| CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 26, 2022) – Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS team were consistent throughout qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park to secure the No. 2 position on Saturday evening. John Force and the PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy are just behind Hight sitting No. 3. In Top Fuel, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy dragster improved to No. 6 while Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team are No. 11. Hight and the Auto Club team continued to perform at a high-caliber Saturday going 3.848-seconds at 330.47 mph to be quickest of the session and gain three bonus qualifying points. In the final session, just after being bumped into the No. 2 spot, Hight would maintain his consistency to take the Auto Club Chevy to an impressive 3.839 pass at 333.00 mph that would come up second quickest for an additional two points. They’ll enter race day No. 2 off their Friday night 3.838-second run. “I said I didn’t think that 3.838 from Friday was going to hold, but I’m proud of how this Auto Club Chevy is running,” said Hight who will face Paul Lee first round. “It’s all about being consistent. That’s how you win races and how you win championships. Right now, after these two weekends so far, we have the best of both worlds, quick and consistent. It’s a dream come true to drive a car like this. It’s been a while.” John Force and the BlueDEF PLATINUM team are qualified No. 3 thanks to their 3.851-second run at 332.02 mph from Friday night. Saturday, the PEAK team had a couple of bouts with tire smoke first going 8.530-seconds at 74.66 mph and then 9.074-seconds at 78.11 mph. “We’ll get it figured out. This PEAK team with Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi. We’ll be okay. We’re in the show, might not have been pretty but we made it,” said Force who will line up with Jeff Arend first round. “We’re all in. Just going to keep fighting our way through. Robert looks good over there with Auto Club and Brittany with Flav-R-Pac and Austin with Montana Brand, the have Frank Tiegs here getting to see his cars run. We’ll put on a show tomorrow for all these fans that came out here.” Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac dragster team improved Saturday going 3.694-seconds at 321.96 mph to start the day as the quickest of the pack and pick up three-bonus points. They would move themselves into the No. 3 position before putting a holeout to run 3.799 at 300.20 in the third session and being bumped to No. 6. “Wrapping up qualifying and ended up number six so, unfortunately, we face our teammate Austin Prock,” Force said. “Overall looking at the weekend, yes, we did struggle, but we also qualified No. 2 for the Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Top Fuel Callout that’s happening in Gainesville in a couple weeks so that’s good news. Even though we struggled, anything can happen. I’ve got a solid team with David Grubnic and Mac Savage. We have some things to work out, and I’m hoping we can do that tomorrow first round and have a long race day.” Coming into the day sitting No. 13, Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / RMT team kept things interesting by going 4.915-seconds at 145.52 mph and being bumped out of the top-16 in their first run of the day. In their last effort, Prock handled the Montana Brand / RMT dragster to a 3.739 pass at 324.83 with an engine explosion to jump into the No. 11 spot. “This Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team struggled the first two runs this weekend,” Prock said. “We made a decent last one, but we destroyed pretty much every component on the race car, so we’re pretty frustrated with that. But we’ll be here late tonight and be ready to go in the morning.” Eliminations at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage of eliminations will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and air at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. |
Monthly Archives: March 2022
ROBERT HIGHT AND AUTO CLUB CHEVY KEEP MOMENTUM ROLLING FRIDAY AT NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS
| CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 25, 2022) – Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS team found themselves in the low qualifier position once again Friday night at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. John Force and the PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy picked things up to land in the No. 2 spot. In Top Fuel, Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster team are currently No. 4 while Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team are sitting No. 13. Coming off a win and No. 2 qualifying position at the season-opening Winternationals, Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevy team didn’t skip a beat rocketing to a 3.838-second pass at 332.18 mph, mimicking their efforts from one week prior when they ended Friday night in the No. 1 spot. “It’s a good feeling to have this Auto Club team come out here and run like this. Just about every run we’ve made down the track this whole year has been in the 3.80s, so that’s pretty impressive, but we’re under really good conditions. You know when you come to Phoenix and the temperatures are like this, you better hold on,” Hight said. “Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham did a really good job and hit it just right. We had a really good run to come off of, the final round we ran 3.861 in Pomona, and we had just been here two weeks ago testing and we ran 3.86. We knew we were going to have to step it up but we also had the luxury, when you’re in the back of the pack, to be able to watch what the other cars are doing and plan ahead, and we did that.” Looking to make a complete turnaround from their season opener results, John Force and the PEAK / BlueDEF Chevy laid down a stout 3.851-second pass at 332.02 mph as the second pair down the racetrack. Their pass would put a target on their back as the rest of the 16-car field took their try. It would take teammate Robert Hight as the last pair to bump the 16-time champion into the No. 2 spot. “I’m alive. It was a good day. That’s better,” Force said. “Unless something crazy happens, we’re in the show. That’s all that matters. Let’s you breathe easier knowing you have two passes tomorrow that you can use to get ready for race day. This PEAK Chevrolet, it ran good, consistent, here at testing too so I’m feeling good.” After finishing runner-up a week prior, Austin Prock and his Montana Brand / RMT dragster team ran into tire smoke but they weren’t alone. Their 5.886-second pass at 107.56 mph was still enough for the No. 4 position. “Not the ideal start, especially coming off of last weekend, but we got thrown some really tough track conditions. It was getting cool, and the track was getting really tight really fast with the sun coming down,” Prock said. “We made it through the trouble areas where everyone else was throwing up, tried to send a bomb at it and the track wouldn’t take it. For not going down the track, this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team is pretty happy because we know why. Tomorrow we’re going to go up there and do what we did in Pomona.” Most of the 15-car Top Fuel field had issues with the cooling racetrack. That included track record holder Brittany Force and her Flav-R-Pac dragster team. It would be almost immediate smoke as they coasted to an 8.667-second pass a 78.28 mph to sit No. 13. “Coming out of Pomona, we found some problems with this Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy dragster that we think we’ve fixed coming into Arizona,” Force said. “Unfortunately, we struggled on that first run, a lot of people did. It was a great track, but we didn’t get the car down there. We get two more tomorrow and we’ll push and get it moved up.” Qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park continues Saturday with runs at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with qualifying shows Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. |
JOHN FORCE AND BLUEDEF PLATINUM LOOKING FOR TURNAROUND AT NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS
| CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb 24, 2022) – Now in his 47th career NHRA season, John Force and his PEAK / BlueDEF Platinum Chevrolet Camaro SS team enter this weekend’s Arizona Nationals optimistic as they head to a track at which Force has unprecedented success. Coming off a disappointing performance in the season-opening Winternationals where hequalified 16th and had a first-round exit, Force and his PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy team will try to get back on track at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, a track on which he was quickest in pre-season testing just two weeks ago. “Pomona, home track, that was difficult. Not the showing we wanted but as a team owner, it was a good weekend, Brittany with Flav-R-Pac and Monster No. 1, Robert and Auto Club with the win and Austin getting Montana Brand into the finals,” Force said. “This PEAK BlueDEF team, we know we’ll be okay. Something just didn’t quite add up in Pomona, but I know Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi, they have this Chevrolet dialed in. We showed what we could do at testing. So, I’m not worried. I’m excited.” Force not only dominated testing, but he has won more races at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park than anyone else. His eight wins (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005) are three more than anyone else in any category. From 1994 through 2002, he missed the final round only once in 1998. In addition to his eight wins, he has been runner-up six times, most recently in 2016. He has started the Arizona Nationals from the No. 1 qualifying position eight times (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2010 and 2014). In 2020, his most recent appearance at Phoenix, he reached the semifinals. “A lot of good racing at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park,” Force said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the fans, we haven’t had the chance to put on a show for them in two years. It’ll be good to be back. We’ll put on a show and hopefully get this PEAK Chevy in the winner’s circle. It’s the plan, it’s always the plan, just gotta go out there one run at a time and get it done.” Qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park begins Friday with the first session at 5 p.m. and continues Saturday with runs at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with qualifying shows Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. |
AUSTIN PROCK AND MONTANA BRAND / RMT MAKING EARLY WAVES AS THEY HEAD TO NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS
| CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 24, 2022) – Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster team are mixing things up in the NHRA Top Fuel category. Heading to the NHRA Arizona Nationals, the second race on the Camping World Drag Racing Series tour, sitting No. 2 in points, Prock and his team are proving they more than deserve to be amongst the Top Fuel elite. After nearly two years out of the seat, Prock raised eyebrows on the final day of pre-season testing when his Montana Brand / RMT dragster team made two promising passes, including a 3.685-second pass at 333.66 mph that would be the best of the Top Fuel class. The testing performance was only a prerequisite to what the team would accomplish at the season-opening Winternationals. Prock would qualify No. 4 before taking the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster to the runner-up finish, only narrowly dropping the final to Justin Ashley in a battle between the 2019 and 2020 winners of the Auto Club’s Road to the Future Award. “It’s been a great start to the year. This Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team was pulled together quickly but we’ve put in the work and I thought we did an excellent job in Pomona,” Prock said. “I’m really happy with how this year has started. It’s going to be a long, fun year and I’m really looking forward to it. We have some good momentum coming from the last two weekends.” This will only be Prock’s third competitive appearance at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, however, Prock made his first pass in a Top Fuel dragster at the facility. Prock earned his Top Fuel license in a frenzy ahead of his rookie 2019 season on the final day of testing in Arizona. In his first competitive try at Wild Horse Pass, Prock would qualifying sixth before making a quarterfinal appearance. In 2020 Prock would have a first-round exit. “I’m looking forward to Phoenix. It’s a special spot for me, it’s where I got my Top Fuel license in 2019,” Prock said. “Now I’m back, living my dream again and I’m pumped. We’re coming off two really good weekends including testing here. It’s going to be a good weekend. I think this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team has a lot of really good weekends in its future.” Qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park begins Friday with the first session at 5 p.m. and continues Saturday with runs at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with qualifying shows Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. |
BRITTANY FORCE AND FLAV-R-PAC BUILDING MOMENTUM HEADING TO NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS
| CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 24, 2022) – Brittany Force will change things up at this weekend’s NHRA Arizona Nationals running her Flav-R-Pac Frozen Fruits and Vegetables livery for the first time in the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Heading to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park sitting No. 3 in the points standings, the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team will be looking to capitalize on their season-opening success. Seeming to pick up right where they left off, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac team are coming off a strong season-opening performance at the Winternationals. The David Grubnic and Mac Savage led team entered race day from No. 1 for the 33rd time in Force’s career and the 19th time in her last 30 starts. “I’m glad to have the first race of the season under my belt. This Flav-R-Pac team had a good weekend at our season opener in Pomona with a No. 1 qualifier and semi-final round appearance,” Force said. “We have a great team around us with David Grubnic, Mac Savage and all our guys. We’re working well together and I’m very proud of what we accomplished at the Winternationals.” Force will be trying to earn John Force Racing’s first win at the Arizona Nationals outside of the Funny Car class. Although she has not yet won the event, she did reach the final round in 2014, 2016 and 2017. In her most recent appearance, she set both ends of the track record (3.643 seconds at 337.92 mph on Feb. 23, 2020) before a quarterfinal exit. “Our Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team just came from testing at Wild Horse Pass and David Grubnic and Mac Savage liked our numbers. So, we all feel confident returning to that track,” Force said. “I’m looking for a strong weekend and our first win of the season.” Qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park begins Friday with the first session at 5 p.m. and continues Saturday with runs at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with qualifying shows Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET. |
ROBERT HIGHT AND AUTO CLUB CONTINUING DOMINANCE HEADING TOnNHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS
| CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 24, 2022) – Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS team are on top of their game as they head to the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park Feb. 25-27. The Auto Club team enter the second of 22 events on the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season riding the momentum of a win at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. It was a statement 54th career victory for Hight and the Auto Club team at the NHRA season-opening Winternationals after finishing 2021 unsatisfied in the No. 8 position. Now the points leader, Hight, with Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham at the helm of his Chevrolet, has already extended to 17 the number of seasons in which he has won at least one tour event. The three-time championship team heads to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park just two weeks after a successful pre-season test session at the facility that led to their victory last weekend. “That wasn’t a lot of fun last year. Since Jimmy Prock came back, we’ve been in the thick of things every year. Won two championships, set records,” Hight said. “These Auto Club guys stayed focused, worked really hard in the off season and looked at what bit us last year. If you look at our runs in testing and what we did in Pomona, I think they’ve found it and they’ve fixed it. I’m happy. We definitely have more consistency than we had last year. I can only see it getting better.” Hight has won at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports once in an all-JFR showdown with then teammate Mike Neff in 2012. He was the runner-up at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in 2007, 2008 and 2014 and was the No. 1 qualifier in 2007 and 2019. He earned the No. 1 spot in 2007 with a time of 4.636 seconds that remains the quickest ever at the quarter mile distance at which races were contested until June of 2008. In his most recent Arizona appearance in 2020, he qualified No. 3 before being upset in the first round. “I feel really good about going to Arizona this weekend. It’s hard not to. We had a great test session here just a couple weeks ago and last weekend with the win,” Hight said. “We know it’s not going to be easy, going after wins and ultimately a championship. We have to work race by race, run by run. This Auto Club Chevy team is up to the task though. We’re on a mission, we’re focused and we’re going to do the best we can.” Qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park begins Friday with the first session at 5 p.m. and continues Saturday with runs at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with qualifying shows Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. |
Second Round Appearance for Julie Nataas at 2022 Winternationals
Feb 22, 2022 | Featured, Julie Nataas, Race Results
Randy Meyer Racing’s Julie Nataas started her 2022 NHRA season with a quarterfinal finish this weekend at 62nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals after defeating Trevor Larkin in the first round.
Nataas started out qualifying with two tire-smoking efforts, but Randy Meyer dug deep for the final session and tuned her dragster to a 5.289-second pass at 277.20 mph.
Going into raceday in the No. 5 qualifying spot, Julie faced up against No. 12 qualifier Trevor Larkin. Julie crossed the finish line, going low the round, with a stout 5.214, 276.92 to defeat Larkin’s 5.539, 248.02. That run would give her lane choice over her second-round competitor Madison Payne.
Second round, Julie unfortunately turned on the red light against Payne. Although she went red, Julie still laid down an exceptional 5.294, 241.41 to Payne’s 5.619, 221.38.
“I always love starting the season at my favorite track, but we didn’t have the weekend we wanted,” said Julie. “We struggled a little getting down the track in qualifying. Randy turned it around for our last qualifier and we were able to qualify in the top part of the field. Unfortunately, we had an early exit with a red light DQ. It was not the way I wanted to start the season. At least we know we have a really good car going into Belle Rose, LA this weekend.I have put the red light behind me and ready to put the OTG/Right Trailers/Lucas Oil dragster in the winners circle for the first time in 2022.”