Chevy Racing–NHRA–Brainerd

CHEVROLET AT BRAINERD

What: Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals
When: Friday, Aug. 16-Sunday, Aug. 18
Where: Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota
TV: FS1 will telecast eliminations and finals live at 2 p.m. ET August 18

Chevrolet drivers aim to secure Countdown spot in penultimate race
Team Chevy holds No. 1 positions in Funny Car, Pro Stock standings

DETROIT (August 15, 2019) – Austin Prock checked off the first of many career milestones with his maiden National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) victory August 4 at Seattle, which temporarily satiated his appetite.
Like any competitor, the Top Fuel first-year driver is looking forward to the next win. As he said, it’s one down and at least 149 more to match NHRA record-holder and teammate John Force.

“I’d like to say I’m hungrier than ever,” said Prock, who drove the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster to the winner’s circle from the No. 12 qualifying spot. “That weekend in Seattle was just unbelievable. It was really a dream come true.”

Prock, who turns 24 on August 21, is tied for eighth in the Top Fuel standings heading to the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals – the penultimate race of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series regular season – at Brainerd International Raceway. The Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals on August 31-September 2 closes out the 18-event preliminary round before the Countdown to the Championship.

“I’m excited for this weekend in Brainerd. It will be the first time I’ve entered an NHRA national event as the previous race winner. That’s super cool,” Prock added. “We’re hungrier than ever to get another Wally and I can’t wait to put on a good show.”

Force, who has 11 wins at Brainerd, pocketed his 150th career trip to the winner’s circle when he won at Seattle in his PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil/Lighting Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. He and teammate Robert Hight have clinched Countdown spots.

Hight, driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Camaro SS, has set the standard in Funny Car competition this season with five wins and eight No. 1 qualifiers to hold the top spot in the standings. Hight, who set the Funny Car national elapsed time and speed records at Brainerd in 2017, prepped for the event last weekend with the victory in the 42nd Kelly Services Night Under Fire match race at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

“Coming off the Western Swing last week and heading into Brainerd this week, it makes for a solid five weekends of being in the car and I think it’s a good thing,” Hight said. “We keep our momentum, get to test a little bit and keep our focus right before the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.”

Deric Kramer won the Pro Stock competition at the racetrack in 2018 in the American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro SS. He’ll seek a repeat in the competitive class that features points leader Bo Butner (Jim Butner Auto Camaro SS) and KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson, who won two of the three races on the recent Western Swing in the Summit Racing Equipment Camaro SS. Butner will mark his 100th Pro Stock race this weekend.

Jay Randall of Maple Grove, Minnesota; Dustin Nelson of New London, Minnesota; and Al Corda of Elk Mound, Wisconsin, will drive a Chevrolet COPO Camaro in Stock Eliminator competition. Brian Brossart of Williston, North Dakota, and Richard Bierie of Acworth, Georgia, are entered in their COPO Camaros in Super Stock.

FS1 will telecast eliminations and finals live at 2 p.m. ET August 18.

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT

TOP FUEL:

BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, CARQUEST FILTERS CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (2017 class champion; four-time No. 1 qualifier; won at Houston; runner-up at Las Vegas and Atlanta; fourth in points): “I’ve had some success in the past, winning in 2016, and I’m looking to repeat some history with my crew chief David Grubnic. We are closing in on the Countdown and are ready to claim a spot. We plan to test Monday after Brainerd and then we head to the biggest race of our season, the U.S. Nationals. Time to get this car to the winners circle.”

AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (won first Top Fuel race at Seattle; tied for eighth in points): “I’m excited for this weekend in Brainerd. It will be the first time I’ve entered an NHRA national event as the previous race winner. That’s super cool. We’re hungrier than ever to get another Wally and I can’t wait to put on a good show for the ‘Zoo.’ ”

FUNNY CAR:

ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (2017 class champion; class points leader; has won five races and has eight No. 1 qualifier honors): “If you leave Brainerd with momentum, that carries you into the most important part of the year. That’s the name of this whole game. We went down to the last race of the year last year with a shot at the championship and didn’t get it done. Instead of completely trying to reinvent ourselves over the winter, we paid attention to why we lost and it was a lack of consistency.”

JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK COOLANT & MOTOR OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (recorded 150th class win at Seattle; two-time No. 1 qualifier this season; eight-time semifinalist; 11-time winner at track): “I may not be as young as these kids and I may not be a hot shot on the Tree anymore, but if you give me a good race car, I can still win and right now I’ve got a race car as good as anyone’s. I have had a lot of success at Brainerd and I love racing there. I get a lot of energy and motivation from the fans at every track but the fans in Brainerd are awesome. I am looking forward to getting up there and racing.”

PRO STOCK:

BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO, JIM BUTNER AUTO SALES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (has four wins and two-time No. 1 qualifier; 2017 series champion; first in points): “We’ve run well at Brainerd, so it’s exciting to go there. I ran Comp Eliminator years ago and the week before Brainerd, I decided I was over it and put a five-speed in the car. I had never driven one before, so I went to Bowling Green that Monday before Brainerd with it, let go of the clutch, and it ran good. So, we get up there to Brainerd and I win the first race I ever raced with a five-speed. It was a good race, and it was a lot of fun. This year, we just need to win. We’re still. No. 1 in the points, but we haven’t won in a while, and we need to get back to that.”

GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (has won two of past three races and runner-up in the other; three-time winner at track; second in points): “Brainerd is a lot like Seattle, and we did a great job there two weeks ago. My Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro was probably the happiest it’s been all year, and that means it’s going to be happy at Brainerd, too. We have a lot of support there, and that is another great help to us. We just made a lot of strides over the Western Swing – racecar-wise, team-wise, Greg Anderson confidence-wise. We made big strides, so I can’t wait to get to the next race.”

JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (has been to 100 Pro Stock final rounds): “Everybody knows I love Brainerd. I don’t know that it loves me back, but I love going there. It’s great to see my family and friends and folks I used to bracket race with 35 years ago. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long, but it’s fun to see everybody, and I always love going back there. I don’t know that I’ll be ‘helping’ anyone this weekend, but I’ll be ‘hindering’ on some Sportsman cars. I always enjoy that part a lot. There’s some other stuff we’re working on that I think will refine things and will help us be better long term.”

JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITE PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time runner-up at track): “Brainerd is a very special and unique stop on the NHRA tour because people line up days before we ever get there to enter the ‘Zoo’ campground and stake out their favorite spots. Year after year we see the same crazy guys and girls driving around in all kinds of homemade vehicles just enjoying the experience to an extreme. They’re as passionate about having fun as they are about racing. Obviously, we’ve had some great times here in the past and we feel very comfortable with the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro this year. We’d love nothing more than to add to our totals this weekend. We already know we’re going to have fun; why not extend that to Sunday afternoon in the winner’s circle?”

DERIC KRAMER, KRAMER RACING, AMERICAN ETHANOL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (won at track in 2018; sixth in points): “What I want to accomplish this weekend is get as close to, if not equal, my performance last year. The Countdown is coming so we are going to try to make up some ground these last two weeks. We’ve struggled in the ‘good sessions’ this year and its’ something we’ve been working on and hopefully we can translate that into better qualifying positions where we qualified last year at least.”

SHANE TUCKER, TUCKER RACING, AUZMET ARCHITECTURAL/STRUCTGLASS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (returns to action after taking off the Western Swing): “We are not giving up on our dream of an NHRA Pro Stock world championship. It may not happen this season, but we made a lot of changes to the race car and then I needed to take care of some business obligations. Brainerd will be a great event for us, and we will be giving it our all.”