Auto Club driver Robert Hight on title battle: ‘Focus on the process, not the outcome’

Published November 9, 2017

POMONA, CA – It’s all come down to this. Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight carries a 15-point lead in the Funny Car standings into the final race of the 2017 NHRA season, the Auto Club Finals this weekend at Auto Club Raceway.

If he finishes the weekend with the lead, Hight will have earned the Funny Car championship, the second in his terrific career. But he and his John Force Racing team know that have to earn it, as 15 points can be made up in one round of racing.

“The way I look at a 15-point lead is, we just have to go further than (second-place Ron) Capps at Pomona,” Hight said. “No matter what, we need to go one round further than him, or we both lose in the same round, and it’s over.

“But our goal going into Pomona is to win that race, go in there and go four rounds, and cap off a championship with a huge win at our home track in front of our sponsors, at the Auto Club Finals. That’s what we’re going to do.”

Hight took over the points lead with a second-round victory in Las Vegas on Oct. 29, but his Countdown to the Championship has anchored his title run. In five races of the six-race Countdown, Hight has two victories, two semifinal finishes and three No. 1 qualifiers.

Now, the title race could come down to a winner-take-all-scenario. Thirty points are awarded for each round win at this race, 10 more than usual. Plus, more points are available through qualifying. That all adds up to a precarious lead for Hight.

But Hight is sustained by a quote from Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill, whose team recently competed in a tough seven-game World Series with the Houston Astros. Hight, a lifelong Dodgers fan, knows the pressure is there in the race for the championship, but he also knows he and his team have to channel it.

“I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous (at Vegas), but you have to learn how to channel that pressure and that energy,” Hight said. “And we just have to do the same thing at Pomona we did at Vegas. One of the pitchers from the Dodgers made a statement that really hit home for me, and that is, you have to focus on the process, not on the outcome.

“That’s really it. If you start changing the way you race because you’re nervous and you’re worried about the points, or worried about winning or losing, you will lose, you’ll beat yourself. You have to focus on what got you here, don’t change anything, and keep doing it.

“I like our chances. Pomona is a good race track for us, and we’ll run good there.”

Two qualifying sessions are slated for Friday and Saturday (12:45 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Pacific both days), with final eliminations slated for 11 a.m. Sunday.

Fox Sports 1 will provide one hour of live qualifying coverage Friday at 3:30 p.m. Pacific and Saturday at 3 p.m. Pacific. FS1 will have three hours of live eliminations coverage at 1 p.m. Pacific.

Monster Energy driver Brittany Force ready to follow in father’s footsteps as NHRA champion

– Monster Energy driver Brittany Force has seen her father compete and win championships her entire life.

Now, in her fifth season as a Top Fuel driver, Brittany has a realistic chance at the 2017 Top Fuel world championship. With only the Auto Club Finals this weekend at Auto Club Raceway remaining, Force sits second in the points standings, less than a round out of first place.

“It seems unreal to be here,” Force said. “I’ve watched my dad win 16 championships, and coming into my fifth year, I’m still trying to wrap my head around winning a single race. That’s so huge for me, so exciting. That’s something I’m so proud of. And now to be thinking that we’re in the hunt for a championship, it just seems unreal.

“But looking at this team and this car, I know we’re totally capable of winning it.”

Force has stormed to title contention with a stellar performance in the Countdown to the Championship, the segment of the season that determines title-winners in each NHRA professional class. In five Countdown races, Force has two victories, one runner-up finish and one semifinal effort. She has been to the final in each of the last two races, winning in Dallas and finishing in the runner-up spot in Las Vegas.

The points battle in Pomona could come down to whichever driver, Force or points leader Steve Torrence, goes farther on race day. Twenty points are usually rewarded for winning a round, but 30 will be given at the Auto Club Finals. Plus, extra qualifying points are rewarded, making each pass important.

Force, though, will simply try to focus on the task at hand and believes her John Force Racing team will do the same.

“I don’t try to focus on the big picture of the Countdown and how many points you need,” Force said. “I try to look at it at the end of the day. Obviously, I hear things and how many rounds out we are, but my main focus is one round at a time. That’s the way I approach it.

“Some drivers feed off how many points they are behind and how far they are back, but for me, I do it one round at a time. It’s too much pressure, too much on my plate if I look at it another way, and then my focus is lost, it’s not in the right place. It’s not in the car, it’s a distraction. For me, less distraction is better when I’m in the car.”

Two qualifying sessions are slated for Friday and Saturday (12:45 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Pacific both days), with final eliminations slated for 11 a.m. Sunday.

Fox Sports 1 will provide one hour of live qualifying coverage Friday at 3:30 p.m. Pacific and Saturday at 3 p.m. Pacific. FS1 will have three hours of live eliminations coverage at 1 p.m. Pacific.

Sixteen-time Funny Car champ John Force looks to close season with another Pomona win

– John Force is teetering on the brink of becoming a 19-time, maybe even 20-time, NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series championship-winning owner in this weekend’s Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

Teammate Robert Hight leads the Funny Car points standings, while daughter Brittany Force is within 20 points – less than a round – of the Top Fuel points lead, sitting second in her category. Force himself is a 16-time winning driver, and has two other championships as an owner, including Hight’s 2009 crown.

As a driver, Force looks to move into the top five of the standings as the 2017 season comes to a close in the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, his home track. The Yorba Linda, Calif., driver is sixth in the standings, up two positions from where he started the Countdown to the Championship, the final six races that determines champions in NHRA’s professional series. Force also looks to add to his one victory – which occurred in the NHRA Gatornationals – in March at Gainesville, Fla.

“I can’t run for the title – I’m not in the hunt, but my teams are running for the championship,” Force said. “Robert Hight, (daughter) Courtney (Force) is still close – she might need a miracle – and Brittany’s in the hunt. That’s what I’m really excited about.”

Undoubtedly, no one in NHRA history has been as good as Force at Pomona. He owns 16 victories – half of which have come in the Auto Club NHRA Finals – as well as 16 No. 1s at the track. His last victory in the Finals came in 2010, when he clinched his 15th Funny Car title.

Force started the 2017 season strong, taking his PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS to the semifinals at Pomona in the annual NHRA Winternationals. During that race weekend, he established then career bests in time and speed – 3.849 seconds at 335.15 mph. Both of those marks remain in the top-five of the Hall of Famer’s career.

“I’m going to enjoy Pomona,” Force said. “I’m going to go out there and race the race and see where it goes. I’ve got a good car. It’s starting the corner.”

The Auto Club NHRA Finals begins with a pair of qualifying sessions at 12:45 and 3:30 p.m. Pacific on Friday, and two sessions at 12:45 and 3:30 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 3:30 p.m. Pacific, with Saturday’s live coverage beginning at 3 p.m. Pacific. Elimination rounds will be shown starting at 1 p.m. Pacific on Sunday.

Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force wants to finish off season with first victory of 2017

– With three finals appearances in five NHRA Countdown to the Championship races, Courtney Force and the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS team have been a model of consistency this postseason in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car class.

Force, of nearby Yorba Linda, Calif., has moved up three positions in the points standings, jumping from sixth to third. And with those three finals appearances in the Countdown and another to start the season at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona – site of this weekend’s season finale, the Auto Club NHRA Finals – Force hopes the momentum continues and the season ends on a high note.

Locked in a tight battle for third, Force remains mathematically eligible to win the title, but would need to win the Auto Club NHRA Finals and have others fall out early. She started the season with a final-round appearance at Pomona, falling just short of winner’s circle despite a strong run in the final round. A string of No. 1 qualifying efforts – including a streak of four in a row early in the season – put her in position to win or run strong on race day on multiple occasions.

“Even though we haven’t gotten a win yet this season, at least we’re being consistent,” Force said. “And I think that’s the most important thing. You can definitely win a championship with a consistent car, rather than just having a fling and one great run, or a killer record run. Not having consistency won’t get you anywhere. I’m really proud of my guys. So far this season, having a consistent race car is what we need.”

Force made it to her fifth final round this season in the most recent race, the NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in a race that included a semifinals win over teammate and current Funny Car points leader Robert Hight. That kept her in command of third, increasing what had become a narrowing gap in recent races. She holds a 33-point advantage over Jack Beckman.

“We didn’t come home with a win at Vegas, but we created a big enough gap – at least one round more – in front of (Jack) Beckman, and we just have to keep it going at Pomona,” Force said.

Pomona would be a perfect place to cap off the season with her first victory and the first for primary sponsor Advance Auto Parts, which was announced last offseason. Force has one victory at Pomona, in the 2013 Winternationals, one of three final rounds at her home track. No doubt, going into the offseason as the most recent winner secures bragging rights until the 2018 season begins in February.

“I think everyone going into the final race wants to get that win,” Force said. “Obviously, we’ve been right there, been in multiple final rounds. Like I said, we’ve had a consistent race car all year, but have yet to get in the winner’s circle. But at least we’ve made a lot of great strides this entire year, learned a lot, and found that consistency that we were kind of missing last year. We would love to finish off the season on a high note and take home that win. We were close at Vegas, so hopefully we can keep the momentum going into Pomona, and it’s going to be a great race and a lot of exciting things are going to happen.”

Fox Sports 1 will provide live television coverage of Friday’s qualifying starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, with Saturday’s live coverage beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern. Elimination rounds will be shown starting at 4 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.

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