS
LUCAS OIL RACEWAY IN INDIANAPOLIS
QUALIFICATIONS RECAP AND QUOTES
SUNDAY, SEPT. 2, 2018

Chevrolet Drivers Seek to Close Strong in Regular-Season Finale
Winning the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals is the first priority

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 2, 2018) – Seeding for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Countdown to the Championship will be an important component on race day of the regular-season finale, but foremost on the minds of Chevrolet drivers Sept. 3 will be winning the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in their respective categories.

“To win would be something really cool to check off on my resumé. Whether you win a championship or not, you could always say you won Indy,” said Tanner Gray, who claimed his first No. 1 Pro Stock qualifier honor of the season at Lucas Oil Raceway.

Added Courtney Force, who secured the No. 1 Funny Car seed for the six-race Countdown in the first round of qualifications: “This is the ‘Big Go.’ It’s the biggest race of the entire NHRA season. This is a historic racetrack and it’s always been a dream ever since I was a kid watching my dad race to get a win here.”

FS1 will telecast early-round eliminations and feature interviews from the Chevrolet Performance display at 11 a.m. ET. FOX will pick up the action at 1 p.m. ET.

Ten drivers in each of the four professional categories qualify for the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, which begins Sept. 16 at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pennsylvania. Points will be reset following the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, with Force and the other top seeds receiving a 20-point advantage over the second-place regular-season finisher, 30 points over third, and so on through 10th.
Gray or four-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson will be the No. 1 Pro Stock seed based on race day results. Gray’s 6.603-second pass in the Gray Manufacturing Technologies Chevrolet Camaro SS in the first of five qualifying sessions withstood all challenges. Anderson, a six-time winner of the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, was the No. 2 qualifier at 6.621 seconds in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS.

“Having (the low qualifier) at the biggest race of the year means a lot. When you and all the crew guys have that confidence, it makes all the difference,” Gray said.
The second-year Pro Stock driver is seeking to join his father, Shane, who won the Pro Stock race in the 2014 Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. He defeated Dave Connolly, who is Tanner Gray’s crew chief, in the final.

Reigning Pro Stock champion Bo Butner (Jim Butner Auto Sales Chevrolet Camaro SS) was No. 3 and two-time class champion Erica Enders (Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS) was fourth.

Force, who has racked up four victories and 10 low-qualifier honors through the 18-race regular season, was the No. 6 qualifier with a best pass of 3.959 seconds in the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS.

Sixteen-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force, a four-time winner of the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, was the No. 8 qualifier in the Chevrolet Accessories PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS and clinched a berth in the Countdown. Reigning Funny Car champion Robert Hight, driving the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, qualified 10th.

Brittany Force, the reigning Top Fuel champion, collected four bonus points for posting the low elapsed time of the second round in the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet dragster with a pass of 3.836 seconds/318.62 mph and was the No. 14 qualifier.

An interview with Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, GRAY MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (6.603 seconds at 208.97 best run; first No. 1 qualifier honor of season and fifth of career; leads class with four victories; has advanced to final round the past two races; is second in points; fell in semifinals to eventual event winner Drew Skillman in 2017):

WHAT’S YOUR MIND-SET GOING INTO TOMORROW?
“We definitely have a good car. I pretty much knew we had wrapped up the No. 1 qualifier after Friday night just because the (track/weather) conditions weren’t going to be there again. It feels really good. I feel like we struggled in qualifying all year, so it’s cool to come out to Indy of all places, pull off the trailer and have a pretty fast car. Everybody seems like they’re closing in on us a little bit, but I’m looking forward to racing tomorrow. It will be a tough day. If it’s any hotter than today, it will definitely make it interesting for the crew chiefs and for the drivers mentally. It will be an all-out brawl and whoever wins will deserve it.”

THE CREW CHIEFS HAVE THEIR WORK CUT OUT FOR THEM. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO BEHIND THE WHEEL?
“Just go up there and do my job on the Tree and make sure I’m shifting it on time. I slowed the clutch linkage and missed it (in final qualifying round). I feel like I hit it a couple of times and I’ve been .012. I feel good about what I can do. I have options for when I do race someone good tomorrow. I feel confident in myself and what I’ve learned this weekend. I’m just trying not to do anything different than I have been doing this weekend. Go up there and have a clear mind and hit the Tree the best I can.”

IS THERE A SENSE OF RELIEF TO QUALIFY NO. 1?
“Yes, especially going into the Countdown. Having it at the biggest race of the year means a lot. When you and all the crew guys have that confidence, it makes all the difference.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS GOING INTO THE COUNTDOWN WITH ALL THE TEAMS SO CLOSE?
“I don’t pay too much attention to what other teams are doing. I just try to focus on myself. I do the same thing week in and week out. Lately, I’ve been driving good. I just hope I didn’t speak too soon. Our goal is to stay consistent throughout the Countdown. We’ve all see someone have a bit bad luck and lose a championship. It happened to Steve (Torrence) last year. I definitely don’t want that to happen to me. That’s the name of the game; be good in the Countdown.”

TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK COOLANT & MOTOR OIL CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 14 qualifier): “I’m excited to be here. We’re sitting 14th, which is a tough spot to be in. It’s anyone’s game tomorrow and it’s going to be hot again. We had two good runs during qualifying and hope to beat Antron (Brown) to the finish line (in the first round) and go some rounds tomorrow. We need to pick up points and lock in the top 10 and go from there.”

FUNNY CAR:
COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier): “I think our Advance Auto Parts team doesn’t have the consistency we were looking for coming into qualifying, but we definitely learned some things through our five qualifying runs. We’re feeling pretty confident that we’ll be ready to go tomorrow. It feels nice that it’s happening now because we have nothing to lose. We have clinched the No. 1 spot and we can just focus on going out there and trying to win the race. It’s nice to not have to worry about points and just focus on trying to get this car running better so that we’re ready in the Countdown and hopefully go after a win here because this is the biggest race of the NHRA season. I even felt extra pressure when I rolled up there on that final run, not only because we wanted to improve in qualifying but also Don “The Snake” Prudhomme stuck his head under my car body and gave me a thumbs-up. That’s the reason I’m out here. I thought it was really cool to see him up there on the starting line and I wanted to get a really great run on the track to impress him and obviously for all of our sponsors.”

ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 8 qualifier): “This Auto Club team is looking to get that No. 2 spot for the Countdown and win this race. “It’s pretty exciting this time of year when you have your act together and you’re making good runs. You know from here forward it really means something as you go into the biggest race of the year, the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.”

JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, CHEVROLET ACCESSORIES PEAK CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 9 qualifier): “Right now we are taking any negative you can think of and we are turning it into a positive. My other Funny Cars are right on their game and we can all run in the heat. I have confidence in my crew chiefs and everyone is working together. We have Jimmy Prock, Brian Corradi, Dan Hood and Chris Cunningham all working together with our team. We are sharing info from all the runs and we are seeing results. We are going to be OK.”

PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier): “We got off to a good start on the first run and then kind had been floundering the last two or three runs. We made some wholesale changes that absolutely made a gain on a couple of the cars (6.619 was low ET for fifth round). That’s a good sign and very similar weather conditions that we’ll see tomorrow. I think we learned something and I have a good feeling going into race day.”

BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO, JIM BUTNER AUTO SALES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier): “I had a very good car the last three rounds. We clinched our spot in the Countdown, which is a relief to me. Now we can just go racing and see what we can do.”

CHRIS MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS RACING, HARLOW SAMMONS OF ODESSA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier): “We think we have things figured out and we helped two other guys get in (with engine leases and tuning). That’s important to us. Now we have to win for the second time in three years here.”

DERIC KRAMER, KRAMER RACING, AMERICAN ETHANOL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier): “I think we saw a lot of the different conditions that can be thrown at you at this point. We’ll be ready to go. As long as I can do my job, we’ll be set. We’ll clean up a few things and if we continue to make good runs we’ll see how far we can go.”

JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 7 qualifier): “We had five qualifying runs for the Granddaddy of them all, like a marathon in itself. We’ve run really well and consistent. I think we have a handle on the tune-up on the car and I feel great from behind the wheel. We’ll come out with our game face on and see if we can put our Chevy Camaro in the winner’s circle again here at Indy.”

VINCENT NOBILE, MOUNTAIN VIEW RACING, MOUNTAIN VIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 8 qualifier): “We tested something the last round that shows promise but it’s something that we’ll have to revisit. It’s not something we can do tomorrow because it’s not close enough to get it round off one run. All in all, I know I have a car that can be just as fast as the No. 1 guy. I’ll do my best and see what happens tomorrow.”

JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 9 qualifier): “I didn’t want to qualify in the ninth position, that’s for sure, but everybody is so close. We didn’t make great runs. struggled on the first part of the racetrack. We have our work cut out for us tomorrow, but we have a decent race car that should be competitive tomorrow.”

JOHN GAYDOSH, GAYDOSH PERFORMANCE, PYPES PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 16 qualifier): “We’ve been coming here to Indy since 2009 and have been fighting it to qualify. It has been a curse for me. The last two years I qualified at every event I entered — except Indy. In fact, the last two years I only missed the field by three-hundredths. I love my Chevrolet Camaro and we’re having fun. It feels great to finally make the show.”