Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet driver Courtney Force surges to Sonoma Nationals semis
All JFR Teams Showing Great Form Headed to Seattle
SONOMA, CA – Courtney Force took the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car to the NHRA Sonoma 
Nationals semifinals on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, completing a solid weekend for Force and her John Force Racing team.
“It was a big turnaround weekend going to the semifinals for our Advance Auto Chevrolet team,” Force said. “I think we definitely learned some stuff about our cars this weekend. To go out there and qualify in the No. 4 spot, have a little bit of consistency, run a 3.90 in the first round – that was a killer run for us.”
Force reached the semis for the first time in five races, solidifying her spot in the top six of the Funny Car points standings. The top 10 qualify for the Countdown to the Championship, which begins in four races, after the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.
Force made a blistering pass in the first round, 3.901 at 331.69 mph, to knock out Jim Campbell. Her second-round run wasn’t as quick, though it was much more exciting.
Against Tommy Johnson Jr., both cars went up in tire smoke, and both drivers tried to ease back in the throttle and gain traction.
Force ended up being the best, and her run of 6.038 seconds at 219.54 mph was enough to get past Johnson’s 7.044-second run at 135.02 mph.
“In the second round I had to pedal my car to get around him and get that win,” Force said. “It’s pretty exciting. The car wasn’t performing quite like we wanted and we still managed to hang on and get the win.
“We had the early part figured out, that we didn’t in the second round, but down track it started spinning the tires. So we fixed one problem and it kind of created another.”
Force then raced Tin Wilkerson on the semifinals, but as Wilkerson sped to a 4.085-second run at 287.05 mph, she slowed to a pass of 5.044 seconds at 161.85 mph.
Still, Force left with a smile on her face, ready to race in the NHRA Northwest Nationals next weekend at Pacific Raceways near Seattle.
“I’m really thrilled because we had Big Machine Records on board this weekend and we were really excited to be able to show them what we do out here,” Force said. “To have a successful weekend, it wasn’t a bad time out here in Sonoma. Obviously, I wished we had gotten the win and I thought we had the car that could do it this weekend but Wilkerson got around us.”
Momentum building for John Force, PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Funny Car team after solid performance in Sonoma
– The momentum continues to build for John Force and his PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team. And it’s the right time of the year.
With two races left before the biggest race of the year – the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis – and three races before the start of the Countdown to the Championship, Force may be peaking at the right time.
At the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Nationals, Force qualified No. 2 with the fastest speed in his glorious career (337.16 mph). On race day, he won his first-round matchup with Jeff Diehl before falling in the second round to eventual winner J.R. Todd.
“We learned how to get fast,” Force said. “When we were up high in Denver, we had out-run them for three years – won twice and runner-up once. But I thought, ‘Let’s get down to sea level.’ Now, it’s only a race, but it’s showing that we found something. What that is, I don’t know yet. They won’t tell me.”
John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight left Sonoma with the national speed record, 339.87 mph, driving the Auto Club of Southern California Chevy with a special California Highway Patrol-paint scheme.
“You never want to out-run the Highway Patrol,” Force joked. “That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.”
Force started race day with a terrific run of 3.884 seconds at 330.88 mph to beat Diehl’s 4.168-second pass at 287.60 mph.
In the second round, Todd inched away with a winning pass of 3.973 seconds at 324.90 mph, while Force trailed with a 4.030-second run at 323.50 mph.
Force then watched daughters Brittany and Courtney move to the semifinals, with Brittany reaching the Top Fuel semis and Courtney the Funny Car semis.
“We had two cars in the semis: The Monster Energy car was in the semis with Brittany and so was the Advance Auto Parts car with Courtney,” Force said. “We didn’t get the win, but we’re turning the corner. I’m really excited about Brittany and what she’s doing. Her reaction times and everything are starting to come around.”
The three-race Western Swing concludes with the NHRA Northwest Nationals next weekend at Pacific Raceways near Seattle.
Auto Club driver Robert Hight leaves Sonoma withninth top speed of season, quarterfinals appearance
– Robert Hight came away with his ninth fastest event speed of the season, the fastest speed in NHRA history, his third Funny Car No. 1 qualifier of the season and a quarterfinal finish in the Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway, the latest stop on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.
Hight was coming off a victory at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo. and was seeking to becoming only the second driver in Funny Car history to sweep the annual Western Swing. The Alturas, Calif., native won his first-round matchup against No. 16 Tim Gibbons before falling to No. 8 Tim Wilkerson in the second round here.
Hight’s matchup against Gibbons showcased yet again what a strong package the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS team has put together. Hight ripped off a pass of 3.853 seconds at 335.23 mph, the sixth-fastest pass in his career, to advance and face Wilkerson for the 39th time in his career.
The matchup became a pedalfest. Hight got the jump on the light and led at 60 feet before smoking the tires. He pedaled, with Wilkerson running away before striking his tires near the top end. Wilkerson’s pass was 4.316 seconds at 245.40, while Hight crossed the line at 4.999 seconds at 157.83 mph.
“In the first round, it was pretty amazing with low E.T. and speed, and I really thought we were on our way again,” Hight said. “But we just missed the starting line the second run. It just wasn’t anywhere near as good as we thought it was and it just got the tire hot and smoked the tires. If we had backed it off enough we would still be out there.
Still, Hight found positives in the weekend, including the record 339.87 mph pass (career-best 3.807 seconds) and nearly eclipsing the 3.7-second threshold in the second round of qualifying.
“We know that 3.7 seconds is out there, and I think we could see it this year,” Hight said. “I want to be the first driver to do it.
“We just have to quit beating ourselves. We have to race better. We have the performance. All our Funny Cars and our dragster, we have everything we need, we just have to manage it better and race smarter. You can see our performance in qualifying and the big runs that we have put up, we are there. We just have to do a better job. The good thing is that we only have a couple of days to shake this off, get to Seattle, and try to get back in the winner’s circle.”
The NHRA Northwest Nationals, the 16th round of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, is scheduled for Aug. 4-6 at Pacific Raceways outside Seattle.
Brittany Force takes Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster to Sonoma Nationals semifinals
– Brittany Force advanced to the semifinals for the fifth time in the last seven NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series races, moving her inside the top five of the Top Fuel points standings following Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.
Force took the Monster Energy dragster to a pair of elimination round wins before falling in the semis to points leader Steve Torrence, the eventual winner. It made up for a tough qualifying effort Saturday, in which she failed to make a full pass. Still, her No. 2 qualifying effort put her in position to vie for the victory at Sonoma, one of her favorite tracks and the second of three races on the annual Western Swing.
Force outran No. 15 Steven Chrisman in the opening round, charging down the track at a session-best 3.705 seconds at a track record 331.61 mph to set up a quarterfinals matchup against No. 7 Shawn Langdon. The two both ran into trouble, but Force pedaled the car and crossed the finish line in 4.071 seconds at 264.75 mph with Langdon trailing close behind.
That put her up against No. 6 Torrence, who had no major problems on race day. He ran 3.753 seconds at 329.02 mph in the semis, while Force ran 3.882 seconds at 315.27 mph, fuel spilling out the left side of her car.
Still, she leapfrogged veteran Doug Kalitta in the standings, moving to fifth, two points ahead of Kalitta. Ironically, Force took the track speed record away from Kalitta with her first-round pass.
“To have a day like that and then have low ET of the session … I thought we were going to carry it all through the day,” Force said. “But we made a semifinal appearance, which is what we did last weekend too. So that’s pretty good, but the plan for next week in Seattle is to take it off the trailer and end up in the winner’s circle.”
The NHRA Northwest Nationals, the 16th round of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, is scheduled for Aug. 4-6 at Pacific Raceways outside Seattle.
