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Mile-Hight Nationals: Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight storms to Denver victory
MORRISON, CO – Robert Hight broke through in a big way on Sunday at Bandimere Speedway, storming to a 
victory in the Mile-High Nationals.
The Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS driver has been fast during the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, earning two No. 1 qualifiers and racing to two final rounds. But he was still looking for his first victory of the season – until Sunday.
Hight beat Todd Simpson, Jack Beckman, Cruz Pedregon and Tommy Johnson Jr. to earn his 38th career win, his fourth at Denver and his first of 2017.
“It’s been awhile,” Hight said. “I think we’re back.”
Hight also extended an impressive streak, as he’s now won at least one race in each of his 13 seasons as a Funny Car driver. The Denver victory also locked up a spot in the Traxxas Nitro Shootout, a special race held during the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.
Defending Denver winner John Force gunning for fourth consecutive final at Bandimere
DENVER – PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil driver John Force hopes to keep an impressive streak going in the Mile-
High Nationals this weekend at Bandimere Speedway.
The Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car driver has been to three consecutive final rounds in Denver, winning last year by beating daughter Courtney Force in the final.
“Any time you can get to a final, it’s like winning the race – you just don’t get the trophy,” Force said. “But you got the exposure. We want to come back and repeat. Hope I can have two cars in the final again.”
The 2016 win gave John Force a total of seven victories at Denver, the most among Funny Car drivers and tied for most among the professional classes.
Robert Hight takes Auto Club Chevy to Norwalk final round
NORWALK, OH – Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight put together another strong performance 
with his Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, but fell short of his first victory of 2017 in the final round of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on Sunday at Summit Motorsports Park.
Hight had the quickest car in two of the first three rounds of eliminations, carrying over a steady performance from qualifying, where he ended up with the second-quickest elapsed time.
But an issue with the clutch caused Hight’s Auto Club car to shake and get sideways in the final round, and he had to lift the throttle before falling short of what would have been his first victory of the season and first at Norwalk.
Robert Hight’s ‘fun run’ leads strong JFR contingent on Bristol’s first qualifying day
Courtney #3, John #4 and Brittany in at #14
BRISTOL, TN – Robert Hight led a strong trio of John Force Racing Funny Cars in Friday’s two qualifying sessions 
for the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, the 11th of 24 races on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit.
Hight took the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS to a run of 3.918 seconds at 324.28 mph for the No. 2 qualifying spot, second only to Tim Wilkerson’s top run of 3.895 seconds at 328.22 mph. Like most of his Funny Car competitors, Hight’s pass came in the second session, negating a first-round pass which saw him overpower the track before the midpoint of the drag strip.
“That was a good run, especially based on the fact that when you don’t go down the track on the first run, it kind of cripples you on the second run,” Hight said. “If we had made a solid first run, we would have tried to get after it more. But we did what we had to do. I thought when I ran it, we’d be top five. But we ended up No. 2, so good job to the Auto Club team.
Robert Hight becomes only 13th NHRA driver to record 50 No. 1 qualifiers
EPPING, NH – Robert Hight’s pass of 3.822 seconds at 334.65 mph in the third round of qualifying Saturday at New 
England Dragway put him in elite company, as only the 13th driver to record at least 50 No. 1 qualifiers in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
Hight had been in a tie for 13th overall with Angelle Sampey, having most recently setting the quickest qualifying time last year at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. Now, nearly eight months later, Hight reached the half-century mark.
His first No. 1 came March 19, 2005, in only his third career NHRA race, at Gainesville Raceway. He advanced that day to the second round before dropping a matchup against Whit Bazemore.
Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight joins 338 mph club, races to Topeka semifinals
John out in Round 1, Courtney and Brittany in round 2
TOPEKA, KS – Robert Hight and his Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car keep getting 
faster and faster.
Hight raised his career-best speed at the Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals on Sunday at Heartland Park Topeka. But he fell short of the ultimate goal of winning the race after smoking the tires in the semifinals.
“We are going rounds, we are running so good,” Hight said. “Anything less than a final round, you feel like you failed. We are going rounds, (I’m) driving all right. This was kind of a different set of circumstances with the conditions we had this weekend, it was pretty amazing. We just gotta put four together.”
