Robert Hight seeking first victory of season at Bristol with Auto Club Chevrolet Funny Car
BRISTOL, TN – Robert Hight has competed in the semifinals of four of the last six NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing 
Series events, won eight first-round matchups and set the fastest speed in six of 10 race weekends this season.
In fact, he set the fastest speed in last weekend’s NHRA Summernationals in Englishtown, N.J., en route to the semifinals.
He also became only the fourth driver in NHRA history to earn 50 Funny Car No. 1s when he took his Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro to the top qualifying spot earlier this month in Epping, N.H.
While those statistics and achievements are nice, the 2009 Funny Car champion would trade any and all of those for a single Wally. He believes his next winner’s trophy could come in Sunday’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals – the 11th stop on the 2017 campaign and third race in a stretch of four consecutive weekends – at Bristol Dragway.
A victory would lock him into the Traxxas Shootout held Labor Day Weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, and would be the first since last year’s NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. and 38th of his career.
“Four round wins every weekend is what our goal is,” Hight said. “It’s all we’re thinking. You can do that from the No. 16 qualifier or you can do it from No. 1.
“The No. 1 qualifier, running quick, is nice – we do like getting those bonus points because when you get to the Countdown, every point counts. Going down the track four rounds in qualifying is important, and gives you confidence. But at the same time, getting those bonus points is key, because that could be a round-and-a-half.”
The Auto Club of Southern California Chevy has been fast all season, but has only one finals appearance – in April at Houston. Hight believes there is no reason he shouldn’t go one round that he did at Englishtown and two wins further Sunday.
“I don’t go into a race weekend thinking that I hope our combination works,” Hight said. “That’s not it at all. We have that combination. We just need to put four rounds on Sunday together. We’re not searching for anything other than consistency.”
Hight has one victory at Bristol Dragway, in 2011, on Father’s Day Weekend. He’d love to celebrate in winner’s circle with his daughter, Autumn, who is accompanying him on all four races in June.
“It’s a fun time for me to have her on the road with me; we have some fun together,” Hight said. “But it’d be cool to share the winner’s circle on Father’s Day with my daughter. I want to win all these races we’re going to. We need to turn this thing around.”
Two rounds of qualifying are slated for Friday (5:30 and 8 p.m. Eastern) and Saturday (1:30 and 4 p.m.), with final eliminations scheduled for noon Sunday.
Fox Sports 1 is scheduled to television one hour of qualifying highlights at Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern and Saturday at 11 p.m. FS1 will broadcast three hours of finals coverage at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Racing with dad on Father’s Day ‘always special’ for Monster Energy driver Brittany Force
– On a day when children across the country enjoy a nice dinner or cookout with their fathers, Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster driver Brittany Force will celebrate Father’s Day with her dad at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.
Father’s Day at Bristol has become a tradition in NHRA – and with the Force family since John Force’s daughters began racing in the professional classes. First, Ashley Force raced with her dad. In 2012, Courtney Force began racing Funny Car, and older sister Brittany joined the pro ranks in Top Fuel a year later.
“Racing in Bristol on Father’s Day is always special,” Brittany Force said. “It always happens to land on that weekend, and Courtney and I do the Track Walk with our dad, which is something fun before race day.
“Bristol is one of my favorite race tracks – Thunder Valley. It’s a Bruton Smith track, and it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s a race that I want to win, it’s a race I will win one of these days. I’d love to do it this year on Father’s Day.”
Brittany Force comes to Bristol with momentum, winning in Epping, N.H., to start the four-race “Eastern Swing.” She also raced to the semifinals last weekend in Englishtown, N.J., as her Monster Energy team has reworked her dragster to find speed and consistency.
Winning in Epping came at the right time, as Force’s team can carry positive momentum from there to Englishtown, then to Bristol and finally to Norwalk, Ohio next weekend.
“I’ve always liked back-to-back races,” Force said. “For me, it makes me feel more comfortable. Taking a weekend off or two weekends off, you kind of have to find your way back into it. Four in a row, I’m pumped for it, I’m ready for it. It helps me stay on my toes, and the momentum just carries over.
“You have that hype, that energy from the last week. For me, I like four in a row. I’m not out of the seat long, and it’s something I’ve always liked. Not just me as a driver, but the whole team. It keeps us moving forward.”
Two rounds of qualifying are slated for Friday (5:30 and 8 p.m. Eastern) and Saturday (1:30 and 4 p.m.), with final eliminations scheduled for noon Sunday.
Fox Sports 1 plans to television one hour of qualifying highlights at Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern and Saturday at 11 p.m. FS1 will broadcast three hours of finals coverage at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force always has fun racing dad on Father’s Day
– For Father’s Day, Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force jokes that one of the presents she hopes to give him is the day off.
The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series races in the Thunder Valley Nationals this weekend at Bristol Dragway, with final eliminations slated for Father’s Day. And Courtney Force hopes her dad, 16-time Funny Car champion John Force, has an enjoyable day watching.
“Being able to race against my dad on Father’s Day weekend is something that I really look forward to,” Force said. “Hopefully, we can give him Sunday off – that’s always the goal coming out to Bristol, to give dad the day off for Father’s Day. We’ll see what we can do.”
She’s joking, of course, having fun with the thought of racing her dad on Father’s Day. They’ve only raced each other once this season, with Courtney beating John in the semifinals at Pomona.
“I don’t feel bad – he’s got plenty of Wallys, so he’s fine,” Force said. “Honestly, he’s taught me everything I know in a Funny Car, and I have fun when I’m in the lane next to him competing against him. I try to mess with him, but literally nothing breaks that guy down. I can’t screw him up, even if I try. We have fun with it.”
The Force family also has fun at this race, as Courtney Force considers it one of her favorite stops on the NHRA tour.
“The atmosphere, the fans are amazing,” Force said. “Everything around the track: the restaurants, the town, I always love coming here. This is one of my favorite races to come to.”
And Bristol can be fast, too, which is good for Force since she’s been the quickest driver at five events this season – earning five No. 1 qualifiers. She’s been to two final rounds and one semifinal thus far in 2017, still looking for that first win.
“This is a track you’re going to see these cars running national ET records on, and that’s really exciting for us as a team,” Force said. “And for me as a driver, it’s always exciting to be able to come out to a track like that.”
Two rounds of qualifying are slated for Friday (5:30 and 8 p.m. Eastern) and Saturday (1:30 and 4 p.m.), with final eliminations scheduled for noon Sunday.
Fox Sports 1 is scheduled to television one hour of qualifying highlights at Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern and Saturday at 11 p.m. FS1 will broadcast three hours of finals coverage at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
‘Life’s good:’ PEAK driver John Force looks forward to racing with daughters on Father’s Day
– For many years of John Force’s long career, he wasn’t able to enjoy Father’s Day with his kids.
Now, thanks to the career paths chosen by two of his daughters, the 16-time Funny Car champion gets to spend plenty of time with them on that special day. This year is no different, as he’ll spend Sunday racing with them in the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.
Brittany Force races the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster, while Courtney Force drives the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing. That makes Father’s Day an extra special time for John Force, driver of the PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS.
“In my early days, I spent a lot of Father’s Days on the road,” John Force said. “Couldn’t get home to them, and I didn’t have the money – I was driving the 18-wheeler. To be with kids that I’ve missed so much and to race with them, life’s good for me.”
Racing with two of his daughters helps put Force’s recent struggles in perspective, but the fire still burns for NHRA’s greatest driver. While either Courtney Force and JFR teammate Robert Hight have qualified No. 1 in six of the last seven races, John Force has had trouble finding consistency.
“I’m getting beat up on that race track,” Force said. “But they beat me up 40 years ago and then I beat them up. They beat me up the first 10 years, and I dominated for 20, and now I’m getting my butt kicked. That’s what makes it exciting.”
Force knows a turnaround is coming, and it could start this weekend at Bristol, where he has four career victories.
“I know where I came from,” Force said, “and I’ll get back in the fight sooner or later.”
Two rounds of qualifying are slated for Friday (5:30 and 8 p.m. Eastern) and Saturday (1:30 and 4 p.m.), with final eliminations scheduled for noon Sunday.
Fox Sports 1 plans to television one hour of qualifying highlights at Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern and Saturday at 11 p.m. FS1 will broadcast three hours of finals coverage at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
