TEAM JFR QUALIFYING REPORT
2015 NHRA Friday Qualifying Summary
7th of 24 races in the NHRA Mello Yello Series
35th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals
Atlanta Dragway
Commerce, GA
May 15-17, 2015
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JOHN FORCE HOT ON FRIDAY AT SOUTHERN NATIONALS
COMMERCE, GA – The winningest Funny Car driver ever at Atlanta Dragway came out of the hauler ready to chase down his eighth Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals title. John Force finished the first day of qualifying as the provisional No. 2 Funny Car qualifier with a stout 4.031 second run. It took a track record elapsed time from Cruz Pedregon to push the 142-time Funny Car winner out of the top spot.
It was the end of a long day for the 16-time Mello Yello Funny Car champion that started with the unveiling of his daughter’s Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster. Force was pleased with this Peak Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car team’s performance but he was also relieved with the added sponsor support from Monster Energy.
“(Crew chief) Jon Schaffer is doing a great job. I am excited,” said Force from the top end. “When you look out there Robert Hight and I put this deal back together. Now my girls are involved bringing in that Monster Energy sponsorship. Everybody is in the show and we are still learning. To stay ahead of the pack you break parts and you push these race cars. You live on the edge and that is what Monster says. When you don’t have the finances you can’t do that and we have to watch the parts and watch the budgets. Now things have changed and I feel a whole lot better. We have brought on Peak, Lucas Oil, Chevrolet and now Monster. Robert and the Auto Club will be good tomorrow and Courtney is still getting better driving that Traxxas Chevy Camaro.”
Force blasted down the Atlanta Dragway track at 317.64 mph and the scoreboard lit up with the category best 4.031 second time. There were two more pairs of Funny Cars standing between Force and the provisional No. 1 spot. Pedregon bested him in the last pair down the track and Force was relegated to earning two qualifying bonus points for his effort.
“For the next five races I’ll be driving this Peak Chevy Funny Car and it is a good old hot rod. I am not worried about Robert. His Auto Club hot rod will fly. We ran good but it was only one run. We are in the game and that is what is important,” added Force.
The Auto Club Chevrolet team did not have a strong performance on the stat sheet but for Robert Hight, the three-time Southern Nationals champion, the day was far from a complete loss. Last year Hight won the race on the strength of great reaction times and a solid Mike Neff tune-up. His team is building towards a race day tune-up one run at a time.
“We are trying a few things. Tomorrow will be a good day for us. It just about went in the second session. Mike (Neff) is so methodical we will be OK. This Auto Club Chevy Camaro will put up some good number this weekend. We won here last year and I would love to get my first win of the season here on Sunday,” said Hight.
Courtney Force and her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team qualified in the top twelve today, finishing in the No. 10 spot after the first two qualifying sessions and carrying her time over to Saturday.
“Today was a big day for our Traxxas Chevy Camaro SS Funny Car team and all of John Force Racing,” said Force. “We got to unveil my sister Brittany’s Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster and I got to run Monster on my Traxxas car and on my helmet as well.”
The 26-year-old raced her car to a 4.112 elapsed time at 314.53 mph in the first qualifying session and improved with a 4.079 elapsed time at 319.14 mph in the second, landing her in a good starting spot to continue qualifying on Saturday.
“We all went out there and got these cars down the race track. It’s a pretty tight field. Our Traxxas team continued to improve from Q1 to Q2 with our quickest being a 4.07. We’re not exactly where we need to be, but we’re looking to make more improvements tomorrow,” said Force.
Last year at Atlanta, Force qualified in the No. 8 spot and was runner-up of the race, losing only to her teammate Robert Hight.
“We’re happy that this car is running consistent right now and we’re hoping to get qualified in a better spot. We’re currently No. 10 which locks us into the top twelve to be qualified for Saturday, so at least out ETs will carry over to tomorrow, but we’re hoping to keep this car running consistent all weekend long,” said Force.
The debut of the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster thrilled the fans in attendance at the Southern Nationals. Fans were stacked three rows deep for the unveiling event today and the crowd went wild after Brittany Force posted a 3.912 second run even though it was wounded and running on just seven cylinders. At the top end the relief of getting the race started on the right foot was evident as Force talked about putting the Monster Energy deal together.
“It took a year to get this Monster deal done and in the last week it all finally came together. I am pumped and excited. We have Monster Energy on my Top Fuel dragster and I am on top of the world right now. We ran a good number in the first session and it went right down the race track,” said Force, a four-time Top Fuel finalist.
Brittany wrapped up the first day of qualifying as the No. 8 qualifier and with two more runs tomorrow she is focused on moving up the qualifying ladder.