CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
AMALIE MOTOR OIL NHRA GATORNATIONALS
GAINESVILLE RACEWAY AT GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA
FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018
Chevrolet Drivers, Teams Start Strong in 49th Gatornationals
• Greg Anderson is provisional No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock
• Courtney Force is No. 2, teammate Robert Hight is No. 3 in Funny Car
• David Barton is provisional Showdown No. 1 qualifier in COPO Camaro
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 16, 2018) – Chevrolet drivers and teams are looking strong through two of the four rounds of qualifications for the 49th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
Greg Anderson, a four-time Gatornationals winner, is the provisional No. 1 Pro Stock qualifier in the third race of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Two rounds of qualifying are scheduled to be contested Saturday.
In Funny Car competition, Courtney Force sits No. 2 at 3.914 seconds in the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS, and John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight is No. 3 at 3.917 in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS. Hight recorded the top speed of the day at 333.66 mph.
“It feels good to start the weekend on a high note and keep up the momentum from Phoenix,” said Force, who earned the 18th pole of her Funny Car career on the way to victory in the most recent NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event.
John Force, who has eight wins in the Gatornationals – including 2017 – among the record 148 of his career, will have to replace the body of the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. An under-the-hood explosion near the finish line negated a solid second pass. Force was uninjured and sits 14th.
“That was another body and that hurts the financial,” Force said.
Anderson, whose maiden Pro Stock round win came at the 1999 Gatornationals, driving his familiar red Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS for KB Racing, recorded a field-topping run of 5.222 seconds.
“Our goal is to qualify on the opposite side of the ladder from our teammates; we have four cars this year and they’re all very fast,” he said. “There are a lot of fast cars out there this year, but I got stung by two of my teammates (reigning class champion Bo Butner, Jason Line) the first two races. I need to have a big day on Sunday and make up for lost ground.”
Anderson has reached the finals in each of the past three years of the Gatornationals and seven times overall. The four-time Pro Stock champion has 90 wins – second all time in the class to Warren Johnson – and 59 runner-up finishes. Doing the math, his next final round will be the 150th in his 20-year career.
Alex Laughlin (Hot Wheels Car Care Chevrolet Camaro SS) is second at 6.525 seconds and Phoenix winner Chris McGaha (Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevrolet Camaro SS) is third at 6.529 seconds. He also posted the top speed of the day at 213.27 mph.
Reigning Top Fuel champion Brittany Force did not make a complete pass in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster. Force claimed her first Top Fuel win at the Gatornationals in 2016.
FS1 will telecast qualifying highlights at 11 p.m. ET Saturday. Eliminations will be telecast at 7 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1.
Hight-Prock a successful pairing over past year
Robert Hight has raced to four victories, four runner-up finishes and, of course, the NHRA Funny Car championship in the 24 races covering the 12 months since the 48th Gatornationals with Jimmy Prock as crew chief of the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS.
Prock, assistant crew chief Chris Cunningham and the crew started the ’17 season working on the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS of John Force Racing teammate John Force, who went on to win the Gatornationals.
“We got it figured out last summer and won the championship. This year I want to dominate the whole season and win another championship,” said Hight, who reached the final round of the season opener at Pomona, California. “I have a lot of confidence in this Auto Club team and really the whole John Force Racing team.”
In their first go-round, Hight and Prock teamed to win 27 races and the 2009 title. Hight, seeking to qualify for his 305th Funny Car event, has won the Gatornationals three times.
Line chasing win No. 50
Jason Line, driver of the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, has advanced to the final round in both races this season but career victory No. 50 has eluded the three-time Pro Stock champion.
Line has collected 47 Pro Stock and two Stock Eliminator wins. He’s fifth on the all-time list in Pro Stock victories.
“It’s absolutely going to happen. I’m motivated to get it,” said Line, who has recorded four wins in seven Pro Stock final rounds at Gainesville Raceway.
Line is the class points leader heading into eliminations Sunday.
Gaydosh makes season debut in orange Chevy Camaro
John Gaydosh Jr. is making his 2018 Pro Stock debut this weekend. The Maryland resident said he plans to run 11 races, with the prospect of 14 events.
“It all depends on funding. Our goal is to make it out to the finals in Pomona,” said Gaydosh while chatting with fans before the first round of qualifications. “I love our fans. They support us and cheer for us at all the races. They are what helps keep me going year after year.”
Gaydosh has changed the color of the Pypes Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS from yellow to orange to emulate ‘69 Hugger Orange Camaro.
Of note
David Barton of Robesonia, Pennsylvania, driving a Chevrolet COPO Camaro, is the provisional No. 1 qualifier through two of three rounds of the School of Automotive Machinists & Technology (SAM Tech) NHRA Factory Stock Showdown. Barton, who posted a field-topping run of 8.020 seconds at 171.36 mph, was the 2017 champion of the series. … Chevrolet has amassed 280 Pro Stock victories, including the past 36 races, since 1970.