BRISTOL, TN – The 15th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals wrapped up a three races in three weeks odyssey that saw John Force Racing racing and winning from Englishtown, New Jersey to Epping, New Hampshire to Bristol, Tennessee. Today at Bristol Dragway John Force, the event No. 1 qualifier fell to eventual finalist Ron Capps in the second round. The 16-time champion posted the quickest run of the first round, 4.10 seconds, with his win over Terry Haddock but he smoked the tires in a close side by side race against Capps. The track temperature soared throughout the day with the wild swings from the nighttime qualifying runs to the daytime elimination runs wreaking havoc on the crew chiefs.

“We got beat in the heat like a lot of the other teams. Bottom line we are learning something with our cars every run. We are training new crew guys and we have financial backing. Some of the stuff that we are trying we are getting rid of and some of it we are keeping. Running that 3.978 was good and got us the No. 1 qualifier. I was also the lowest ET of the first round today in the heat which is positive. We have a lot of work ahead of us. We will be OK,” said Force, who held onto the No. 3 spot in the Mello Yello Funny Car point standings.

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Bristol, TN – John Force and the Peak Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team waited out multiple rain delays and with a flair for the dramatic ran to the No. 1 qualifying spot from the No. 13 position on the strength of 3.978 second run at 323.43 mph, both track record numbers at the 15th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. This was Force’s first No. 1 of the season and first at Bristol Dragway. For his career the winningest driver in NHRA history is also the most prolific No. 1 qualifier with 153 to his credit. Tonight it wasn’t about records but rather the enthusiasm and pride Force had for his young team.

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Bristol, TN – Hot and humid conditions plagued Bristol Dragway for much of the day but as the sun set conditions improved for the start of the 15th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car and Robert Hight will go into the second day of qualifying as the provisional No. 6 Funny Car on the strength of their 4.053 second run at 318.02 mph.

“We got off to a good start. I think we got the most out of the conditions and have a good tune up we can work with. That was a good run. (Crew chief) Mike Neff had to have had a big smile on his face because this whole Auto Club team has been working very hard and the results are starting to show,” said Hight, from the top end after his Q2 run. “We are getting closer. We are all working hard over here at John Force Racing and we know we have a lot of work to do but we are getting there. It is exciting to see the teams grow and get better. It is only a matter of time before this Auto Club Chevy into the winner’s circle.”

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DOMINANT AND DEFIANT JOHN FORCE READY KEEP UP PRESSURE AT BRISTOL DRAGWAY

BRISTOL, TN – Earlier this week John Force a well-known movie-goer watched the latest summer blockbuster, Jurassic World, in advance of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. The 16-time NHRA Funny Car world champion will often draw inspiration from movies and weave them into his enthusiastic team meetings or top end interviews. Jurassic World almost gave Force a sense of Déjà vu with regards to his recent battles with his rivals at Don Schumacher Racing.

Speaking on The Straight Line with Doug Herbert and Marty Hough radio show on Wednesday Force recounted some of his recent on-track battles back to the dinosaur filled thrill ride of a movie.

“A couple races ago Schumacher sent all his raptors after me, referring to the team of four Funny Cars under the banner of Don Schumacher Racing, and I almost got them all in Topeka. I beat three of the four DSR Funny Cars on Sunday but I couldn’t get past that last one. Last weekend I had to take out a couple of them again and I got the win. I love racing Schumacher Racing Funny Cars. I have to be at the top of my game. I get excited to try and go out and beat them,” said Force.

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EPPING, NH – Once again John Force rose to the occasion and came up big when it mattered the most. Facing Tommy Johnson Jr., the No. 1 qualifier and arguably the most consistent Funny Car on the property, Force raced his Peak Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS to victory at the 3rd annual New England Nationals. As the No. 3 qualifier Force defeated Dave Richards, Matt Hagan and Cruz Pedregon to reach his 240th final round and secure his 143rd win over Johnson Jr.

“I raced here 38 or 40 years ago before most of you were born to come back and have one race on the circuit that I couldn’t win; I needed this race win. One of these days I am going to go out and it is going to break my heart but I ain’t leaving until I win all of them and now I’ll try and win all of them twice. This was a great day,” said Force from the winner’s circle stage. “My daughter (Courtney Force) spanked me in the inaugural race and I tried to screw her up in the first race but I couldn’t do it. I taught her too well. I am giving this trophy to Peak Antifreeze and Coolant and BlueDef. They were the first ones to take a chance on me last year. Lucas Oil and Chevrolet joined us and now Monster Energy is with us. We have Auto Club, Mac Tools and Traxxas and all these great companies share in this win.”

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EPPING, NH – A clear sky and bright sun made for excellent conditions for tens of thousands of fans to enjoy the final day of qualifying for the 3rd annual NHRA New England Nationals. Unfortunately the warmer temperatures did not give the John Force Racing Funny Car and Top Fuel teams a chance to improve on their strong qualifying performances from Friday. Heading into race day John Force will hold onto his No. 3 qualifying position (4.055 seconds) followed by No. 4 Courtney Force (4.059 seconds) and No. 5 Robert Hight (4.068 seconds). This is the best cumulative qualifying performance for the three JFR Funny Cars and just the third time all three have qualified in the top half of the field this season.

In Top Fuel Brittany Force and the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster held onto their No. 10 qualified position going into Sunday. The most recent Top Fuel finalist posted the sixth quickest run of the third qualifying session and the eighth quickest run of the last session.

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EPPING, NH – At the conclusion of the first day of qualifying only two Funny Cars were quicker than the trio of John Force Racing Chevrolet Camaros at the 3rd annual NHRA New England Nationals. The team was led by 16-time Funny Car champion John Force who capped the day with a 4.055 second pass as the provisional No. 3 finisher. Force was followed by daughter Courtney Force’s 4.059 second run and son-in-law Robert Hight’s 4.068 second pass. Brittany Force powered the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster to the provisional No. 10 spot and will look to improve on Saturday at New England Dragway.

John Force who is seeking his first NHRA national event win at New England Dragway started the day with a run that had him No. 10 after the first session. His first run of 4.696 seconds hazed the tires at half-track. In the second session Force’s Peak Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car blazed down the left lane and lit up the scoreboard with a 4.055 second elapsed time at 318.24 mph. It was quick enough to hold up as the quickest time until the last three pairs took to the track. Force earned qualifying bonus points as the third quickest Funny Car of the second session.

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STRONG RACE DAY PERFORMANCES HAVE BRITTANY FORCE EAGER FOR NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS

EPPING, NH – Since Brittany Force added the Monster Energy sponsorship to her Top Fuel dragster she has been running wild on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The last two races the third year driver has qualified top half, No. 6, and raced deep into the day. With five final round appearances for her career the lone John Force Racing Top Fuel dragster is picking up momentum at the perfect time of the season.

Last week at the historic NHRA Summernationals she advanced to first her final of 2015 before losing to Antron Brown for third time in a final round. Force took out Richie Crampton in the first round. She then outran Tony Schumacher for second race in a row in the next round before dispatching Terry McMillen in the semi-finals.

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ENGLISHTOWN, NJ – For the fifth time in her career and the first time since the Reading, Pa., NHRA National event last season Brittany Force raced to a final round in Top Fuel. Her bid to become the eighth woman to win a Top Fuel title came up just short against New Jersey native Antron Brown when her dragster shook the tires coming off the starting line. Force qualified No. 6 and worked her way to the final round by defeating Richie Crampton, Tony Schumacher and Terry McMillen.

“Overall this was an awesome day for this Monster Energy team. I am so proud of every one of my guys. They put everything into this dragster this weekend. We went all the way to the final and I don’t even know how that happened it was just a blur today. You can tell they are bummed and they really wanted to take home that win but I am so proud of them and especially my crew chiefs Todd Smith and Ronnie Thompson,” said Force.

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ENGLISHTOWN, NJ – The Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster and Brittany Force started the NHRA Summernationals with a bang finishing the first day of qualifying as the No. 6 Top Fuel dragster at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. The third year pro made the third quickest run of the first session picking up qualifying bonus points and giving her team the best opportunity to improve in the second night session. Force’s first run of 3.779 seconds at 321.27 mph afforded her the chance to run as half of the last pair of dragsters.

In the second session Force was paired J.R. Todd who was quickest of the first session. Both drivers were trying to chase down Antron Brown’s 3.725 second run. Force came close with an improved 3.747 second run at 322.50 mph. Two strong back-to-back runs had the NHRA Kansas Nationals semi-finalist in good spirits heading into the second day of qualifying.

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