JFR Ready for the Countdown

Published September 19, 2017

Auto Club driver Robert Hight hopes for hot start to Countdown in Charlotte

CONCORD, NC – Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car driver Robert Hight holds NHRA records for elapsed time and speed. But Hight has another goal in mind as the Countdown to the Championship begins with the NHRA Carolina Nationals this weekend at zMAX Dragway.

The 2017 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series championship.

Hight sits No. 2 in the Funny Car points standings as the six-race Countdown begins, a mere 20 points out of the lead as the points were reset following the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.

“What makes the second Charlotte race so important is the start of the Countdown,” Hight said. “It’s pretty important to leave Charlotte with some momentum. If you can get out of there with a win, boy, look out. That sets the tone for the rest of the Countdown. But there’s nine other drivers with the same outlook.”

Hight has two victories this season and has shown plenty of speed during a recent stretch. He’s qualified third or better in the last 11 races, earning five No. 1s over that span. Plus, he’s been to the semifinals in three of the last five events, winning in Denver and Seattle.

“We’ve got to go in and get it done,” Hight said. “I like the way my car’s running. If we do everything right, we have an advantage. We’ve worked hard all year, and it’s time to race. Now is when it counts. We got up to No. 2 in the regular season, so there’s only one place to go in my mind, and that’s up.”

Hight has been a perennial contender for the Funny Car championship, a title he last won in 2009. He’s more than ready to add a second championship to his resume.

“It’s been way too long, and given the last couple years with our performance and where we finished, this would put us back on track,” Hight said. “This is all I think about, all I’m working toward – along with the rest of my team.

“The most rewarding part of it would be to do it with (crew chief) Jimmy Prock again. I won my other championship with him, and to now be reunited with him and to get it done with him, that would be pretty awesome.”

The Carolina Nationals begins with two rounds of qualifying Friday, at 3:30 and 6 p.m. Eastern (live television coverage begins at 6 p.m. Eastern on Fox Sports 1). Two more qualifying sessions are scheduled for 1:30 and 4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday (television coverage at 2 a.m. Sunday on FS1). Final elimination rounds start at noon Eastern on Sunday (live coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m.).

As NHRA’s Countdown begins, PEAK driver John Force shifts focus toward 17th title

CONCORD, NC – The first 18 races of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season is the chance to try new car setups, working through different scenarios and evaluating different parts in an effort to put yourself and your team in position to win a championship.

And as the six-race playoffs stretch, known as the Countdown to the Championship, begins this weekend, John Force shifts his focus toward a 17th Funny Car crown. The 16-time titlist and driver of the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS will continue his assault for 17 in 2017, the first race – the NHRA Carolina Nationals – on Sunday at zMAX Dragway.

Force, the defending Carolina Nationals race winner, is a two-time victor at the North Carolina track, which has kicked off the Countdown each season since 2007. Since the Countdown was implemented, Force has won two titles – in 2010 and 2013. His previous 14 championships came by accumulating the most points over the course of an entire season.

“Our cars have turned the corner, and I’m excited to go to Charlotte to start the Countdown,” said Force, who won the NHRA Gatornationals earlier this season. “It’s a great race track; we’ve had good luck there. Bruton Smith does his best to give us the best and the fans the best. We’re coming in there with guns blazing, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Force’s only victory in the traditional race at Charlotte – teams competed in the special Four-Wide Nationals in the spring – came last September, when he defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. in the finals and jumped from eighth to third in the points standings. Moving up five positions illustrates the importance of opening the Countdown to the Championship with a victory. But Force’s mindset goes beyond that.

“Very simple – win five races, win six races, you win the championship,” said Force, seventh in points entering this year’s playoffs. “It’s important to win them all.”

The NHRA Carolina Nationals begins with two rounds of qualifying Friday, at 3:30 and 6 p.m. Eastern (live television coverage begins at 6 p.m. Eastern on Fox Sports 1). Two more qualifying sessions are scheduled for 1:30 and 4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday (television coverage at 2 a.m. Sunday on FS1). Final elimination rounds start at noon Eastern on Sunday (live coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m.).

Advance Auto Parts’ Courtney Force hopes to make splash as NHRA’s Countdown starts

– The regular season for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is over, and the annual Countdown to the Championship begins this week at zMAX Dragway. With it is the chance to begin anew, the opportunity to put the first 18 races in the past and focus on six races that will determine the champion of NHRA’s professional categories.

In Courtney Force’s case, perfect timing.

This weekend’s NHRA Carolina Nationals is the perfect time for Force and her Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS team to earn their first win of 2017 and begin their assault on the title. Force begins the playoffs sixth in points, and will contest the rest of the season with a car she debuted in the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals earlier this month in Indianapolis.

“We’re focused on making the start of the Countdown to the Championship count,” Force said. “This race kicks it off, and we can start things all over in Charlotte. We’re ready to go after that championship. That’s the most important thing for us at this point. We’re excited to get the Advance Auto Parts team back to Charlotte.”

Force returns to the Charlotte-area track in search of her first victory. Despite only three elimination wins in five previous fall races, she holds the track record, set in qualifying in April during the annual Four-Wide Nationals, at 3.851 seconds. In total, she holds two No. 1s, also earning the top spot in the 2015 Four-Wide Nationals.

“Everyone always loves to race here, at zMAX Dragway,” Force said. “Bruton Smith built such an incredible race track. We have a great race car, and this is a track where we qualified No. 1 in April, so we’re hoping to come back here with the same performance, but this time, looking to go rounds.

“It’s also a home track for our sponsor, Advance Auto Parts, and we’re really hoping we can show them a great weekend, represent their brand well, and get them all the way to the winner’s circle.”

Monster Energy driver Brittany Force ready to contend for JFR’s first Top Fuel title

– John Force Racing has won 18 championships in its storied history, including 16 by legendary owner/driver John Force.

All 18 of those titles are in the Funny Car class, though Monster Energy driver Brittany Force would love to add to that legacy by winning JFR’s first Top Fuel dragster title.

The hunt for the Top Fuel title begins in the NHRA Carolina Nationals this weekend at zMAX Dragway, where the first round of the Countdown to the Championship will be held.

Force sits sixth in the Top Fuel standings, and after the points were reset for the six-race Countdown, she’s only 60 points – or three rounds – out of first.

“Right now, since Indy is done and the Countdown has begun, this is where it all takes off,” Force said. “The team really has to pull together and fight for that championship. This is what we’ve been waiting for all season long, and finally it’s here. We’re locked into the Countdown, and now it’s game on.”

Force has one victory this season and has shown some amazing consistency. In the last 11 races, she’s won at least one round 10 times, advancing to the semifinals five times and winning in Epping, N.H.

Force is also a past Charlotte winner, going to the winner’s circle in the Four-Wide Nationals last April.

“Knowing that we won the Four-Wide there, it sets your mind at ease a little bit for everyone on the team,” Force said. “Knowing that we did it before – yes, it was Four-Wide – but we’ve taken down that track, it’s our plan to do it again.”

Not only does Charlotte start the Countdown, it also starts a stretch of three races in three consecutive weekends.

“I like three in a row,” Force said. “It keeps up in that momentum, it keeps your head in the game because you don’t take time off, you don’t take time away from the team, you don’t take too much time outside of your car. I’m back in the seat of my dragster with just a few days of turnaround. It just keeps the momentum moving forward and it keeps everybody’s head in the game.”

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