CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
MOPAR EXPRESS LANE NHRA NATIONALS
MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY IN MOHNTON, PENNSYLVANIA
POST-RACE RECAP AND DRIVER QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 15, 2019
Chevrolet drivers start strong in Countdown to Championship
Jason Line earns 50th career Pro Stock win, moves to No. 1 in standings
John Force runs to Funny Car runner-up finish, is No. 2 in points
Brittany Force resets Top Fuel elapsed time world record, is No. 2 in points
MOHNTON, Pa. (September 15, 2019) – Chevrolet drivers made strong statements in the opening round of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.
Jason Line earned his 50th career Pro Stock victory and moved to the top of the standings in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS.
John Force, who entered the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals off a victory in the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, continued his second-half surge with a runner-up finish in Funny Car that led to remaining second in points.
Brittany Force ran the quickest time in NHRA Top Fuel history with a 3.623-second pass (332.92 mph) to secure her third consecutive No. 1 qualifier and seventh of the season in the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet dragster. Though the 2017 Top Fuel champion was unable to compete for a chance to advance to the final because of a fuel line leak in the semifinals, she moved to second in the standings.
Rookie of the year front-runner Austin Prock, the No. 7 qualifier in the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, reached the Top Fuel semifinal round for the fourth consecutive race.
Securing his fourth victory at Maple Grove Raceway and second win in the past three races, Line defeated first-time finalist Fernando Cuadra, whose Corral Boots Camaro SS gets its power from Line and the crew at KB Racing.
“This is probably the best Summit Racing Chevy Camaro I’ve had and all I have to do is not mess it up,” said Line, the No. 3 qualifier who supplanted teammate Bo Butner (Jim Butner Auto Group Camaro SS) as No. 1 in points for the first time this season.
Line defeated Matt Hartford (Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro SS) and Cuadra advanced to his first final in his 56th race by ousting Jeg Coughlin Jr. (JEGS.com/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS). In the quarterfinals, Cuadra beat No. 1 qualifier Erica Enders (Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS) to the line by .0012 of a second (about 4 inches).
John Force, the No. 5 qualifier in the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil/Blue Def Diesel Additives Camaro SS, lost on a holeshot in the final. After defeating Ron Capps in their 104th head-to-head matchup, Force’s Camaro SS ran 3.952 seconds to Jack Beckman’s 3.958. But Beckman had a quicker reaction time to drive to the winner’s circle for the first time this season.
“Good day; got to the final and Beckman with a 28 light. I can’t beat that on my best day,” Force said. “But my car has been very consistent and these kids give me a lot of heart and a great race car that’s fast.”
Robert Hight, who entered the Countdown as the No. 1 seed in the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, smoked the tires and fell in the second round. He fell to third in the standings.
Enders claimed her 20th career low qualifier honor and first since Brainerd in September 2018. Enders, Brittany Force and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angelle Sampey comprised the first all-female lineup of No. 1 qualifiers in NHRA history.
The second of six events in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship is September 27-29 with the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. FS1 will telecast eliminations and finals live at 2 p.m. ET September 29.
An interview with Pro Stock winner JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; 50th career Pro Stock win and second this season):
WHAT MADE THIS ALL COME TOGETHER TODAY?
“It didn’t come together today; it came together about three races ago. This is probably the best Summit Racing Chevy Camaro I’ve had and all I have to do is not mess it up. Congratulations to Fernando. They did a heck of a job. For him to make the final round is a big deal.”
YOU’RE LOOKING REALLY GOOD IN THE COUNTDOWN.
“Just a great day overall and super excited to be leading the points. Fernando is a great guy; he’s had a tough year. I remember meeting his for the first time in 2003 when I first started – he started at the same time. He’s got a great story. He’s going to win; just not today.”
BIG VICTORY TO START THE COUNTDOWN
“Not one of my shinnier moments, but a big victory nonetheless.”
FERNANDO CUADRA HAD A GREAT SHOWING.
“It looked like his day to win. I did feel a little bad. He’s struggled all year and today I think was his first round win. One side of me really wanted to see him win. But everything happens for a reason. He’s going to get his win, no questions about it. Nice day for him as well.”
YOUR 50TH WIN IN PRO STOCK. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?
“I probably should have got there a long time ago. It means I’ve had some great race cars to drive and some great people I’ve got to work with over the years. It’s been a fun ride, for sure.”
YOU’RE ONLY THE FIFTH DRIVER TO DO THAT, 50 OR MORE IN PRO STOCK.
“Pretty good club to be in.”
WALLY STROUPE, BO BUTNER, MATT HARTFORD JUST TO GET TO THE FINAL ROUND. THAT IS A TOUGH RACE DAY.
“There is no easy race day, for sure. I was pretty fortunate today. Bo was the toughest round of the day. I didn’t drive great by any means but I had a great hot rod. Sometimes you’ve got to win ugly and I’m OK with that, too.”
BOTH TEAMS HAD TO RUSH TO GET TO THE LINE. HOW DID YOU GET YOURSELF MENTALLY PREPARED FOR THE FINAL?
“I didn’t. I was not great in the final by any means. I didn’t do good on any aspect other than I didn’t hit anything. I don’t like being rushed; I’d rather go last. But that’s the way it is sometimes.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO WIN HERE IN ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT CONDITIONS?
“This track has been very good to me for whatever reason. Over the years, I’ve traditionally had fast cars here. I’m not sure why it’s trended that way, but I’ve set a couple of records here and have been really fast here at times. I like this place.”
YOU’VE DEMONSTRATED STRONG PERFORMANCES SEVERAL RACES IN A ROW.
“If you would have asked me at Seattle if we had a chance to win the championship, I would have told you no. Right now, we arguably have the best car. In the last three races, I’m sure we’ve gotten the most little points of any car out there. I’m not trading with anybody, that’s for sure. We have a good chance. All we have to do is do a good job driving and it will happen. Easier said than done, but that’s what make Mello Yello drag racing great.”
LOOK AHEAD TO ST. LOUIS FOR US.
“Hopefully it’s cool and good weather and nice and fast. St. Louis is traditionally a very fast place. You get high barometer and great Pro Stock drag races.”
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “Great weekend in Reading. It was the first race in the Countdown and an awesome weekend for the Advance Auto Parts team. We are officially the quickest team out here on the racetrack, running a 3.623 setting the national ET record so I’m very proud to hold that with David Grubnic, Mac Savage and all the Advance Auto Parts boys,” said Force. “I had a good race day. Unfortunately, in the semis we had a fuel leak, a loose line so we know what the problem is and we know how to fix it. It won’t happen again and we’ll pack up and go to the next one and push a little bit harder.”
AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 7 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “Another good points day; made it to our fourth consecutive semifinal and just came up a little short. The car left extremely fast for some reason and we’re scratching our heads about it. Not a bad day overall. I would’ve liked to get in the final round, but good points day all in all and we’re going to be able to contend for this championship.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK COOLANT & MOTOR OIL / BLUE DIESEL FUEL ADDITIVES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; fell in final on holeshot): “Good day; got to the final (Jack) Beckman with a 28 light. I can’t beat that on my best day. But my car has been very consistent and these kids give me a lot of heart and a great race car that’s fast. We’re not in the lead, but we have two cars – Robert (Hight) and myself – and I’ve got two other cars with Brittany (Force) and (Austin) Prock that are starting to hurt some feelings out there. Brittany leaving here with the national record and Prock really knows how to pedal. He’s learning all this like Brittany did, and he’s learning it fast. And you can’t say anything about Robert; he’s already the best.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier, fell in second round): “We still have the same gremlins in the clutch. We went to Indy and tested this week and thought we had it fixed, and obviously we don’t. We’re going to stay here tomorrow and test. We didn’t get beat up that terrible in the points, but we definitely can’t afford to have two bad races in a row. We have to get it fixed and move on to St. Louis. We won there last year and have to win there again.”
PRO STOCK:
FERNANDO CUADRA, CUADRA RACING, CORRAL BOOTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 9 qualifier; fell in final): “Never in my wildest dreams (would have thought he’d defeat Kenny Delco and No. 1 qualifier Erica Enders and reach the semifinals). I respect both of them and know they are the tough ones. When I won, I truly didn’t believe it. Thank you to all the people who support us, the KB (Racing) people. This is awesome, my first final. It’s been a great weekend.”
ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier, fell in second round): “I feel really confident in our Melling Performance Chevy. It’s been running on mean for a few races now. My guys have worked tirelessly on this car and we had some issues at the engine shop that we worked through and it took a lot of effort and a lot of extra hours, so I’m thankful to my entire Elite Performance team. I’m excited to have a really good race car underneath me.”
JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITE PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “The whole program is clicking. The guys are on point and I continue to feel great behind the wheel. There’s a long way to go with five playoff races on the schedule but the start to Race 1 has been about as good as we could have asked for.”
BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO, JIM BUTNER AUTO SALES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier; fell in second round): “Bo Butner should stay away from Jason Line. We could have lost first round, but we didn’t, so that’s a good thing. You want to win the first race of the Countdown, but you really want to win the first round. Jason has the car of the class right now, and he did what he needed to. If I liked him a lot more, I’d probably put a picture of me on his dash. When he’s thinking of me, he’s never worse than .015 on the tree. He does not want to lose to me; it’s like I’m his little brother. But I’m going to start being a mean little brother.”
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACNG EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 10 qualifier, fell in first round): “We just have a mystery with my car right now. It’s a good car, it just has a very small tuning window, and you have to be perfect. That’s tough to do every time, so we’re going to see if we can figure this out. We know we have to do something, and quick. We’ll talk about our options tonight, and then we’re definitely going to go and test before St. Louis. With all of the resources that we have, and all of the support, we know we can get this sorted out. It was a disappointing day for us in terms of the red Summit Racing Chevy Camaro, but we were really happy to see another all KB Racing final round. Fernando Cuadra had a great day today, his best ever in Pro Stock, and Jason’s day was even better. So a good day for the team, we just have some work to do with the red car.”