Courtney Force goes to the final’s in Funny Car, other JFR cars struggle at season opener
Courtney Force takes Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro to Winternationals final round
POMONA, CA – Courtney Force put her Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS into the Funny Car final of the 
2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season-opening Circle K NHRA Winternationals on Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
But she fell just short in her bid to win the race for a second time.
After defeating Jim Campbell, J.R. Todd, and her father, John Force, in successive rounds, Courtney Force – the No. 3 qualifier – faced Matt Hagan in the finals. Despite a solid pass of 3.901 seconds at 326.95 mph, she couldn’t overcome Hagan’s run and settled for the runner-up spot.
However, her second-place finish gave her a good start to the points standings, as she trails only Hagan 119-99.
“We had a solid first outing here,” Force said. “Obviously, it’s the kickoff to the 2017 NHRA season here at the Winternationals, our home track. We came right off of testing and continued the momentum over here in Pomona. We’re really excited. Our Advance Auto Parts team is performing well, our Chevy Camaro is running fast, and these guys did an amazing job.”
Force had a bit of a lucky first round, as she had to get out of the throttle and limped across the finish line in 6.610-second run at 105.68 mph. But Force got the win as Campbell idled behind with a problem.
She then faced J.R. Todd – a Funny Car debutant – and landed a strong 3.892-second pass at 326.08 mph to win and set the stage for an all-Force semifinal.
“We got lucky in our first run, and it really set us off for the rest of the day,” Force said. “Second round, we laid down a solid number. Then going up against my dad, it was a close side-by-side run, and luckily we were able to get that win over him.”
Having lost eight consecutive rounds against her father, Courtney Force whisked past him at the start of the run and never looked back, breaking that losing streak and putting herself in the finals of an NHRA Funny Car race for the second time in three races (the last being the penultimate race of the 2016 season at Las Vegas).
Her opponent, Hagan, had squeaked out a victory in his semifinal run to set the matchup. Force and Hagan both had good starts but Hagan pulled away toward the end, besting Force by about 15 feet, or 0.0316 seconds. Hagan went 3.875 at 330.07 mph.
Force’s pass was 3.901 at 326.95 mph.
“Tough final round against Matt Hagan,” Force said. “We gave him a run for his money and had a close run. It tried to pull me toward the inside and I came close to the centerline, but I stayed in it, looking to get that win. Just wasn’t enough.”
With a smile, Force is already looking toward the second round of the season, at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz. There earlier this month, she recorded a time of 3.804 seconds, unofficially the quickest time ever for a Funny Car.
“We’re going to get after it in Phoenix in a couple weeks,” Force said. “It’s definitely a great start for kicking off the new season for our Advance Auto Parts team. I’m really looking forward to being in the No. 2 spot going into the second race of the season.”
The NHRA Arizona Nationals is set for Feb. 24-26.
Monster Energy driver Brittany Force looks ahead to next race after Pomona exit
POMONA, CA – Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster driver Brittany Force turns her attention to the next race on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule after racing to the second round of the Circle K NHRA Winternationals on Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Force did earn the first Winternationals round win over her career, as she had lost in the first round in her four previous season-opening races here. But she overpowered the famed Pomona track in the second round and dropped the race against Tony Schumacher.
“No, not the start we were looking for at the first event,” Force said. “We know that the championship starts here and we wanted to go as many rounds as possible and pick up some points. We lost a qualifying round (Friday) and smoked the tires there in the second round, so that’s not what we wanted. We just have to get re-focused for Phoenix now.”
Force entered the 2017 season with strong momentum after winning three races and finishing sixth in the points a year ago in the best season of her young career. She qualified No. 4 here and made a solid 3.726-second pass at 322.19 mph to knock out Terry Haddock, who faded to a run of 4.619 seconds at 169.55 mph.
But Force’s Monster Energy car lit up the tires early in her second-round race, and she slowed to a pass of 9.544 seconds at 75.26 mph. Schumacher, meanwhile, made a run of 3.697 seconds at 325.53 mph to get the win.
Force and her John Force Racing team head east for the NHRA Arizona Nationals on Feb. 24-26 at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz.
“We know from the recent test and the race last year that our Monster Energy Chevrolet can run good at Phoenix,” Force said. “So our team is turning our attention there. After that we go to Gainesville where we got our first win, so we have some good tracks coming up where we can build some momentum.”
John Force stands third in Funny Car points with PEAK Chevrolet after strong Winternationals run
POMONA, CA – John Force landed two round victories in the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season-opener, the Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway, and sits third in the points standings after reaching the semifinals.
Force, who qualified No. 2, won his first-round matchup against former JFR driver and teammate Phil Burkart, then a close battle against Tommy Johnson Jr. before falling to daughter Courtney Force in the semifinals.
“I couldn’t get the job done,” Force said. “The car’s running really good. It went down the race track every run. Courtney just ran quicker. She’s my youngest daughter of four, and she lives it and loves it just like (her sister) Brittany and just like (her sister) Ashley did.”
The first run against Burkart wasn’t close, as Force’s 3.897-second pass won going away. The matchup between Force and Johnson, however, was close, with Force winning by about a half-car length on a pass of 3.897 seconds at 329.67 mph, to Johnson’s 3.939 seconds at 324.36 mph.
That set up an all-Force semifinal with Courtney Force. John Force had won eight consecutive rounds against Courtney, but that streak ended as Courtney whisked by at the end for the close victory.
“We’ve got a lot of work cut out for us, but we showed this weekend that our cars will run,” Force said. “She showed at Phoenix that she could out-run them. They’ve had more time together as a team, and we’ve made a lot of changes in our strategy, in our engine program. We’ll see how this comes out.
“Robert struggled, I struggled, and then, boom! I hit a lick. A lot of work left with that dragster. Thanks to Monster Energy, Advance Auto Parts, Auto Club and PEAK. We’ve got to sell some PEAK Motor Oil and Coolant!”
JFR cars won six rounds in Pomona, with Courtney Force racing to the final.
“I’ve got no complaints,” Force said. “(Courtney will) be second in the points, I’ll be third. We got there. That’s all you can do. You don’t get the money, you don’t get the Wally, but you get the exposure because you’re right there with them. That’s our job, to get impressions, and we did that job today for Advance and for all our sponsors, Mac Tools, Chevrolet, everybody. Not much more to say. They won; congratulate them. Now let’s go to Phoenix.”
The NHRA Arizona Nationals is set for Feb. 24-26 at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz.
Auto Club Funny Car driver Robert Hight ready to bounce back after Pomona troubles
POMONA, CA – Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS driver Robert Hight is determined to bounce back from a difficult first race of 2017 after a first-round exit in the Circle K NHRA Winternationals this weekend at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Hight left first and was in front of Del Worsham and pulling away with his special California Highway Patrol paint scheme before pulling the tires loose past half-track and slowing to a pass of 4.313 seconds at 213.94 mph. Worsham, meanwhile, moved to the second round with a 4.008-second pass at 313.15 mph.
“Yeah, our clutch package isn’t very friendly right now,” Hight said. “Our car doesn’t lock the clutch up like our other two (John Force Racing Camaros) do, so we are going to change some stuff in the clutch. We are going to do that and we are probably going to change most of the clutch to where it is more like what our other teams are running so then when we get to Phoenix next week we can share more information with our teammates.”
Hight qualified No. 5 after a solid pass Saturday, but that was his lone full pull of the weekend.
“We made a decent run last night to get in the show but it wasn’t a good weekend for the Auto Club Chevrolet,” Hight said. “One run down the track – that is not going to cut it. We are going to work hard and get back at it in Phoenix.”
Crew chief Mike Neff said the clutch was too aggressive in the middle of the track, but he and co-crew chiefs Jon Schaffer and Jason McCullough learned a lot about the car for the remainder of the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
“It was just too aggressive when it goes to lock up,” Neff said. “I tried to back it off enough to where I thought it would be all right, and it was doing everything we wanted it to, but when it went to lock up, it was sticking the clutch and kicking the tires loose. It’s an area we know we need to address. Everything else looks really good. Once we make some changes and get that fixed, we should be really good. That’s the positive of this weekend.”
The next race is the NHRA Arizona Nationals on Feb. 24-26 at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz.
