Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight ready to roll into Brainerd

Published August 16, 2017

JFR has a long History of Victories at Brainerd, Looking to add to the Talley this Weekend

BRAINERD, MN – To say Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight has been hot this summer is an understatement.

Heading into the NHRA Nationals this weekend at Brainerd International Raceway, Hight has won two of the last three NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events. Plus, he won the special Night Under Fire match race at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio last weekend.

“When you’re on roll like we’ve been on and the car’s running so well, this is what you want,” Hight said. “Even though last week was a match race, we still got the win, and we ran great. You don’t want this to ever end. It’s going to at some point, but we want to roll into Brainerd and get right back in there.”

Plus, Hight has two consecutive No. 1 qualifiers – and three of the last four No. 1s. His speed of 339.87 mph in Sonoma was a national record and helped extend his impressive qualifying streak. Hight has qualified third or better in nine consecutive races.

Hight expects his Chevrolet Camaro SS to be fast in Brainerd, too, and records could fall if the weather is right.

“If conditions are good, Brainerd can be a fast race track,” said Hight, the 2015 Brainerd winner. “I’m looking forward to going there, having a successful weekend. We have a good shot at getting up to second points, and going into Indy No. 2 would be pretty cool. We’re looking for another win.”

Hight moved to third in the Funny Car points standings after the win in Seattle, only eight points behind second place.

Hight is approaching a milestone, too. His victory over Tommy Johnson Jr. in the Seattle final was the 399th career round victory. Only five other Funny Car drivers have reached that 400-win plateau, led by John Force Racing owner/teammate John Force’s 1,278.

“That’s big,” Hight said. “You’ve got to get round wins before you get race wins, and that’s how you get race wins. John has 1,278 round wins, so 400 doesn’t seem like very much. I don’t know how 400 stacks up to other guys who have raced the similar amount of time, but I’m happy that the round wins are coming more frequently than there were for us. That’s encouraging, and that’s exciting.”

The NHRA Nationals begins Friday with two rounds of qualifying at 3:30 and 6 p.m. Central (television coverage beginning at 9 p.m. Central Eastern on Fox Sports 1). The final two rounds of qualifying are scheduled for 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Central on Saturday (television coverage at 9 p.m. on FS1).

Elimination rounds are scheduled for 11 a.m. Central on Sunday (three hours of live finals coverage at 1 p.m. Central).

Brittany Force hopes Monster Energy team stays on Brainerd hot streak

– Brittany Force will be gunning for her third consecutive final round – and second straight victory – at Brainerd International Raceway with her Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster team.

Force won the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series race at Brainerd in 2016 and raced to the final round in 2015.

“Brainerd’s definitely been good to the Monster team,” Force said. “We seem to like that track, we seem to have been able to figure it out and run pretty well there. We did it last year and got to the winner’s circle and our plan is to do it again.”

The win in 2016 was her third career victory and capped two terrific back-to-back races at Brainerd. In 2015, she beat Dave Connolly, Doug Kalitta and Antron Brown before falling to Richie Crampton in the final.

But last year, Force beat Terry Haddock, Kalitta, Shawn Langdon and Brown en route to the win.

“That was pretty awesome,” Force said.

Force currently sits fifth in the Top Fuel points standings with one race before the prestigious Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis and two races before the Countdown to the Championship starts.

Force has won victory and one No. 1 qualifier in 2017 but has been remarkable consistent as of late. She’s won at least one round in nine consecutive races and has raced to the semifinals in five of the last eight races.

Plus, she’s qualified sixth or better in the last nine races.

“We’ll get a few things figured out,” Force said, “and once Indy comes around, it’s game on.”

Elimination rounds are scheduled for 11 a.m. Central on Sunday (three hours of live finals coverage at 1 p.m. Central).

Home away from home: PEAK’s John Force seeks 12th Funny Car victory at Brainerd

– John Force’s home track of Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., sits less than 30 miles from his Yorba Linda home and the John Force Racing headquarters.

But, in a sense, Brainerd International Raceway – more than 1,800 miles away – is a home track, because Force and many of his drivers have dominated there over the years. Force himself has 11 victories, the second-most of any track on the circuit, in 31 races, and his 74 elimination-round wins is also the second-highest at any track. Only at Pomona does he have more (16 victories and 127 elimination-round wins).

Of course, the memories are endless.

“I remember at Brainerd, in my early days, one of my cars caught on fire and burned to the ground,” Force said. “I went to the hospital, the team worked all night, and we came out the next day with (crew chief) Austin Coil and won the race. I have a lot of good friends up there.”

So, does the 12th win come this Sunday in the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS? Force doesn’t see why not, especially if he stays out of the ‘Zoo,’ an on-site campground well-known for its energy; boisterous atmosphere; and the limitless number of partygoers.

“I stay out of the ‘Zoo;’ I went to the ‘Zoo’ in my early days and got in trouble,” Force said. “I’ve got to focus at my age on winning. I’m excited to come back. We know the race track well; there could be killer conditions. National records could be run there. I’m struggling, but Robert (Hight), Courtney and Brittany (Force) are fast.

“We’re going to be running a whole new combination here that we’ve been working on for months. It’s going to come together, and when it does, John Force will be there. We’re hoping to start at Brainerd. That’s what we plan on doing, going for the win.”

Not only is he seeking the 12th win at Brainerd, Force is also attempting to land a spot in the Countdown to the Championship for the 11th time. He has been in every Countdown since the playoffs were put into place in 2007, and at seventh in the standings, a Brainerd win would go a long way to securing a spot in this year’s Countdown.

Elimination rounds are scheduled for 11 a.m. Central on Sunday (three hours of live finals coverage at 1 p.m. Central).

Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force seeks first career victory at Brainerd

BRAINERD, MN – Courtney Force and the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro team head into this weekend’s NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway with a single goal – winning their first Funny Car race of the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

Force had a strong showing in the annual Western Swing, notching her sixth No. 1 qualifying effort at Denver and earning semifinals appearances at Sonoma and Seattle. Though victory has eluded her, she comes to Brainerd with a little less pressure than she did going into the Western Swing, as her efforts at Seattle gave her enough points to clinch a spot in the annual Countdown to the Championship, which begins next month in Charlotte.

“The biggest thing that has come out of the Western Swing having our Advance Auto Parts team clinch a spot in the Countdown,” said Force, currently sixth in the points standings. “Now, we can go into Brainerd with our heads cleared and just focus on that win and not think about trying to clinch a spot. We’re definitely in a good position after our last elimination-round win at Seattle.

“I’m proud of my guys; they’ve done an unbelievable job so far. We’ve yet to get that win, but I know it’s right around the corner. I’d love for it to be in Brainerd. I hope we can get some good runs at Brainerd so we can be set up for the U.S. Nationals and the Countdown.”

Force’s best effort at Brainerd came last season, when she made it to the semifinals. But there’s no reason to believe she can’t give JFR a 16th Funny Car victory at Brainerd and 17th overall. Her father, team owner John Force, has visited winner’s circle at the Minnesota track a record 11 times, and teammate Robert Hight won the race in 2015. Her sister, Brittany Force, is the defending race winner in Top Fuel.

“We’ve had some success with several of our teams up there at Brainerd, and while we haven’t gotten a win up there yet, I feel good after a strong Western Swing,” Force said. “It feels like we’ve gone in the right direction. Having gone to the semifinals twice out west has put us in a good position going into Brainerd. This is ‘Zoo,’ this is where the fans come and have a great time, and this is the race that will really set us up for the U.S. Nationals.”

Elimination rounds are scheduled for 11 a.m. Central on Sunday (three hours of live finals coverage at 1 p.m. Central).

Post Views: 27

Posted in John Force Racing