FORCE STILL IN CHAMPIONSHIP HUNT LOOKING FOR LUCK IN LAS VEGAS

LAS VEGAS (OCTOBER 29, 2015) —- John Force is looking for a repeat performance at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend during the Toyota NHRA Nationals. In the spring at this track Force outran teammate Robert Hight in the final to get his first win of the 2015 season. It was a big win for the 16-time champion since he was racing for a new manufacturer, Chevrolet, and a handful of new sponsors, Peak Antifreeze and Coolant and Lucas Oil, along with Auto Club, Traxxas, and Mac Tools.

“That win showed the new partners and the old ones that I have the guts to keep doing this. Auto Club and Traxxas and Mac Tools stood by me and then we brought on Peak Antifreeze, Lucas Oil and Chevrolet. I have a young group of guys and we pulled together. We have been working every race on getting better and it showed that day in Las Vegas,” said Force from the Las Vegas press room.

Since that win Force has picked up another win at the New England Nationals and runner-up finishes at the Kansas Nationals and the Mopar Mile High Nationals. For the 143 time winner this year’s Countdown was going to be another run for an unprecedented 17th Mello Yello Funny Car championship.

“Coming into the Countdown we were confident and I had a young group of guys. Some of them have not been in a championship hunt before and we are hanging in there. I am proud of how well this team has pulled together and how well Jon Schaffer, my new crew chief has been a good leader. There are two races left and I still believe in my heart I have a chance,” said Force.

The deficit Force and his newly logoed EiKO Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car must overcome is 224 points. Each driver can earn well over 100 points at any NHRA national event but the winningest driver in NHRA history will need some of his opponents to struggle on Sunday.

“I have a lot of work to do if I am going to catch the leaders but I had a lot of work to do after my crash in Dallas. I put in the time and had the determination to get healthy and get back in a race car. We took a big hit from some sponsors leaving but we built this company back up to where we are pretty good financially; not back to where we want to be but I am in the championship conversation and I want to keep going after it. Until they give that big trophy to someone else I feel like I can win it,” said a determined Force.

This weekend Force will be driving a blue Chevrolet Camaro but instead of the newly familiar Peak logo he will be representing EiKO lighting. EiKO is a manufacturer and distributor of first-class automotive lighting products, which was recently acquired by Old World Industries, LLC. Force’s Chevrolet will also feature Old World Industries products PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant, BlueDEF, Final Charge® Heavy-Duty Coolant and Herculiner® Bed Liner products.

“I am excited to be running the EiKO Chevrolet Camaro this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We have been partners with PEAK and Old World Industries for over two seasons and we are trying to give some of their other brands more exposure. This will be a big weekend for us as we try and stay in the hunt for the Funny Car championship. I have great partners and I want to continue to bring new business into the NHRA. We have a great product and I am looking forward to getting some round wins in this EiKO Funny Car,” said Force, who sits No. 6 in the Mello Yello point standings with two races remaining.

The EiKO Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car will also be on display at the AAPEX show in Las Vegas. Force will close out the 2015 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season in the traditional blue Peak Antifreeze & Coolant Chevy Camaro at the Auto Club Finals in November.

BRITTANY FORCE HAS TWO RACES TO CHASE DOWN FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP

LAS VEGAS (October 29, 2015) — Third year Top Fuel driver Brittany Force has been running with the toughest competitors the class has seen in recent memories. For two seasons she learned observed and made her way but this season has been nothing short of a break out year for the 2013 Auto Club Road to the Future Award winner. With two races left in the Countdown to the Championship Force sits in fourth place in the Mello Yello point standings just four points from third and 207 points out of the lead.

“There are two races left and we need to continue to be consistent. My crew chiefs Todd Smith and Ronnie Thompson have given me a great race car all season and I am excited about these last two races. I have a lot of confidence racing in Las Vegas and Pomona,” said Force.

Force has raced three different classes at The Strip at Las Vegas starting her career in Super Comp before stepping up to Top Alcohol Dragster. It was at the The Strip at the former school teacher turned Top Fuel professional made her first pass in 330 mph land rocket.

“I remember I was in A Fuel and my dad just asked me to try to make a few runs in the Top Fuel dragster. Once I hit the throttle I was hooked. I think he knew that and kind of tricked me into getting into Top Fuel but I love it. The guys and gals have been really helpful the last two and half seasons. Two of the guys that have probably helped the most are Antron (Brown) and Tony (Schumacher),” said Force.

Ironically it is Brown and Schumacher who Force must chase down if she wants to be the first female since Shirley Muldowney to hoist a Top Fuel world championship trophy. Even if Force comes up short on the championship chase a second or third place finish would put her in a special place in recent Top Fuel history. No female has finished higher than fourth since 1982.

“So many women have raced Top Fuel and to be mentioned with them is pretty amazing. I just try and go out and learn something every run. We had a tough race in Dallas because I made a mistake. This team really supported me after that and they told me we lose together and we win together. That meant a lot and really has me focused coming into Las Vegas,” said Force, who has been to six final rounds in her career.

The Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster is still looking for its first winner’s circle appearance and this weekend at the Toyota Nationals could be just the kind of event to make a big move. So far in the Countdown Force has qualified 4th (St. Louis), 1st (Reading) and 3rd (Dallas) and raced to two semi-final finishes (St. Louis and Reading). Coming out of the Reading race Force was solidly in third place and it took a win by Lucas Oil backed Richie Crampton in Dallas to barely move around Force by four points heading into Las Vegas.

“We are basically tied with the driver in third place and we are about 100 points out of second and another 100 from first place. If a couple of those guys go out early and we go some rounds on Sunday who knows what could happen over these last two races. I am just fired up to be out here with Monster Energy and all our sponsors,” said Force.

HIGHT WANTS TO GET ONE MORE ROUND WIN THIS TIME IN LAS VEGAS

LAS VEGAS (October 29, 2015) — In the spring at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Robert Hight and the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Funny Carteam came up one round win away from their first win of 2015. John Force, teammate and 16-time champion, was in the other lane and just as Hight was about to pull away a spark plug failed and stole just enough power from the 2009 Funny Car champion. Hight was upbeat after the loss as he looked at the remainder of the season.

“We have definitely turned the corner. This was a get well weekend. Still we shot a spark plug out down there and if it hadn’t have done that we would have won. I made it a close race. I was so ready to get that win. It was a great team effort,” said Hight who was proud of his teammate but personally disappointed to not get the win.

It was a team effort that day in Las Vegas to get John Force Racing the win and it continued to be a team effort all season. On that Sunday both Force’s team and Hight’s team played a significant role in the other’s success on race day.

“Jon Schaffer, John’s crew chief) came over and helped us out in the second round otherwise we wouldn’t have made it out of the second round. My Auto Club guys went over before the semi-finals and helped them. If I have to lose at least I had to lose to a teammate,” added Hight after the race.

After that race Hight and crew chief Mike Neff started looking down the road at the Countdown to the championship knowing that early season success was not necessarily going to carry a team to another championship. The duo began looking at a variety of area to increase performance and consistency. Towards the end of the regular season they hit on a great combination that catapulted Hight back into the winner’s circle and championship conversation.

In August in Brainerd Hight’s Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro won the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals and then two weeks later Hight raced to back to back runner-up finished during the Traxxas Nitro Shootout and Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis. It was the kind of momentum the 35-time Funny Car winner needed and was looking for going into the Countdown,

“That stretch from Brainerd to Indy was the highlight of our season for sure. We should have won Indy. We had the ET but it wasn’t enough to get that win. That was a tough loss and it really motivated me and the whole team going into the Countdown,” said Hight.

The Countdown has been a tough four races for Hight and the Auto Club team. They raced to the second round in Dallas two weeks ago but that was their best performance to date in spite of a No. 1 qualifying effort in Reading. The team in undeterred in their quest for a second or third win of the season heading into the Toyota NHRA Nationals.

“I enjoying racing at The Strip at Las Vegas. I have had some big wins here at both races. I feel comfortable racing here and I know Mike Neff will give me a great race car. This could be a great weekend for us and we definitely need it,” said Hight.

WINNING TOP OF MIND FOR COURTNEY FORCE HEADED TO LAS VEGAS

LAS VEGAS (October 29, 2015) — It’s nearing the end of the season, but heading to Las Vegas this week may be just the beginning for Courtney Force and her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS team as they continue to hunt their first victory of the year. The 26-year-old driver has had her toughest season in Funny Car since her 2012 debut in the pro class. With thirteen first round losses so far in 2015, Force thinks their luck has to be turning around soon.

“We have two races left in the NHRA Mello Yello series season going into Las Vegas this weekend. We’re excited and still looking for our first win of the season in our Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car,” said Force.

In 2013 Force qualified No. 2 at both the spring and fall events at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and ended both weekends in the runner-up position. In four years, Force had never qualified lower than No. 6 at this specific race track until the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas earlier this season where she qualified No. 13 and lost in the first round of eliminations.

Force has qualified on the pole at two events this season (Pomona and Charlotte) and had a runner-up finish in Norwalk, Ohio. She carries the record for most Funny Car wins in a season by a female with a total of four and most Funny Car wins overall for a female Funny Car driver with seven tour victories.

“It’s going to be an exciting weekend for the fans coming out to the race track this weekend. Our John Force Racing teams have always had pretty good luck in Las Vegas, picking up wins and setting track records in the past,” said Force.

This will be the final race for the pink Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car before the season wraps up at the Force family’s home track in Pomona, Calif. for the NHRA Finals.

“We’re still running the pink Traxxas car that we have been for the month of October in honor of breast cancer awareness. I think all of our teams are going to do their best this weekend and my team is going to act as a blocker for my teammates. We’re going to do what we can to make JFR come out on top this weekend in Las Vegas,” said Force.

The group of four JFR drivers will also have their hands full after the Las Vegas race this weekend with sponsor appearances and events at SEMA and AAPEX. Courtney will be participating in the annual NHRA breakfast at the SEMA show and will be joined by fellow women NHRA drivers. Check www.johnforceracing.com for a full list of appearances. You must be registered to attend the SEMA and AAPEX shows in order to attend the driver appearances.