CHEVROLET AT READING
What:
33rd Dodge NHRA Nationals
When:
Friday, Sept. 22-Sunday, Sept. 24
Where:
Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania
TV:
FS1: Qualifications live – 2:30 p.m. ET Friday
FS1: Eliminations and finals live – 2 p.m. ET Sunday
Chevrolet Aims to Continue Momentum in Second Round of Countdown
Two Team Chevy drivers enter event at Maple Grove Raceway atop the standings
DETROIT (Sept. 20, 2017) – After vaulting to the top of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car standings, Robert Hight is seeking to strengthen his 44-point advantage in the 33rd NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.
The event is the second of six rounds – and the middle leg in three consecutive weekends of racing — in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship for 10 qualified drivers in each of the four professional categories. It’s important to retain momentum and stack points through every round of qualifying and eliminations.
“We’ve had a great race car over the last 15 races – in hot or cold conditions,” said Hight, who won at the track in 2011. “We’ve been collecting a lot of those little bonus points along the way, and I think that’s what you’re going to have to do in this Countdown. It’s almost impossible to have six great races, so if you have one bad one but collect a lot of qualifying points, that can make up for a bad race.”
A second consecutive victory would be extra special to the 2009 Funny Car champion, who will be competing in his 300th career race. He has amassed 40 wins, including last week at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, in 62 final-round appearances since 2005.
Hight’s Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS is well-suited for the historically fast racetrack. Earlier this season, he set both the Funny Car elapsed time (3.793 seconds at Brainerd International Raceway) and speed (339.87 mph at Sonoma Raceway) national records, and isn’t ruling out being the first to top 340 mph.
“I look forward to it, because you know that elusive 340 mph run is out there,” Hight said. “I know we can get it. We’ve made the first part of a run, and different parts of the second half of a run. If you put them together, it’ll run over 340. You just have to have the conditions. It’d be cool to get that barrier. We were the first in the 3.70s this year, so to be the first in the 340s, that’s one that will stick for a long, long time. Maple Grove is a perfect place to do that.”
Brittany Force was the Top Fuel runner-up at Maple Grove Raceway in 2016 and ’14, and is looking to improve her position in the Countdown. She moved from sixth to fourth in the standings by advancing to the semifinals at zMAX Dragway.
“Not only is it important to start off strong, but also to continue being a strong team all the way to the end because there’s only six races in the Countdown, and you have to bring it every single time you go out there – every qualifying pass, every pass on race day,” she said. “There’s no place for mistakes, and you have to bring it all the way through until the end, and that’s how you win the championship.”
Chevrolet has won all 19 Pro Stock events, featuring nine different drivers visiting the winner’s stage. Rookie Tanner Gray (Gray Motorsports Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro SS) and teammate Drew Skillman (Ray Skillman Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro SS) have combined to win the past seven events.
Gray earned his fifth victory last week and wrested the Countdown points lead from Bo Butner (Jim Butner Auto Chevrolet Camaro SS). Points were reset following the regular-season finale – the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.
“Coming off of a win in Charlotte and to start the Countdown is the best position our Gray Motorsports team can be right now,” the 18-year-old driver said. “Leaving No. 1 in the points puts our team in the driver’s seat heading into Reading this weekend. It is ultimately our position to lose and we will look to stretch the lead by earning qualifying points and round wins at Maple Grove.”
David Barton of Robesonia, Pennsylvania, is among the competitors driving a Chevrolet COPO Camaro in Stock Eliminator this weekend. Barton is a two-time winner this year in the SAM Tech Factory Stock Showdown in the 2017 Wolkwitz/GMPARTSNOW Camaro.
Also entered in the 65-car field in their COPO Camaros will be John Kunsak of Wexford, Pennsylvania, Jack Matyas of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Jim Boburka of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, Phillip Lankford of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, Allen George of Coplay, Pennsylvania, Thomas Fletcher of Churchville, New York, and Bob Letellier of Biddeford, Maine.
Letellier will do double duty as he’ll join Bob Bagley of Warsaw, Virginia, driving their COPO Camaros in the 66-entry Super Stock class.
FS1 will telecast qualifications live at 2:30 p.m. ET Friday and will telecast eliminations and finals live at 2 p.m. ET Sunday.
CHEVROLET RACING ENGINEERING PREVIEW
ROGER ALLEN, CHEVROLET RACING NHRA PROGRAM MANAGER: “After a stellar start to the Countdown to the Championship by Chevrolet teams and drivers at zMAX Dragway, expectations are high heading into Round 2 at Maple Grove Raceway. Robert Hight vaulted into the Funny Car points lead with his thrilling victory over John Force Racing teammate Courtney Force in an all-Chevy final, while NHRA rookie Tanner Gray claimed his fifth Pro Stock victory by dispatching four-time champion Greg Anderson in another all-Chevy final. Brittany Force gained two positions to fourth in the Top Fuel standings with a semifinal appearance. Multiple Chevrolet teams remained at zMAX Dragway this week to fine-tune setups and prepare for the middle leg of three consecutive weekends of racing. We’re all looking forward to another exciting and productive event.”
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER (won at New Hampshire and runner-up at Phoenix; two-time runner-up at track; fourth in points): “What gives me confidence this team can go after a championship is the team itself. They are the hardest-working guys I know, and I’m so proud to be teamed up with them. They never give up, they never quit, they keep pushing. Even on tough weekends when we’re down, they pull together and pick me up when I’ve screwed up. They’re a great team, and I’m grateful for all of them. Every team wants the championship, every team wants to win. The Monster team, we’re going to hang in there, never give up, keep pushing – and we’re going for the championship. I’m pumped to get to Reading. We’ve always had a good race car there. We’ve been No. 1 in points after there, we’ve been to finals there. Now, this year, we just need to take it a little bit further.”
FUNNY CAR:
COURTNEY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 or 2 qualifier in nine of the 18 regular-season races; three-time runner-up, including last week at Charlotte; has 152 career round wins; third in points): “I think our Advance Auto Parts team is going to be ready to see what kind of numbers we can put on the board. Hopefully, we can get qualified in that top spot again, but more importantly, we want to end the weekend on another high note – but in the winner’s circle for our Advance Auto Parts team. Reading’s obviously one of these tracks where drivers and teams are going to be setting those records – track records, but probably national ET records as well. It’s going to be a fast track.”
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK COOLANT & MOTOR OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (won at Gainesville and three-time semifinalist; has 1,281 career round wins; seven-time winner and seven-time runner-up at track; eighth in points): “I know Reading well. I think we’re going to go into Reading motivated. We tested at Charlotte earlier this week, so we’ll see what happens.”
PRO STOCK:
TANNER GRAY, GRAY MOTORSPORTS, VALVOLINE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (won at Las Vegas to become youngest winner in NHRA history; also won at Topeka, Sonoma, Brainerd, and Charlotte; sits atop points standings): “It is really important to stay focused. This is what we race for all year, the opportunity to race in the Countdown and ultimately to contend and win the championship. My guys have a great handle on the car, our dynamic as a team is on point, and we are all having a lot of fun. Coming off of a win in Charlotte to start the countdown increases the focus and proves that our team has what it takes to be champions. There is a lot of racing left and this class is so competitive, we have to continue to collect qualifying points and round wins to make this championship possible.”
BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO, BUTNER AUTO SALES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (three-time winner and five-time runner-up; three-time No. 1 qualifier; second in points): “We’ll have our work cut out for us, and we’ve got some catching up to do to some of the other teams in terms of rounds. But we have three good Chevy Camaros over here in the KB Racing camp, and like I said last week, that’s keeping us in striking distance. I’ve had some success in Reading before with wins in Stock Eliminator and Comp, so I’m looking forward to this week. I can’t wait.”
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (won at Englishtown for second victory of season and 88th of career; six-time runner-up; has 751 career round wins; holds track speed record, set in 2015; third in points): “Reading has been such a good Pro Stock track for us, and what I mean by that is you usually get those cooler temperatures that can make these cars run very fast. It might not be like that this year, the forecast looks a little bit different, but you hope for those cooler temperatures at some point this weekend because we’re racers, and we like to go fast. That’s our M.O. at KB Racing. This is the second race of the Countdown, and again you’re going to have to race as hard as you can every qualifying run and every round on Sunday. You’re going to need every point you can find. This deal is absolutely the toughest and most unpredictable Countdown we’ve ever had. You could have six different winners in the playoffs, and every round of qualifying with those bonus points up for grabs is going to be immensely important. We’ll have to be sharp.”
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (reigning Pro Stock champion; won season opener at Pomona; seven-time semifinalist; has 551 career round wins; fourth in points): “I’ve always enjoyed racing at Maple Grove. Folks sure love Pro Stock there, and it’s always cool to look up in the stands and see so many fans of the class. The track itself is just a fun place to go, especially at this time of year, and it looks like we’ll have some warm weather. It should be interesting. Right now, the focus is just to try to win the race. That’s all you can do. I don’t worry about the championship at this point, because if you don’t win enough rounds, it won’t matter. You have to win the race.”
DREW SKILLMAN, RAY SKILLMAN MOTORSPORTS, RAY SKILLMAN AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (four-time winner this season, including three of past six events; fifth in points): “We’ll keep pushing forward and try to get back in the hunt for the championship. We have the new engine in now but still don’t have a good grasp on it. We’re not going to get a car set-up at Reading; we’re going to get an engine set-up. We know it has a ton of potential. We just need to work on it.”
ERICA ENDERS, MELLING PERFORMANCE/ ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time Pro Stock champion; won at New Hampshire; three-time runner-up; holds track elapsed time record, set in 2014; sixth in points): “I’ve done well at Maple Grove, but I’ve never won there so that’s something I would like to knock off of my to-do list. I’m glad we’re heading back East because that’s big Pro Stock country. The fans absolutely love this class and that’s something that will be refreshing to see after the tumultuous year this class has had. My sister and brother-in-law live 15 minutes from the racetrack and there’s a lot of family and friends up there so we will take all four of these team cars, along with Larry Morgan, our newest engine leasing customer, and see what we can do. We’ll have five of us up there battling it out. I’m very optimistic and looking forward to racing at Maple Grove.”
JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM ELITE PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time runner-up; three-time No. 1 qualifier; competing in 401st career event; four-time winner at track; seventh in points): “I think the guys will have this thing ready to run down a gravel road. We tested a bunch in the last month and brought in some help just before Charlotte to have a fresh look at what we were doing. The changes we made before Charlotte definitely worked, but we weren’t able to implement too many changes with the start of the Countdown. This latest test allowed us to delve even deeper into a better set-up. I have all of the faith in the world in this Elite Motorsports group. They are such a fun bunch to race with and we are really anxious to climb into the winner’s circle this season. There’s no better time to win than during the Countdown at a track like Maple Grove Raceway.”
VINCENT NOBILE, MOUNTAIN VIEW RACING, MOUNTAIN VIEW TIRE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (runner-up at Topeka; has 198 career round wins; No. 1 qualifier and won the event in 2016; eighth in points): “Last weekend was definitely not the one we wanted. We didn’t qualify well, and now it’s on to the next one. We haven’t figured it out yet. I feel we have all the people, all the goods and all the parts to be up in the top half of the field. If you knew you were 50 horsepower down and running the way we are, you know that’s how you’re supposed to run. But when you know you have just as much horsepower as everyone else and the right equipment and the brainpower, and you’re still not doing it, that’s the frustrating part.”
ALEX LAUGHLIN, GAS MONKEY RACING, GAS MONKEY GARAGE/360 WRAPS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (competing in seventh race of season; won at Bristol and semifinalist at Indianapolis): “The car is running good. I’ve been working every single day to finish out the season, and I think we have enough stuff going to be able to run all 24 races next year. That’s what we’re shooting for.”
JOHN GAYDOSH JR., GAYDOSH PERFORMANCE, PYPES PERFORMANCE EXHAUST CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (competing in ninth race of season and 81st of career; semifinalist at Norwalk): “I’ve spent the last two weeks working on my own projects and getting my Pro Stock Camaro ready to run in Maple Grove. I have to thank Gary Stropko for helping me repair and put my back-up motor together. I’m looking forward to the hot weather in Reading. This car runs great in the heat. When everyone is slowing down in the heat, we are picking up. I always look forward to racing in Maple Grove. This is the home race for Pypes Performance Exhaust and we love racing for our sponsor.”