CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
PROTECT THE HARVEST NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS
PACIFIC RACEWAYS AT KENT, WASHINGTON
AUG. 7, 2016
Rain forces postponement of Protect The Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals
All Chevrolet Pro Stock Final Set for Indianapolis at Chevrolet Performance US Nationals
• Vincent Nobile and Aaron Strong to square off in Pro Stock final
• John Force comes up short in march to three successive wins in West
• Courtney Force escapes injury when her race car makes contact with wall
KENT, Wash. (Aug. 7, 2016) – John Force’s march to an unprecedented sweep of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car “Western Swing” was derailed, but two Chevrolet drivers at opposite ends of the Pro Stock qualifying bracket have a date with destiny in a few weeks.
Intermittent rain late in the day forced postponement of the final round of Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock competition in the Protect The Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington.
Vincent Nobile, the No. 1 qualifier in the Mountain View Tire Chevrolet Camaro SS, will face No. 14 qualifier Aaron Strong in the Pro Stock final at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend in Indianapolis. Strong, of Auburn, Washington, will not compete at the next event on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule Aug. 19-21 at Brainerd, Minnesota. In a show of sportsmanship, Nobile and the team agreed to the postponement instead of making a solo run.
The Top Fuel and Funny Car finals will be contested at Brainerd International Raceway in addition to the regular card.
Strong, driving the A&J Furniture Manufacturing Chevrolet Camaro SS, earned his first professional elimination round win by beating No. 3 qualifier Greg Anderson (Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS). He also dispatched Erica Enders Stevens and No. 2 qualifier Bo Butner (Jim Butner Auto Chevrolet Camaro SS) to become the 101st different Pro Stock finalist.
“I’m probably the most familiar with this track. I’ve made more passes down it bracket racing over the years, but Pro Stock is a whole different deal. We couldn’t be happier with what we’ve been able to accomplish here at home.”
Nobile, who last won a Pro Stock event in 2014 (51 races ago), advanced to the final when Jason Line tripped the red light. Line, a seven-time winner this season in the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, was competing in his 300th Pro Stock race.
Force, the No. 7 qualifier driving the new Realtree PEAK Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS, fell in the first round of Funny Car eliminations. Force won the first two rounds of the western trip – in suburban Denver and Sonoma, California – to set up the opportunity to sweep for the second time since 1994. He is the only Funny Car driver to accomplish the feat.
John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight, the No. 9 qualifier in the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS, lost in the second round by three-thousandths of a second to national and track elapsed time (3.832 seconds) record-holder Del Worsham.
Courtney Force, who briefly held the Funny Car national elapsed time record on the way to qualifying No. 3 in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS, fell in the first round. The car lost traction early in the pass and slapped the concrete guard wall with the left side. She was evaluated at Valley Medical Center and released.
“I am extremely relieved nothing is broken. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with this track since I have won here twice and have had two incidents but happy to be safe,” she said.
Force, who is locked into the Countdown for the Championship, was the runner-up and a semifinalist in the previous events on the western swing.
In Top Fuel, Brittany Force was the No. 6 qualifier in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster for the second consecutive week. She fell in the first round of eliminations for only the fourth time in 16 races this season.
Ali Afshar of Los Angeles qualified 21st of 46 in the Stock Eliminator category and fell in the first round of eliminations in his Chevrolet Lucas Oil/Protect the Harvest COPO Camaro. Rodger Comstock of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was the No. 5 qualifier in his Hoosier/Lucas Oil Chevrolet COPO Camaro of 24 entrants in Super Stock. He fell in the first round.
DRIVER QUOTES
FUNNY CAR:
COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, TRAXXAS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; fell in first round): “I am beat up pretty good. My arm, my shoulder, and my right knee are banged up. I am really thankful that the second I got out of the race car there was already a Safety Safari person right there to help me get down. I couldn’t put any weight on my right knee. I want to say thanks to everyone that was at the track who helped me. I got right to the ER and the doctor checked me out. I am extremely relieved nothing is broken. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with this track since I have won here twice and have had two incidents but happy to be safe.”
PRO STOCK:
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 4 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “The first two runs (of qualifying) we were testing some things. (In semifinals) We had a little malfunction. Something broke. It’s one of those things; it happens. Brainerd’s next.”
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; fell in first round): “We had a transmission that popped out of third gear. It happens every few hundred runs and it just happened at the wrong time today. It just apparently didn’t get into third gear exactly like it needed to and halfway through third gear it popped back out. It’s just bad timing where it got shifted into third gear and popped back out. You’re always fighting the odds of something breaking or something falling off. (At Brainerd) I’ll look forward to making amends for my first first-round loss of the year.”
SHANE GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, VALVOLINE/NOVA SERVICES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 8 qualifier; fell in second round): “My guys will keep working hard and chipping away at it. We’ll go to Brainerd and hope to go a few more rounds. It’s the time of the year to be running good.”
ALEX LAUGHLIN, LAUGHLIN MOTORSPORTS, GAS MONKEY GARAGE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier; fell in first round): “We have two races left after here (to secure a spot in the Countdown to the Championship), so I’m not too worried about it. We’ve done really well this year; I’m happy with how it’s gone. Our guys have worked so hard.”
CHRIS MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS RACING, HARLOW SAMMONS OF ODESSA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 13 qualifier; fell in first round): “I wish the western swing would’ve gone different for us but I know we are headed in the right direction even if it may not look like it. We ran our best ET in Round 1 so we gave it all we got.”