CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
AAA TEXAS NHRA FALLNATIONALS
TEXAS MOTORPLEX IN ENNIS, TEXAS
POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES
SUNDAY, OCT. 7, 2018
An interview with Funny Car winner ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier; fourth victory of season and second in a row; 45th career win; fourth win at Texas Motorplex and first to go back to back since John Force in 2002; competed in 325th career race; points leader):
WHEN YOU REMEMBER THIS ONE, WHAT WILL YOU THINK ABOUT?
“Just remember a bunch of great people working together. We didn’t get to celebrate in St. Louis. I was in the hospital and these guys (crew) are already thinking about the next race and getting the car ready. Chevy, everybody, yes.”
DID YOU SAY TO THE TEAM, ‘LET’S PUT IT BEHIND US AND MOVE ON’?
“Exactly. This isn’t about me; it’s a big team effort. I respect how hard they work. They didn’t really get a weekend off. We had to build everything. That thig was totally ruined from St. Louis, and I didn’t get a weekend off either because I’m on the mend. We all just respect each other. We’re working as hard as we can and are in this together. If I would have screwed up today I know they would have forgiven me, but I held my own.”
YOU’RE RIGHT THERE, AND YOU’VE WON A LOT AT CHARLOTTE, TOO
“Exactly. I made a prediction early on before the Countdown, going into the Countdown that I needed to win three races and not have any first-round losses. So far, so good. We’re halfway through, we’ve got two wins and a semifinal. But 50 points isn’t a big lead over JR Todd. That car is strong, running good. He’s been to two finals. We’ve got to keep pushing. Pomona, points and a half, anything can happen. So we have to keep pushing.”
An interview with Pro Stock winner TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, GRAY MOTORSPORTS VALVOLINE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 7 qualifier; seventh victory of season and 12th in 45 career races; has won three of past four races; points leader):
HALFWAY THROUGH THIS COUNTDOWN, HOW DO YOU RATE YOUR PERFORMANCE?
“I’d say about a B-plus. Those guys (crew) definitely an A-plus. They’ve given me an awesome car all weekend. I tried to mess it up in the semis. I’m so ecstatic. When you can go and beat Jeg (Coughlin Jr. in final), one of the best to come through the class, it means a lot to me to go up there and beat him, especially when the stakes are so high in the championship. I just want to keep the momentum going.”
WHAT WAS YOUR WEEKEND LIKE?
“We’ve been struggling with qualifying it seems like and for whatever reason we’ve been able to pull it out on Sunday. Some of it being luck and some of it just making good runs and beating the guy in the other lane. Today we got lucky for sure in the semis. I made a mistake and for whatever reason, I guess, I flinched and double-clutched it to ruin the run. It’s awesome to have the group of guys I have around me that is able to take a car with no data in the semis, after they wanted to try some different things, and go and do what we did.”
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 5 qualifier; fell in second round): “Overall, big improvements for our Advance Auto Parts team. We qualified No. 5 and we made three good runs. Even with those adjustments we are still trying to figure this car out. I think we will be looking good in Charlotte. We will have cooler conditions and I have a lot of confidence. People have asked me if I am frustrated and my answer is no because we are all one team. I know the work that these Advance Auto Parts crew guys and my crew chiefs are putting into this race car. It just isn’t turning out the way we want it to right now. With the right attitude and hard work, we can turn our performance around. There are three races left so we have three chances to get wins. That is our goal pick up more wins before the end of the season.”
FUNNY CAR:
COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS TRUE TIMBER CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 12 qualifier; fell in first round): “I don’t believe our championship chances are over by any means. I actually feel pretty good our Advance Auto Parts True Timber Camaro was able to get down the track in the heat. We made our best run when it mattered the most. It was one of the quickest runs of the first round. Unfortunately, we were matched up against someone that ran a little better. We had to battle some issues in qualifying and we didn’t qualify where we wanted to. We will go to Charlotte and hopefully turn our luck around. We still have a shot at this championship. We just have to keep our focus. We had a great regular season and I think we can definitely finish strong over the next three races.”
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK COOLANT & MOTOR OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 10 qualifier; fell in second round): “I have had a couple big round wins in the Countdown. I got a big round win in Reading over (Matt) Hagan and a big win over (Jack) Beckman in St. Louis. It ain’t no good to win one round even if you are against the best out there. I got another big win today against (Ron) Capps in the first round but we could get past the second round. I still have a shot. I thought I had moved up more in the points but there are a bunch of us grouped together. We missed it in qualifying. If I would have started in the top half who knows what could have happened today. That is part of the game. I live for winning. I want to be liked for winning now. I have my work cut out for me. I am up against young guns, but I am holding my own. I have learned how to work around any problem.”
PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier; fell in second round): “We had such a good car on Friday, and I really believed that we could have had the fastest car today, but we lost our way and didn’t make the right decisions. We’re going to go back and throw the engine on the dyno before Charlotte and find out why it did what it did, but the good news is that we saw those positive moves forward in performance for both my Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro and especially Jason’s (Summit Racing teammate Jason Line). We’re excited about these last three races. If we get our performance back – and we know we can – we will be able to win.”
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; fell in first round on holeshot): “Needless to say, today did not go as planned for me. You have to look at the bright side in times like this, and the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro is probably the best it’s been all year. It was fast in qualifying and fast today, even though the outcome wasn’t what we wanted it to be. To say that I’m looking forward to racing next weekend in Charlotte would be an understatement.”
VINCENT NOBILE, MOUNTAIN VIEW RACING, MOUNTAIN VIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No.4 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “We had a good weekend with qualifying No. 4 and reaching the semifinals. That was an intense race against Erica (Enders; Nobile won by five-thousandths of a second after the cut identical lights) and we just didn’t have a good enough light (.041) against Jeg (Coughlin Jr.) in the semis. You can’t expect to win if you’re not on top of it in this class.”
ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLIG PERFORMANCE/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; fell in second round): “We’ve been qualifying well and when we get to Sunday we lose our footing. I do enjoy the pressure situations. I thrive under it and this team does, too. We’ve done well when my back is against the wall. I just have to keep my confidence up and my mindset positive.”
DREW SKILLMAN, RAY SKILLMAN MOTORSPORTS, RAY SKILLMAN AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 8 qualifier; fell in second round): “The cars are so even in this class that any real advantage comes at the Tree. Cut a good light and it helps you down the track. Unfortunately, when you go red, like I did in the second round, it ends a positive day. We’ll head to Charlotte looking for more consistent runs and to go rounds.”
BO BUTNER, BUTNER AUTO, JIM BUTNER AUTO SALES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 9 qualifier; fell in first round): “We ran well on Friday, but then we were off after that – and that makes it tough. Everybody is trying so hard, and they want us all to do well. Those guys who work on this team deserve to see some win lights, too. But it’s not over; we’ve got three more races left.”