CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE U.S. NATIONALS
LUCAS OIL RACEWAY IN BROWNSBURG, INDIANA
DAY 2 QUALIFYING AND NOTES
AUGUST 31, 2019

Brittany Force resets track record in qualifications

Top Fuel driver records 3.645-second pass in Chevrolet dragster
John Force is third, Robert Hight is 7TH in Funny Car qualifying
Bo Butner is Pro Stock provisional No. 1 qualifier in Camaro SS
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (August 31, 2019) – Brittany Force, who recorded the quickest run on the first day of Top Fuel qualifications for the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, lowered her time 20 hours later in the third session with a Lucas Oil Raceway-record 3.645-second pass to retain the provisional pole.

Force, driving the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet dragster, entered the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) regular-season finale second in the championship standings. Force is aiming for her sixth No. 1 qualifier honor this season and 16th in her career.

John Force, with a 3.876-second pass at 332.67 mph in the Chevrolet Accessories Camaro SS, is third on the Funny Car ladder. Funny Car championship points leader Robert Hight, driving the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, is seventh at 3.896.

Two additional rounds of qualifications for the four pro classes, telecast live on FS1 from 4-6 p.m. ET, are scheduled for September 1.

Brittany Force, whose career-best elapsed time is 3.644 seconds, said track conditions were ripe for quick runs.

“It was pretty awesome to see this Advance Auto Parts car run a 64. I knew we were going to push again, but I didn’t know the conditions were going to be better (than the previous evening, when she ran 3.670),” the 2017 Top Fuel champion said. “We were the last one to run, stepped up and got around everybody.”

John Force Racing teammate Austin Prock, competing in his first Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, recorded a quick run of 3.74 seconds in the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster.
The 3.782-second bump spot is the quickest field in NHRA history.

Pro Stock championship points leader Bo Butner took over the top spot with a run of 6.559 seconds in the Jim Butner Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro SS. He bumped KB Racing teammate Jason Line, driver of the Summit Racing Equipment Camaro SS, who recorded a pass of 6.561 seconds with an event-best 210.64 mph.

“We made a good run. I think it’ll be tough to get around it. If it gets hot tomorrow it will be tough. I think most teams will go into race day (preparation). If it holds up it will be good; if it gets bumped out of the top four, I’d be shocked.”

Peter Gasko Jr. of Monroe Township, New Jersey, was the No. 2 qualifier in the 32-car field heading into eliminations of the SAM TECH.edu NHRA Factory Stock Showdown in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro. The sixth of eight events in the series features the COPO Camaro, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Eliminations will be telecast September 2 on FS1 starting at 11 a.m. ET, with FOX taking over at 1 p.m.

Twenty years since first finals
Greg Anderson clearly remembers the day he reached the Prock Stock final round for the first time.

“It was sunny, it was awesome and the whole day was pretty much magical,” the four-time Pro Stock champion said of the 1999 U.S. Nationals trophy dash in which he wound up second to Warren Johnson. “I got to the final and actually had built up some confidence and thought ‘I might just win the U.S. Nationals,’ and he taught me a lesson. I’ll never forget that and never forget that day. He showed me I wasn’t ready.”

Prior to beginning his Pro Stock driving career in ’98, Anderson served as a crew member and crew chief for Johnson during four of Johnson’s six NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock world championships.

Anderson went on to win the U.S. Nationals six times, which is tied with Johnson for second to Bob Glidden’s nine wins. Anderson, driving the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS, enters the final two rounds of qualifications sixth on the time sheet.

“Anybody who gets to a final, I have the deepest respect for,” Johnson said. “He could take my lunch money away, so that’s the way I look at it. And Greg, I respect him for his driving, his abilities and his work ethic.”

Johnson is the Pro Stock career leader with 97 victories, which is second to John Force’s 150 across all pro categories. Anderson is the active leader with 93 wins.

Did you know?
Rookie of the year candidate Prock, 24, resides a few miles from Lucas Oil Raceway. Prock started racing when he was 10 years old in quarter midgets.

He continued racing in pavement Midgets and dirt Sprint Cars, amassing 27 wins and 84 top-five finishes in 139 races before turning his attention to drag racing.

Also, Prock holds a culinary degree from the Art Institute of Indianapolis and regularly prepares meals for his crew.

Notable
John Force is making his 40th appearance and will be seeking his 50th round win in the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals (49-31). Since he last won the race he calls “the granddaddy” in 2002, four teammates (Hight, Ashley Force Hood, Mike Neff and Gary Densham) have hoisted the Funny Car trophy. … Kenny Delco, Val Smeland and Fernando Cuadra – all drivers of the Camaro SS – are competing for the 10th and final Pro Stock spot in the Countdown to the Championship. NHRA unveiled the logo that celebrates the 50th anniversary of Pro Stock in 2020. NHRA will celebrate the rich history of the category at events throughout the season. Bill Jenkins won the first Pro Stock event – the Winternationals in 1970 in Pomona, California, in a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro.