HIGHT GETTING CLOSER TO FIRST WIN OF 2013
SEATTLE, WA – Robert Hight was cruising to his third semi-final appearance of the season in the second round when a fire-bottle 
deployed and his Auto Club Ford Mustang hazed the tires. As Hight slowed down Alexis DeJoria sped past the 2009 Funny Car champion and into a semi-final match-up with John Force.
“That was a tough loss for sure. Miek Neff had this Auto Club Ford Mustang flying. We ran 4.01 in the first round and I didn’t think there was anything that could have stopped us from getting our first win of the season. It was just a fluke deal with the fire bottle and honestly if something like that has to happen I would rather it happen now instead of the Countdown,” said Hight.
With Hight’s first round win over Bob Tasca III Hight moved back into the Top Ten heading into the O’Reilly Northwest NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceway. Hight and Tasca have been trading the tenth and eleventh spot in the Mello Yello point standings for over a month. Neither driver has been able to pull away and solidify a Top Ten position in the points. The 8th through 11th spot in the points are separated by twenty-five points which is barely over a round of racing.
“You look at the points and there are four drivers fighting for three spots really. You look at Tim Wilkerson in eighth place, Del Worsham in 9th, me in 10th and then Tasca in 11th anyone of us could win a race. There is still one spot open for the Traxxas Shootout so there is some pressure to get into the winner’s circle,” said Hight.
The combination of Hight and Neff as a new driver crew chief combo is quickly gelling into a great team. Both Neff and Hight came up through the ranks as crew men and both have a grasp of the mechanical side of these Nitro Funny Cars. Neff has ten wins behind the wheel of a Funny Car so the comfort level between Neff and Hight on a driver level has given each man more confidence moving forward with three races left before the Countdown.
“Neff gives you a lot of confidence. Really there is a lot of confidence on this whole John Force Racing team. Jimmy and John went to the final in Sonoma. Courtney’s Traxxas Funny Car has been running strong. Everyone is working together and there is a lot of energy in our camp. We have been making runs in qualifying that earn bonus points and on race day our car has been one of the most dangerous on Sunday. We just need to put everything together on race day,” said Hight.
