COURTNEY FORCE HEADS TO NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS BACKED WITH CONFIDENCE FROM PRE-SEASON TESTING

Published February 22, 2018

CHANDLER, AZ — John Force Racing opened the 2018 season with a bang but not in the fashion that was hoped for. Courtney Force, driver of the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, is hoping to change the tide as they head to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park outside of Phoenix for the 34th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals.

Force has several reasons to be excited about the second of 24 events on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. For one, she was the quickest in the Funny Car class with a 3.839-second pass at the NHRA test session at the facility just three weeks ago and she’s qualified No. 2 for three consecutive years.

“I feel like testing at Phoenix in the off-season and running 3.83 at Wild Horse Motorsports Park shows that it is a great race track,” said Force, the winningest female Funny Car driver in NHRA history. “I am excited to get back there and my team has had success there recently.”

Her consistency during qualifying has not always translated into race day success at the facility. Force has only two semifinal finishes (2012, 2016), both of which she lost to John Force Racing teammates, John Force and Robert Hight, respectively. However, even after a first-round exit at the season-opening Winternationals, she knows her team has what it takes to change that.

“We have qualified well at the Arizona Nationals but we just haven’t had a lot of race day success. We want to turn that around especially since we had a short race day at the Winternationals,” Force said. “This Advance Auto Parts team is strong and the way we started the season isn’t how we want to continue heading into Arizona. We have a lot of data form testing from our Camaro Funny Car as well as our other two JFR Funny Cars so we will be in a great position to have success. I am looking forward to getting back to the track.”

Before Force heads to Wild Horse Pass for qualifying on Friday, she’ll be at the Advance Auto Parts Store in Glendale (6002 W. Bell Road, Glendale, AZ) on Thursday evening signing autographs for fans from 6 -7 p.m.

The 34th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, the second of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, begins with qualifying on Friday, Feb. 23 at 2 and 5 p.m. MT and Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2 and 4:30 p.m. MT. Sunday eliminations begin at 11 a.m. MT. Tune in to watch live qualifying Friday on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) at 5 p.m. MT.

ROBERT HIGHT CONFIDENT IN HIS FUNNY CAR CHAMPIONSHIP DEFENSE HEADING INTO NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS

— Robert Hight, the reigning and two-time Funny Car world champion, is looking to continue his early season success at the 34th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park outside Phoenix.

With a strong showing at pre-season testing just three weeks ago at Wild Horse Pass, Hight is looking forward to the second of 24 races in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Season.

“Without a doubt we have a lot of confidence going to Phoenix,” said Hight, who will be making his 300th pro start at the event. “We have run well there. We were on some good runs when we shut it off in testing. We might even have some new parts on this Auto Club Chevy that I know will make a big difference. I am looking forward to the race. We had a lot of work to do last week. We are going to come out strong this weekend.”

After qualifying No. 2 and powering his Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS to a runner-up finish at the season-opening Winternationals, Hight knows he and his Auto Club team have more to show.

“The way Jimmy Prock races he wasn’t happy with (the Pomona finish),” Hight explained. “Jimmy does not like to get outrun. We know there is more left in it from how we ran in Phoenix testing. We are still learning some of these new clutch discs. The good news is we were very, very consistent.”

Consistency was important during Hight’s 2017 championship campaign, where he qualified in the top half of the field at 20 events. All four of his wins and seven of his eight No. 1 qualifiers came in the second half of the season.

“This is going to be a good year. I am super excited about the way it started. It is just like we picked up right where we left off at the end of last season,” Hight said. “I learned some things at the Auto Club Finals. I learned how to relax. I did that at the Winternationals and I drove really well. I like where this is going.”

JOHN FORCE HEADING TO NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS OPTIMISTIC AND ENCOURAGED BY HIS PEAK COOLANT AND MOTOR OIL TEAM

— Following an eventful opening to the 2018 season, John Force is looking forward to racing as usual at the upcoming 34th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park outside of Phoenix, Ariz. Feb. 23-25.

“We had a rough weekend in Pomona. I am feeling fine from my deal on Friday and the bottom line is you can replace race cars but you can’t replace a serious injury or a teammate,” reflected Force. “I have to thank Simpson and the Safety Safari. That safety equipment did its job on me and Brittany. I am looking forward to getting back into my race car in Phoenix. I have won a lot of races there. The season is just getting started and there are a lot more races to win.”

In his 33 appearances at the Phoenix event the 16-time champion has never failed to qualify and has won the race eight times, nearly twice as many times as any other NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series competitor. After a first-round exit at the Winternationals, Force is hoping the information they learned will put an end to the rocky start.

“The teams are working hard right now. It is business as usual,” explained Force. “My car is struggling but we are working on a couple things and we found some things out in Pomona that were part of the problem. The guys I have working on my race car, (crew chiefs) Jon Schaffer and Jason McCulloch, are sharp guys plus we have Jimmy Prock (crew chief for Robert Hight and the Auto Club Funny Car) helping all the teams. That Auto Club Chevrolet was one of the best cars on race day with Robert Hight.”

Force will continue to run his PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaros SS Funny Car reminding fans that you’re just 18 degrees from a mechanical emergency but will add the Republic Services star to the rear window. Republic Services is the second largest waste disposal agency in the country and a proud partner of PEAK and Old World Industries. Incorporated in 1996, Republic Services is founded on five core values: to be Respectful, Responsible, Reliable, Resourceful and Relentless. The five R’s are joined together to create their logo.

The 34th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, the second of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, begins with qualifying on Friday, Feb. 23 and Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2 and 4:30 p.m. MT. Sunday eliminations begin at 11 a.m. MT. Tune in to watch live qualifying Friday on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) at 5 p.m. MT.

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