JFR on the March to Atlanta – Looking for another win!

AFTER A YEAR WITH MONSTER ENERGY BRITTANY FORCE RISING TO OCCASION

ATLANTA, GA – One year ago Brittany Force announced her new sponsor Monster Energy at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals. Since that announcement Force has been on a meteoric rise through the Top Fuel ranks and comes into this weekend’s race as the Top Fuel points leader and the category’s only two time winner in 2016.

“I am so proud of this team. When we announced Monster Energy as the sponsor last year we just got such a big push of momentum and excitement. We finished in the Top Ten and we are as high as the top three in points last year. I have been lucky to have a great crew for my whole career,” said Force.

At the beginning of this season John Force Racing made another major announcement about the Top Fuel program with the addition of Alan Johnson as Top Fuel consultation and Brian Husen as crew chief. This change along with the technical alliance with Steve Torrence Racing put Force’s Monster Energy team in a new position; favorite. A return to the final round of Phoenix followed by a breakthrough win at the historic Gatornationals had Force in the points lead and more motivated than ever.

“The win in Gainesville was unbelievable. I have dreamed about getting that first win and when it happened I couldn’t believe it. My whole family was there which was great and we got the first John Force Racing double-up win since Robert (Hight) won in Funny Car right in front of me. It was just a perfect day,” added Force.

It took the four year pro 75 Top Fuel races to get the first win but just two races later she was hoisting her second Wally as the winner of the tough NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. She was the first female nitro winner at zMAX Dragway and the first female to win the unique Four-Wide race in any category. Force also did it in dominating fashion posting the quickest elapsed times every round of eliminations and in the final quad Force had a low .040 reaction time to be the first off the line against competitors Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta and Clay Millican.

“I think the Four-Wide win showed how strong this Monster Energy team is. I screwed up in the last qualifying session. Alan and Brian just told me to forget about that and concentrate on race day. That really helped and we had a great racecar. We had lane choice all day and I did my job. It was another great team win for this Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster. This is a long season so we are just focusing on each race as they come along,” said Force.

With the 36th annual Southern Nationals up next followed by five more races in six weeks Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team will be looking to continue to go rounds and fine tune their racecar for the Countdown and the Traxxas Shootout.

“We are locked into the Traxxas Nitro Shootout which is great and I am just looking forward to getting into the summer and racing a lot. I feel the most comfortable when I am racing every weekend. I will always have butterflies in my stomach on every run but you just stay more focused when you are racing all the time,” summed up Force.

COURTNEY FORCE LOOKING TO CLOSE THE DEAL ON ATLANTA WIN

– Fresh off her first 2016 NHRA Funny Car victory in Houston, Texas, Courtney Force is set to race the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta this weekend. The eight-time Funny Car driver and winningest female in the Funny Car category is currently tied for the points lead with fellow driver Tim Wilkerson.

“We can’t wait to get back to racing in Atlanta and hope to keep the momentum going here,” said Force. “Coming off a win I’m hoping we can keep this Traxxas Chevy Camaro going rounds. That’s all we can ask for!”

In 2014 Force went to the final in Atlanta after qualifying No. 8. It was her ninth career final round in Funny Car, but the day ended for her and her Traxxas team when her teammate Robert Hight posted a 4.04 ET to her 4.11 ET. Force also posted top speed of race day with a 320.58 mph pass.

“I remember racing here two years back and coming so close to getting a win. It really was a tough loss for us against my teammate Robert Hight. I think about that loss when I come here now and it makes me even more determined to win at this race track,” said Force.

Most-recently, the 27-year-old racer went four rounds on Sunday in Houston, laying down a 3.951-321.04, 3.962-318.17, 3.932-327.03, and a 3.913-327.90 to take home the win.

“Our first win of the season was huge for our Traxxas team. We fought hard and had a whole year of ups and downs before we got win No. 8. It felt great to see that everyone’s hard work over the off-season paid off,” said Force.

The Traxxas Chevrolet Funny Car team also got to check something else off their list for the 2016 season. With the Houston win, Force was locked into one of the eight earned spots for the Traxxas Nitro Shootout, her sponsor’s $100,000 to win race within a race which takes place at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Labor Day weekend.

“To be able to get our Traxxas car secured into the Traxxas Nitro Shootout was a huge accomplishment and a weight lifted off our shoulders. We had a tough race day in Houston, but I’m so proud of my team and my crew chiefs who gave me a great race car every round. We ended the day in the winner’s circle and that was a great thing,” said Force.

The win was another milestone for the Force family and Dan Hood. His first win as a Funny Car Crew Chief came in just his sixth NHRA event this season.

“It was so exciting to celebrate in the Winner’s Circle with my brother-in-law, Danny, as my crew chief. I felt like we had really accomplished something and I was so proud of him and gave him a huge hug after the win. This win was special and I know my sister, Ashley, and my nephews were excited to cheer the team on all day,” said Force.

SIX-TIME SOUTHERN NATIONALS FINALIST ROBERT HIGHT READY FOR ATLANTA

– For six-time finalist and three-time Southern Nationals winner Robert Hight race weekend cannot get here fast enough. The 2014 winner of one of the oldest NHRA national events is looking to put the past three races in the figurative rearview mirror and look ahead to starting a string of six races in seven weeks beginning at Atlanta Dragway this Friday. Qualifying for the 36th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals will begin on Friday at 4:45 p.m.

“We have had a lot of success at Atlanta and I have won there a number of times and been to a lot of finals. We have had good luck there. All I can say is I really wish it was next weekend after a loss like this (in Houston) where we lose the points lead. We are a better team than the last two races have shown,” said Hight after a first round loss at the NHRA SpringNationals.

The Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team started the season with two semi-final finishes and a win at the historic Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida. The team held onto the Funny Car points lead for two more races after that win before slipping to fourth after Houston. The Funny Car class is tightly bunched and a win two weeks ago by Hight’s teammate Courtney Force catapulted her from 6th to a tie for first place with Houston finalist Tim Wilkerson.

“The points are pretty close right now and the biggest positive is we won in Gainesville so that locks up into the Traxxas Shootout and we will have six races in the next seven weeks. I think this Auto Club Chevy team is ready for this stretch and I am excited to get started in Atlanta,” added Hight.

The first three years Hight raced at the Southern Nationals he drove his Auto Club Funny Car to the final round picking up his first win in Atlanta in 2007. Since that victory Hight has raced to three more finals and two more wins over Ashley Force Hood (2010) and Courtney Force (2014), respectively.

Hight has also enjoyed strong qualifying success at the Southern Nationals qualifying No. 1 in 2012 and notching five top three qualifying positions at Atlanta Dragway.

“There are some tracks where you just have success on race day and Atlanta Dragway is one of those tracks for me. Every year is a new year but I have a lot of confidence in Mike Neff and this Auto Club team. We had a new racecar in Houston and we figured some things out. I think we will continue to make progress starting this weekend in Atlanta and then into Topeka,” said a confident Hight.

JOHN FORCE EAGER TO JOIN TEAM IN WINNER’S CIRCLE

– When you are the winningest driver in NHRA history and the leader of the 18-time Funny Car championship dynasty there should really be no pressure to prove your value to the organization. Every one of the 245 Funny Car and Top Fuel victories can be traced directly to the driving skills or decisions John Force has executed on or off the track. The driver of the PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car was won more races, more rounds and made more history at the Atlanta Dragway than any other racer in NHRA history.

In fact at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals Force has won seven times and raced in fourteen final rounds. This race is just being contested for the 36th time this weekend at Atlanta Dragway so to Force has to be considered a favorite to join teammates Robert Hight, Courtney Force and Brittany Force as a 2016 winner.

“I am very proud of what all my teams have accomplished so far this season. That Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster has been awesome with Brittany, Alan Johnson and Brian Husen. Courtney got the win last race in Houston with Danny Hood and Ronnie Thompson plus that Traxxas team. The Auto Club team was the first to win in Gainesville with Robert Hight and (crew chief) Mike Neff. Now it is my turn to get this PEAK Chevrolet Camaro a win,” said Force, who is 5th in the Funny Car point standings.

So far this season Force has been dominant but he is still looking for his 144th career Funny Car win. In Phoenix he came up just short against veteran Tim Wilkerson in the final. He also has two semi-final finishes to his credit at the season opening Winternationals in Pomona and then in the desert of Las Vegas he was narrowly outrun by eventual event winner Alexis DeJoria.

“I am surrounded by young guys and they keep me motivated. My crew chief Jon Schaffer learned from Mike Neff and he is giving me a good race car. We made some changes in the off-season and you see the improvement with all our racecars. I am not worried at all but I would love to get another win in Atlanta for sure,” said Force.

In Force’s storied career at Atlanta Dragway he once raced to nine final rounds in a row from 1992-2000 picking up six wins along the way. His historic races continued when he beat rooking teammate Robert Hight in the 2005 final round and then in 2008 he pulled up beside daughter Ashley Force with two separate historic opportunities on the line. If Ashley won she would become the first female Funny Car winner. If John Force won he would clinch his 1,000th round win at his 500th career race, an average of a semi-final finish for 500 straight races. That kind of numerical symmetry does not come around more than once in a lifetime. Ashley would get the win and John would get his 1,000th round win the next race in St. Louis but that fateful night in Atlanta will be one of Force’s fondest memories.

“Seeing Ashley get that first win was history. She worked so hard and for so many years people said women can’t drive these 10,000 horsepower hot rods. They said they weren’t strong enough. Now look at what has happened Courtney wins, Alexis wins and Ashley won the US Nationals twice in a row after that. I love racing at Atlanta Dragway and I think this PEAK Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car will be ready to rock and roll this weekend,” said Force.