RYAN HUNTER REAY, NO. 1 DHL ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET – RACE WINNER: “The team did just awesome today. We had varying levels of grip through the whole race, different levels of balance, and we just stuck with it. In the end, we knew what we had to do to win. What a race it was. It was a lot of fun.”
A FANTASTIC PERFORMANCE ESPECIALLY IN THE LAST THIRD OF THE RACE:
“Yeah, thanks it was something else. The other guys had such a great car, Helio (Castroneves) and Takuma (Sato). I thought we might not of had a good enough car to win it. Just pushed through and in the end we had the balance we needed. Thank you to all the fans for coming out today and making this another Milwaukee Mile race that is very special. I appreciate it.”
WERE YOU AWARE OF THE STRATEGY HELIO (CASTRONEVES) AND TAKUMA (SATO) WERE ON?
“Yeah, we had the pace of the race there in the beginning. Then we had a yellow come out at the wrong time. That put Helio (Castroneves) and Takuma (Sato) on a different strategy up front so we had to fight through it the whole race to get back up. We were leading when we needed to and we were able to open a gap. I just can’t say enough about these guys on this No. 1 car. They did such a great job in the pits as they always do. Getting me out in front of traffic, in front of other guys and just did an excellent job. I’m so proud of this race team.”
HOW COOL IS IT TO GET TO CELEBRATE IN VICTORY LANE WITH THE LITTLE GUY?
“It’s the best. Those last two laps I was thinking ‘man I got to do this for him.’ Here it is. It’s so special six months old having my son in Victory Lane on Father’s Day.”
ON HIS RACE:
“Man, I did it for that little guy, my son. He’s six months old and I couldn’t be happier. Happy Father’s Day again; we did this again last year. It’s the best day on earth and I appreciate it. Man, it’s so great to win for DHL and Chevy and look at this. We’ve got this little guy here!
“The team just was awesome all day. We had varying levels of grip the whole race and different levels of balance and man, we just stuck with it. And in the end, we knew what we had to do to win. And what a race it was. I’m going to drink a lot of SunDrop tonight, I’ll tell you that.”
WE ARE SHOWING VIDEO OF YOU AND MARCO. YOU WERE HESITANT AT FIRST, BUT THEN YOU WENT BY YOUR TEAMMATE:
“Well, it’s my teammate. I wanted to not go by to aggressively. You can’t risk a teammate’s race at all. So we had to make sure it was close. But, thanks to my teammates. Thanks to my whole Andretti team. They just did an excellent job and I’m really happy to be back in the Winner’s Circle at Milwaukee. This place has been so special to me and I have this little guy in Victory Lane. It’s just magic. It’s awesome.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 PPG AUTOMOTIVE FINISHES TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 2ND: YOU ARE STILL THE POINTS LEADER HECK OF A DAY FOR YOU. TAKE US THROUGH WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF NOW IN SITUATIONS WHERE YOU KNOW YOU HAVE POINTS TO CONSIDER DOES IT BACK YOU UP A LITTLE BIT IN TERMS OF YOUR AGGRESSION AND GOING FOR A WIN?
“Good question. I am still thinking about it. I have to say, wow what a race. First of all let me breathe a little bit. I want to thank obviously the PPG guys. What a great job to come on board this race finish second. You are right we started 18th we couldn’t do anything else though. We just have to do a little bit different strategy. RP, Roger Penske, what a guy, he is the man. It was great to again another race with him because we are able to communicate well. The car was on rails too. The car was well set-up same as Texas. The day before was crap. Then I’m like ‘oh we are going to be in trouble.”
THERE WAS ONE CHANGE FROM THE SET-UP AT TEXAS LET’S BE HONEST:
“We changed everything I tell you. You talking about that I will talk to you later right there okay? Top for Chevy as well I’m really proud of Team Penske again; extremely excited for the championship and now we have to keep going. It wasn’t the result. We weren’t the fastest car. We were very consistent again and I will take second place and go very happy home.”
ON HIS RACE:
“It was a great day for us. Starting from the back was tough. I was talking to Jonathan and our engineers and all we had to do with the car. Man, it was tough. But it definitely paid off. We were a little conservative and had to be patient and in the end it was a great job. I’m very, very, happy. It’s not a win. But you know what? I’m very happy for Father’s Day including mine.”
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING LATE IN THE RACE WHEN WILL POWER CAME UP ON YOU? DID YOU KNOW HE WAS COMING AND HOW CLOSE WAS THAT?
“You know, I was a little upset with traffic because we’re talking about 10 laps to go and I’m like come on guys. It’s not necessary to stay there, or just let’s move a little bit, or crack the throttle. When I saw him there I’m like whoa!. Then my spotter said he said ‘Inside, inside’’; sorry Rick, but I’m already moving. But at the end of the day it was a great day for Team Penske for second and third. Good job, Will, and now we’ve got to keep moving on.”
WE ARE ABOUT AT THE MIDPOINT OF THE SEASON NOW. HOW FOCUSED ARE YOU ON WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP AS WE MOVE FORWARD?
“We’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing. That’s the only thing I can say. I can’t think about a championship because right now we have a lot of races to go. But right now, we will take it step-by-step. You can’t count from one to 10 without going from two-three-four. And that’s what we’re doing. I thank everyone again from Team Penske. Man, I’m so happy today!”
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 3RD: TAKE ME THROUGH YOUR RUN TODAY:
“I think by the end there we had our car sorted. It was definitely fast. I think it was fast enough to challenge Ryan (Hunter-Reay), I don’t know I think Hunter-Reay just took off. You see we could really challenge Helio (Castroneves) at the end there. Just happy to get a podium with the sort of year we have had. This is a fantastic result for the Verizon car. Helio got good points so it’s good for the team.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES SAYS YOU ARE AN OFF-ROAD KIND OF GUY AND THAT YOU CAN HANDLE THAT KIND OF STUFF. YOU HAD TO HANDLE IT, DIDN’T YOU?
“I was close. I wanted to race him very cleanly because he’s leading the championship, but if it’s an easy pass, I’ll go for it. But that was like man, I don’t want to take you out! Don’t just squeeze me that tight! But it was still a good result for Penske. Helio continues to get good points and it’s cool to get the Verizon 12 car up on the podium. But we’re just going to keep chipping away. In the meantime, am trying to help Helio as much as I can; but if I can beat him, I will, and make some headway on the championship.”
THERE’S A LONG WAY TO GO IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. YOU DON’T WANT TO HELP HIM OUT TOO MUCH, DO YOU?
“Well yeah. In situations like that obviously if I was right there with him in the points, I could be a lot more aggressive. But hey man, at Team Penske it’s all about the team and we’ve got to keep that in mind.”
YOU JUST RAN 250 LAPS AND YOU LOOK FRESH AS A DAISY. TALK TO THE FANS. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO GET ON THE PODIUM AFTER A HUGELY PHYSICAL RACE?
“I’m stoked to get on the podium. That’s huge. It seems like on the ovals we’re getting our best results right now. But man, that was physical. A lot of g-force; we have maximum downforce here. So the cornering speeds are really high. And you’ve got to remain very focused because it’s always such a short lap
. You’re always in a corner and you’re always in traffic, lapped traffic. So, I’m very happy for the Verizon car to get that result.”
FOR YOU PERSONALLY FINDING YOURSELF NOW JUST OUTSIDE THE TOP-10 IN POINTS IT’S UNUSUAL TERRITORY FOR YOU. WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET NOW AS WE HEAD TOWARDS IOWA AND YOU PERHAPS TRY TO SPRING BOARD OFF OF THIS?
“It’s the same as what we’ve had. We just have to keep chipping away every weekend. Keep getting solid results. I’m sure at some point we are going to be presented with a chance to win a race. We just have to make sure we are always there to take that.”
EJ VISO, NO. 5 TEAM VENEZUELA PDVSA CITGO ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET – FINISHED 4TH: “It was my best finish here, and a top four is pretty impressive. We know we’ve had the speed because we’ve seen it at almost every event this year, but I think we hadn’t quite been able to close the deal. We have been struggling a bit thus far, and I think we’re due for some podiums and wins. Hopefully this is just the start. It’s a good result for the whole crew and the whole team – I’m just looking forward to the next race. I hope we can keep building this momentum and that more strong results are ahead. I’m happy for Ryan (Hunter-Reay) – he did a good job. I like Milwaukee, I like Iowa and the short ovals. These places are fun; they’re basically super fast corners on a road course. It’s a nice combination of factors, and we have a good package… We’ve qualified in the top five six races in a row. We’re very close, we’ll keep fighting, and we’ll look forward to Iowa”
YOUR BEST FINISH HERE AT THE MILWAUKEE MILE. YOU ARE PUTTING TOGETHER A GREAT SEASON:
“I think we had a pretty strong car as a team. We just missed I think the podium big chance of winning the race the second to last stop we had an issue with one of the guns. Anyways, I take a top-four. We are recovering after a tough beginning of the season even if we had the results. There is plenty of championship to go and we are ready. We are just very close.”
A LOT OF BATTLING ON THAT FINAL RESTART WALK US THROUGH IT:
“Yeah, it was fun having cars all around and fighting for the lead. This is proper racing it’s super fun. Ryan (Hunter-Reay), my teammate, you know, one of us was going to be the winner. And of course he’s the winner now but I think that little mistake in the pits put me behind.”
BUT YOU HAVE TO BE ENCOURAGED BY THAT. WHEN YOU COME IN FOR A PIT STOP AND THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH A WHEEL GUN, YOU STILL HAVE TO BE ENCOURAGED WITH HOW FAST YOU WERE AND HOW FAST THE CAR WAS
“No, definitely. I’m very grateful of the cars that the team keeps giving me and I feel that we are very close to winning a race. We’ve shown it at every race this year. The performance that we have and putting fast laps together and qualifying already six times in a row in the Top 5. We’re just very close. I keep fighting and am just looking on to Iowa right now.”
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE, NO. 27 GODADDY ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET – FINISHED 5TH: “Any time you get a top five in a series so competitive, it’s a good day. To have three of our cars in the top five is incredible; the team’s done a great job. I’m just a little upset we weren’t a tiny bit better in traffic today in the No. 27 GoDaddy car, because I think that would have helped us get around the lapped cars and we could have challenged the guys we were actually racing for position with. This track is the ultimate test of patience. It’s so easy to over-do it and get in the marbles and end up in the wall – and I had a couple close calls for sure – but you’ve got to be aggressive. You also have to have respect to this place… it was a lot of fun out there either way. We always love coming here – I think it’s one of the best race tracks in the country. Hopefully we put on a good show for the fans. So, I want to wish a Happy Father’s Day to everyone. We wish the GoDaddy car was a little bit higher, but really happy for Ryan (Hunter-Reay), and having three Andretti Autosport cars in the top five is incredible.”
IF I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU YESTERDAY THAT YOU WERE GOING TO FINISH IN THE TOP-FIVE YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD ME I WAS CRAZY:
“Yeah, I would have said we would take it. Then starting on the front row and being the third of the Andretti (Autosport) cars that finished that leaves a little bit to be desired. The guys did a great job. The car was such an improvement from practice. Our big thing we were just a tiny bit off in traffic today. We spent a lot of time behind lap cars. That kills you here. It’s too bad we couldn’t get around some of those guys and be spending more laps actually racing the guys we were going for position with.”
DO YOU HAVE TO BALANCE BEING AGGRESSIVE AT A TRACK LIKE THIS KNOWING THAT YOU HAVE A BETTER CAR, BUT LAP TRAFFIC IS SO DIFFICULT TO GET AROUND?
“Absolutely, this track is one of the ultimate tests in patience. It’s so easy to overdo it and get in the marbles and end up in the wall. I had a couple of close calls for sure, but you have got to be aggressive at the same time you have to be respectful of this place. There is a lot of fun out there either way. We always love coming here. It’s one of the best little race tracks in the country. Hopefully, we put on a good show for the fans and you guys all enjoyed it we appreciate you coming out. Happy Father’s Day to everybody and just wish we could have had the GoDaddy car a bit higher, but really happy for Ryan (Hunter-Reay). Three Andretti cars in the top-five is incredible.”
YOU FINISHED TOP 5 HERE IN MILWAUKEE. IT IS A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT?
“Yeah, I think anytime you’re in the Top 5 in a series, as competitive as the IndyCar Series is right now, it’s a good day. For us, starting on the front row, you always want a bit more. But after where we were in practice, we’ve got to be happy with this in getting the GoDaddy car in the Top 5. I feel like we had the single car pace to do it, but we were a little bit off in traffic. I feel like I spent 200 of those 250 laps behind some lapped car and you waste time, you waste tires, you lose positions; it was definitely a lot of work out there today. Congrats to Ryan. I’m obviously happy for him and putting the three finishing Andretti cars in the Top 5, we’re obviously doing something right.”
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT, ON A SHORT-COURSE OVAL, TO DEAL WITH LAPPED TRAFFIC? AND HOW GOOD ARE SOME OF THE GUYS AND HOW BAD ARE SOME OF THE GUYS? THERE WAS CLEARLY A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE THAT DID HELP AND THOSE WHO DIDN’T
“Yeah, it’s a great point. There are some guys who are laps down who are driving like it’s the last lap of the race for the win. And they’re using every inch of the race track, from top to bottom, just making it absolutely impossible. And then you get other guys who are super respectful, who if you can’t get by, he’ll let you by. It’s a respect-thing. The thing is, it’s going to be the same guys next week. And the same guys the week after that. If you keep ticking people off, it’s going to come back and bite you. I know there are some guys frustrated; I’ve certainly frustrated a couple of people. But it’s the nature of short track racing.”
TONY KANAAN, NO. 11 HYDROXYCUT KV RACING TECHNOLOGY – SH RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 10TH: “It was a very difficult race for us, We had to battle all day long, but just didn’t have the pace. We finished in the top-10 so I will take those points. Now we move on to Iowa where hopefully we can have a better finish.”
SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 6 TRUE CAR DRAGON RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 13TH: “It was a very strong race in the beginning for us. The No. 6 TrueCar Dragon Racing car was keeping a s
olid pace with the front runners. The crew did an amazing job on the pit stops but unfortunately we had a mistake calling me into pit and that costs us positions and we couldn’t recover from that. I a bit disappointed with the position but it’s a good position for us after a rough start to the season. I defiantly want more and I will not settle for 13th position. Iowa we will be looking a lot stronger and carrying a lot of momentum, so we will stay focused and go for a strong race.”
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 14TH: “That was a long day for us. I thought we were going to be good after the early stages. We were able to work our way pretty far up the charts ( to fifth from 20th starting position). I slid a little on our second stop and I missed my marks. So we lost a couple of spots then. I got loose on a restart and lost a few more spots. We were just loose that entire stint after being good early. Then I got in the marbles and hit the wall in turn four. And it just got away from us from there. It’s so disappointing because it looked like we were going to have such a good day. At the end, it feels like a missed opportunity today. We’ll regroup and be ready for Iowa next week. Hope for a strong run there.”
RYAN BRISCOE, NO. 4 NATIONAL GUARD PANTHER RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 15TH: “The National Guard Chevy was handling pretty good for us, but the gears were a bit long, so that was hurting us as we tried to race people off the corner. But the Panther Racing crew did a great job in the pits all day. We’re continuing to build on our continuity, and we’ll continue to get better working together. The plan is to race as many events in IndyCar as we can this year with Panther, so we’ll get them next time.”
MARCO ANDRETTI, NO. 25 RC COLA ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET – FINISHED 20TH: “It’s unfortunate… We came here for a win and had a car to do it. We fell back after a delay in the pits and then had an electrical issue – I didn’t have any idea of what happened at the time. The voltage went straight down and I lost all kinds of power; I couldn’t shift, the clutch didn’t work. We came back for all the points we could. We’ve been strong at Iowa in the past so we will move on and try to get points back next weekend.”
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 7 MCAFEE DRAGON RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 22ND: “It was a disappointing day for the No. 7 McAfee Dragon Racing car. We had a pretty good race going with a very strong start and I was passing a lot of cars making it up to ninth position. Then we had a fuel pump issue running out of fuel with still four gallons in the tank. During the first pit stop the wheel gun was not retrieved properly and ended up damaging the suspension and after that the car was never the same. We were two laps down and our day was heading south, I was trying to hang onto the car and after our final pit stop with new tires the car was loose for no reason. At that point I knew this day was not going to end well, so we brought the car in and parked it.”
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO, NO. 78 NUCLEAR ENTERGY AREVA KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET – FINISHED 24TH: “The car was loose from the start and then it just took off. We made contact with the wall. The guys changed the rear wing and we went back out, but I don’t know if it was damage from the crash or what, but it really wasn’t driveable after that. I feel bad for my Nuclear Clean Air Energy sponsors that we had such a short race, but we just weren’t ever able to get the car fixed right.”
FORCES FACE-OFF ON FATHER’S DAY AT FORD THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS
BRISTOL, TN – As the final qualifying session of the 13th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals wound down both John Force and Courtney Force each had a chance to shake up the ladder and avoid an awkward Father’s Day. Courtney Force and her Traxxas Ford Mustang came the closest improving her qualifying position from Friday just missing a move up the ladder by .002 of a second. The youngest Force will race her father by virtue of her No. 11 qualifying position and his No. 6 qualifying spot.
Courtney Force however was the quickest of both sessions today and racked up six total bonus points to inch her way further up the ladder in the NHRA Funny Car Mello Yello point standings.
In Saturday’s first session, Force posted a 4.161 ET at 305.98 mph and followed that with a 4.129 ET at 306.95 mph.
“In the heat of the day, it felt really great to get this Traxxas Ford Mustang down there and making good runs. We were the quickest car of both sessions. I think it was very important to make a couple of good passes in the conditions we experienced today because they’re more comparable to race day conditions that we are expecting for tomorrow. I’m excited,” said Force, the 2012 Auto Club Road to the Future Award winner.
“Unfortunately I have to run my dad first round tomorrow, on Father’s Day, but we’re going to have fun with it. I guess it’s going to go either way and I’m really hoping I can take home that win. I see it as a good Father’s Day present for him if I win. My dad has taught me everything I know and a win tomorrow will just show him I’ve been listening.”
John Force was solid on Saturday getting down the track both sessions and showing that his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang will be a tough car to beat on race day. In the first session he posted a 4.170 and then in the final session beside Matt Hagan Force improved to 4.153 seconds at 306.33 mph. His Friday night time of 4.071 secured the No. 6 qualifying spot for the three-time Ford Thunder Valley Nationals champion.
“We have a good hot rod right now. We’re fighting to keep that Ford in the Top Ten, but I’m up against Courtney tomorrow. My daughter is a great driver; her car is running right there with me,” said Force.
“Bottom line, we teach them to win. I’m driven to win myself. For Castrol, Auto Club, Ford, BrandSource, Mac Tools and Traxxas, we’re going to go out there and we’re going to give the fans what they buy that ticket for and that’s a great show. Whoever wins, will win for the day, but we’ll see who wins the championship,” said Force.
Force will race his daughter for the second time this season. Courtney outran the 15-time champion in the first round of the Gatornationals in March and she is 3-1 against him for her career.
Robert Hight, the 2011 Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals champion, continued his two day battle with Bristol Dragway. The Auto Club Ford Mustang driver will go into Sunday as the No. 16 qualifier. This is the third time Hight has qualified 16th this season. Ironically he has advanced to the second round in his previous two races as the No. 16 driver, Phoenix and Charlotte at the Four-Wide Nationals.
“You can’t win a lot of races qualifying 16th. You also have to be qualified to have a chance at winning. We have a chance. This Auto Club Ford Mustang has just not been reacting to (crew chief) Jimmy’s (Prock) tuning adjustments. We are not going to give up. Del Worsham (No. 1 qualifier) is a tough racer and a good friend. It will be a tough race for both of us tomorrow,” said Hight.
Brittany Force and the Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster achieved a number of firsts today at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. For the first time in her young career she earned qualifying bonus points, posting the second quickest ET in the third qualifying session and she will have lane choice on Sunday for the first time. As the No. 8 qualifier Force will be able to choose her lane against No. 9 qualifier J.R. Todd.
“I’m happy to be qualified No. 8. That’s the highest we’ve qualified for an event so far. I’m glad we’re starting to work our way up in the field. I’ll be running J.R. Todd tomorrow in the first round and I’ve never run him before so I’m excited to be running him. I’m hoping we can make some improvements and just have a good race car for tomorrow.”
Force is trying to muscle her way into the Top Fuel Mello Yello Top Ten but in one of the toughest groups of Top Fuel drivers that will take a Herculean effort. This weekend eleven different drivers earned qualifying bonus points. Seven-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher is the only driver to get qualifying bonus points in two different sessions. Drivers earn bonus points by posting one of the three quickest ETs in the qualifying session.
She will race J.R. Todd who has stepped in to fill the seat for Brandon Bernstein who is recovering from back surgery.
“We’ll take any points, not matter what. We earned two qualifying points and that’ll help us move up and get into the top ten hopefully,” said Force, who sits 77 points behind No. 10 Clay Millican.
“That’s really exciting getting that lane choice over J.R. Todd because that way my team can pick the lane that we really need to hopefully get our car down the track. I have never had it (lane choice) before, so I’m happy to have that for the first time.”
While Force is focused on improving with every run her confidence has grown with every race. Being able to talk with her father on a daily basis at the track has given the rookie driver a solid baseline for success.
“It’s fun to be able to be out here and celebrate Father’s Day with my dad and most of my family is out here so it’s exciting. Hopefully we can get a win for my dad and bring that home for him.”
Line No. 3 on First Day of Qualifying in Thunder Valley
Event: 13th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Location: Bristol Dragway, Bristol, Tenn.
Day/Date: Friday, June 14, 2013
Summit Racing Pro Stock pilot Jason Line had his hands full on the first day of qualifying at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, but he and the KB Racing crew applied necessary changes and moved up the ladder to settle into the provisional No. 3 spot by the end of the evening.
Line, the 2006 winner in Bristol, was among those in the first session who found the characteristics of the racing surface to be a challenge. His 6.700 at 206.42 mph was decent, but not quick enough to break into the top half of the field.
Paused momentarily at ninth after the first session, Line and his team scrutinized the situation, made careful adjustments, and rebounded with a strong 6.661 at 206.73 mph in the later session that was good for the No. 3 position and a bonus qualifying point for the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro.
“I knew we had some work to do after that first run, but we came back for the second session and made a run that was certainly better,” said Line. “I think we still have a ways to go, but that was progress. We just have to figure out how to negotiate the bumps as well as we should, and the Summit Racing team is fortunate because we have a great group of guys. I know they’ll figure it out, and we’ll be better tomorrow.”
JOHN FORCE TOPS JFR AT BRISTOL DRAGWAY
BRISTOL, TN – John Force and the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang took control on the first day of the 13th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Ford Dealers. The 15-time Funny Car champion and three-time Thunder Valley Nationals champion was the quickest Funny Car of the first session and wound up No. 6 at the end of Friday.
“I am gunning for a win on Father’s Day. Courtney (Force) and I are in right now. Robert (Hight) will be OK tomorrow. Those were pretty good numbers and it will be warmer tomorrow. I have no complaints. I watched Brittany (Force) run right down to the end with that 3.82. She stayed in the top half. We went up on the hill together and we were counting cars to see where she would wind up. We went across the tunnel and the fans mobbed us. It was awesome and she loved it. She stays in the top half I think she has a good shot at winning,” said Force.
“I have always had confidence in my Castrol GTX Mustang. (Crew chief) Mike Neff has a good handle on this car. He nearly won this race a few years ago and he was in the championship hunt that last two years. We are going to be there.”
Force could have been joined by Courtney in the top half of the provisional qualifying field but during his daughter’s second run Johnny Gray crossed the center line and stopped the youngest Force’s timing system. She was left with just her first qualifying time. She ended the first day of qualifying in the No. 11 position. Force ran a 4.134 ET at 309.56 mph in the first qualifying session and had the top speed of the round.
“We went out and ran a decent pass, running a 4.13 and going to the top half of the field. We had top speed on our first run and my dad had low ET,” said Force.
“We were really hoping to get around my dad to take that No. 1 spot from him. It was really awesome coming out and launching off the starting line and seeing header fire out my window. It’s always so exciting to have a night session, especially here in Bristol. This track has the name Thunder Valley for a reason, so it’s really nice to come here and put on a show for the fans while we’re doing what we love.”
“We were trying to make a low 4.0 pass on that final qualifying run, but unfortunately it spun the tires a little down track so we couldn’t get a good run out of it. We still stayed in the top twelve, which is important for us going into tomorrow. We’re going to try to move up the ladder tomorrow and get in the top half of the field, if not the No. 1 spot. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and seeing what out Traxxas Ford Mustang can do here in Bristol,” said Force.
The Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang driven by Robert Hight was on one of the quickest runs of the second session when it overpowered the track at the top end. Hight’s 1/8 mile ET of 3.303 would have easily been a low 4.0 second run.
“It was hauling on that last run. The conditions were great and (crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) put a strong tune up in this Auto Club Mustang. It just couldn’t hold on at the top end. We’ll make some good race day runs tomorrow and be ready to win this thing again,” said Hight, the 2011 Thunder Valley Nationals winner.
Hight will have to post a qualifying time tomorrow when qualifying resumes at 1 p.m. with Top Fuel and then Funny Car.
It was a banner day for the Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster tuned by Dean “Guido” Antonelli and Eric Lane. Brittany Force was racing at Bristol Dragway for the first time and she loved the feeling of being in the middle of Thunder Valley.
“First run we didn’t quite get down the track like we had hoped. The second run we definitely improved and stepped it up. We ended up running a 3.828 and that leaves us in the top half of the field, so I’m hoping we can hold that until tomorrow and through the weekend going into Sunday. I’d love to end up qualifying way up there. We haven’t quite made that yet, so I’m really going for that this weekend. I have a great team behind me and I know the guys can do it, so I’m really looking forward to tomorrow,” said Force.
In the second session Force blasted to the No. 3 position at the time of her run with a 3.828 second elapsed time. This was her second quickest time of the season behind her 3.822 at the season opening Winternationals.
“It’s great to come out here and run that 3.82, that was one of the best runs I’ve made so far competing this year. That’s exactly where we want to be and just have to keep moving in the right direction.”
Anderson Takes New Camaro Right up to the Top Half on Day One in Bristol
Event: 13th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Location: Bristol Dragway, Bristol, Tenn.
Day/Date: Friday, June 14, 2013
The first day of qualifying at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at picturesque Bristol Dragway proved to be a positive beginning for Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson as he debuted a new Chevrolet Camaro and grabbed the provisional No. 5 spot in the qualifying line-up.
In the warmer first session of the day, two-time Bristol winner Anderson wheeled his brand new sleek white Summit Racing Camaro down the 1/4 mile dragstrip for the first time in competition and clocked a 6.698 to move into the No. 7 position. Anderson’s time was solid, but the speed was way down – the 198.17 mph on the scoreboard was a shock for the driver who came into the event in possession of the track record for speed.
“The racetrack is rough and it just bounced over the speed clocks,” explained Anderson. “I didn’t lift early, I didn’t do anything goofy, it simply mis-tripped the speed clocks because of the way the front end was bouncing. But we made some adjustments to the shocks and a few other things before the second run, and it got a little bit better.”
In the second session, the track had cooled significantly, and with a firmer grasp of the racing surface, Anderson drove the Summit Racing Camaro to an improved 6.671 at a much more reasonable 206.57 mph.
“It’s still bouncing really bad, but that will be our project for tomorrow,” said Anderson. “The number one goal will be to try to make smoother runs on the racetrack. There are bumps out there that we didn’t handle very well today, so we have a little bit more work there. But the good news is that we definitely think we can run better.
“Overall, this wasn’t a first day out with this new Summit Racing Chevy Camaro. This is a better position than I’ve been in the last few weeks, and hopefully, there is plenty of room to grow. I think we’ll be happy campers.”
Bayne, Motorcraft/Quick Lane To Start 25th at Michigan
June 14, 2013
Trevor Bayne and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion took the conservative route in qualifying and will start 25th in Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Bayne improved on his top practice speed of 197.466 miles per hour when he took his turn at qualifying. Once he posted a speed of 198.429 mph on his first lap, assuring him of a starting spot, he coasted back to the garage, saving his car for when he needs it most – after the green flag drops on Sunday.
“We only ran one lap because we didn’t want to get the engine too hot,” team co-owner Len Wood said. “We were being careful because we knew we were in the race at that point.”
With 44 drivers entered for 43 starting spots, Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew had to outrun only one in qualifying to be assured of a starting spot. With the No. 44 car running just 184.393 mph before Bayne made his qualifying run, the pressure was off, as long as there were no issues on the qualifying lap.
“We know we have a good car for Sunday, so we wanted to be conservative,” Wood said.
Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew were thinking race strategy even as they prepared for Friday’s qualifying session. They spent a significant portion of Friday’s practice session scuffing tires for Sunday’s race, as scuffed tires are an advantage on relatively new, fast asphalt like that at Michigan.
Wood also pointed out that the Wood Brothers Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, which will make its 86th career start at Michigan on Sunday, should be able to capitalize on the track time and experience gained in a recent test session at the home track of the team’s long-time backer, Ford Motor Company.
“We spent the whole test working on race set-ups,” he said, adding that the team is looking for a strong run from the 2013 Ford Fusion it brought to Michigan, a chassis that will be run for the first time this season. “With these new Gen-6 cars, the speeds are up, and the Michigan asphalt is starting to get a little abrasive, so it ought to be a good race.”
The Quicken Loans 400 is set to get the green flag just after 1 p.m. on Sunday with TV coverage on TNT.
Despite a slight gearing problem that cost him speed on the second of his two timed laps, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing’s Josef Newgarden led the Honda IZOD IndyCar Series qualifying effort Friday at The Milwaukee Mile and will start from the eighth position in Saturday’s Milwaukee IndyFest.
Other Honda-powered drivers had various issues that hindered their qualifying efforts. Takuma Sato’s first lap was quick enough to contend for the pole, but he slid wide in Turn Three on his second lap and was fortunate not to brush the wall, dropping him down the order. He will start the ABC Building Supply A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara from 15th. James Jakes was another driver to have a “moment” early in his qualifying run, but recovered to qualify 12th.
Sam Schmidt Motorsports teammates Simon Pagenaud and Tristan Vautier also had gearing issues that saw them hitting the rev limiter during their runs, but qualified 9th and 10th, respectively. Several drivers battled poor handling during their runs, including Dario Franchitti and Graham Rahal.
Saturday’s 250-lap race, the third oval race of 2013, starts at 3:30 p.m. with live network television coverage on the NBC Sports Network.
Josef Newgarden (#67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda Dallara) qualified 8th, his second consecutive top-eight qualifying result of 2013: “I think we could’ve run a little bit better. We hit the ‘hard limiter’ [limiting maximum engine rpms] in Turn One and that really drags you down. But we’ve got a really good handling car for tomorrow, and that’s when it counts. We tuned it and made it better from our starting package, which was already good. So we should be really strong for the race.”
