CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS
AUTO CLUB RACEWAY IN POMONA, CALIFORNIA
SUNDAY, NOV. 11, 2018
Chevrolet Closes Season with 34 Wins in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock
• Tanner Gray wraps up Pro Stock championship season with victory
• 2017 Funny Car champion Robert Hight finishes runner-up in ‘18
• Jeff Taylor drives Chevrolet COPO Camaro to Stock Eliminator win
POMONA, Calif. (Nov. 11, 2018) – Tanner Gray entered the 2018 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season with a singular mission.
He succeeded by earning the NHRA Pro Stock world championship in his Chevrolet Camaro SS during qualifications for the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway. A day later, Gray put an exclamation point on his stellar season with his class-leading eighth victory.
Through the 24-race season from coast to coast, 14 Chevrolet drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock combined for 34 NHRA Mello Yello victories. Drivers of the Chevrolet COPO Camaro added six national event wins in Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Stock Eliminator and Super Stock categories, while COPO Camaro drivers picked up two wins in the School of Automotive Machinists and Technicians (SAM Tech) Factory Stock Showdown series.
Gray (19 years, six months) became the youngest pro champion in NHRA history. LE Tonglet (20 years, 11 months) was the previous youngest NHRA series champion in 2010 in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Larry Lombardo (27 years, 7 months) in 1976 was the previous youngest Pro Stock champion.
“There have been a lot of people who put a lot of effort into it. The crew we have right there have so much talent, they have such a great work ethic. They never give up and push me to be better every day,” said Gray, who has a 101-35 elimination round record in 48 career races. “I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without them. This is my grandpa’s first championship and to go out there and dominate and go out with a win is awesome.”
Chevrolet has powered the Pro Stock champion for five years in a row (Bo Butner in 2017, Jason Line in ’16, Erica Enders in ’14 and ’15).
Robert Hight was seeking to claim his second consecutive NHRA Funny Car championship and third overall entering race day as the No. 5 qualifier in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS. But when he smoked the tires in a first-round loss, J.R. Todd secured the title. Hight produced four victories and three runner-up finishes in finishing runner-up in the standings.
“There are so many Funny Car teams that are elite and we are in that mix. I think we defended our championship well and we will start working on 2019 championship tomorrow,” said Hight, who has won at least one race in 14 consecutive seasons.
John Force Racing teammates Courtney Force, the No. 6 qualifier in the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS, and No. 10 qualifier John Force, driving the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS, fell in the second round. She finished sixth in the standings and her father placed ninth. John Force’s first elimination round of the 2019 season will be the 1,900th of his illustrious career.
Brittany Force, the 2017 Top Fuel champion, lost to 2018 title-holder Steve Torrence in the semifinals. Force, the No. 3 qualifier in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster, tied Torrence’s Top Fuel track speed record of 333 mph in her second-round victory. She placed fifth in the standings.
Gray, the No. 6 qualifier in the Gray Motorsports/Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro SS, defeated No. 4 qualifier Drew Skillman (Ray Skillman Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro SS) in the final when Skillman left the starting line too early.
Gray defeated three-time Pro Stock champion Jason Line (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS) in one semifinal, while Skillman dispatched No. 1 qualifier Jeg Coughlin Jr. (JEGS.com/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS) in the other.
With his semifinal appearance, Line became the 15th pro driver to compete in 900 elimination rounds.
Skillman defeated Greg Anderson (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS) in the second round, denying the four-time Pro Stock champion of becoming the fourth professional driver in NHRA history with 800 round victories. John Force has 1,311, Warren Johnson has 874 and Tony Schumacher has 841.
Other first-round winners included 2017 Pro Stock champion Bo Butner (Jim Butner Auto Chevrolet Camaro SS), Alex Laughlin (Gas Monkey Energy Chevrolet Camaro SS) and Erica Enders (Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS).
Jeff Taylor of Sellersburg, Indiana, the runner-up in the last Stock Eliminator national event at Las Vegas driving his Chevrolet COPO Camaro, claimed his 46th national event victory in his 67th final.
“The COPO program is awesome. It speaks for itself,” Taylor said.
Dan Fletcher of Churchville, New York, the No. 1 qualifier in his COPO Camaro of 59 Stock Eliminator entries, lost in the semifinals. Al Corda of Elk Mound, Wisconsin, fell in the third round of eliminations.
Tom Ferruggia of Menifee, California, was the No. 12 qualifier of 59 Super Stock entries, driving his Chevrolet COPO Camaro. He advanced to the third round of eliminations.
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 3 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “Not a bad finish. Obviously, we wanted to end I’m proud of this team and what we accomplished. We struggled all season long and only had one win, but we definitely turned things around in Reading and then went to the finals in Charlotte. We won some rounds today, so, I’m proud of these guys. We had a great season and we will come back next season and do even better.”
FUNNY CAR:
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; fell in first round): “First, congratulations to J.R. Todd and that DHL team. We gave them a run for the money, but we just came up two races short. We controlled our destiny in Las Vegas and today. We just didn’t get it done. We had a great season and won races, but we wanted another championship. We had a plan for the first round and it didn’t work out. I think we saw that the left lane really wasn’t that good. We were aggressive but we needed to be quick to get lane choice. There are so many Funny Car teams that are elite and we are in that mix. I think we defended our championship well and we will start working on 2019 championship tomorrow.”
COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier; fell in second round): “It was a great season for my Advance Auto Parts team. Really proud of everything we accomplished throughout the year. Really proved what we were capable of this entire season. These last six races in the Countdown, we stumbled a little, but I still think we showed how strong we were. We were able to wrap up the year going to second round and having a lot of fun while doing it. To come out sixth in points, that wasn’t our ultimate goal, obviously. I think we have a championship team and a championship race car and I’m just really proud of everything Brian Corradi and Dan Hood have done throughout this season. I’ve learned a lot and it’s been fun working with them and I’m really proud of all that we accomplished.”
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK COOLANT & MOTOR OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 10 qualifier; fell in second round): “We do our job to win, that’s what we’re paid to do by Chevrolet and PEAK and Monster and Advance. Courtney (Force) was on fire all year – being fast. I was on fire all year, just bad luck. Robert (Hight) got hot at the end and we thought the championship was in reach. But you’ve gotta give credit to J.R. Todd and Kalitta, they pulled it off. So we’re already building for next year. In the end it’s not just about making the Countdown, it’s about winning the championship. I had a bad year because I was off, but I’m preparing for next year. I want to get in better shape. I’m trying to get healthy.”
PRO STOCK:
TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS/VALVOLINE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (eighth win of season; has 101-35 round record in 48 career races; was runner-up in 2017 fall event at track; No. 6 qualifier; youngest pro champion in NHRA history): “It’s been a long, hard road for the team. They’ve worked really hard to get where we’re at today. There have been a lot of people who put a lot of effort into it. The crew we have right there have so much talent, they have such a great work ethic. They never give up and push me to be better every day. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without them. I thank my grandma and grandpa for giving me this opportunity. It’s awesome. This is my grandpa’s first championship and to go out there and dominate and go out with a win is awesome.”
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “I knew I needed to at least match Tanner, and I felt like we could have outrun him a little bit. Turns out, not so much. It just smoked the tires. We made a change because we weren’t happy with that last run, and it was not the right move. That was a little frustrating because I was the first guy to ever beat Tanner, and I wanted to be the last. It is what it is, and maybe you can look at it as he got his revenge. But congratulations to their team – they earned it, and he did a phenomenal job driving. You can’t take that away from him. It’s been a challenging year for us, and I’m glad we get a fresh start in three months. There is a lot to do in the off-season, and we’re excited about some of the opportunities that we’ll have to work on things we haven’t in the past.”
ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; fell in second round): “This season is over … good riddance. It definitely wasn’t the year we were working for, but all things being considered, I would give us a B-minus at best. But it was directionally correct from the two years prior. So we are headed in the right direction. We’ve got our Chevy program back up to par and I don’t see any reason why Jeg (Cughlin Jr.) and I can’t go out there and finish one-two. It’s a tall order, but we will set our sights on that goal.”
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; fell in second round): “We just weren’t quite able to make our car run like it can and should, and that’s frustrating. I really thought today we would come out and run really fast, and it ran okay, but we weren’t fast enough. On top of that, I didn’t do a good job driving, and I feel bad. That can’t happen in today’s world of Pro Stock. I wanted to finish the season on a positive note, but we just couldn’t get it done. We’ve got a lot of work to do in the off-season to up our game. It’s been a long year, and I never really felt like we had what we needed from both the car and the driver – so we’re going to work very hard over the winter to fix that.”
BO BUTNER, BUTNER AUTO GROUP, JIM BUTNER AUTO CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 9 qualifier; fell in second round): “That race was so close with Jeg that we didn’t know who won. When the TV crew motioned him over instead of me, I knew that was it. It was bittersweet, but I felt like we had a good race. I can’t complain, and I’m not upset. It was just his turn to win that round. Of course, I wanted to leave here with a win, and that’s a tough feeling, but we do have a great future ahead. I’m still happy, and I’m excited about what comes next.”