CHEVROLET AT GAINESVILLE
CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
AMALIE MOTOR OIL NHRA GATORNATIONALS
GAINESVILLE RACEWAY IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA
POST-RACE RECAP AND WINNER TRANSCRIPTS
SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2019
Chevrolet claims Funny Car, Pro Stock wins in 50th Gatornationals
• Robert Hight earns second Funny Car victory in three races
• Bo Butner also records second win of the season in Pro Stock
• Stephen Bell is runner-up in COPO Camaro in Factory Stock Showdown
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 17, 2019) – Chevrolet drivers Robert Hight and Bo Butner celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by hoisting gold Wallys claimed in the 50th anniversary Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.
Hight, the No. 1 qualifier in all three races of the Mello Yello NHRA season, drove the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS to his 47th career Funny Car win, which tied Eddie Krawiec for 15th on the all-time NHRA list. The Funny Car low qualifier has won at Gainesville Raceway the past three years.
Hight, whose pass of 3.868 seconds earned his 63rd career No. 1 qualifier honor, continued with impressively consistent runs in the elimination rounds: 3.869, 3.870, 3.852 in the semifinals against teammate John Force, and 3.867 in the final.
“You don’t get a race car like this very often. It is good to have early success like this, but the others are coming, so I’m not going to get too confident.
Qualifying No. 1 in the first three races is impressive. It shows we have a really good race car. Auto Club, Chevy, everybody, thank you,” said Hight, who won the Gatornationals for the fourth time.
Butner, who was the Pro Stock runner-up in the 2018 Gatornationals, secured his second victory of the season and ninth of his career in the Jim Butner Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro SS by defeating Alex Laughlin (Havoline Chevrolet Camaro SS) in the final.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Butner’s fiancée, Randi Lyn Shipp, won the Stock Eliminator title in her 1968 Pontiac Firebird.
“The next time you all see me I’ll be a grandpa, so life is good,” said Butner, the Pro Stock points leader. “I just think today was all about being in the right place at the right time. We’ve had a good car and it’s been consistent the first three races so that’s all good. Thanks to KB Racing and Chevrolet.”
Chevy Racing and GM teams have combined for 58 wins in three professional categories at the Gatornationals.
Brittany Force, who reset the track Top Fuel elapsed time record of 3.680 seconds in the fourth round of qualifications on the way to her 11th career low qualifier honor, ran 3.712 seconds in her Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet dragster to pick up her first round win of the season.
Force, who earned her first Top Fuel victory in the 2016 Gatornationals, lost on a holeshot by five-thousandths of a second in the quarterfinals.
John Force Racing teammate Austin Prock, the No. 10 qualifier in the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, fell in the first round.
In the semifinals, Hight and Force, the No. 4 qualifier in the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS, faced off for the third time in as many races with the same result.
“It seems like John Force always wins the big races. I finally got one. This is a cool race to win, especially with everybody who is at this race. A lot of the people who I looked up to as a kid holding a trophy were here watching me,” Hight said.
Butner defeated No. 1 qualifier Rodger Brogdon (RBR Machine Chevrolet Camaro SS) and Laughlin dispatched Kenny Delco (KD Racing Chevrolet Camaro SS), who reached his 12th career semifinals.
Four-time Gatornationals winner Greg Anderson (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS), who has competed in 1,141 rounds – the most of any active Pro Stock driver – joined John Force (1,313), Warren Johnson (874) and Tony Schumacher (842) as the only drivers in all pro categories with 800 round wins. Anderson, who picked up his first round win at Gainesville Raceway, fell on a holeshot in the quarterfinals.
Stephen Bell of Shreveport, Louisiana, drove his Chevrolet COPO Camaro to a runner-up finish in the SAMTECH.edu Factory Stock Showdown. Bell, winner of the event in 2018 at the track, lost to Pro Stock driver Drew Skillman, who set a class record with a 7.718-second pass. Randy Taylor of Artesia, New Mexico, joined Bell in the semifinals in his COPO Camaro.
The DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is next on the schedule April 5-7. FS1 will telecast eliminations and finals at 5:30 p.m. ET April 7.
An interview with Funny Car winner ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVORLET CAMARO SS (second win of season and 47th of career; No. 1 qualifier for third successive race):
TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAY.
“Qualifying No. 1 in the first three races is impressive. It shows we have a really good race car. I think that goes back to over the winter. We didn’t get the job done at the end of the season last year and my team really worked hard over the winter because we don’t want to be in that spot again. We went to Phoenix testing and we were quick, and we’ve been quick everywhere we’ve been. I’ve never seen a fuel car so consistent as I have now, especially a Funny Car.”
IT SEEMS (CREW CHIEF) JIMMY PROCK HAS THE CAR DOING WHAT HE WANTS RIGHT NOW.
“He’s on it right now. He and Chris Cunningham are really happy with the clutch package we have right now. They keep talking a lot about how my car ran in 2017. It’s on and it repeats, and we have enough of these parts to go all year long. So it’s not like midway through the year we’re going to have to switch a combination. We’re just going to refine it and hopefully get better and better.”
TELL US ABOUT THE FINAL ROUND.
“Well, Tim Wilkerson had great light all through qualifying. He said he wasn’t happy with how Phoenix went, so he went home and poured a new seat and got comfortable with the car, so I knew going up there I would have to be on my game. I got a little antsy; it was a long tree and I started to go but I caught it and went all the way down. I had a 31 light.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO WIN THE 50th GATORNATIONALS?
“It’s huge. This is the big one. It’s the 50th and there will only be one of those. It seems like John Force always wins the big races. I finally got one. This is a cool race to win, especially with everybody who is at this race. A lot of the people who I looked up to as a kid holding a trophy were here watching me.”
TALKING ABOUT JOHN FORCE, THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS SEASON YOU’VE BEAT HIM.
“John probably is not going to want me going to Vegas next week because I beta him the first three races. We have to qualify different. It would be cool if we were racing in the final, but when you go to the semis you know a Chevrolet is going to win. It could have gone either way. That car and that team are really stepping up. John’s going to get some wins. His 150th is coming, I know it is. It’s a lot of fun right now in our camp because all our cars are running well. It’s probably the most I’ve had in a long time.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW YOU GUYS CARRIED THAT MOMENTUM FRON LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR?
“It’s pretty awesome to drive a car like this. Sometimes you count your blessings because you don’t know how long this is going to last. Things change. It really all boils down to hard work. I promise the way we’re running, the big runs we’re running, we’re going to make other teams push and they’re going to get better. So we better not get complacent.”
An interview with Pro Stock winner BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO, JIM
BUTNER AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (second victory of season and ninth of career; No. 5 qualifier):
TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAY
“Just absolutely crazy. The first round we did our job. Second round we didn’t get down the track. Third round we didn’t get down the track. Just some mishaps for the guys on the other side of the track. KB guys never gave up. We looked and tried everything and made the best run of the weekend, I think, in the finals.”
IN THE FINALS, YOUR OPPONENT HAD AN ENGINE PROBLEM AND DIDN’T START. WAS THERE DISAPPOINTMENT THAT YOU WOULDN’T GET TO RACE?
“Yes. I have all the trust in our crew, and I figured they had our car fixed. I had Randi Lyn there closing the door knowing she had won the night before. You have to still stage and I wanted to make a good run. It’s unfortunate for Alex (Laughlin); I’m sure we’ll have many races throughout the season. They’re tough. They made some good runs today, but I’ll take my team.”
IS THERE A CONCERN THAT SOMETHING COULD GO WRONG ON THAT RUN?
“That is a concern. Keep her in the middle, don’t hit the wall. I was very happy we got down with a good run and that makes it better. He didn’t make the stage bulb, and like I say it’s unfortunate for Alex but he’ll have plenty of them.”
DOES DRIVING THE SAMTECH CAR HELP YOU IN PRO STOCK?
“That’s a possibility. I would drive five classes if NHRA would let us. I like to stay busy. I had some rough runs in the Factory Showdown car that really made me angry. I just hop in the Pro Stock car and go out there and qualify No. 1 the first day. I can’t wait to get that car going, though. I’m very happy with our Pro Stock car but I have a lot of work to do with the Factory car and I won’t give up until we win with that.”
HAS THAT HELPED YOU TO STAY FOCUSED AND GET OFF TO THIS QUICK START?
“I just think today was all about being in the right place at the right time. We’ve had a good car and it’s been consistent the first three races so that’s all good.”
TALK ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WINNING THE 50th GATORNATIONALS.
“The Gators are the Gators. You have Indy and you have the Gators. This is the 50th Gators. Look at the crowd that was here today. The fan support is awesome. NHRA is doing their job there.”
TOP FUEL:
AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 10 qualifier; fell in first round): “Obviously disappointed but we’re learning every time we hit the racetrack. That was the first time we’ve been on the other side of a shake. We had a fast shake that time and not a slow shake, and I stepped off of it, slapped it back down and got her down there. If he (Clay Millican) would have stumbled I think we would have had a round win. I left on him and it was just a tough break. This Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain team is doing excellent and we’re going to be getting some round wins here shortly.”
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier; fell quarterfinals): “I’m very happy with this weekend and my Advance Auto Parts team. We qualified No. 1 and we had four solid passes down the race track, a .90, .80, .71 and then a .68 which put us No. 1. We’ve had a great race car and we’ve really turned it around and figured it out,” said Force. “We got past first round and even had a good car second round, but I got beat on a holeshot so I’m going to take that home and figure out how to improve it and fix it, so it doesn’t happen again. My guys gave me a great race car and I felt like I didn’t give them the best driver, so it’ll all come together as its supposed to. I’m pumped and ready to go to Four-Wide in Las Vegas and see what we can do there.”
PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier; fell in quarterfinals): “My Summit Racing Chevy Camaro showed a lot of potential this weekend, and we definitely made a lot of gains this week after testing well. We learned a lot and improved, but unfortunately, we didn’t parlay it into a race victory like we wanted. I’m just disappointed because I wanted to get this done for my dad. My Chevrolet was good, but it can definitely be better, and it will be.”
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 10 qualifier; fell in first round): “It was a good weekend overall for KB Racing to get the win with Bo’s Chevrolet Camaro, but we struggled with my car, we hurt some parts, and I did a lousy job of driving. The end result is that you go home early, and we’ve got a lot of work to do before Vegas. We’re not afraid of hard work, so we’ll get home and get to it. We expect to be better overall in Vegas.”