CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS
AUTO CLUB RACEWAY IN POMONA, CALIFORNIA
RACE RECAP AND DRIVER QUOTES
FEBRUARY 9, 2020
Chevrolet starts 2020 season on the fast track
Jeg Coughlin Jr. earns 64th win to kick of Pro Stock’s 50th anniversary
Sixteen-time champion John Force drives to runner-up finish in Funny Car
Second-year driver Austin Prock places second in Top Fuel
POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 9, 2020) – Chevrolet drivers reached the final round in all three professional categories to kick off the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) season at the 60th Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtecttheHarvest.com.
Jeg Coughlin Jr., who a day earlier announced that 2020 would be his final season of Pro Stock competition, dominated the class in the JEGS.com/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS on the opening weekend at Auto Club Raceway.
Sixteen-time Funny Car champion just missed registering his NHRA record-extending 152nd career victory, finishing runner-up in the BlueDEF Chevrolet Camaro SS. Teammate Austin Prock, the No. 2 Top Fuel qualifier in the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, also was a second-place finisher.
The last time the veteran (104 runner-up finishes) and youngster (one runner-up) reached the finals – at Seattle in 2019 – both won (Prock’s inaugural victory in his rookie season).
Additionally, Brittany Force, driving the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster, claimed the No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel. She advanced to the semifinals.
Chevrolet has amassed 320 Pro Stock victories since 1970, including 202 with the Camaro nameplate, as the professional category celebrates its 50th anniversary.
“The best memory is racing under that famed Winternationals banner. I was looking at the 60 years logo today and I was thinking about how cool that would be to have that banner over us today. What a win,” said Coughlin, who picked up his 64th career Pro Stock win and third at the Winternationals.
Coughlin recorded a 6.522-second pass, which was low elapsed time of the event, in the final against three-time Pro Stock champion Jason Line (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS). Coughlin led every round of qualifying on the way to the No. 1 honor and swept eliminations. The five-time Pro Stock champion was also the low qualifier and won the 2019 season finale at the track.
“We have had a hell of a lot of good memories here and we are going to enjoy this one for sure,” said Coughlin, who with 675 elimination round wins moved closer to overtaking Kenny Bernstein (682) for eighth on the all-time list.
Line, who also announced that this would be his final season behind the wheel, ousted 2019 Pro Stock champion and No. 3 qualifier Erica Enders (Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Camaro SS) in one semifinal, while Coughlin defeated Kenny Delco (KD Racing Camaro SS) in the semifinals.
Reigning Funny Car champion Robert Hight, the No. 3 qualifier in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, started the season with a resounding victory but lost in the second round after smoking the tires.
Jeff Lane of North Bend, Washington, and Al Corda of Elk Mound, Wisconsin, advanced to the semifinals of Stock Eliminator competition in their Chevrolet COPO Camaros.
Next up is the NHRA Arizona Nationals on Feb. 21-23 at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona.
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “The first race of the season and this Monster Energy / Flavor-R-Pac team is off to an incredible start with a No. 1 qualifier. It gave this whole team the confidence going into race day. We came out and went to the semifinals. We had a good day and made some decent runs. I am OK with coming out to the first start of the season and carrying over the same team with David Grubnic and Mac Savage and running this well. We have Monster Energy back on board, Chevrolet, and we are excited to be here. In the first race of the season, we got the first green hat. That is pretty incredible to do.”
AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 2 qualifier; fell in final):
“Had a really good day and it was a great way to start off the season. Both of our John Force Racing dragsters were running on mean today. We had ourselves a bracket car there in the second round and semis and that is just kudos to the crew chiefs and the guys putting the car together. You know, exactly the same every time makes it easy on Mike (Green) and Joe (Barlam). So, I had a lot of fun today because this thing is hauling ass and I am having a lot of fun driving it. Its reacting quick and allowing me to leave the starting line good. So, I am looking forward to Phoenix.”
FUNNY CAR:
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; fell in second round):
“I could have tried to get back at it, but if you get back at it too quick, you are going to smoke the tires. She was gone and I gave up. That is going tot be a tall order to run 5.38 you know, pedaling it and smoking the tires and all that.”
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, BLUEDEF CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; fell in final): “It was a really good weekend. I didn’t win but I’ve got a real hot rod with my son-in-law Daniel Hood and Ronnie Thompson and Tim Fabrisi. Boy, to come out of the box and go to the finals. I have to congratulate Beckman, he did a great job up there with Dean Antonelli, they’re family. Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham always show us with Robert’s Auto Club car what they can do but you know, stuff happens, you can’t win them all. To see my dragsters do so well, Brittany with Monster running the way they are running, Montana Brand car with Austin Prock is really impressive. Frank Tiegs, who owns Montana Brand and Brittany’s other sponsor Flav-R-Pac, gave us some more good news, picking up the last two races with Brittany. You’ll see Flav-R-Pac in yellow next weekend and then it goes back to Monster and that’s just really exciting. We’re all just a big family out here and everything is really coming together. Sponsors are stepping up, our marketing is working hard and our PR and social team are doing what they do. Excited to get to Phoenix.”
PRO STOCK:
JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITE PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier; 64th career victory, third in Winternationals): “The best memory is racing under that famed Winternationals banner. I was looking at the 60 years logo today and I was thinking about how cool that would be to have that banner over us today. What a win. Congrats to the entire Elite Motorsports team. They have worked their tails off all winter long and to everyone back home at Jegs, just want to thank you all for all the love and support. To my pop, this win is for you bud. We have had a hell of a lot of good memories here and we are going to enjoy this one for sure.”
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 7 qualifier; fell in final): “We had a good day. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t exactly what we wanted. We’ll take it, though, and we’ll be happy and move on. We did okay today, and we get another chance in Phoenix in two weeks, so I’m looking forward to that. It’s been really humbling this weekend. I’ve had a lot of people saying really nice things, and some even saying they’ll miss me – that’s not something I hear a lot. I don’t want to get caught up in being sentimental, because I still have a job to do for our team owner, Ken Black, and Summit Racing. I’m still thinking about what we have to do to get better before Phoenix, and we will be better.”
ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “On one hand, we should have lost first round, so I am pleased with a semifinal finish. But collectively as a team we are a little disgusted with how we ran. The good news is that my teammate Jeg Coughlin has a real mean race car underneath him. We share a crew chief and data, so after this race we should be able to go test and figure out what was wrong with my car. That is the positive coming out of it. We will leave here third or fourth, which is great. “
BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO GROUP, STRUTMASTERS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; fell in first): “That has never happened to me in a Pro Stock car before. I’ve had them shake and spin, but it spun before it even moved. That was different. But it’s a tricky track, and a lot of teams had some troubles. You can’t get upset – I told the guys, let’s go for it this year. It sucks for this to happen the first race, especially because we really like it here. But we like Phoenix, too.”
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 7 qualifier; fell in first round): “Our Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro was great, and we know we have horsepower, we just couldn’t seem to get the engine tune-up right. The track was tricky today, it was cold, and that makes it tough. That’s no excuse, it was tough for everyone, but you always hope for me. We’re looking forward and putting this one behind us, and we’ll start fresh in Phoenix in two weeks.”