| CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 24, 2022) – Off the efforts of his Friday night performance, John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS have secured their second No. 1 of the season, fifth at zMAX Dragway and 165th of Force’s career at the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals. Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy dragster moved into the No. 2 spot while Robert Hight sits No. 3 with the Automobile Club of Southern California Camaro and Austin Prock has the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team in 10th. After a 3.854-second pass at 330.47 mph on Friday night that ensured a No. 1 start, John Force and the PEAK Chevy had trouble getting down track both runs on Saturday. They would open the day smoking the tires early around the 300-foot mark to coast to a 5.343-second pass at 134.58 mph. In the final session, the Chevy moved a bit and Force had to shut off for a 4.158 at 226.35 mph. “Well, we got it yesterday and it’s a good thing. I really thought someone else was going to get it today, we weren’t able to repeat it. Daniel Hood and Tim Fabrisi, these PEAK guys, they are doing a real good job. We’re all learning every week,” Force said. “You asked me yesterday about luck and I’m not superstitious, but the cards seem to be leaning my way this weekend. I know the competition out there is tough, these kids out here are good. I have a lot of work to do to keep up with them.” Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac dragster dropped a hole in their first attempt on Saturday to only go 3.801-seconds at 285.83 mph. David Grubnic and Mac Savage took advantage of their final qualifying try laying down a stout 3.685-second pass at a track record 336.91 mph to match with their track ET record of 3.662-seconds that they set in May 2021. The jump in performance puts them in the No. 2 spot to race against Spencer Massey first round. “That was a good run, a 3.68 is awesome for us. We had been trying to get it down there but there always just seemed to be something. It moved around and got close to the wall last night and I had to pull my foot out of it. Then, earlier today, we put a hole out, so it was great to get it down there tonight.” Force said. “We’re happy with that run and doing it side-by-side with Justin Ashely, that was killer for the fans. I’m ready for race day with this Flav-R-Pac team.” Robert Hight and the Auto Club team had another clean pass in the second qualifying run going 3.946-seconds at 328.22 mph and earning one bonus point for being third quickest of the session. To close out qualifying, Hight and the Auto Club team would have a rare stumble and shut off early for a 5.314 at 136.68. “Not a bad qualifying effort. There was more out there but we stayed fairly consistent. Got another point in that first session today and that’s promising for tomorrow,” Hight said. “We’ve got a great car, these Auto Club Chevy guys are working really hard, not making mistakes and putting in the work. One run at a time, just control what we can and get the job done. Going to be battle tomorrow but we’re ready for it.” Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / RMT team had nothing but improvements Saturday. The Joe Barlam and Rahn Tobler led team would jump from 12th into eighth with their 3.736-second run at 334.98 mph, which was the track record before teammate Brittany Force improved it in their final qualifying run. In the final qualifying, Prock handled his dragster to a 3.784 at 326.40 and will settle in at 10th to face Antron Brown in the first round of eliminations. “It was a decent day in Charlotte. This Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team was third quick in session two and had the track speed record for a bit. Session three we were down on horsepower for some reason,” said Prock who earned a bonus point for being third quickest in the second session. “We are diving into it and will have this hotrod tuned up to go rounds tomorrow. Sitting in the bottom half of the field we will have a tough opponent first round in Antron but to win you have to beat them all anyways.” Eliminations at the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway, the second of six NHRA Countdown to the Championship races, are slated to begin Sunday at noon. Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and continues with a second qualifying show Sunday at 2 p.m. ET with eliminations coverage at 3 p.m. ET. -30- |
 AUSTIN PROCK, 27, Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist DragsterQualifying:10th; 5.887-seconds; 107.70 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+1 (3rd quickest Q2) BRITTANY FORCE, 36, Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy DragsterQualifying:2nd; 3.712-seconds; 297.29 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+2 (2nd quickest Q3)  JOHN FORCE, 73, PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:1st; 3.854-seconds; 330.47 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +3 (quickest Q1) ROBERT HIGHT, 53, Auto Club of Southern California Chevy Camaro SSQualifying:3rd; 3.864-seconds; 331.45 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+2 (3rd quickest Q1, Q2) |