CHEVROLET AT POMONA
What: Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarverst.com
When: Friday, Feb. 7-Sunday, Feb. 9
Where: Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California
TV: FS1 will telecast eliminations and finals live at 5 p.m. EST Feb. 9
Chevrolet teams/drivers ready for the next championship push
Bowtie brigade carries momentum to Pomona from 2019 success
DETROIT (Feb. 5, 2020) – Questions abound as the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) fires up this weekend for another exciting season.
The most pertinent for Chevrolet teams and drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock is what will they do for an encore.
Chevrolet compiled an enviable 2019 season with its NHRA record-extending 24th Manufacturers’ Cup; driver championships in two professional categories, 29 victories, 39 low qualifier honors and the top rookie award winner for the second time in three years.
Buoyed by last season’s success and exceptional preseason testing, the Bowtie brigade carries momentum into the 60th Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarverst.com.
Chevrolet Top Fuel drivers Brittany Force and Austin Prock and Funny Car drivers John Force and Robert Hight will aim for additional honors in the 24-race season that begins and climaxes at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California. Chevrolet Pro Stock drivers will again compete in an 18-race campaign.
“I’m very confident heading into Pomona,” said Hight, who opened last season with a victory at the Winternationals on the way to his second Funny Car title in the past three years and third overall.
Hight registered a class- and career-high six victories and eight No. 1 qualifiers in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS.
Erica Enders, driving the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, mustered a strong Countdown to the Championship run to claim her third Pro Stock title.
Hight (two Funny Car titles and 37 wins in the 2010s) and Enders (three Pro Stock titles and 25 wins in the 10-year span) were named NHRA National Dragster magazine drivers of the decade.
Also in 2019, strong performances netted Brittany Force (two wins, eight low qualifiers) third place in the Top Fuel standings, while Prock was voted the top rookie in the NHRA professional ranks. Force also reset both ends of the Top Fuel national records last season.
Sixteen-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force seeks to add to his NHRA chart-topping 151 victories – among other records – while four-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson aims to surpass Warren Johnson’s 97 career wins to sit second behind Force in all pro categories.
“We ended the 2019 season in a good spot. Any time your team gets a championship, as a team owner, it’s always good. Prock got his first win, Brittany and I were in the fight and then Robert with Auto Club was just incredible,” said Force, who last weekend became the first drag racer to be inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame. “We are going to start 2020 with momentum.”
Five-time Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. was runner-up to teammate Enders in the standings. He’ll be joined in the stout competition by fellow Chevrolet drivers Jason Line, Bo Butner, Matt Hartford, Deric Kramer, Alex Laughlin and Chris McGaha – also race winners – along with newcomers Aaron Stanfield, Marty Robertson, Kyle Koretsky, Brandon Foster and third generation driver Mason McGaha.
Butner was the winner of the past two Winternationals.
The Pro Stock class is celebrating its 50th anniversary season. Bill Jenkins won the first two events of the 1970 season in a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro.
Milestones alert for the 2020 season
Chevrolet Pro Stock driver Erica Enders will seek to become the first female in NHRA history with four championships. Enders, tied with Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey, has won titles in 2019, 2014 and ’15.
Chevrolet Funny Car driver Robert Hight will seek to tie Kenny Bernstein and Don Prudhomme for second to John Force (16) with four Funny Car championships.
Chevrolet Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. will seek to tie Warren Johnson for second to Bob Glidden (10) with six Pro Stock championships.
Chevrolet Pro Stock driver Jason Line will seek to extend his NHRA record for consecutive seasons with at least one victory to 17. Chevrolet Funny Car drivers Robert Hight (15) and John Force (10) will also seek to extend their streaks.
Chevrolet Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson (826) will seek to overtake Tony Schumacher (842) for third on the all-time list for elimination round wins. John Force (1,351) is tops, followed by Warren Johnson (874).
Chevrolet Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. will reach 450 career Pro Stock races at Gainesville.
Chevrolet Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson will seek to extend his qualifying streak to 389 consecutive races. The streak started at Pomona2 in 2002. John Force holds the record at 395 races from Pomona1 in 1988 to Las Vegas1 in 2007.
Chevrolet Funny Car driver John Force will seek to extend his NHRA record to 36 consecutive seasons in the top 10 in points.
FS1 will telecast eliminations and finals live at 5 p.m. EST Feb. 9.
Entered in Super Stock competition in their Chevrolet COPO Camaros is Tim Seymour of San Dimas, California. Driving their COPO Camaros in Stock Eliminator this weekend will be Justin Lamb of Henderson, Nevada; Jeff Taylor of Sellersburg, Indiana; Jeff Lane of North Bend, Washington; and Al Corda of Elk Mound, Wisconsin.
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (2017 class champion; eight-time No. 1 qualifier and two-time winner in 2019; finished third in points): “We had a great time out in Vegas for preseason testing. It was really good to get the whole team together and get into the routine of things before heading into Pomona. It was a good three days and being back out here at the track and with my guys, it gets me excited for the season, excited for this first race, and I can’t wait to see what we can get done. I love getting to Pomona. It’s a home race for me and the Winternationals means the season is here, so I couldn’t be more excited to get back on the track with my team and start where we left off. I’ve never won at the Winternationals so I’m hoping we can change that this year and start the 2020 season off in the winner’s circle.”
AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (won first Top Fuel race at Seattle and was Road to the Future Award winner; finished eighth in points): “We learned a lot at preseason testing. There’s a lot of things that we wanted to try and things that Mike Green had been putting on his checklist since he’s been here, so it was nice to get that all ironed out. We learned what was good and what didn’t help us much but we had a really strong race car on the second day. What we did at testing, I hope we can carry that over into Pomona. If we just keep picking at it and everyone keeps their heads down and works hard, we should be able to run right at the top of the charts this weekend. I think this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team is going to be a contender all year.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, BLUEDEF CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time winner and five-time No. 1 qualifier in 2019; finished fourth in points; 16-time winner at track): “We had a good time at testing last week. My BlueDEF team worked really hard over the three days and we had some good runs and were right there with Robert, so I’m feeling excited. I can’t wait to be back racing and seeing what we can do this season. It’s the same every year, win the championship. That’s what we’re out here for.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (2019 champion with career-high six wins and eight No. 1 qualifier honors; won 2019 opener at track): “We had a good race car at testing. It felt really good to be back in the driver’s seat and has me excited about the 2020 season. Jimmy Prock, Chris Cunningham, the Auto Club guys and myself, we’re all ready to get back at it and chase down another championship. We put in the work and we’re going to do the same this time around, so I’m looking forward to what this team is capable of. I always love getting back to Pomona. It’s a home race for most of us at John Force Racing and it just feels good to start the season there. Last year this Auto Club team won the race and it was an awesome way to begin 2019, so I’m hoping we can start this season off the same way. We all have the same mentality we did last year and are hoping for the best.”
PRO STOCK:
ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (2019 champion; two-time winner in Countdown): “It’s very challenging to be a part of it, but I love what I do and I love the guys that I get to do it with. I’m honored to be a three-time world champion and represent a sport I love and that I’m so passionate about.”
JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time winner in 2019, including fall race at the track; finished second in points; seven-time winner at track): “For as far back as I can remember, Pomona has always been a favorite race for me. I can remember as a kid talking about this particular race with my brothers over bowls of cereal at the kitchen table, just dreaming we could be out in the California sun at the Winternationals. Both races we have in Pomona are marque events on the NHRA schedule, with the magical part of the Winternationals being that it signals the start of a new season. It’s ‘go’ time and that’s why fans from around the world fly into this event. Every driver and team have big dreams right now, and we are certainly no exception.”
BO BUTNER, JIM BUTNER AUTO GROUP, STRUTMASTERS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (four-time winner in 2019; finished third in points): “I’m ready to get back out there and celebrate 50 years of Pro Stock. The class is strong, and our crew and the KB Racing guys have been working very hard this off-season. We’re coming into 2020 with a lot of cool things, including our partnership with Strutmasters on our Chevy Camaro. We’ve won the Winternationals the last two years in a row, and we’ve had two great years. We didn’t win the championship, but we had the opportunity to, so we can’t complain. This year, I’m sure we’ll be right there in the mix again.”
JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time winner in 2019; finished fourth in points; announced recently that 2020 would be his final season behind the wheel): “This is the start of the Finish Line Tour, and I’m really looking forward to it. I’m going to take a different approach this year and really try to enjoy the moment and the people. The people are, without question, one of the best parts of the sport, and I’ve been surrounded by a lot of great folks throughout my career. Some of the fans, you know you only see them at specific racetracks, so it’ll be fun to see them again. I love this class and always have, and hopefully in the future I’ll be able to do a better job at helping KB Racing and Team Summit win more races, just in a different – and better – way. I’m excited about this year, and I’m going to make the most of it in every way I can. Hopefully, we’ll be able to bring home some more trophies for Summit Racing and (team owner) Ken Black.”
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (three-time winner in 2019; finished seventh in points; 12-time winner at track): “I think the off-season went pretty well. We put in a lot of work, a lot of time on the dyno, and went down to Orlando and tested. But it’s the same story every year; you just never know what your competitor has done over the winter, so you go to Pomona in fear that someone did more than you. You never know until you spin that wheel in the first qualifying session on Friday. That’s when you can really see how your winter went. I’ve done this a long time now, but I’m more excited to get to the Winternationals this year than I have been in a lot of years. I’m excited to get back in my Summit Racing Chevy Camaro, lock horns with these guys, and see what we can do. It sounds like a cliché, but the competition gets deeper and tougher every year. Last year was the deepest it’s ever been, and first round at most races was like a final-round matchup. It’ll be more so this year. It’s great for the sport, but it definitely makes it tough. You have to know that and be ready, and we are.”
CHRIS MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS RACING, HARLOW SAMMONS OF ODESSA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (won at Norwalk in 2019; finished ninth in points): “We had a very busy and productive off-season. In addition to some much-needed maintenance, our main focus was on laying the foundation of our two-car team with the addition of Mason (McGaha) this season. He has a brand-new Chevy Camaro that will debut later this year. We had the opportunity to test in Florida to prepare for this weekend’s race. We continue to squeeze ever bit of horsepower that we can out of our engine program to gain a competitive advantage. My head is down and focused on our program with the overall goal of bringing more trophies back to Texas this season.”