JOHN FORCE EYES SOUTHERN NATIONALS FOR SECOND WIN OF 2015
ATLANTA, GA (May 14, 2015) — The last time John Force was in the final round of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals he was racing for his 1,000th round win at his 500th race. It was 2008 and he was on the cusp of setting a record that no one would ever be able to touch. One more round win and he would be able to forever claim that for 500 straight races he averaged a semi-final finish. Unfortunately, history was not on his side as he watched his daughter Ashley Force Hood etch her name into the history books as the first female to ever win an NHRA Funny Car national event.

“Seeing Ashley get that win was so special. I wanted to get that 1,000th round win so I had a lot on the line but that day was just her day. Now I have Courtney and Brittany out here battling it out. Courtney almost won here last year and Brittany will have a brand new sponsor, Monster Energy, at this race,” said Force.
John Force put his Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car into the winner’s circle in Las Vegas winning for the 142nd time but there were still so many firsts for the winningest drag racer in NHRA history. It was his first win in the new Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. It was his first win with new crew chief Jon Schaffer and a group of crewmen Force calls “The Replacements.” It was the first win for Force with new sponsor Lucas Oil and an enhanced primary sponsorship from Peak Anti-Freeze and Coolant. This weekend Force will be back in the blue Peak Antifreeze Camaro and he is looking forward to some more firsts.
“That win in Las Vegas was huge. It proved we could still do it. I never doubted my guys but you also know how tough it is out here. We barely got past Robert in that Las Vegas final. I want to get this Peak Chevy in the winner’s circle now,” added Force.
The last time Force stood in the Atlanta Dragway winner’s circle was after he defeated rookie teammate, Robert Hight, in 2005. In 2002 he was runner-up to Whit Bazemore but the amazing trend had ended in 2000 when his win over Ron Capps capped a streak of nine straight final rounds at the Southern Nationals. Force won six of those finals during his impressive streak in the Peach State.
“We just raced really well here in the 90s. Austin Coil had a great tune-up and the crew was great. My crew guys now are so young but they have the fire and I still have the fire too,” said Force. “You see it in their eyes and I know all my teams have that ache in their bellies to win. Robert wants to win so bad for Auto Club, you can feel it. Courtney is the same way for Traxxas and now Brittany will be talking all about Monster starting this week.”
With the win in Las Vegas Force jumped solidly into the Top Ten and he secured his spot in the Traxxas Nitro Shootout. As the defending champion Force knows it is important to lock up the special race slots early in the season.
“The bonus money all goes to the teams but you want to get that trophy for your sponsors. Traxxas is one of our big ones so we want to keep winning that race for them. They do a lot for the sport and we appreciate their support just like I appreciate everything Peak does for me. We were in Las Vegas last week promoting Peak Anti-Freeze and Coolant at a big show and the fans loved it,” said Force.

ROBERT HIGHT HAS ATLANTA REPEAT ON HIS MIND
ATLANTA, GA (May 14, 2015) — Last year Robert Hight raced to the winner’s circle on the strength of great driver reaction times and a superior Mike Neff tune-up at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals. It was his fourth win of the season and he was in the midst of one of the most dominant performance streaks of his career. This season he has proven to have a strong Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car and it has been by the narrowest of margins that he hasn’t hoisted the Wally trophy at least once. Hight is looking forward to starting a streak at Atlanta Dragway this weekend and carry some momentum into the summer months and eventually the 2015 Countdown.
“You don’t win championships at the start of the season. Last year Atlanta was the fourth win for us. This year we have lost a couple of races by a few thousandths of a second. Two weeks ago in Houston I lost a close semi-final race to (Ron) Capps. This class is so tough you can’t make any mistakes and even when you are at the top of your game that still doesn’t guarantee a win,” said Hight, a three-time Atlanta winner.
Hight and the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro team have raced to three semi-final rounds and a final round so far this season. He is just four points out of third place in the Mello Yello point standings and just 34 point behind Capps from the top spot.
In Hight’s career he has led the points at least once every season with the exception of one and he has multiple wins every year of his career. The Houston race was the tenth anniversary of Hight’s first career win and since that race in 2005 Hight has record a class best 34 career Funny Car wins.
“I have been fortunate to always have really good teams and to have Auto Club as my primary sponsor. Mike Neff and I have really clicked in the last couple of years and I feel like we have one of the strongest teams out here. I can’t say enough about how hard all my guys pull together to give me a great Chevy Funny Ca every race,” said Hight.
“We have six races behind us and now we are heading into the busiest part of the season. Atlanta will be the first race of the first back-to-back races so far and I am excited to be on the road with my guys.”
While Hight can look back at his success at Atlanta Dragway six final rounds since 2005 he also can look forward as his team continues to stay at the top of the Mello Yello points standings. The key for Hight this season so far has been his consistency when both the top two drivers in the point standings each have two wins yet the Auto Club team is just two rounds of racing out of the top spot.
“No one is hanging their heads around here. We haven’t stepped into the winner’s circle yet but we have been really close and I think our time is coming. We have a great tune-up and as long as I do my job on the starting line this Auto Club team will be just fine. I like racing in Atlanta because we have had success at that track. You do get comfortable at some tracks and racing to six final rounds there including three in a row to start my career gives me a lot of confidence,” added Hight.

WITH NEW LOOK BRITTANY FORCE READY TO TAKE ON ATLANTA DRAGWAY
ATLANTA, GA (May 14, 2015) — Yesterday Brittany Force announced she would be driving the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster beginning with this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. The dragster will be unveiled in the JFR pits on Friday and Force is ready to put the two weeks off since Houston behind her and get back to racing.
“Having two weeks off is always difficult. I like back to back races. You can keep your routine better,” said Force.
On a national teleconference Wednesday Force recounted how the Monster deal came together and how the excitement level is real heading into the race weekend.
“I’m excited. This is definitely a huge opportunity. Like my dad said, it all went down a year ago. I met Mitch Covington (Monster Energy VP of Sport Marketing) at a wedding and pushed and pushed for a meeting. It took a long time until we got it all done,” recounted Force.
“For two days we sat down with my dad in the office at Courtney’s house all day long taking notes, figuring out how we’re going to sell this. We’d never done it before, tried to bring home a sponsor. My dad is the best at that. I was lucky to have his support. It’s something I’m very proud of to know I’ve been involved since the very beginning, both Courtney and I and my dad. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Last year at the Southern Nationals Brittany qualified No. 6 and faced Pat Dakin in the first round. In that match-up both cars went up in smoke almost immediately and Dakin was able to pedal his dragster down the track for the win. It was a disappointing end to the weekend for Force but she is not looking back headed into the 35th edition of the Southern Nationals.
“I put last year out of my mind and I am just ready to get back to Atlanta Dragway and do my best. We have a good race car and my team is pumped up. Atlanta is tough but it is tough for everyone. I think if we get some good qualifying runs in and get in the top half we could have a really good race on Sunday,” said Force.
With a new attitude and new sponsor Force is looking to go rounds on Sunday and move back into the Mello Yello Top Ten. So far this season Force has four quarter-final finishes and has narrowly missed a couple semi-final appearances. She has won rounds from the top half and the bottom half of the qualified field. The performance of the Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster is coming around at the right time and the racing season kicks into high gear. Force knows that impressive results will help in the point standings and also with her new sponsor Monster Energy.
“With the sponsorship, you get the driver and you get the race car. Monster Energy is all about living life on the edge, extreme sports. That’s exactly where we are in drag racing. It’s extreme. If you’ve ever been out to a drag race, you can’t compare it to anything,” said Force.
“As Monster says it, it’s a lifestyle in a can. Their lifestyle matches right up to the lifestyle of a drag racer. You’re out on the road. It’s an extreme sport. It just goes hand‑in‑hand. It really seems to work out,” added Force. “More than anything it’s funny because, I mean, since I started competing out here in the Top Fuel car in the professional ranks, my guys since day one have stocked their coolers with Monster. We’ve always had it in our pits. It’s something we’ve loved. It’s just what we drink. We got pretty lucky to be teamed up with Monster.”

COURTNEY FORCE HOPES FOR A SOUTHERN NATIONALS REPEAT
ATLANTA, GA (May 14, 2015) — The 35th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals kicks off this weekend in what some have deemed “Hotlanta,” infamous for its hot and humid summer months. Courtney Force is eager to get back to the Georgia race track and go for a repeat of her final round appearance in 2014.
“I’m looking forward to going into the Southern Nationals this weekend in Atlanta. This is the seventh stop on our NHRA Mello Yello circuit and I’m excited. Our Traxxas Chevy Camaro team has already had two No. 1 qualifiers so far this season; we went to the semi-finals two weeks ago and I think so we’re getting this Camaro figured out. It’s definitely getting me and my team excited to go into this race, especially when we’re going into the busiest part of our season,” said Force.
Last year, the 26-year-old Funny Car pilot qualified in the No. 8 spot at Atlanta Dragway with a 4.098 ET and went into the first round on race day with lane choice over her competitor Cruz Pedregon. She moved on to the next round and dismissed Cruz’s bother, Tony Pedregon, followed by Matt Hagan. Force lost in the final round to her teammate Robert Hight.
“This is the time when need to get the car figured out and get it running more consistently. Luckily at this track, we’ve continued to improve our ETs every year, so we’re hoping to continue that this weekend. Hopefully we’ll get qualified in a good spot. We need to take advantage of the late session on Friday and get ourselves in a good position for race day. We need a couple good, solid runs to get in the top half of the field and have lane choice,” said Force.
Force will begin her Atlanta festivities with an NHRA media tour on Thursday before the race weekend begins. The tour covers several stops throughout the day with television, radio and print media outlets to speak about the NHRA Southern Nationals and the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team.
“We’re looking forward to it. It’s always a good track for us. We were in the finals here last year against our teammate Robert Hight, so that gives us some built-in confidence going into this weekend. We’re looking forward to it and hopefully we’ll get this Traxxas Chevy Camaro all the way through and into the Winner’s Circle at the Southern Nationals,” said Force.
So far this season, the winningest female in the Funny Car category has qualified for every race, qualified No. 1 twice and went to the semi-finals at the last event in Houston.