CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS
NEW ENGLAND DRAGWAY IN EPPING< NEW HAMPSHIRE POST-RACE RECAP SUNDAY, JULY 7, 2019 Hight leads Chevrolet competitors in New Hampshire Driver of Camaro SS retains Funny Car points lead heading west EPPING, N.H. (July 7, 2019) – Chevrolet teams will travel two-thirds across the country for the next round of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season following the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway.

The first of three consecutive weekends of competition on the Western Swing is July 19-21 at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado.

Funny Car points leader Robert Hight was aiming to register his 50th career victory at New England Dragway, one of the few current NHRA racetracks where he has not won. The driver of the AAA Northern New England Chevrolet Camaro SS was the No. 4 qualifier and easily advanced to the quarterfinals, where his objective ended abruptly.

“Moving onto the Western Swing with this AAA Northern New England Chevy Camaro SS still in the points lead, which gives us some room to try some things, to bring out a new car and get it tuned up to where we want it. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do,” said Hight, who is third among Funny Car drivers and tied with Don Prudhomme for 13th overall in career victories.

Teammate John Force, the No. 7 qualifier in the PEAK High Mileage Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS, fell in the first round of eliminations for the first time in the 13 races this season. The 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion entered the race weekend with a runner-up finish and seven semifinal appearances to drive to second behind Hight in the championship standings.

Force, who will remain second in points, lost to Cruz Pedregon in their 106th career head-to-head matchup. Force has a 71-35 advantage.

Austin Prock and Brittany Force fell in the first round of Top Fuel eliminations. Prock, the No. 6 qualifier driving the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, lost to defending class champion Steve Torrence, who recorded the low elapsed time of the event at 3.756 seconds. Force, who tripped the red light in her matchup, was the No. 7 qualifier in the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet dragster.

Pro Stock competitors rejoin the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series for the first round of the Western Swing. Chevrolet drivers have won all seven races, with four-time winner Bo Butner in the Jim Butner Auto Sales Chevrolet Camaro SS leading the standings.

Dan Fletcher of Churchville, New York, drove his Chevrolet COPO Camaro to the quarterfinals of Stock Eliminator competition. In Super Stock, Steve Szupka of Northampton, Pennsylvania, and Bob Lettelier of Biddeford, Maine, advanced to the second round in their COPO Camaros.

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT

TOP FUEL:

BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 7 qualifier; fell in first round): “It was a tough weekend for the Advance Auto Parts team. We had a good race car today and came out, and it was driver error. I screwed up and red lit but you learn from these things. You know, I have a great support system around me, they all patted me on the back and said it’s fine, let it go and we’ll move on to the next one, so that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 6 qualifier; fell in first round): “It was another tough break first round for the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team. We were the higher qualified car, but the champ (Steve Torrence) absolutely threw down on us. He and I both left together with .058 reaction times but our 3.84 wasn’t enough. That run put us third quick on the session and once again we were sent home early. Our car is running competitively but things just haven’t been falling our way. I’m looking forward to Denver and Mike Green has had great success there in the past. We’re going to be looking for our first win of the season.”

FUNNY CAR:

ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AAA NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 4 qualifier; fell in second round): “With a new car and new set-up, we’re figuring things out. Not the Sunday we wanted but we’ll get back to where we were. We’ll be just as good if not better.”

JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK HIGH MILEAGE MOTOR OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 7 qualifier; fell in first round): “We’re leaving New England with the PEAK High Mileage Chevrolet still No. 2 in points, so that’s good. It wasn’t a good weekend for us and I keep missing that shot at 150, but there isn’t anything you can do about that. But I’m proud of this team, Danny Hood and Brian Corradi, I’m proud of this car and all we can do is move to the next race and gather up our stuff, and fix it.”