CHEVROLET AT GAINESVILLE

What:
47th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
When:
Friday, March 18-Sunday, March 20
Where:
Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Florida
TV:
FS1: Qualifying – 9 p.m. ET, Friday (taped highlights)
FS1: Qualifying – 6:30 p.m. ET, Saturday (taped highlights)
FS1: Eliminations and finals – 1 p.m. ET, Sunday (live)

Chevrolet Heads to Florida Ready for Competition at Gatornationals
Drivers poised for success in third round of NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series at historic Gainesville Raceway

DETROIT (March 16, 2016) – Chevrolet seeks to carry momentum gained from the first two events of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) season to the East Coast this weekend at the 47th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

Chevrolet drivers have won both Pro Stock events of the young Mello Yello NHRA Drag Racing Series season, and Chevrolet teams reached the finals in the three professional divisions at the most recent event near Phoenix. Chevrolet drivers hold the top five spots in the Pro Stock point standings, while John Force and Robert Hight of John Force Racing are second and third, respectively, and Courtney Force is sixth in Funny Car points. Brittany Force of John Force Racing, who fell just short of winning at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in the second all-female final in NHRA history, is third in the Top Fuel standings.

Jason Line (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS), who beat Chris McGaha (Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevrolet Camaro SS) in the Pro Stock final three weeks ago and reached the final in the season opener at Pomona, is atop the standings. He has four career Pro Stock wins at Gainesville.

KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson, the Pro Stock winner at Pomona, is 18 points back in second. Bo Butner (Butner Auto Sales Chevrolet Camaro SS), the No. 1 qualifier and a semifinalist at Wild Horse Pass, is third. Drew Skillman (Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro SS) and McGaha complete the top five.

The fast start in the division marked by technical changes for 2016 is important in the build-up to the Countdown to the Championship.

“Certainly it is everybody’s goal to go out and have the baddest hot rod out there,” said Anderson, who turned 55 on March 14. “For the last three, four, five, six years, everybody has been stuck so close together because we’ve got to work on the same package forever, and technology certainly flows from one team to another and everybody pays attention to what everybody else does. It really has bunched up really tight and we’re shaking up the rulings like this, that it’s absolutely an opportunity to shake out maybe an early advantage to some teams. That’s what you hope for, and it seems like that’s what we’ve got. So we’re pleasantly surprised, very happy about it, but certainly not under the belief that it’s going to stay like that.”

Anderson defeated Line in the Gatornationals Pro Stock final last March for his third career win at Gainesville. Coupled with three other 2015 race victories and his 2016 season-opening win, Anderson is third on the all-time Pro Stock victory list to Bob Glidden (85 wins) and Warren Johnson (97). The Gatornationals are special to Anderson, of Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Gainesville, Indy and Pomona, they were always some of the biggest, and from the time I started going to the racetrack with my dad you knew those were one of the special ones,” said Anderson, who had the top speed at the event in 2015 at 213.67 mph. “They were the ones you wanted to jump in the camper or car and go across country to see. The first time I won there (2004) it felt like it was something special, something bigger. I’m glad we have that and not everyone feels the same. Any win is great but the ones that happen at the major tracks, you’re darn right they feel special.”

Nine Pro Stock competitors will drive the Chevrolet Camaro SS at the Gatornationals this weekend. Shane Gray (Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet Camaro SS) returns to competition after forgoing the event in Arizona to get a better handle through extensive on-track testing of the new fuel injection configuration, RPM limitations and shorter wheelie-bar length instituted by NHRA. Joey Grose (Skyler Electric/Big Chief Chevrolet Camaro SS) is not entered in the Gatornationals.

Many teams have used the three-week break to test on local tracks in an effort to fine-tune their machines.

“We’re not satisfied with everything on the car yet,” Line said. “There are still lots of improvements we can make and more power to pull out of it. We have to keep up with all the Pro Stock teams that are out there trying to go faster.”

In Funny Car, at least two John Force Racing entries have reached the semifinals in each of the events this season, and all three competed in the semis at Phoenix. John Force (PEAK Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS), who has seven Gatornationals wins in his illustrious career, reached the Funny Car final at Wild Horse Pass. Hight (Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS), also twice a semifinalist this season, set class track records at Wild Horse Pass for elapsed time and speed in eliminations. He also holds the Gainesville Raceway Funny Car speed record (317.12 mph) set in 2012. Courtney Force (Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS) qualified second and advanced to the semifinals at Phoenix.

Brittany Force (Monster Energy/Chevrolet Top Fuel Dragster) was runner-up for the seventh time in her career in an impressive display at Wild Horse Pass. She qualified seventh at Gainesville in 2015.

In addition, 12 Chevrolet COPO Camaro drivers will compete in Stock Eliminator and Super stock classes this weekend.

Chevrolet also will welcome fans to its Chevrolet Performance Display during the weekend. It will include a number of Chevrolet’s award-winning production vehicles, examples of Chevrolet engines, and a selection of performance parts and accessories that are available for fans to purchase from their local Chevrolet dealer.

FOX Sports 1 will telecast taped highlights of qualifying at 9 p.m. ET Friday and 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday. FS1 will telecast eliminations and finals at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.

CHEVROLET ENGINEERING OUTLOOK FOR AMALIE MOTOR OIL NHRA GATORNATIONALS
ROGER ALLEN, CHEVROLET RACING PROGRAM MANAGER, NHRA: “Chevrolet is looking to carry on the early season success in Pro Stock at the Gatornationals this weekend. KB Racing is on a terror with top-three qualifying as well as all three cars in the semifinals at the first two events of the Mello Yello NHRA Drag Racing Series season. Some Chevrolet Pro stock teams have tested at local tracks, with most concentrating on fine-tuning the new EFI management system and continuing engine development to find a few more horsepower. Also, on the strong performance of John Force Racing in Funny Car and Top Fuel at Phoenix, we’ll look forward to continued success in Gainesville. We expect John Force, Courtney Force and Robert Hight to break through to victory soon in Funny Car, and Brittany Force will continue to make a statement in Top Fuel.”

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT – AMALIE MOTOR OIL NHRA GATORNATIONALS
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER: “Getting to that final makes us feel really good. We have a long season ahead of us but I know it will be a good one. Going rounds definitely gives you confidence. When you have guys like (crew chief) Brian Husen and (Top Fuel consultant) Alan Johnson working on your car it also really pushes you to make sure you are on your game. Now I have a car and I have to perform well and do the job as a driver. It adds some pressure but I think it adds pressure in a good way.”

FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I think we are just more focused. I still love this and I think all the work we did in the off-season is starting to pay off. We are running with all the top teams again. The first time I won the Gatornationals was big. That was a big-time race.”

COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, TRAXXAS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I definitely think our Traxxas team this year has the car to beat our personal best qualifying at this track, but a lot of my competitors have also improved since last year. I’m not sure what’s going to happen yet, but we’re all anxious to get there. This weekend will make for some fast qualifying for the fans to see,” said Force.

ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “The Gatornationals is one of the most significant races of our whole series. In golf you have four ‘majors’ and the Gatornationals is definitely one of drag racing’s ‘majors’ as well. You look at the history and the names of the drivers that have won here. Every big time name like (Don) Garlits to (Kenny) Bernstein to (Don) Prudhomme that have multiple wins here. I would love to get No. 3 this year. I want to win the race for my team and for my sponsor the Auto Club. We are running really well for sure, but we need to get those four round wins on Sunday to feel really good. I think a lot of the work we did over the off-season is paying off, not just for this Auto Club Chevrolet team but also for the PEAK team and the Traxxas team. I get excited when all the John Force Racing teams are going rounds.”

PRO STOCK:
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “No more pressure than normal (to win this weekend). You always feel the pressure to win and raise the Wally at the end of the day. We definitely have lots of momentum going into the Gatornationals, but we’re not overconfident. Everybody is stepping up the game and getting better with each race.”

CHRIS MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS RACING, HARLOW SAMMONS OF ODESSA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “It’d be a big deal to win in Gainesville. 2012 was my first time racing there and that’s when I made my debut with my own team. I almost ran the table until eliminations; we were really fast. If the U.S. Nationals is the top race to win, I would say winning the Gatornationals would be in the top three races to win. That’d be pretty neat to win.”

SHANE GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, VALVOLINE/NOVA SERVICES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “The guys have done a fantastic job of straightening this car out and matching the power the engines are making with the new electronic fuel injection setup. By the last test session, we were right there with the top cars in the class, so we’re very pleased and optimistic about our chances.”