CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE U.S. NATIONALS
LUCAS OIL RACEWAY IN BROWNSBURG, INDIANA
TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP WITH QUOTES AND TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 2, 2019
Chevrolet wins Funny Car, Pro Stock trophies in the ‘Big Go’
John Force claims fifth Funny Car victory in 40th appearance
Alex Laughlin secures first Pro Stock win of the season
Robert Hight enters Countdown as the No. 1 seed in Funny Car
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (September 2, 2019) – The legend continues to grow.
“We just won Indy – at 70,” said John Force, who extended his National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) record for career victories to 151 with a convincing win over No. 1 qualifier Jack Beckman in the Funny Car final of the 65th Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.
Force’s win is the fifth in the event and first since 2002 for the 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion, driving the PEAK Chevrolet Accessories Camaro SS. Force, who turned 70 on May 4, earned his 150th Funny Car win two weeks ago.
A few minutes earlier at Lucas Oil Raceway, Alex Laughlin earned his first U.S. Nationals title and ended a 48-race winless streak by defeating two-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders in the final.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve won (a Wally) and I almost forgot what it feels like,” said Laughlin, driver of the Havoline Chevrolet Camaro SS who became the 25th different Pro Stock driver to win the U.S. Nationals.
Force picked up his 50th round win in his 40th appearance in the U.S. Nationals with an event-best pass of 3.858 seconds. He then bested teammate Robert Hight, driving the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, in the quarterfinals and eliminated Matt Hagan in the semifinals.
“John Force did an incredible job all weekend long and capped it off with an amazing final round to win the 2019 U.S. Nationals,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President Performance and Motorsports. “We are so proud of John, crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Dan Hood and his entire Camaro SS race team for their preparation, perseverance and execution the entire weekend that got them the victory.”
Force also won the event in 1993, ’96, ’98 and 2002. He last advanced to the final round in 2014.
“Winning Indy is the biggest thing on my bucket list. This is a big moment for me,” Force said. “I’m having an emotional day because I won Indy. It doesn’t matter what you do in life, you do it because you love it and I love it and when you don’t do good you do the best you can.”
Hight, who has sat atop the Funny Car standings since winning the first race of the season, will be the No. 1 seed in the Countdown to the Championship. Hight had five victories and two runner-up finishes in the 18 regular-season races. Force is the No. 2 seed.
NHRA rookie of the year front-runner Austin Prock, the No. 12 qualifier in the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, lost in the semifinals. Teammate and No. 1 Top Fuel qualifier Brittany Force, driving the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet dragster, fell in the second round. Force reset the track Top Fuel elapsed time record at 3.645 seconds on the way to becoming the first female to claim the class low qualifier honor in the U.S. Nationals.
Earlier in the day, John Force Racing announced a multi-year partnership extension with Chevrolet.
Laughlin, a three-time runner-up this season, will enter the Countdown for the first time. He’ll be the No. 2 seed.
“Alex Laughlin delivered when it counted with a thrilling win at the US Nationals in his Pro Stock Camaro,” Campbell said. “Alex and his team had that “never-give-up” attitude through every round all the way to the final.”
Enders, driving the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, defeated No. 2 qualifier Jason Line, driving the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, on a holeshot in the semifinals. Laughlin was quicker than Deric Kramer, driving the American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro SS, in the other semifinal.
Team Chevy drivers who qualified for the Countdown to the Championship and their seeding:
Top Fuel – Brittany Force, fourth; Austin Prock, eighth.
Funny Car – Robert Hight, first; John Force, second.
Pro Stock – Bo Butner, first; Alex Laughlin, second; Jason Line, third; Greg Anderson, fourth; Erica Enders, fifth; Deric Kramer, sixth; Matt Hartford, seventh; Jeg Coughlin Jr., eighth; Chris McGaha, ninth; Val Smeland, 10th.
Smeland, of Shirley, New York, beat out teammate Kenny Delco and Fernando Cuadra for the final spot with a first-round victory to qualify for the Countdown for the first time in his third season of competition.
Points will be reset for the September 13-15 start of the six-race Countdown to the Championship, with a 100-point difference between first and 10th.
FS1 will telecast live eliminations of the Express Lane NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania, at 2 p.m. ET September 15.
An interview with Funny Car winner JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK CHEVROLET ACCESSORIES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier; fifth Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals Funny Car victory; second win this season; 151st career win):
WHAT DOES THIS FEEL LIKE?
“I love this so much. Winning Indy is the biggest thing on my bucket list. This is just incredible that someone my age could do this again. This is a big moment for me. I’m having an emotional day because I won Indy. I owe this sport so much. I love NHRA that has given me so much. It doesn’t matter what you do in life, you do it because you love it and I love it and when you don’t do good you do the best you can. Winning this, I never thought I’d get the chance again. I didn’t think I could be that good with the right team that supported me.”
YOU WENT THROUGH A TALENTED FIELD TODAY.
“There are a lot of guys with a lot more talent than me. They just don’t have a race car with the money and the right crew chief. I just happen to be one of the lucky ones. It’s like somebody wanted me to win this race. (Finalist) Jack Beckman, if he would have taken his helmet off I would have kissed him.”
YOU HAVE 151 WINS AND ARE IN A GOOD POSITION FOR THE COUNTDOWN.
“We’ll keep at it and see what happens. On this day, we were better.”
An interview with Pro Stock winner ALEX LAUGHLIN, LAUGHLIN RACING, HAVOLINE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier; first win of season):
WALK US THROUGH THE EVENT THAT LED TO YOUR FINAL ROUND.
“I knew that I had to be absolutely the best I ever had been in my life racing Erica (Enders) in the final. When I rolled in first and the bulb flickered, I immediately had flashbacks to Denver this year. It locked on and as soon as she staged my bulb flickered again. I don’t have a whole lot of experience in the finals. I have a few of them this year, but the pressure is absolutely a big deal. She had problems, but I didn’t drive well. All in all, a little bit of luck, a little opportunity and at the end of the day we had the better race car and got the win. I could see that I was pulling on her, and then I saw a win light. This is just unbelievable.”
YOU’VE BEEN STRONG ALL YEAR BUT IT SEEMS YOU JUST DIDN’T GET THE BREAKS.
“Brian “Lump” Self being my crew chief is huge for me. I beat myself up pretty good when I don’t perform well and that guy is so confident in himself, in me and the whole team. It definitely lifts the morale. I owe a lot of this to him.”
YOU’LL ENTER THE COUNTDOWN NO. 2. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT?
“Wow, that’s a big one. I’ve never even made the Countdown before. I’ve never really had the funding to run the full season and we’ve just made huge strides. It’s been definitely a breakout season.”
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier; fell in second round): “I’m feeling really confident leaving Indy this week and going into the Countdown with this Advance Auto Parts team. We had an awesome weekend; No. 1 qualifier, picked up some points. Came out first round, got past T.J. Zizzo and unfortunately second round we dropped a hole but still had a decent run. We’re three in points but we’ve got our race car back and I’m feeling good in the car.”
AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 12 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “Ended with another semifinal appearance for the second consecutive week to follow up that win in Seattle. Pretty proud of how things are going right now. I think if we can keep this pace up going to the semifinals and getting into the finals, we’ll be able to run for the championship. We know we still have a little bit of work to do and Mike Green and Ronnie Thompson are hard at work at it. We’re going to get this thing sorted out and hope we go win in Reading.”
FUNNY CAR:
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier; fell in second round): “First off, knowing we are going into the Countdown to the Championship sitting No. 1 feels pretty good. We get a little more of a cushion, not much, 20 points, but it’s more than the 10 that everyone else will be getting.”
PRO STOCK
BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO, JIM BUTNER AUTO GROUP CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier; fell in second round): “We had a good car today with my Jim Butner Auto Group Chevy Camaro. It’s the right time, and I like our chances everywhere we go. It’s really cool that we get to be the No. 1 seed in the Countdown to the Championship, and on Sunday in Pomona, somebody is going to be watching the final round and win the championship. Every point matters. We want KB Racing to finish 1-2-3, and we’re going to work hard to make that happen and not let anyone get between us.”
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier; fell in semifinals): “My silver Summit Racing Chevy is a really good car, and we’re very happy with it. I wasn’t particularly pleased with the outcome today, but you’ll have that. The important thing is that we go into the Countdown with a fast car and a chance to win the first race. We know we have that, so I’m excited and certainly looking forward to what could happen over the next six races. It was a good weekend here – not a great weekend – but we had a lot of fun. I enjoyed racing my Stocker, and I’m definitely looking forward to the opportunity to do it again.”
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACNG EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier; fell in second round): “We definitely gained some ground overnight with my Summit Racing Chevy Camaro. Our run in the first round was pretty respectable – the only one faster was Jason’s rocket ship. We’re very happy with that, but unfortunately, second round, we didn’t make as good a run. We slipped. The driver slipped, and you can’t do that in Pro Stock. The car has to be perfect, and so does the driver. Neither one was second round, so it was a tough day at the office. We did see a little glimmer of hope that first round, and we’ll take that into the Countdown and build on it.”
JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITE PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 7 qualifier; fell in second round): “We were trying to move the needle a little each day. We made little adjustments here and there after Friday’s lone session and put our best foot forward as far as numbers go on Saturday and ended up seventh. Obviously, you want to finish the regular season in the best position possible but in all honestly, you just need a place to strike from. Those last six races are the most important ones of the season.”
VAL SMELAND, KD RACING, KD RACING CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 9 qualifier; fell in second round): “I was really rooting for (teammate) Kenny (Delco). I feel bad about that but at least we put one of our cars into the Countdown. If anybody deserves it, he works so hard and tries to keep everybody going. I can’t thank Kenny enough for all he’s done to help me. I’m speechless to be in this position.”