Ennis, TX – With only five races remaining in her rookie season at the wheel of the first Top Fuel dragster ever fielded by John Force Racing, Inc., Brittany Force talks about the highs and the lows of her first 19 races in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and about her expectations moving forward.

Give yourself a grade for your rookie season so far…

“I’d give myself a B looking back on my rookie season. As a rookie driver I’ve set myself challenging goals and am still working at those till the season comes to an end.  Starting at the beginning of the year in Pomona up until now I feel like I’ve definitely made major improvements and have come a long way. I feel much more comfortable as a driver in the seat and that to me is accomplishment in itself. I’ve learned so much this year and feel like I’ve gained so much more experience competing week after week.  I am proud of the little improvements and changes I’ve made throughout the season. I’ve worked on better reaction times, always keeping the car straight down the track, pedaling the car when it goes up in smoke, shutting it off right at the finish line along with so many others. Although I don’t have a trophy to make up for how I’d view my year I think time, effort and hard work all mean just as much.”

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ENNIS, TX – Four years ago Robert Hight and the Auto Club team rolled in the historic Texas Motorplex after having reached the finals at the U.S. Nationals and starting the Countdown with a win at the Carolina NHRA Nationals. That year he went on to win the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals and eventually his first Mello Yello Funny Car championship. Fast forward to 2013 and Hight has a strong feeling of Déjà vu as he once again enters the second race of the Countdown No. 3 in Mello Yello Funny Car points and on a hot streak.

“I have confidence in this Auto Club team but we are not overconfident. Last week was a big win for us but we didn’t make up a ton of ground on Matt Hagan who is the points leader. That final round was a 40 point swing for us. If we lose that race we are 120 points back instead of 80. It was big for everyone in Funny Car to get that win,” said Hight.

“You can’t rely on history to repeat itself you have to do the work and make the wins happen. My crew chief Mike Neff and my crew guys are giving me a great race car. I am trying to give them my best driving performance every time I get in this Ford Mustang Funny Car.”

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DALLAS, TX – Having already moved up one spot in the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship last weekend, Courtney Force is geared up to take on the competition at the 28th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex, Sept. 19-22.

So far in 2013, the 25-year-old sophomore driver has picked up two wins; the season-opening 53rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries in Pomona, Calif. and the Inaugural Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, N.H.

“My team and I are excited to head to Dallas this week. The Texas Motorplex is a great facility and has an awesome staff for us to work with. They always make the AAA Texas Fall Nationals a memorable event to be a part of,” said Force. “We gained a few points last week in Charlotte and moved up a spot to No. 6, right behind my dad. I’m excited to see what this weekend brings.”

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DALLAS, TX – After stumbling in last week’s playoff opener in Charlotte, John Force has his Funny Car rivals right where he wants them as the Countdown to the Mello Yello Championship moves to Billy Meyer’s Texas Motorplex for the Friday start of the 28^th annual AAA Texas Fall Nationals.

The 64-year-old drag racing icon, who over a 36-year career has made a habit of defying even the longest odds, was beaten in the second round of last week’s Carlyle Tools Carolina Nationals and, as a result, is in position this week to make even more history in an NHRA series in which he has been an A-List player for almost 30 years.

Force’s newest challenge is to become the first Funny Car driver in the NHRA’s Countdown Era to win the championship after failing to reach the semifinals in the first playoff event.

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DALLAS, TX – John Force Racing and all the professional drivers on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit return to the great state of Texas for the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex. For Top Fuel’s Brittany Force, it’s a return to familiar territory.

Force competed at the Texas Motorplex back in 2008 when she was still competing her top alcohol dragster, but unfortunately did not make the final field in her only appearance at the track. She has come a long way since her days racing in the super comp and A/Fuel categories. Now racing in a Top Fuel dragster, the first in John Force Racing history, the 27-year-old daughter of racing legend John Force is ready to continue her stride as she prepares for the event.

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DALLAS, TX – Castrol-backed drivers John Force and Brittany Force will be starting the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals off with a free fan event at Ken’s Appliance Lawn Garden in Bridgeport, Texas. The Forces will be signing autographs and posing for photos with fans from 4:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 19th.

“You always want to get out and see as many fans as possible before and during our NHRA events. We have done these BrandSource sponsored appearances all over the country and we love seeing how excited the fans get to see us away from the track,” said John Force.

Ken’s Appliances Lawn Garden (940-683- 4034) is located at 1008 Hovey Street, Bridgeport, Texas.

John Force enters the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals as the No. 5 Funny Car driver in the Mello Yello point standings. His Castrol GTX Ford Mustang Funny Car was the No. 7 qualifier last weekend in Charlotte and raced to a quarterfinal finish. Rookie Brittany Force, driver of the Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster, qualified No. 10 last weekend in Charlotte and lost a close race to Ft. Worth’s Spencer Massey in the first round.

CHARLOTTE, NC – For one afternoon history repeated itself at the 6th annual Carlyle Tools Carolina NHRA Nationals as Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang won and made a dramatic jump up the Mello Yello Funny Car point standings. In 2009 Hight defeated Matt Hagan in the finals and in the process jumped from 10th to 3rd in the point standings. Today in front of a packed crowd at zMax Dragway Hight again bested Hagan and moved from 9th to 3rd heading to the second race of the Countdown to the Championship.

Hight used a superior reaction time .055 to .074 to seal the win when his Auto Club Mustang crossed the finish line with an elapsed time of 4.083 to Hagan’s 4.066.

“Not many people beat Matt Hagan on a hole-shot. I am not going to count on doing it again either. That team has been No. 1 for a reason all year. I am pretty sure there are a lot of Funny Car drivers that are happy that I won,” said Hight, who has now won eight rounds of racing in a row. “To have him come in here No. 1 in points and leave with the win would have been devastating to the whole class trying to catch him. That was a 40 point swing for me. I was 100 back coming into the Countdown and if I would have lost it would have been 120. Now it is 80 points with five races to go. 120 points is a mountain to climb.”

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CHARLOTTE, NC – On the eve of the Countdown to the Championship’s first race John Force and Robert Hight served notice that they will be ready for race day. The tandem posted the quickest or second quickest runs in both sessions today at the Carlyle Tools Carolina NHRA Nationals.

Robert Hight and his Auto Club Ford Mustang earned five qualifying bonus points today and wound up as the No. 8 qualifier. In the first session Hight was the quickest Funny Car tripping the lights in 4.091 seconds; the only Funny Car to run in the 4.0 range. In the second session, still in the heat, Hight’s Mike Neff tuned Funny Car crossed the finish line in 4.081 seconds, .001 seconds quicker than Don Schumacher Racing rival Matt Hagan.

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CHARLOTTE, NC – After clinching her spot in the the 2013 Countdown to the Championship, Courtney Force knew it was crucial to start the six-race post season off right at the Carlyle Tools NHRA Carolina Nationals presented by Napa Auto Parts, and that’s just what she did.

Force pulled up to the starting line in her Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car in the first qualifying session beside Ford competitor Tim Wilkerson. She raced her Traxxas Ford straight down the groove to a 4.086 ET at 314.39 mph and picked up one bonus point for being third-quickest of the session.

“Starting out here today, the conditions were great,” Force said. “We were able to go out there and run a 4.086 in the first session. I tried to keep my car dead shallow and we were able to pick up a point qualifying in the provisional No. 3 spot after the first run. I’m excited we got off to a good start here today. Every point counts at the end of the season. It’s really important that we stay focused.”

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CHARLOTTE, NC – John Force Racing, Inc., CEO John Force announced today the hiring of JMI as a strategic partner to help facilitate his pursuit of new sponsorship opportunities.

Force was joined by executives from JMI at a press conference in advance of the Carlyle Tools NHRA Carolina Nationals.

“I have been at a crossroads a few times in my career,” Force said.  “In the early days, I was in the Midwest, broke, planning to give up my dream of racing when an opportunity to match race materialized.  In 2007, I was at a crossroads when we lost Eric Medlen and when I crashed six months later.  Doctors told me I would be lucky to walk again but I came back in 2010 and won my 15^th NHRA Funny Car Championship.

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