JFR Pre Epping Race Report

STRONG RACE DAY PERFORMANCES HAVE BRITTANY FORCE EAGER FOR NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS

EPPING, NH – Since Brittany Force added the Monster Energy sponsorship to her Top Fuel dragster she has been running wild on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The last two races the third year driver has qualified top half, No. 6, and raced deep into the day. With five final round appearances for her career the lone John Force Racing Top Fuel dragster is picking up momentum at the perfect time of the season.

Last week at the historic NHRA Summernationals she advanced to first her final of 2015 before losing to Antron Brown for third time in a final round. Force took out Richie Crampton in the first round. She then outran Tony Schumacher for second race in a row in the next round before dispatching Terry McMillen in the semi-finals.

“It always helps when you get multiple round wins against anyone. We just use that to keep moving forward and to keep pushing a little bit harder. Really now having Monster Energy on board we now have the power to push harder. We can be more aggressive and push the performance,” said Force. “We pushed it all the way to the finals this weekend. Earlier in the season we were playing it safe because we didn’t have a sponsor and we couldn’t press as hard on the parts. We are a lot more confident and we are proud to be teamed up with Monster Energy.”

In Topeka two races ago Force recorded a semi-final finish with wins over Steve Torrence, Tony Schumacher before losing to eventual winner Richie Crampton. Force got some measure of revenge against her Lucas Oil teammate Crampton with a round win in Englishtown last weekend.

The success from the Topeka and Englishtown race catapulted Force back into the Top Ten as the No. 8 driver in points coming into Epping’s NHRA New England Nationals. Force is only 29 point behind the No. 7 driver in the Mello Yello points and a more dramatic jump up the standings is possible with another strong effort this weekend.

“Overall an awesome day for this Monster Energy team (in Englishtown). I am so proud of every one of my guys. They put everything into this dragster. We went all the way to the final and I don’t even know how that happened it was just a blur. You can tell they are bummed and they really wanted to take home that win but I am so proud of them and especially my crew chiefs Todd Smith and Ronnie Thompson,” said Force following the final round at the NHRA Summernationals.

With only three first round loses, sixth fewest in Top Fuel so far this season, Force is confident. The Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster has been as high as 7th in the Mello Yello points after the Gainesville race this season.

The 2013 Rookie of the Year is still looking for her first round win in New England. In her rookie season she qualified No. 13 but lost to Tony Schumacher in the first round. Last year at the 2nd annual national event she qualified No. 4 but was upset by veteran Clay Millican in the first round.

HIGHT KNOWS CONSISTENCY AND VICTORY CLOSER IN NEW ENGLAND

EPPING, NH (June 10, 2015) — Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team have been one of the most consistent combinations on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series for over a decade. They have won more events (34) than any other Funny Car team since 2005 and their performance numbers speak for themselves with 46 No. 1 qualifiers. This season the Auto Club team has been consistent by most team’s standards but not by Hight’s who was a former world-class marksman.

“We haven’t been showing our true potential the last two or three races. There have been a few things that have tripped us up in qualifying or on race day. We need to get back to qualifying in the top half and that will give us a better shot on Sunday. The competition is still getting tougher out here so just because you are the No. 1 or No. 2 qualifier that doesn’t mean you are going to get an easy first round opponent,” said Hight.

Hight’s results at the NHRA New England Nationals have been a mixed bag. At the inaugural event Hight’s Auto Club Funny Car qualified No. 5 but her dropped a first round match-up to Del Worsham.

Last year Hight recorded the first three second run, 3.988 seconds, at New England Dragway and captured the No. 1 qualifying spot. He beat Mike Smith in first round but lost to teammate and father-in-law John Force in the second round. That qualifying run was Hight’s second three second run and his second quickest official ET ever. The quickest Hight has officially run was 3.986 seconds at the Winternationals in Pomona in 2014.

Hight is coming off a tough race in Englishtown, New Jersey. He qualified No. 12 but came up short against veteran driver Tommy Johnson Jr. in the first round. It was Hight’s third consecutive first round loss. The last time Hight lost in the first round three races in a row was in 2013 (Englishtown, Epping, Bristol).

Hight remains in the Top Ten on the strength of his three semi-final finishes this season (Pomona1, Phoenix and Houston) and one runner-up in Las Vegas1 to teammate John Force. For his career Hight averages a semi-final finish better than every 2.5 races. He has 34 wins and 19 runner-ups in 241 races.

“No one is hanging their heads on this Auto Club team. We are back at it in Epping this weekend and then we will be headed to Bristol, Tennessee. I love racing back to back because you get into a good mindset of being at the track and being on focused on what is important like going rounds and making good runs. Mike Neff, my crew chief, has been trying a few things to get us ready for the Countdown and part of that process is figuring out what doesn’t work,” said Hight, after the Summernationals last weekend.

NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS LAST RACE FOR FORCE TO CONQUER

EPPING, NH (June 10, 2015) — For over three decades John Force has raced and won from coast to coast behind the wheel of a variety of Funny Cars. He has 142 NHRA Funny Car victories nearly a hundred more than his nearest competitor and this weekend he will try for the third time to pick up a win at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire. Force has at least one victory at every NHRA national event facility both current and defunct for the 16-time Mello Yello Funny Car champion who has no plans to retire he does have goals and they include winning again at the Texas Motorplex the site of this most horrific crash of his career and winning at the NHRA New England Nationals.

“I am not going to quit until I win at Dallas and I want a win in Epping. The Texas Motorplex crash was the worst of my career and I came back from that stronger and smarter. I want to win every race but if I can’t do that I want to win at every race track. The NHRA keeps growing so I will keep chasing those wins. We added Epping three years ago and I love racing up in this area. Boston and New England are great sports areas and they need to see NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing,” said Force, who sits No. 5 in the Mello Yello point standing.

In 2013 John Force qualified No. 1 but lost to his daughter Courtney in the final. Force beat Dave Richards, Jeff Arend and veteran Ron Capps to get to the final. Force was in the middle of three finals in a row when he reached that final racing to a win in Bristol then runner-up finishes at Epping and Chicago. This weekend Force will be racing his brand new Peak Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for the first time at New England Dragway.

Last year Force qualified No. 9 and then beat Matt Hagan and son-in-law/teammate Robert Hight before losing to Alexis DeJoria in the semi-finals.

“The fans have been great at New England Dragway. We have been busy since the last time we were here adding sponsors like Peak, Chevrolet and Lucas Oil along with our existing sponsors like Auto Club, Traxxas, Mac Tools and also Monster Energy now. I know Auto Club will have a lot of people at the races since this is a big market for them and we will put on a good show for them,” said Force.

So far this season Force and the Peak Antifreeze Chevy Camaro SS Funny Car have raced to two final rounds with a win in Las Vegas where he defeated son-in-law/teammate Robert Hight and a runner-up in Topeka.

He has qualified in the top half every race except two, Houston No. 15, but raced to the second round and Englishtown last week, No. 13, where he lost to eventual winner Matt Hagan in the first round with a great side by side race, 4.035 to 4.131. Force also has a semi-final finish in Atlanta where he lost to eventual winner Tim Wilkerson

In three races so far this season Force has raced teammate Robert Hight with a 1-2 record, only win the finals at Las Vegas. In the past 18 months Force has overseen the overhaul and replacement of a number of primary sponsors. He has replaced Castrol Oil with Lucas Oil, replaced Ford with Chevrolet as team manufacturer and added Peak Antifreeze as primary sponsor for his Chevy Funny Car for a majority of the races in 2015. Additionally his daughters Courtney and Brittany secured a multi-year sponsorship with Monster Energy which was announced three races ago in Atlanta.

“We are in a good place financially now and we will always focus on two things at John Force Racing: winning and safety. We have been rebuilding but now we are back to racing. I have a new team led by Jon Schaffer with a new crew. We are getting better every race and I know Robert and Courtney are hungry for wins with Auto Club and Traxxas. We have a really strong team over here and we will be in the hunt for the championship for sure,” said Force.

COURTNEY FORCE LOOKS FOR EPPING TURNAROUND

Epping, NH (June 10, 2015) — Courtney Force has found herself in a roller coaster year so far with her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team. The 26-year-old has driven to the No. 1 qualifying spot twice, first topping the field at the season-opener in Pomona and then claiming the top spot once again just three races later in Charlotte. She raced to top speed of the weekend at three events (Pomona, Gainesville, and Topeka) and set the national speed record in Funny Car with a 325.06 mph pass in Topeka.

The team has also struggled on race day, making first round exits in five of the last seven races. The 2012 NHRA Rookie of the Year likes to think their luck is about to change. They are now heading to a track where the youngest daughter of John Force picked up the inaugural win two years ago. She qualified in the No. 3 spot and dismissed Alexis DeJoria, Tim Wilkerson, Jack Beckman and finally John Force in the final round to claim her third career Funny Car victory.“I’m excited to return to Epping, a track where we picked up the win in 2013. Our Traxxas team has won before and we went to the semis last year. Even though we’ve had changes on our car since then, we feel like we have a good amount of data to work off of from the past races here and that will hopefully come to our advantage this weekend,” said Force.

New England Dragway had never hosted an NHRA national event before 2013. Prior to that, they held races in the IHRA series and the last Funny Car winner had been Dale Creasy Jr. in 2007. Although they hosted IHRA events after 2007, Funny Car was not one of the categories contested.

“We have a good race car and have stumbled lately so I’m hoping this weekend is our opportunity to strike and take the win. We need to get back on our feet and move back up in points, but our team is skilled and determined enough to do just that. I’m excited to get back out on the track and see what we can do this weekend in Epping,” said Force.

The 3rd Annual NHRA New England Nationals is the second stop along a three-race swing and is the tenth stop along the NHRA Mello Yello Series tour.

“We are in the middle of a string of three races and although it can feel quick and overwhelming going from one place to the next, I like the rhythm of it from the seat of the race car. It gives you less time to regroup if you need it, but when you get a weekend off in between you can lose your rhythm so we are excited to get right back out there,” said Force.