Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force holds on to No. 1 spot for NHRA SpringNationals in Houston

BAYTOWN, TX – First mission complete.  Courtney Force kept her Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS at the top of the Funny Car time charts, earning the coveted No. 1 qualifying spot for Sunday’s NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway – the fifth stop on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

Force stood on a time of 3.851 seconds (tying her third quickest time of her career) at 330.23 mph she set Friday evening to earn the No. 1 spot. Saturday’s two sessions were run under significantly different track and weather conditions she expects to face Sunday.

However, she turned in a time of 3.897 at 323.89 mph in her final qualifying attempt Saturday afternoon – in the heat of the day. Conditions for Sunday’s elimination rounds are expected to be cooler than Saturday’s qualifying attempts.

“We made a killer run like we did in Q2, when the conditions were prime, but I was more concerned with what we would do today based on what we expect for tomorrow,” said Force, whose No. 1 qualifying spot is her second consecutive and 12th of her career. “I feel good that we’re able to get down in the heat – we’re just not sure what it’s going to do tomorrow. I heard it might cool off, that there may be a cold front coming. But overall, it’s great. I feel like we’ve got a consistent race car.”

Force’s next mission is winning her first-round matchup. Force advanced to the finals of the season-opener at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., in February, but hasn’t won a first round since then, despite qualifying no worse than fourth. Her first-round matchup Sunday is against Jeff Diehl, whom she has faced only twice in her career. They split their matchups, both held last season. Diehl did not make a full run during qualifying and holds the No. 16 position, officially at 11.833 at 68.24 mph.

“We’ve been No. 1 qualifier, we’ve qualified well, but we’ve just stumbled over our two feet trying to get through the first round,” said Force, whose first-round matchup will be her 250th in Funny Car competition. “I think it’s just our own fault of pushing the car too hard instead of giving it a solid race day setup. Coming from the No. 1 qualifying spot, we should play it a little more safe in the first round.

“I feel like we’ve been just so excited about how our car is running, that we’re expecting a lot more out of it. We’ve got a great race car – you’ve seen it go down the track – but we need to be a little more consistent, and seeing what we’ve done makes me feel a lot better going into tomorrow.”

Force is the defending champion of the SpringNationals – last year’s race victory was her most recent in competition – and having set both ends of the track record Friday, she has added confidence heading into Sunday’s race.

“It definitely feels good to do well at a track that we won at last year,” said Force, fifth in Funny Car points standings. “To be the No. 1 qualifier, it feels great for this Advance Auto Parts team and the Chevy Camaro. Luckily, it’s been a little more consistent than it’s been in past races, so that makes me feel more comfortable going into the race.”

Elimination rounds for Sunday’s NHRA Spring Nationals begin at noon ET/11 a.m. CT, with television coverage on Fox Sports 1 starting at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT.

Monster Energy driver Brittany Force happy with No. 5 qualifying effort for NHRA SpringNationals

BAYTOWN, TX – Brittany Force heads into Sunday’s NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway – the fifth stop on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule – the No. 5 qualifier in the Top Fuel category.

Force turned in a time of 3.743 seconds at 327.27 mph – both best-career runs at the track – in her Monster Energy dragster, in one of two complete qualifying runs she made. She also made a pass of 3.808 at 323.27 mph in her final run, though she was relegated from fourth to fifth by Steve Torrence.

All this in a car that is only in its second race; the initial event for the new car came earlier this month at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“We’re still trying to get in sync with the new car that we built, and we’re still trying to find the right tuneup,” said Force, tied with Torrence for fifth in Top Fuel points standings. “We’re still trying to figure things out, get in the right groove, but we had two decent runs down the track, and that’s all we need going into tomorrow. We would have liked to run all four well, but we’re still playing with things in order to get it to run.”

Force faces No. 12 qualifier Troy Coughlin Jr. in the first round. Coughlin’s best run was 3.862 at 316.82 mph. The matchup will be the first between the two.

One key event in Sunday’s race will be the weather. While Saturday’s attempts were held in the heat of the day, Sunday’s conditions will be cooler. That means Sunday’s elimination rounds could be toss-ups and setups will be determined shortly before the runs.

“(No.) 5 is a great position to be in; we’re totally good with that,” said Force, still seeking her first victory of 2017. “Houston is definitely a tough event, with it being the first hot race of the season. The heat’s tough on everybody. But either way, I feel good.”

Elimination rounds for Sunday’s NHRA Spring Nationals begin at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central, with television coverage on Fox Sports 1 starting at 6 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Central.

Sixteen-time Funny Car champion John Force: ‘I feel right’

BAYTOWN, TX – After 16 championships and 148 victories in a glorious career, PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Funny Car driver John Force knows when things are right.

After Saturday’s two qualifying sessions for the NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway, things are right.

Force is qualified in the No. 3 spot for Sunday’s final eliminations after a solid pass of 3.890 seconds at 325.53 mph in the second session – an elapsed time that broke the track record (but was topped by daughter and teammate Courtney Force on her next pass).

Force struggled during Saturday’s two sessions – but was able to get in the zone.

“Me personally, I was kind of struggling,” Force said. “Even though I didn’t get down the race track on the last run, I got my stuff together. It’s just a feeling that your body gets, and you get out of whack.

“I took a nice little vacation for a week with my family and my grandkids and my children. I came back and worked out every day – maybe I worked out too much. I was just off my game.”

Force doesn’t stay off his game long, and he’ll be primed for Sunday’s eliminations. He begins race day against No. 14 qualifier Del Worsham, who made a top lap of 4.139 seconds at 267.00 mph.

“We ran an .89 last night,” Force said. “We ended up third, and we’ll see where we go tomorrow. I’m having a good weekend. I’ve got to thank PEAK Motor Oil, Antifreeze, Coolant. We had a big show at the AAA Texas stage today, too. I don’t know who I race tomorrow – I don’t care. I feel right.

“(Amanda Busick) from FOX keeps getting on me. They knocked Rocky out, and he keeps coming back. She said, ‘Those are movies.’ I said, ‘I live by movies. I make movies every day out here.’ Rocky came back, Fast and Furious came back. It’s all a matter of how bad you want to come back.”

Force sits third in the Funny Car standings after four races, and he’s earned one victory this season – at Gainesville for career win No. 148.

“I’m not too far off,” Force said. “I won in Gainesville. We’re learning a lot about John Force Racing. We have some new teams, and I’m having a great time with (crew chief) Mike Neff and (co-crew chiefs Jon) Schaffer and (Jason) McCulloch. (Crew chief) Jimmy Prock and (co-crew chief Chris) Cunningham with Robert (Hight) are great. You look at what (crew chief) Danny (Hood) and (co-crew chief) Ronnie Thompson are doing – low ET today (for Courtney Force). One of our cars is low ET, that’s what matters. Brittany (Force) with (Crew chief) Brian Husen ended up fifth.

“My kids are learning the trade. I learn myself at 67 years old every day, and I’m going to keep doing it because I do it well.”

Elimination rounds for Sunday’s NHRA Spring Nationals begin at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central, with television coverage on Fox Sports 1 starting at 6 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Central.

2017 begins anew in Houston for AAA Texas Funny Car driver Robert Hight

BAYTOWN, TX – Even though the NHRA SpringNationals is the fifth race of the 2017 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, AAA Texas Funny Car driver Robert Hight feels like the season started Saturday at Royal Purple Raceway.

Hight made two terrific runs during the final two qualifying sessions, snaring the No. 4 for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Hight hasn’t started the season like he wanted, and John Force Racing swapped his and John Force’s Funny Car teams three races ago. Crew chief Jimmy Prock and co-crew chief Chris Cunningham continue to work on development of Hight’s Chevrolet Camaro SS, and Saturday’s runs were proof the team is moving in the right direction.

“We’ve got to put what’s happened this year behind us,” Hight said. “We’ve got to move forward with the AAA Texas team. We’ve got a good car, a good team, and I’m excited. We’ve won here before, and I like that we’re going three in a row. After Vegas and two weekends off, it’s been a long time. I want to get out here and get racing, get in the swing of things.

“I’m going to stay on the road with the team from Charlotte to Atlanta and get in the groove of racing. It doesn’t seem like the season’s started because it’s been such a slow start to the calendar, and our performance hadn’t been great. We’re ready to kick it off right now.”

After smoking the tires in Friday’s two sessions, Hight put down a pass of 3.924 seconds at 327.11 mph in Q3, and then went even quicker in the final session: 3.894 at 329.67 mph. He was best among the 14 Funny Cars in Q4 and second-best in Q3.

“Making two runs like this on Saturday gives you a lot of confidence going into Sunday,” Hight said. “Tomorrow’s a new ballgame. It’s going to be cool, it’s going to be dry and more than likely, that 3.85 track record will not be around at the end of the day.”

Hight will face No. 13 qualifier Jim Campbell in the first round Sunday. Campbell made a top pass of 4.126 seconds at 299.73 mph.

“We tested some new things in (Las) Vegas and even had some new stuff back at the shop this week that we came up with,” Hight said. “We came in here never running a lot of this stuff. For Jimmy Prock to get a handle on it this quick is pretty amazing. We just overpowered the track yesterday.

“He was confident. He said, ‘We’re going to get there, and when we do, it’s going to be better.’ And he says there’s more left in it, too.”

Elimination rounds for Sunday’s NHRA Spring Nationals begin at noon Eastern/11 a.m. Central, with television coverage on Fox Sports 1 starting at 6 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Central.