CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS
AUTO CLUB RACEWAY IN POMONA, CALIFORNIA
QUALIFYING RECAP AND DRIVER QUOTES
FEBRUARY 8, 2020
Chevrolet vaults to top in Top Fuel, Pro Stock at opener
Brittany Force records 19th career Top Fuel low qualifier
Jeg Coughlin Jr. earns Pro Stock top seed to start final season
Austin Prock registers career-best No. 2 spot in Top Fuel
POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 8, 2020) – Chevrolet teams and drivers picked up where they concluded the 2019 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) season at Auto Club Raceway with superlative qualifying efforts in the opener at the track.
John Force Racing teammates Brittany Force and Austin Prock qualified 1-2 in Top Fuel, while Jeg Coughlin Jr. began his final Pro Stock season with his 33rd career low qualifier honor in the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com.
Reigning Funny Car champion Robert Hight, driving the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, qualified third. Sixteen-time champion John Force qualified fifth in the BlueDEF Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car.
Brittany Force jumped to the top of the ladder in the final qualifying session with a stout 3.657-second run at 334.32 mph in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster. Force, who led the category with eight No. 1 qualifiers last season, earned her 19th career top seed.
“First race of the season and we already have a great start,” said Force, the 2017 Top Fuel champion.
Prock, who was voted the Auto Club Road to the Future Award winner in 2019, recorded his highest qualifying spot with a run of 3.680 seconds at 330.72 mph in the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster.
Coughlin, who won the ’19 season finale at the track from the No. 1 qualifier spot, announced earlier in the day that this would be his final full season of Pro Stock competition. His 6.525-second pass at 210.64 mph in the JEGS.com/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, served as an impressive kick-off of the 50th season of Pro Stock.
Reigning Pro Stock champion Erica Enders began her title defense by securing the No. 3 seed in her Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS.
“We ran extremely aggressive here in the final race of the year last November. Looking at tomorrow, we’ll have to be steady and poised in the JEGS.com/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro,” said Coughlin, a five-time Pro Stock champion who was runner-up to Enders in the 2019 standings.
Deric Kramer qualified second in the American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro SS, while Bo Butner, who has won the past two season openers at the track, qualified fifth in the Strutmasters Chevrolet Camaro SS.
FS1 will telecast eliminations and finals live at 5 p.m. EST February 9.
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier):
TAKE US THROUGH HOW THAT PASS FELT
“That was an incredible pass for this team. You know, it’s the first race of the season and we are excited to be out here in Pomona. We teamed up with Monster Energy again and we are excited to be out here with the same team in David Grubnic, Mac Savage and to come out here and run consistent all weekend long. We knew we were able to push in that last run because we were safe in the show so Grubnic said we were going to push it and see what we could do. When 3.65 came up on the board….I wasn’t expecting that and that is pretty incredible. So, I am ready to go into race day tomorrow.”
DID YOUR CREW CHIEF TELL YOU HE WAS SHOOTING FOR THAT?
“He didn’t say much. He just came over and said we were going to push. In the runs before he told me what his target was and what we were aiming for, but for that run, it was just that we were going to push it. He told me to hang on and get the shoots out because it’s a short track here in Pomona. So, I was hoping it would hang on there and get to that 1000-foot stripe and it did. We hung on to that No. 1 spot and I just found out that Austin was No. 2, so it’s very exciting to see JFR off to a good start this season.”
PRO STOCK:
JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITE PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier): “I love drag racing. I’m very competitive as a person and I’m very competitive as a racer. There’s a lot of good racing left in my life so I’m looking forward to turning the chapter and supporting my family and supporting our business. I’ve been racing full time since I was in college. I won a championship while I was in college in ’92 and raced two cars nearly every week since. I wouldn’t trade it for a minute. I was ready to ride off in the sunset after the 2019 season and our company is 60 years in business in 2020, Pro Stock is 50 years. Plus, I’m turning 50 so it seems like a bunch of things fell into place to continue into 2020. I’m scratching for excuses to keep racing maybe. I thought it would be fun to be part of the 50-year stuff and be behind the wheel. It’s going to be a fun year for multiple reasons, and, so far, it’s started our pretty well.”
“The car has been fast right out of the trailer and I couldn’t be happier. We were No. 1 after the first session and we’ve just stayed after it ever since. Rickie (Jones, crew chief) said he was going to take the attitude we are racing in playoff mode and it’s paid off.”