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Monster Energy driver Brittany Force claims No. 2 qualifying position for Norwalk

Robert #2, John #3, Courtney DNQ

NORWALK, OH – Brittany Force put her fellow NHRA Top Fuel competitors on alert Saturday for tomorrow’s Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

The driver of the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster led both qualifying sessions Saturday with two solid passes, and will stand on Friday’s qualifying effort of 3.714 seconds – a career-best elapsed time at the track – at 327.66 mph. That put her No. 2, which she held throughout Saturday’s two sessions.

But most importantly, she achieved consistent passes in weather conditions expected to be similar on Sunday. Her third-round pass of 3.770 seconds at 325.14 mph was the second-quickest Top Fuel pass of any driver of the day, topped only by her slightly quicker pass in the final round, 3.767 seconds at 325.85.

And if Saturday’s passes – one held in the early afternoon, one in the mid-afternoon – translate into Sunday, she could be tough to beat.

“Honestly, it’s been a great weekend for us so far,” said Force, who will face No. 15 and Ohioan Pat Dakin in the opening round of Sunday’s Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.

“We’ve had three of the best runs down the race track so far, out of an 18-car field. We were best of the session both runs Saturday. To get additional points that way is outstanding. Going into race day tomorrow, I think we have a consistent race car. That’s really important.

“I’ve got a great team behind me, with (consultant) Alan Johnson and (crew chief) Brian Husen and the rest of the guys. We’re ready to take on tomorrow.”

One extra reason to be motivated – Force opened this current four-race swing with a victory, at Epping, N.H. And where did she start? No. 2.

“No. 2 is an awesome place to be,” Force said. “That’s exactly where we want to be heading into tomorrow. We’re hoping we can end up where we did in Epping. We won the first in the swing, and we hope we can end up in the winner’s circle to end the swing. That’s what we’re going for.”

Auto Club driver Robert Hight ready to win at Norwalk

– Auto Club of Southern California Funny Car driver Robert Hight is fired up for final eliminations for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on Sunday at Summit Racing Motorsports Park.

Hight secured the No. 2 qualifying spot and was the quickest Funny Car in the final qualifying session, giving him confidence in his pursuit of his first victory in Norwalk.

“I have a real good feeling about tomorrow,” Hight said. “I’m excited. I’ve never won Norwalk, but I’m going to tomorrow.”

Hight’s best pass was 3.870 seconds at a track-record 334.65 mph, run in the Friday night session. After breaking traction in Q3, Hight then earned three bonus points for running the quickest time in the final session: 3.921 seconds at 328.86 mph.

“That’s huge going into Sunday,” Hight said. “You don’t want to not go down the track two runs on Saturday that are going to be representative runs for Sunday. We were real, real close the first run to going, and it was going to be quick today.”

Crew chief Jimmy Prock was fine with smoking the tires in the third qualifying session, helping learn the track for Sunday’s race.

“Actually, Jimmy said, ‘I’m glad we smoked the tires first run today because we won’t try that tomorrow. We know our threshold and what our limit is,’” Hight said. “We went up there in Q4, got three points and made a great run. It gives you confidence going into Sunday.”

Hight will start eliminations against No. 15 qualifier Jim Campbell, who made a best pass of 4.092 seconds at 310.91 mph.

Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday. Fox Sports 1 plans three hours of finals coverage at 6 p.m. Eastern Sunday.

16-time Funny Car champ John Force takes PEAK Chevrolet to No. 3 for Summit Racing Equipment Nationals

– John Force earned his best NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying effort since the Four-Wide Nationals, and will start No. 3 for Sunday’s Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park.

Force, driving the PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS, earned a best pass in Friday’s second session – at 3.911 seconds at 319.98 mph, though a mechanical issue caused an eruption and damage to the car.

He still made two strong passes Saturday in spite of considerably warmer temperatures, which bodes well as Sunday’s race will also be held in the same time frame in similar weather conditions.

Force’s best pass Saturday came in the fourth and final round, when he ran 4.075 seconds at 293.28 mph, just a thousandth of a second better than his third-round pass. Still, No. 3 is a good position for Force.

In 82 previous race qualifying No. 3, he has won 70 of his first-round matchups, and earned 24 victories in 35 finals appearances.

He’ll face No. 14 Dale Creasy Jr. in the opening round of eliminations. Creasy’s best pass was 4.076 seconds at 306.46 mph.

Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday. Fox Sports 1 plans broadcast three hours of finals coverage at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Courtney Force, Advance Auto Parts team ready to bounce back after DNQ in Norwalk

– Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force vowed to bounce back after failing to qualify for this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals for the first time in her professional career.

Force had qualified for the first 130 races of her Funny Car career before coming short of the top 16 for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on Saturday at Summit Motorsports Park.

“I guess it was a great run for my team, not having any DNQs until this weekend,” Force said. “We’re bummed out. Obviously, we expected better out of our car. We even just tried to get any sort of decent run down there, but we’ve really struggled with the track and the bumps in the lanes here for some reason.

“But it’s our own fault for not getting it figured out and not getting it in the field. I tried to pedal it down there in the last run, but it wasn’t good enough to get the car in the field. We’re going to have to turn our focus to Chicago and cheer on our teammates to a win tomorrow.”

Force had qualified in the top four in all 11 races of the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series before Norwalk. Plus, she raced to two final rounds this season, including in Epping, N.H., earlier this month.

But Force and her team struggled in Norwalk. After overpowering the track in Friday’s night qualifying session, the team was determined to simply get down the track in the two sessions Saturday. But the best Force could run was 4.627 seconds at 176.24 mph in Q3. She had to pedal the Chevrolet Camaro SS in the final session but fell short with a 5.201-second pass at 194.41 mph.

Force and her team now turn their attention to the Fallen Patriots Route 66 NHRA Nationals on July 7-9 at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill.

“We’re going to learn what’s changed in these last few races, what’s killing our consistency,” Force said. “We’re going to have to get it figured out. I stand by my team, and we’re in this together through the highs and the lows. We’re definitely at a low right now, but we’re excited to get to Chicago. I’d like to get this DNQ out of the way, move on, find the positive and turn this season around from here on out.”

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