JFR ALL TOP HALF AFTER FIRST DAY OF CARLYLE TOOLS CAROLINA NHRA NATIONALS

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.”

In her second attempt, Force posted a 4.021 beside her father, 15-time champion John Force. By the end of the session, she was sitting solidly in the provisional No. 4 spot.

“I got to race my dad out there which was a lot of fun, especially in the night time, under the lights with header flames. Running a 4.02 and a little bit better of a run in than him was just icing on the cake. It’s always fun getting matched up against him, but when we can get our Traxxas Ford Mustang team to outrun him just a little bit, it definitely puts a smile on our faces, but we are one team and it’s exciting.”

“Another Ford Mustang bumped me out of the provisional No. 3 spot by just .001 of a second, so everyone is running really well out there. Its’ great to see such a quick field, especially for the first race of the Countdown to the Championship. I think there are a lot of great cars out here and I’m happy to be in the top half of the field going into tomorrow,” said Force.

At this event in 2012, Force qualified in the No. 6 spot and lost in the opening round to her father, 15-time champion John Force.

“It’s exciting to kick off the Countdown to the Championship out here this weekend in Charlotte. This is the start of everything and you really have to make everything count, especially in qualifying. I think we have a great race car and we’re in the top half of the field so far with a career quickest elapsed time. I’m excited to see what (crew chiefs) Ron Douglas and Dan Hood have in store for us this weekend,” said Force.

Early in the second session on Friday the Auto Club Ford Mustang moved from the back of the pack to the front with a strong 4.042 second run. In the first session Robert Hight smoked the tires at about 600 feet. Under the lights at zMax Dragway Hight and his Mike Neff tuned Auto Club Ford Mustang Funny Car wasted no time putting up a time that will keep the 2013  Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals champion in the top half of the field going in Saturday.

“That run was just about what (crew chief) Mike Neff was looking for. He was shooting for a 4.03 and it spun the tires some at the top end. That was a good run for the Auto Club team. We want to be in the top half and have lane choice. If the weather stays cool tomorrow then we will try and step up,” said Hight, the 2009 Carlyle Tools Carolina NHRA Nationals winner. “Mike Neff is a great crew chief and he races smart. It was good to see all out race cars run so well. John and Courtney stepped up and we are all in a good spot.”

Team leader John Force started his race weekend with a major press announcement covering new strategic marketing partners on Thursday. On the race track the 15-time Funny Car champion was all business behind the wheel of his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang Funny Car. Force will go into Saturday’s final day of qualifying as the provisional No. 7 qualifier after posting a strong 4.038 second pass beside his daughter Courtney Force.

“(Crew chief) Jimmy Prock has given me a good hot rod. We made some big announcements yesterday and now it is time to race. I am happy to be with JMI, Octagon and Rogers & Cowan but I have to do my job in the race car. I am going to do that and today was a good day. That 4.03 was something we can build on and I love racing at Bruton (Smith’s) Bellagio of Drag Strips,” said Force.

Top Fuel pilot Brittany Force got yet another strong start on day one of qualifying at zMAX Dragway in Concord for the Carlyle Tools NHRA Nationals as she ended up eighth after two sessions.

The Auto Club Road to the Future Award candidate made a strong first impression as she took her Castrol EDGE dragster to the top of the charts with a 3.812 elapsed time at 307.37 mph. Going into the second qualifying session, Force and her team were optimistic about improving on their previous run. With cooler track temperatures for a night run, these were prime conditions which would make for great racing and even faster times.

“The entire Castrol EDGE team was happy with our first run,” Force said. “We ran 3.812 seconds. Just to come out here to Charlotte and run good our first lap out was great. We ended up third after the first session. Second round, everything changed for us with it being a night run. The temperatures dropped, the track got better and the cars are running better. Unfortunately, we didn’t improve on our run. We got down there and I felt it nose over and lifted right about half track, so we had to shut it off early. That’s okay. We still ended up eighth, so we’ll be able to keep that number going into Saturday and get two more runs,” said Force.

Despite not improving in the second session, the 27-year-old Yorba Linda, California native remains positive that she and her team are moving in the right direction, which is a reflection of their consistent runs over the last couple of races.

“At Indy and here at Charlotte we have definitely made some improvements,” Force said. “We’re qualifying in the top half of the field on our first runs and not on our last runs. A lot of this year we would barely get into the show and it would be on our last qualifying run of the weekend. It feels so much better for me as a driver, my crew chiefs and the team just go out there on the first pass and have it be a good one. We can only build and improve from there. It gets us all pumped up and motivated that our car can make it down there and now we just need to make it a little bit faster.”