PEAK Chevrolet driver John Force
ready to break out of slump in Englishtown
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (June 10) – John Force has been through the drag racing wars long enough to know the current struggles with his PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS team won’t last forever.
He knows there’s too much talent, too much experience and too many resources for him to not run well and contend for race victories.
Force qualified No. 12 for the NHRA Summernationals on Saturday at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, but the 16-time Funny Car champion is keeping the faith in his John Force Racing team.
“We’re working our way through it, and we know we’ll fix it,” Force said. “It’s just a matter of time. We’ll be ready by the time we get to Indy before the Countdown.”
The U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis is the final race before the six-race Countdown to the Championship, the segment of the season that determines the champions in the four professional classes of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Force, of course, is hoping 2017 brings him his 17th championship.
Force’s best pass here was 4.015 seconds at 316.52 mph. His Chevrolet has struggled to make a full pass in qualifying, but the team is making progress.
“It seems like every week, all my other hot rods are running low ET, and we’re still struggling,” Force said. “It’s not for trying, it’s not a lack of money.”
Force tested at Indianapolis before the most recent race in Epping, N.H., making the quickest run in his long history. But that didn’t translate to speed at national events.
“We tested and ran the quickest we ever ran, but we went to Epping and struggled there,” Force said. “We came here, and we’re struggling again.”
Force will line up against another driver who has struggled in 2017, No. 5 Cruz Pedregon. Pedregon’s best pass this weekend was 3.915 seconds at 326.32 mph.
Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. Eastern on Sunday. Fox Sports 1 plans to televise three hours of eliminations coverage Sunday at 6 p.m.
4-Second Reads:
Qualifying Round 1 (Right Lane): 5.129 seconds/150.58 mph; spun rear tires and backed off (No. 11 of session and No. 11 overall)
Qualifying Round 2 (Left Lane): 4.113 seconds/262.44 mph; solid run to the eighth-mile mark (No. 10 of session and No. 15 overall)
Qualifying Round 3 (Left Lane): 4.015 seconds/316.52 mph; moved up three spots with quickest run of weekend (No. 5 of session and No. 12 overall)
Qualifying Round 4 (Right Lane): 4.040 seconds/280.84 mph; trailed off about 800 feet (No. 8 of session and No. 12 overall)
This is the second time Force has qualified No. 12 this season and 15th time of his career. His most previous No. 12 was earlier this season at Phoenix This is also the 700th race in which Force has qualified for a race.
Force has nine round wins in 22 elimination rounds from the No. 12 position, and has made it to the finals twice, winning in Phoenix, in 1995. His last elimination round win from the No. 12 position came in 2013, when he made it to the finals in Dallas.
Force has four victories at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, his most recent coming in 1999.
Force has qualified outside the top half of the bracket only 10 times in 36 races at Englishtown.
Force’s matchup against Cruz Pedregon marks the NHRA record 102nd matchup between the two. Force holds a 68-33 advantage, their most recent matchup coming in last season’s finale at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., in which Force won.