Auto Club driver Robert Hight leaves Sonoma with
ninth top speed of season, quarterfinals appearance

SONOMA, Calif. (July 30) – Robert Hight came away with his ninth fastest event speed of the season, the fastest speed in NHRA history, his third Funny Car No. 1 qualifier of the season and a quarterfinal finish in the Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway, the latest stop on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

Hight was coming off a victory at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo. and was seeking to becoming only the second driver in Funny Car history to sweep the annual Western Swing. The Alturas, Calif., native won his first-round matchup against No. 16 Tim Gibbons before falling to No. 8 Tim Wilkerson in the second round here.
Continue reading Auto Club driver Robert Hight leaves Sonoma with ninth top speed of season, quarterfinals appearance →

Brittany Force takes Monster Energy Top Fuel
dragster to Sonoma Nationals semifinals

SONOMA, Calif. (July 30) – Brittany Force advanced to the semifinals for the fifth time in the last seven NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series races, moving her inside the top five of the Top Fuel points standings following Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.

Force took the Monster Energy dragster to a pair of elimination round wins before falling in the semis to points leader Steve Torrence, the eventual winner. It made up for a tough qualifying effort Saturday, in which she failed to make a full pass. Still, her No. 2 qualifying effort put her in position to vie for the victory at Sonoma, one of her favorite tracks and the second of three races on the annual Western Swing. Continue reading Brittany Force takes Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster to Sonoma Nationals semifinals →

Courtney Force, Advance Auto Parts
team finding their rhythm in Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. (July 29) – The consistency that Funny Car star Courtney Force and her Advance Auto Parts team have been searching for in the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season appears to have been found at Sonoma Raceway.

And that has Force excited for final eliminations for the Sonoma Nationals on Sunday.

Force made three excellent runs in qualifying, topped by a best pass of 3.889 seconds at 327.03 mph that puts her in the No. 1 qualifying spot. Force made the quickest pass in Q3, 3.914 seconds at 329.91 mph, and was on another good run in the final session before getting off the throttle.

“We’ve found some consistency with our Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro,” Force said. “It definitely feels good going into race day. We’re in the No. 4 qualifying position. We pushed the car a little harder in Q4. It was on a good run, and I got out of it early because something felt a little strange to me. I got out of it to be safe, but it was on a great run. Continue reading Courtney Force, Advance Auto Parts team finding their rhythm in Sonoma →

For first time in stellar career, John Force
tops 337 mph, qualifies No. 2 in Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. (July 29) – PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS driver John Force has accomplished plenty in his Hall of Fame career, from winning more championships (16) and races (148) than anyone in the long history of the NHRA.

But until Saturday, he’d never officially gone faster than 337 mph.

That’s exactly what happened in the fourth qualifying session for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals on Saturday at Sonoma Raceway, when Force jumped to the No. 2 qualifying spot in Funny Car with a scintillating pass of 3.848 seconds at 337.16 mph.
Continue reading For first time in stellar career, John Force tops 337 mph, qualifies No. 2 in Sonoma →

Monster Energy driver Brittany Force earns No. 2
qualifying spot for Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals

SONOMA, Calif. (July 29) – Brittany Force earned the No. 2 qualifying position in the Top Fuel category for Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway, the second race of the Western Swing and 15th race on the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

Force’s best pass came in the second round Friday, when she ran 3.689 seconds at 330.63 mph midway through the session in the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster. While she celebrated the strong run Friday, the car struggled Saturday. Continue reading Monster Energy driver Brittany Force earns No. 2 qualifying spot for Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals →

At Sonoma, record speed, career-best time gives
Auto Club driver Robert Hight 52nd No. 1 of his career

Photo credit: Gary Nastase and Auto Imagery
SONOMA, Calif. (July 29) – Robert Hight’s stellar record-setting pass in Friday’s second qualifying session for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway was strong enough for his 52nd career No. 1 qualifier in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Hight’s pass of 3.807 seconds at 339.87 mph in the Auto Club of Southern California/California Highway Patrol Chevrolet Camaro SS was more than four hundredths quicker than the field over the four qualifying sessions, and his speed was the first to top 339 mph in any professional NHRA category. Continue reading At Sonoma, record speed, career-best time gives Auto Club driver Robert Hight 52nd No. 1 of his career →

Defending race winner John Force, PEAK Chevy
team take the fight to Sonoma Raceway

SONOMA, Calif. (July 25) – Sixteen-time Funny Car champion John Force rolls into Sonoma Raceway with his PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS team for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals this weekend as the race’s defending champion.
Force has also been in the final round in three of the last four seasons at a track that has been a good one for the legendary driver. He has eight victories at the northern California track, the most among any driver in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
And Sonoma also holds other special memories for Force, who in 2006 witnessed Eric Medlen win here for John Force Racing. Medlen was critically injured in a crash during testing the next year and later succumbed to those injuries. Continue reading Defending race winner John Force, PEAK Chevy team take the fight to Sonoma Raceway →

Courtney Force hopes Advance Auto Parts
team will be a race-day force in Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. (July 25) – Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force watched her John Force Racing teammate win last weekend, and she’d love to follow Robert Hight into the winner’s circle in the NHRA Sonoma Nationals this weekend at Sonoma Raceway.
Hight had raced to two final rounds this season before breaking through with his first victory of 2017 at Bandimere Speedway on Sunday. Force herself has two final-round appearances this season, yet is still looking for victory No. 1 of 2017. Continue reading Courtney Force hopes Advance Auto Parts team will be a race-day force in Sonoma →

Brittany Force looks for first Sonoma victory
with her Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster

SONOMA, Calif. (July 25) – Brittany Force and her Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster head into the second leg of the annual Western Swing, the NHRA Nationals at Sonoma Raceway, confident in challenging not just for round wins but overall victory.
Force, of Yorba Linda, Calif., has won first-round matchups in seven NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series races – she’s qualified No. 1 or No. 2 in three of those and no worse than No. 6, by the way – and has advanced to the semifinals in four of the last six races, winning at Epping, N.H.
In two of the other three semifinals appearances, including last weekend’s Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo., she fell to the eventual race winner. Continue reading Brittany Force looks for first Sonoma victory with her Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster →

Denver winner Robert Hight looks to stay
hot in Sonoma with Auto Club Chevrolet

SONOMA, Calif. (July 25) – Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro, heads into this weekend’s NHRA Nationals at Sonoma Raceway as the only driver in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car class that can sweep the Western Swing.
“You can’t sweep it unless you win Denver,” Hight said. Continue reading Denver winner Robert Hight looks to stay hot in Sonoma with Auto Club Chevrolet →

Semifinal finish in Mile-High Nationals a good start to Western Swing for Monster Energy’s Brittany Force

MORRISON, Colo. (July 23) – Brittany Force pushed herself and the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster to the semifinals of the NHRA Mile-High Nationals on Sunday at Bandimere Speedway, marking a solid start to the Western Swing.
The Swing, the three-race stretch that starts with this race, continues next week at Sonoma Raceway and concludes in Seattle. It’s an important part of the 2017 season, as the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis is two races after the Swing ends – and then the Countdown to the Championship begins. Continue reading Semifinal finish in Mile-High Nationals a good start to Western Swing for Monster Energy’s Brittany Force →

Despite Denver exit, 16-time champ John Force
‘feeling good’ about his PEAK Chevrolet team

MORRISON, Colo. (July 23) – PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil driver John Force wouldn’t make any excuses after suffering a close first-round loss at the NHRA Mile-High Nationals on Sunday at Bandimere Speedway.
But Force is encouraged by the progress his John Force Racing team continues to make, and by the camaraderie his team continues to show.
“I’m feeling good about this team because they’re staying together,” Force said. “We’re going to turn the corner.” Continue reading Despite Denver exit, 16-time champ John Force ‘feeling good’ about his PEAK Chevrolet team →

Courtney Force can’t ‘Advance’ her Chevrolet Camaro SS
from Denver’s No. 1 qualifying spot

MORRISON, Colo. (July 23) – Courtney Force and her Advance Auto Parts team started the Western Swing on the right foot, speeding to the No. 1 qualifier for the Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.
But Force bowed out of the race too early when her Chevrolet Camaro SS struggled off the starting line before shutting off before the finish line.
“JFR being 1-2-3, that’s starting off the Western Swing right,” Force said. “Unfortunately, we had a hole out on the hit of the throttle, so immediately, our car left slow. I brought it back in the center, and it stayed hooked up, but once it got down to the top end our pan pressure was through the roof, and it shut my car off automatically, so we had to coast to the finish line.” Continue reading Courtney Force can’t ‘Advance’ her Chevrolet Camaro SS from Denver’s No. 1 qualifying spot →

QUICK FACTS: Robert Hight wins Mile-High Nationals

MORRISON, Colo. (July 23) – Quick facts following Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS driver Robert Hight’s victory in the Mile-High Nationals on Sunday at Bandimere Speedway:
This is Hight’s 38th career NHRA Funny Car victory in his 60th final. He has at least one victory in each of his 13 seasons on the circuit.
Hight has one victory in three final-round appearances in 2017.
Prior to Sunday’s race, Hight’s most recent victory came in Gainesville, Fla., in 2016.
Hight defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. in the finals. He is now 16-11 against Johnson and 3-0 in final rounds.
Hight’s last victory against Johnson came in the second round at Englishtown earlier this season.
This marks Hight’s fourth victory at Denver in his fourth final. He is now 29-9 in elimination round races at Denver.
The victory was the 249th Funny Car victory for John Force Racing.
Hight’s victory marks the 253rd overall victory for John Force racing (249 Funny Car, four Top Fuel).
Hight won the race from the No. 3 qualifying position. It marks the ninth victory for Hight in 12 finals after qualifying No. 3.

Sixth No. 1 of 2017 has Advance Auto Parts driver
Courtney Force pumped for Denver eliminations

DENVER (July 22) – Courtney Force continues to pile up impressive numbers in qualifying on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour.

And after grabbing her sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season, she’s more than ready to take the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS to the winner’s circle in the Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.

Force qualified No. 1 in Denver for the second consecutive season, this time making a top pass of 3.889 seconds at 328.30 mph – setting both Bandimere track records in the process. Continue reading Sixth No. 1 of 2017 has Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force pumped for Denver eliminations →

Brittany Force takes Monster Energy Top Fuel
dragster to No. 6 for Mile-High Nationals

DENVER (July 22) – Brittany Force took the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster to the No. 6 qualifying position for Sunday’s Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.

And she’s hoping changes to her car and a new approach to the race weekend will put her in good position to win in the mountainous air in central Colorado. Continue reading Brittany Force takes Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster to No. 6 for Mile-High Nationals →

Defending Denver winner John Force brings
fast PEAK Chevrolet to final eliminations

DENVER (July 22) – Defending Mile-High Nationals winner John Force knows he has a fast PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Funny Car heading into Sunday’s final eliminations at Bandimere Speedway.
Force, who will start from the No. 2 spot, was in the midst of two good runs in qualifying Saturday, especially in the final session. And though his Chevrolet Camaro SS didn’t make full pulls, at least one was spectacular.
Force’s Camaro pulled a pretty substantial wheelstand at half-track during the fourth and final session, much to the delight of the Bandimere crowd – and to Force himself. Continue reading Defending Denver winner John Force brings fast PEAK Chevrolet to final eliminations →

Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight earns No. 3 qualifying spot for Sunday’s Mile-High Nationals

DENVER (July 22) – Robert Hight is ready to “get the monkey off my back.”
And if his final qualifying performance for this weekend’s Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway carries over to race day, he stands a good chance to take the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS to the winner’s circle for the first time this season.
Hight’s best qualifying effort came in Saturday’s final round, when he took the car to down the track at 3.905 seconds at 318.17 mph. That netted him three bonus points, and put him back at No. 3, which he had earned Friday and maintained for much of Saturday before the final session. His previous best effort was Friday, with an opening-round pass of 3.973 seconds at 313.56 mph. Continue reading Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight earns No. 3 qualifying spot for Sunday’s Mile-High Nationals →

Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force leads a
1-2-3 JFR sweep of Funny Car qualifying in Denver

DENVER (July 21) – Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force led a John Force Racing 1-2-3 sweep of Funny Car qualifying on Friday at Bandimere Speedway, as her Chevrolet Camaro SS set both ends of the track record.
Force’s pass of 3.889 seconds at 328.30 mph was No. 1, with her dad, PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil driver John Force, sitting No. 2 and Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight No. 3.
“Really cool to see JFR in the 1-2-3 spot,” Courtney Force said. “Really proud of our teams, and we’re hoping to make it a great weekend here.”
Force’s run came immediately after she watched her dad snare the track record in the first qualifying session with a run of 3.899 seconds at 301.87 mph. Continue reading Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force leads a 1-2-3 JFR sweep of Funny Car qualifying in Denver →

Monster Energy driver Brittany Force seeks strong start
to Western Swing, strong end to regular season

DENVER (July 18) – The last big stretch of races before the Countdown to the Championship begins this weekend, with the Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway kicking off the annual three-race Western Swing.
For Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster, the Western Swing is vital as she looks ahead to the Countdown, the last six races that determine the NHRA Drag Racing Series championships. Force is currently No. 6 in the Top Fuel points standings, but she heads into Denver and the Western Swing with a significant amount of moment.
Force qualified No. 1 in the last race, the NHRA Route 66 Nationals, earlier this month in Joliet, Ill., and has won first-round matchups in six consecutive races, dating back to May. She won the NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, N.H., to start the last big segment of races, four consecutive races unofficially referred to as the Eastern Swing, and hopes to start the Western Swing in the same fashion. Continue reading Monster Energy driver Brittany Force seeks strong start to Western Swing, strong end to regular season →