CHEVROLET AT POMONA

What: Auto Club NHRA Finals
When: Friday, Nov. 15-Sunday, Nov. 17
Where: Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California
TV: FS1 will telecast eliminations and finals live at 3 p.m. ET Nov. 17

Chevrolet drivers primed for championship push at Pomona

Team Chevy enters finale well-positioned to win three pro categories

DETROIT (Nov. 13, 2019) – “We’ve been here before” is the common thread between Chevrolet drivers Brittany Force, Robert Hight and Erica Enders heading into the 55th Auto Club Finals – the championship-deciding race of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) season.

All three drivers have won titles in their respective professional categories in a Chevrolet, prevailing in the nerve-racking conclusion to the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, and are poised to add hardware to their trophy cases.

Hight, driver of the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, has sat atop the Funny Car standings after all but one of 23 races on the strength of a career-high six wins and overall consistency. Hight takes a 46-point lead into qualifying as he seeks his second title in the past three years and third overall.

“This Auto Club Chevy Camaro team has had an incredible season. Jimmy Prock, Chris Cunningham and all of my guys, this championship is what we’re all going for,” said Hight, who has four wins, three No. 1 qualifiers at Auto Club Raceway. “We missed it by that much last season which makes us want it even more. Vegas wasn’t what we hoped for but we had a great race car and we’re still in the points lead, which gives us a lot of confidence.”

Force is only 16 points out of the Top Fuel lead and carries 11,000 horsepower worth of momentum with her after a dominant run two weeks ago in the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet dragster. She’s seeking to become the10th driver in Top Fuel history to win multiple championships.

“We want to do it again with the Advance Auto Parts team,” the 2017 Top Fuel champion said. “We really turned a corner at the right time and we’ve made some big moves this season. The start of the Countdown, at Reading, that seemed to be the turning point for us. Now, there’s only one race left and we are looking to finish this year off with a championship.”

Enders also is surging in the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS as she seeks to add her third Pro Stock championship and join Shirley Muldowney (Top Fuel) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) with the most NHRA professional category titles by a female. Enders has a 92-point advantage over teammate and five-time Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. (JEGS.com/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS).

“I don’t think complacency is a word in our vocabulary,” she said. “We work hard, and we are going to go out to Pomona to win the race. We are not going to visit, and we are not going to just put 30 points on the board.”
Sixteen-time Funny Car champion John Force aims to close out a productive season in the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS with his 152nd career victory. He is fourth in the standings entering the points-and-a-half event.

Austin Prock, the favorite for rookie of the year, is also seeking to carry momentum into 2020 by driving the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster to his second victory.

Driving their Chevrolet COPO Camaros in Super Stock competition will be Ray Martin of Anchorage, Alaska; Tom Ferruggia of Menifee, California; and Tim Seymour of San Dimas, California.

Entered in Stock Eliminator in their COPO Camaros are Ryan Herem of Canyon Country, California; Justin Lamb of Henderson, Nevada; Jeff Taylor of Sellersburg, Indiana; Daria Kramer of Sterling, Colorado; L. Scott Libersher of Wilmington, Illinois; and Al Corda of Elk Mound, Wisconsin.

Spectators will have the opportunity to explore the Chevrolet Performance display at the racetrack, featuring the 2020 Silverado LD Crew Custom Trail Boss, the 2020 Silverado HD and a new Blazer RS. Also, John Force will greet fans at 2 p.m. Nov. 15 at the display.

FS1 will telecast eliminations and finals live at 3 p.m. ET Nov. 17.

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:

BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (2017 class champion; eight-time No. 1 qualifier; won at Houston and Las Vegas2; runner-up at Las Vegas and Atlanta; second in points): “Vegas was a big weekend for our Advance Auto Parts team. We moved up to second in points and came home with our second win of the season but every year, the competition gets tougher and tougher. The biggest difference this time around is I’ve been in the hunt for a championship before so I have a better idea of how to deal with the pressure. The key to this season has been the support system I have around me. I have an incredible crew chief, David Grubnic, and I work with some of the best guys. I’m proud to be in the fight with them and wouldn’t chose anyone else going into Pomona.”

AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (won first Top Fuel race at Seattle; sixth in points): “I’m just proud of how far this Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist team has come and how we’ve been doing lately. You know, we changed up crew chiefs earlier this year and had to learn and figure out what worked for us, but Mike Green and Ronnie Thompson, they’ve done one hell of a job. We didn’t get the win in Vegas but our teammate Brittany Force did and I’m hoping she can wrap this championship up for John Force Racing when we head to Pomona this weekend. It’s been one heck of a year.”

FUNNY CAR:

JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK COOLANT & MOTOR OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (recorded 150th class win at Seattle and 151st at Indianapolis; five-time No. 1 qualifier; fourth in points): “Well, we’re heading into the last event of the season. We have points and a half up for grabs at this event, like Indy, and anything can happen but this ‘Old Blue’ PEAK Chevy Camaro has been a great race car all year. It’s a fast hot rod and Brian Corradi, Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi and all the young guys on my team, they’ve worked really hard to give me the best car out there. I love being in this car. Doing what I get to do and being out there with all the fans and with our sponsors, it makes me feel alive. I’m ready to get to Pomona. It’s a home track for John Force Racing.”

ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (has won six races and has eight No. 1 qualifier honors; first in points): “We’re in Pomona this weekend and it’s the final race of the season. There’s added excitement because it’s a home race and a sponsor race with Auto Club so it’ll be busy but it will keep me focused and keep me from getting too much inside my head. I’m hoping we can add another win to our resume and get that championship title again for Auto Club. Last year was so close and it went down to the last day and I think that’s going to be the case this weekend too, down to the final pass. This Funny Car class is so tight and so competitive, and anything can happen but we’re all ready to take on the challenge.”

PRO STOCK:

ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time winner in Countdown; first in points): “One race to go and we’re going to take it one round at a time. That’s the only way I can look at it. I can’t control what anybody else does in their lane. I just have to control what we do in ours and do the best that we can. We have a pretty stout lead going into Pomona, but there have bene crazier things happen there. We’ll do our best.”

JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (won at Phoenix; two-time No. 1 qualifier; second in points): “We are simply looking to have a good time at the final race of the year and put together a solid weekend for the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro crew. We are focusing on making four good runs in qualifying and turning on four win lights on Sunday knowing full well that still may not result in a championship. It’s the NHRA Finals, the ‘Last Go’ if you will, and even though we have designs on winning this race, we just don’t expect Erica (Enders) and her Melling team to fall off the incredible pace they’ve shown throughout the playoffs, but you never know. We’re going to fight to the end, no question about it, but I want to be realistic as well.”

BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO GROUP, JIM BUTNER AUTO SALES CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (four-time winner this season; third in points): “We’ve got all the right people, parts, and pieces, we just need to work harder in Pomona if we’re going to get to where we want to be and end the season right. Anything can happen there, we’ve seen that – I’ve seen it personally – so we’ll see what happens. Pomona has been good to us, but really, what’s meant to be is already in the cards. I’m friends out here with everybody, and every one of these guys and girls out here have worked hard this year. I knew (Elite Motorsports) would be tough to beat, but I still like my team. We don’t go to this last race with our heads hanging low. We’re not giving up.”

JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (winner at Brainerd and Reading; fourth in points): “The goal this weekend is pretty straightforward. We want two Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaros in the final round, and we want to win. It’s as simple as that. Like every year, a lot of effort went into increasing performance and being better every race, and the drivers have been working hard to be their best, too. We’ve had highs and lows, but we know we’ve got a lot of potential. Pomona will be about living up to it.”

GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (three-time winner this season; sixth in points): “I’ve had a lot of good fortune in past years; people don’t realize you just don’t win a race or a championship without good fortune. There is just too much competition, too many people that do a great job. So yes, anything can happen in Pomona. We’ll go and try as hard as we can. I’m very happy with my Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro right now. We had a good chance to win in Las Vegas, and we have a great chance to finish the year strong for Ken Black, Summit Racing, and this team.”