Defending race winner John Force, PEAK Chevy team take the fight to Sonoma Raceway

Published July 26, 2017

SONOMA, CA – Sixteen-time Funny Car champion John Force rolls into Sonoma Raceway with his PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS team for the NHRA Sonoma Nationals this weekend as the race’s defending champion.

Force has also been in the final round in three of the last four seasons at a track that has been a good one for the legendary driver. He has eight victories at the northern California track, the most among any driver in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

And Sonoma also holds other special memories for Force, who in 2006 witnessed Eric Medlen win here for John Force Racing. Medlen was critically injured in a crash during testing the next year and later succumbed to those injuries.

Sonoma Raceway annually holds the Eric Medlen Ice Cream Social after the final round Sunday in the late driver’s honor, as Medlen was often said, “You can never be sad when you’re eating ice cream.”

“I’ve won a lot of races there,” Force said. “We were there when Eric Medlen won. It’s always fun to go back and eat the ice cream.

“It’s a great race track. It’s a Bruton Smith track, and they promote it well. They’ll pack in the grandstands like we did in Denver.”

Force earned his eighth win at the track last season, beating Alexis DeJoria, JFR teammate Robert Hight, daughter Courtney Force and current Funny Car points leader Ron Capps en route to his second consecutive victory to start the Western Swing.

Force qualified No. 2 last weekend in Denver, the first of the three-race stretch known as the Western Swing. Things continue to evolve for Force’s team, as crew chief Mike Neff and co-crew chief Jon Schaffer of nearby Discovery Bay evolve the PEAK team.

“I’m ready to keep fighting this fight,” Force said. “That’s what we’re going to do. We made some changes, and we’re heading in the right direction.”

Qualifying in Sonoma kicks off Friday with two sessions, 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Pacific, with two more Saturday at 2 p.m. and 5:35 p.m.

Fox Sports 1 will broadcast one hour of qualifying coverage on Friday at 8 p.m. Pacific and one hour on Saturday at 7 p.m. Pacific. Three hours of live eliminations coverage will be on Fox starting at 1 p.m. Pacific.

Courtney Force hopes Advance Auto Parts team will be a race-day force in Sonoma

– Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force watched her John Force Racing teammate win last weekend, and she’d love to follow Robert Hight into the winner’s circle in the NHRA Sonoma Nationals this weekend at Sonoma Raceway.

Hight had raced to two final rounds this season before breaking through with his first victory of 2017 at Bandimere Speedway on Sunday. Force herself has two final-round appearances this season, yet is still looking for victory No. 1 of 2017.

“We’re looking for our first win this season,” Force said. “We’ve won in Sonoma before and we’ve done well there, so we’re looking to get some points and continue to go rounds as we get to the middle of the Swing.”

Force qualified No. 1 last weekend in Denver, her sixth of the season, kicking off the three-race Western Swing on a positive note. Sonoma is race No. 2, with Seattle following a week later. Force has a solid record at Sonoma, winning in 2014 from the No. 1 qualifying spot.

“It’s the middle of the Western Swing, and it’ll be great to be back in Sonoma,” Force said. “We’ve done well at this track in the past, and I grew up watching my dad race at this event, so I’m really looking forward to getting back there.”

Force, though, knows her Chevrolet Camaro SS team needs to overcome some inconsistency on race day. Force’s team, led by crew chief Dan Hood and co-crew chief Ronnie Thompson, has shown plenty of speed this year but has had an issue with dropping cylinders. Once that issue is worked out, Force will indeed be a force on race day.

“It’s the same one that’s dropping every weekend that’s screwing us up. For our Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro team, knowing that we have a fast hot rod when the conditions are right is great. It’s a great feeling, but we definitely have to get this thing running well in the heat.”

Brittany Force looks for first Sonoma victory with her Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster

– Brittany Force and her Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster head into the second leg of the annual Western Swing, the NHRA Nationals at Sonoma Raceway, confident in challenging not just for round wins but overall victory.

Force, of Yorba Linda, Calif., has won first-round matchups in seven NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series races – she’s qualified No. 1 or No. 2 in three of those and no worse than No. 6, by the way – and has advanced to the semifinals in four of the last six races, winning at Epping, N.H.

In two of the other three semifinals appearances, including last weekend’s Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo., she fell to the eventual race winner.

“I feel like we’re all in a really good place, so we just keep moving forward, keep pushing and we’ll be in the winner’s circle before we know it,” said Force, sixth in the Top Fuel points standings and only two points behind Doug Kalitta for fifth.

Force is looking to continue a strong showing as of late to Sonoma, where she has one quarterfinals appearance in four previous races. She was the No. 1 qualifier at Sonoma in 2014.

“I love Sonoma,” Force said. “One of my favorite tracks on the circuit. It’s close to home. I’ve always wanted to win there and get that big goblet at the end of the race track. (Sister) Courtney’s won there, my dad (John Force) has won there, and have a lot of memories there with Eric Medlen. To win there would be outstanding. Love the track, so hopefully we can get everything figured out so we can win there.”

The NHRA Sonoma Nationals begins Friday, with two nitro qualifying sessions at 5 and 8 p.m. Pacific (televised live on Fox Sports 1). Two more qualifying sessions are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 5:35 p.m. Saturday (televised at 10 p.m.), with elimination rounds commencing at 11 a.m. Sunday (live television coverage beginning at 4 p.m.).

Denver winner Robert Hight looks to stay hot in Sonoma with Auto Club Chevrolet

– Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro, heads into this weekend’s NHRA Nationals at Sonoma Raceway as the only driver in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car class that can sweep the Western Swing.

“You can’t sweep it unless you win Denver,” Hight said.

And Hight did just that – ending a 34-race drought in winning the Mile-High Nationals last weekend at Bandimere Speedway, his fourth career victory at the track. Now, he sets his sights on Sonoma, where he has won once (2008). He is gunning for a third final-round appearance in four races and second consecutive victory. He last posted consecutive wins in 2014, when he won three straight early in the season.

“We’re pretty happy with where we’re at, especially where we’ve been qualifying every week,” said Hight, who has qualified No. 3 or better in seven consecutive races. “We have a good combination, a fast car … it’s pretty stout with what we’ve done in qualifying. It shows we have good performance. Once we get consistency on race day – I think we’re there, (crew chief) Jimmy’s (Prock) already made a lot of changes last week to prevent dropping cylinders – we’re gonna win some races.

“The Western Swing is my favorite time of the year,” the 2009 Funny Car champion added. “I remember being a crew member on the Western Swing and how much work it was, but at the same time how much fun it is.”

The native Californian, who now lives in Yorba Linda near John Force Racing’s headquarters, grew up in Alturas in the northern part of the state. Sonoma is the closest track on the NHRA circuit to Hight’s hometown, about five-and-a-half hours away. It is the track where he first watched his boss and teammate, John Force, compete in person. As a fan, a crewmember and now a driver, Hight has been to every Funny Car race at Sonoma.

“I’m excited about going to Sonoma,” said Hight, who moved to third in the Funny Car points standings with his Denver victory. “This is the first race I ever attended as a fan. I’ve won it once and want to win it again.”

Coming off his first victory in more than a year, Hight has other reasons to be excited. He’ll again drive the Camaro that sports the special California Highway Patrol paint-scheme, which he contested in the season-opener at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The car will pay tribute to the California Highway Patrol, a state law enforcement agency whose name originated from a fleet of American Automobile Association trucks sporting signs with “Highway Patrol” written on them.

He is also sporting a special-painted CHP helmet, which will be auctioned off by the Auto Club of Southern California later this year.

“We got a lot of attention from that car at Pomona,” Hight said. “We’ll run it again at the season-finale at Pomona, but it’ll be great to put that car in winner’s circle at Sonoma.”

The NHRA Nationals begins Friday, with two nitro qualifying sessions at 5 and 8 p.m. Pacific (televised live on Fox Sports 1). Two more qualifying sessions are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 5:35 p.m. Saturday (televised at 10 p.m.), with elimination rounds commencing at 11 a.m. Sunday (live television coverage beginning at 4 p.m.).

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