Defending Vegas fall race winner John Force hopes to deliver second straight victory

Published October 28, 2017

LAS VEGAS – Sixteen-time NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion John Force is confident he can compete for a second consecutive victory in the NHRA Nationals this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Force, who has four victories in the fall race at Las Vegas and six overall, won the fall race last year by defeating daughter Courtney Force in the finals. He showed strong in this year’s spring race as well, making it to the semifinals in the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS.

“It’s a great race track,” said Force, who holds the track speed record for a Funny Car at 331.94 mph, set in qualifying in last year’s Fall race. “Bruton Smith built a great place to race. And who doesn’t like Las Vegas? Locking up a championship in Vegas is really exciting. I don’t believe it will get done there in any category; I think it will take until Pomona. We’re going to come in with 100 percent focus; our teams will stand tall.”

With the 2017 season entering its final stages, Vegas would be the perfect place for Force to show up in winner’s circle. He last won in March in the Gatornationals at Gainesville, also the site of his only No. 1 qualifying effort of the year.

He sits sixth in the championship, with Vegas and the season-ending Auto Club Finals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., the last two races of the year. That means there’s still plenty of time to move up in the points standings, and mathematically Force still has a chance for a 17th title.

But he isn’t the only John Force Racing driver hoping for a strong performance this weekend. As the team owner, two of his other cars could leave Vegas close to or with the championship lead. Robert Hight, in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS, is second in points, while Courtney Force, driving the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS, is third in the standings. Force’s other daughter, Brittany Force, is second in Top Fuel in the Monster Energy dragster.

“With two races left in the Countdown, I’ve got some cars in the hunt – Robert second, Courtney right behind him, and I still have a shot in Funny Car, and Brittany and Monster Energy have a shot in Top Fuel, so we’re coming into Vegas positioned well,” Force said. “What will be will be. It won’t be for a lack of money, lack of heart, or lack of work ethic.

“We’ve turned the corner at John Force Racing, with Robert holding both ends of the national records, Courtney’s got one of the fastest cars on the circuit, and John Force Racing is overdue for a championship. We’re going to try to get it done.”

The NHRA Nationals begins with a pair of qualifying sessions at 2:30 and 5 p.m. Pacific on Friday, and two sessions at 2 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Elimination rounds begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Fox Sports 1 will provide live television coverage of Friday’s qualifying starting at 6 p.m. Eastern, with Saturday’s qualifying scheduled for a one-hour show at 3 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. Elimination rounds will be shown live starting at 4 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.

Winner of two Countdown races, Monster Energy driver Brittany Force takes title battle to Las Vegas

– Fresh of her third victory of the season and her second in the Countdown to the Championship, Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster driver Brittany Force takes the battle for the 2017 title to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.

Force sits second in the Top Fuel points standings after her victory in Dallas, just 57 points out of the lead. She’s had a stellar Countdown thus far, winning two of the four races and winning at least one round in all four events.

Two races remain in the 2017 season, Vegas and Pomona. With more than 300 points available in the next two events, Force has ample opportunity to make up her 57-point deficit.

“I’m ready to get to Vegas,” Force said. “With two races left to go, we have a great shot at going after the title. I’m proud with the run the Monster team has had this year, and we’re going to go after it.”

Force won in Epping, N.H., earlier this season, and then won in the Countdown’s second race, in Reading, Pa. She and John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight doubled-up in Dallas, and she hopes to keep the momentum going with a successful race in Vegas.

“I like Vegas,” Force said. “We get to race there twice a year, and I’ve raced there in Super Comp, A-Fuel. I love the track. It’s a new race track, a beautiful facility, a long shutoff area. It’s just a great track, and I love racing there.”

The fight for the 2017 title may bring added pressure to Force and her team, but they’ll keep
the approach simple in the next two races.

“I just can only go at it one round at a time,” Force said. “Yes, there’s the pressure involved in a championship, but there’s also excitement and motivation of winning a championship that’s going to push you and your whole team to do the best job you can. We use it as motivation.

“But, really, I just take it one step at a time, one run at a time. When it comes down to race day, it’s the same thing.”

Two qualifying runs are scheduled for Friday (2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific) and Saturday (2 and 4:30 p.m.). Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. Pacific on Sunday.

Fox Sports 1 will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 3 p.m. Pacific on Friday and one hour of qualifying coverage at noon on Sunday. FS1 will have three hours of live finals coverage at 1 p.m. Pacific on Sunday.

Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force still seeking title as NHRA heads to Vegas for penultimate race

– It’s crunch time for Courtney Force and the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team.

With two races remaining on the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series calendar, Force and team need a strong result in the penultimate race of the season and the Countdown to the Championship this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway if they want a shot at being crowned champions next month.

Force is currently third in Funny Car points standings, still with a realistic chance at winning the title. She sits 171 points out of the lead and 147 points behind teammate Robert Hight, second in the standings. Sixth heading into the Countdown, Force used back-to-back finals appearances in Concord, N.C., and Reading, Pa., to leapfrog into third, where she has stood after the previous three events.

But in the last race, the AAA Texas FallNationals at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas, Force’s car shut off without warning in her opening-round matchup, costing her a chance to gain ground.

“We’re going to have to turn this thing around at Vegas,” Force said. “We’ve got a good race car and need to be on it when we get there. Hopefully we can continue to go rounds, because this championship isn’t over yet. We know there’s points-and-a-half when we get to Pomona, so we’ll see what we can do.”

The NHRA Nationals would be the perfect time for Force’s first victory of 2017 and first in Las Vegas. She has three runner-up finishes at the track, including last year’s race when she raced in the finals against her father, 16-time Funny Car champion John Force.

In April’s race, the first of two at Las Vegas this season, Force recorded a No. 1 qualifying effort, the first of four in succession.

Force will continue to drive the special pink livery, working with Young Survival Coalition in an effort to bring about awareness of breast cancer. She also competed in the pink car earlier this month Texas.

The NHRA Nationals begins with a pair of qualifying sessions at 2:30 and 5 p.m. Pacific on Friday, and two sessions at 2 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Elimination rounds begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Auto Club Chevrolet driver Robert Hight relishes battling for 2017 Funny Car championship

– Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight is relishing the battle for the 2017 Funny Car championship with his John Force Racing team.

Rather than worrying about the pressure of contending for a title, Hight is enjoying being in the position to fight for a championship. Hight, winner of the most recent race on the NHRA tour, sits in second place in the standings, a mere 24 points out of the lead.

Hight joins JFR teammate Brittany Force in battling for a title, as she is also in second in the Top Fuel standings.

“We haven’t been in this position – any of our teams – in the last two years: Going down to the last two races with a shot at winning the championship,” Hight said. “Brittany and I are legitimate contenders. I can remember going to Las Vegas last year, and you go to the SEMA show, and you’re bummed out because you meet all these fans, and they know that you’re not in the hunt and you’ve been struggling.

“We’ve turned it around, so it’s a lot of pride. We need to make the most of this. We’re here, so we’ve got to close the deal.”

Hight, winner of four races and eight No. 1 qualifiers in 2017, isn’t bothered by the pressure, either. He and crew chief Jimmy Prock own the national record for elapsed time (3.987 seconds) and speed (339.87 mph), so they know they have a fast race car.

“I’m not putting any extra pressure on myself,” Hight said. “When you have confidence in your car and you know you’ve got the best car out there, that helps you and takes away pressure. It’s not like we’re just squeaking by qualifying or anything else. If we go out there and do what we know how to do, we’re going to win.”

Hight is also enjoying another title battle, as his beloved Los Angeles Dodgers are in the World Series, chasing the Major League Baseball championship.

“It’s kind of cool,” Hight said. “It’s a big deal. It’s been 29 years since the Dodgers have been in the World Series, and I’m a huge Dodger fan. To be in the hunt at the same time is very, very cool. But I’m really focused on what we have to do. The Dodgers are entertainment for me, and what I’m doing is business.”

Two qualifying runs are scheduled for Friday (2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific) and Saturday (2 and 4:30 p.m.). Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. Pacific on Sunday.

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