CHEVROLET AT DALLAS

What: 33rd AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals
When: Friday, Oct. 5-Sunday, Oct. 7
Where: Texas Motorplex in Ennis
TV: FS2 live qualifications, 5:30 p.m. ET Oct. 6
FS2 live eliminations and finals, Noon ET Oct. 7

Chevrolet Drivers Seek to Put on Coveted Cowboy Hat at Texas
Robert Hight in Funny Car, Tanner Gray in Pro Stock are points leaders

DETROIT (Oct. 4, 2018) – In the 2017 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Countdown to the Championship, Robert Hight’s victory at Texas Motorplex was the catalyst that led the driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS to his second Funny Car championship.
Coming off a win Sept. 30 at St. Louis in the second of six races in the Countdown, Hight will seek to repeat last October’s scenario in the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals in Ennis.

Hight rose to the top of the Funny Car standings at Gateway Motorsports Park with his 44th career victory, though he paid a physical price. In the final round, his race car exploded as it crossed the finish line and made hard left-side contact with the concrete retaining wall. Hight climbed from the car without assistance and was transported via ground to a local hospital for evaluation. He returned to the racetrack in time to join the team celebration.

Hight flew home to California for further evaluation and rest and is expected to compete this weekend. He reset the track Funny Car elapsed time (3.871 seconds) and speed (338.60 mph) records in securing the No. 1 qualifier honor last year on the way to posting his second win in the Countdown and donning the coveted cowboy hat presented to each winner at Texas Motorplex.

John Force Racing teammate Brittany Force, who will be driving the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet dragster, also won at the track in 2017 – one of the three victories in the Countdown that propelled her to the Top Fuel title. She set the track Top Fuel elapsed time record with a pass of 3.681 seconds in the final round.

“We head into Dallas with a lot of changes. We are determined to turn this car around. We’ve really been struggling, and we need to step up in points and go after some wins,” said Force, who is 10th in points.

The Chevrolet hot rods of Brittany and Courtney Force will feature TrueTimber’s Sassy B pink camo paint scheme in support of breast cancer awareness. Additionally, the hood of Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s Chevrolet Camaro Pro Stock car will display the logo of the JEGS Foundation for Cancer Research, benefitting the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at Ohio State University.

Jason Line (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS) was the Pro Stock winner last year. Tanner Gray, driving the Gray Motorsports/Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro SS, won at St. Louis and takes a 52-point lead over Vincent Nobile (Mountain View Tire Chevrolet Camaro SS) into Pro Stock competition this weekend.

The race weekend will also feature the seventh and final race of the School of Automotive Machinists and Technicians (SAM Tech) Factory Stock Showdown. Arthur Kohn of Richmond, Texas, and Stephen Bell of Shreveport, Louisiana — winners earlier this season in their Chevrolet COPO Camaros and tied for the series’ points lead– are entered.

Also competing in their COPO Camaros will be Kevin Lumsden of Caddo Mills, Texas; David Janac of Caldwell, Texas; Brian Massingil of Houston; Randy Taylor of Artesia, New Mexico; Daniel Condon of Wilmington, Illinois; Aaron Stanfield of Bossier City, Louisiana; Pete Gasko Jr. of Monroe Township, New Jersey; L. Scott Libersher of Wilmington, Illinois; Leonard Libersher of Biddeford, Maine; and Waldemar Rodriguez of Cidra, Puerto Rico.

Driving their Chevrolet COPO Camaros in Stock Eliminator competition will be Jeff Lopez of Irving, Texas; Arthur Expinoza of Kingsbury, Texas; Phillip Giles of Flatonia, Texas; James Carter of Forney, Texas; Brett Candies of Thibodaux, Louisiana; Jesse Alexandra of West Bend, Wisconsin; Bruno Massel Jr. of Elmhurst, Illinois; Darren Poole-Adams of Shelby, North Carolina; and Todd Patterson of Augusta, Kansas.

Entered in Super Stock in their COPO Camaros are Espinoza; Giles; Elizabeth Lopez of Fort Worth, Texas, and Brandon Bakies of Alexandria, Louisiana.

FS2 will telecast live coverage of eliminations and finals at noon ET Oct. 7.

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT

TOP FUEL
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (reigning class champion; 2017 winner at track; reset track Top Fuel elapsed time record in 2017; 10th in points): “During this off week my team made a lot of changes to the car, they actually front halved it. We think that will fix some of the problems we’ve been having, smoking the tires early and not being able to get down the track. I’m excited to be teamed up with Advance Auto Parts and the Brakes for Breasts organization and hopefully we get this car in the winner’s circle like we did last year.”

FUNNY CAR:
COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (11-time No. 1 qualifier and winner at Phoenix, Atlanta, Topeka and Richmond; No. 1 qualifier and winner at track in 2014; third in points): “We’re feeling good about Dallas and I feel like we’ve got a good race car. We’re all still really motivated and we’ve got a shot at this championship. We’re going to fight hard to get back in it. There’s a lot of points to be gathered and we’re just coming to the halfway point. You’ve just got to keep pushing and focus on your own car.”

JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, CHEVROLET ACCESSORIES PEAK CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (has 1,307 round wins and 149 class victories; seven-time winner at track; eight in points): “I have a lot of wins at the Texas Motorplex and I have won there in the fall and at the race that used to run in the spring. I have come close to getting another win there (since last in 2005) but I really want to stand in that winner’s circle with a cowboy hat and just celebrate. I have a pretty good hot rod now and we will be ready this weekend.”

PRO STOCK:
TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, VALVOLINE GRAY MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (six-time winner this season; first in points): “We kind of used last year as a learning experience and just tried to grow from it over the off-season. The Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals win was a big confidence-booster going into the Countdown and we’ve continued to make good runs. I have all the confidence in the world in (crew chief) Dave (Connolly) and everybody who works on that car, along with everybody who’s built our engines. I think it just comes down to me doing my job, and if I can do that for four more races we should be champs.”

VINCENT NOBILE, MOUNTAIN VIEW RACING, MOUNTAIN VIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (three-time winner and runner-up at Charlotte four-wide; second in points): “There’s been so many different winners, so the parity’s there and it can’t be any better. You just have to try to do the best you can. The championship could be won by one point. Last year, it went down to the final round. Every little point counts and we really need to do our best in qualifying. That’s going to be critical the rest of the Countdown.”

DREW SKILLMAN, RAY SKILLMAN MOTORSPORTS, RAY SKILLMAN AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (runner-up the past two races; third in points): “We’ve made it to the final round in the Countdown races and look to continue making consistent runs. Hopefully, we can keep going rounds and finally get a win this season.”

JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITE PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (three-time winner this season; Nos. 2 and 1 qualifier in Countdown races; fourth in points): “I really like the momentum we have right now. It’s pretty simple; we have four races left, one of which awards points and a half, so that means there are 18 elimination rounds left worth of points. We’re just over a round out of second place and about four rounds out of first so it’s time to win more rounds and win races. Our recent history this year, from May to right now, proves we know how to make up ground and everyone knows we have the car and team to do it. All we need is a little on-track luck on race day and we’ll be where we want to be.”

GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier nine times this season and 102 in career, tying Bob Glidden for third all time; four-time winner at track; holds track Pro Stock elapsed time and speed records, set in 2015; fifth in points): “We’ve been on-track testing this week before Dallas, because we knew when we left St. Louis that we had to get better. We had to figure out where we’d gone wrong, and I feel like we’ve done that. We won’t know for sure until we get to Texas Motorplex and make those first few qualifying runs, but we’ve backtracked and worked hard, and we hope to heck that we get back to having fast race cars. It’s been an interesting week, and this Countdown isn’t over yet. We have to get up off the mat and get back in the fight in Dallas.”

ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORNACE/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (won at track in 2015 title season; sixth in points): “We’re definitely further back than we prefer to be but those are the cards dealt to us. Winning a championship is definitely an attainable goal, but we have to have a flawless remainder of the season. We’re not going to rely on anyone else and what their raceday ends up being like. All we can do is control our own destiny and make our car run better on Sunday. The sky is still the limit for us. We’re not out of it. I’m sure a few people have eliminated us, but not us.”

JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (three-time runner-up; seeking 50th national event win – 47 in Pro Stock, two in Stock Eliminator; has 100 final-round appearances in Pro Stock and Sportsman classes; three-time winner at track, including 2017; seventh in points): “I love going to Dallas, and to go there as the defending event champion is something I’m proud of. I want to win every race, but Dallas is the only one where you get a cowboy hat along with the trophy, and that’s just cool. We’re in a good position right now – not great, but certainly good – because the last two races we’ve figured out a couple of things that have been ailing us. We just haven’t had a lot of good fortune, but I keep saying all bad things must come to an end, and I still believe that. I’m hopeful for our team going into this race. We just have to keep working at it, and it will turn around.”

BO BUTNER, KB RACING, JIM BUTNER AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (reigning class champion; winner at season opener; eighth in points): “The goal is for one of the KB Racing cars to win, and maybe the others can help make that happen. Right now, a win for this team would feel just as good as the championship, but even making it to the final would be great. With our car, usually when we win, we get on a roll. I’d love to do that in Dallas, where I got my first national event win ever. I like that place, and it’s a good track with good people. I think we’ll do well. I feel really focused, and I think we might have gotten a few things worked out on our KB Racing Chevy Camaros since St. Louis. I look to this to be a good weekend.”

SHANE TUCKER, TUCKER RACING, AUZMET/STRUCTGLASS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (competing in second race of season; lives and works in Metroplex): “We brought the race car out for the U.S. Nationals and had some struggles. We hadn’t run the car in almost a year but we gave it 100 percent. The best part of the weekend was working with my dad, Rob, and being around the crew guys. It really got me fired but for the race at the Texas Motorplex. We made some changes on our motor program so I have a lot of confidence coming into the race weekend.”