Robert Hight takes AAA Texas Chevrolet to Houston final round
BAYTOWN, TX – The way his AAA Texas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car was running during the NHRA 
SpringNationals this weekend at Royal Purple Raceway, Robert Hight had his sights set on raising the Wally at the end of the race.
He fell one round victory short.
Hight raced to the final round Sunday before falling to Ron Capps after his AAA Texas Chevy drifted right and across the centerline as it approached the finish.
“I thought this was the day we were going to get our win and get in the Traxxas Shootout,” Hight said. “The good news is we’re racing in just about six days. We’re back at it again. That’s what you like this time of year, to get going.
“We’ve got a good car. We’re not searching for a combination or anything like that. We’ve got to go put four runs together on Sunday and hold the Wally.”
Hight hadn’t been to a final round since winning in Gainesville, Fla., last year. But a recent crew swap at John Force Racing brought crew chief Jimmy Prock and co-crew chief Chris Cunningham to Hight’s team, and Prock has turned fortunes around for Hight.
On Saturday, Hight’s Funny Car was fast in both qualifying sessions, building his confidence for Sunday. That speed continued into eliminations, as he was quickest in the first round with a pass of 3.870 seconds at 331.77 mph to take out Jim Campbell.
That speed, by the way, set a track record for Funny Car in Houston.
Hight backed that up with a 3.898-second run at 327.82 mph to beat J.R. Todd in the second round, setting up an all-JFR semifinal against Courtney Force.
Hight won that in-house battle with a pass of 3.908 seconds at 324.98 mph, beating Force’s 3.943-second run at 324.28 mph.
That gave Hight lane choice for the final round against Capps, but misfortune struck.
“For whatever reason, it went out and spun,” Hight said. “Had it in the groove, and everything was going just right. I thought I was far enough down, and I didn’t see Capps, and I tried to drive it spinning. It put two cylinders out on the right side, and whoom, it went over and crossed the centerline. I couldn’t save it.”
Capps exploded his engine just before the finish line, but Hight had already crossed the centerline to disqualify his pass. The numbers: Capps 4.004 at 284.33 mph; Hight 4.107 at 202.88 mph, though Hight’s run was officially recorded as a disqualification.
Hight, of course, wanted to win, but getting to the final round was big for his team.
“It’s huge,” Hight said. “We hadn’t been to a final for a long time. But you get that far, and the car’s running so good, it’s pretty rare that you get a car like this.”
Hight and the team have a quick turnaround, racing at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on April 28-30 at zMax Dragway.
Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force advances to semifinals of NHRA SpringNationals in Houston
– The goal for Courtney Force and the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS team in the NHRA SpringNationals this weekend at Royal Purple Raceway was to put the past three races behind them and win rounds.
Force – the No. 1 qualifier for the second consecutive Mello Yello Drag Racing Series race – made it to the semifinals, where – despite a solid third-round pass – she fell to teammate and No. 4 qualifier Robert Hight in a close race. Hight lost to Ron Capps in the finals.
The Yorba Linda, Calif., native won for the first time since the season-opening Circle K Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Calif., where she made it to the finals. In the first-round matchup against No. 16 Jeff Diehl, Force escaped with a 5.344-second pass at 132.02 mph, while Diehl slowed to a 10.819 at 77.81 mph.
The second and third rounds went smoother. She cruised to victory against No. 9 Alexis DeJoria with an elapsed time of 3.947 at 294.37 mph. That set the stage with an all-JFR semifinal with Force and Hight, whom held a slight 10-8 advantage going into the matchup.
The pair posted nearly identical reaction times – Force’s .089 seconds to Hight’s .088 – and ran close before Hight pulled away at the end. Officially, his pass of 3.908 at 324.98 mph was slightly better than her 3.943 at 324.28 mph.
While it didn’t result in victory, Force said she can see her team has made progress from a recent test at Las Vegas, and can take solace in setting the track record in terms of time (she had the track speed record prior to Hight besting the mark in his second elimination round race).
“I’m proud of my guys,” said Force, now fifth in Funny Car points standings. “We struggled in the first round, but made it through, got the car back out. We made a solid pass in the second round, and in the semis, it was a great race against Robert Hight. We weren’t able to get around him for the win, but it was a great race and great race day for our team.”
Now, Force sets her sights on the Four-Wide Nationals next weekend at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C. She’ll enter that race looking for her first victory in the event, and the season.
“What we’re taking away from this weekend is that consistency we’ve been looking for with our race car,” Force said. “We may not have a Wally in hand, but we have things we can take away from this track and use in the future. I’m looking forward to the next race.”
Qualifying for Charlotte begins Friday with the first two rounds of qualifying, followed by two more rounds Saturday. Elimination rounds are scheduled for April 30.
PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil driver John Force: Progress being made at JFR
– The NHRA SpringNationals didn’t go as PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Funny Car driver John Force expected, but the 16-time Funny Car champion knows progress is being made in the John Force Racing camp.
In Funny Car, Force qualified No. 3 and raced to the second round, while No. 4 qualifier Robert Hight made it to the final round after beating No. 1 qualifier Courtney Force in semifinals.
“I told you John Force Racing was getting better,” John Force said. “Gainesville was a shot to get a win for PEAK and Chevrolet. To have Auto Club in the final and Courtney and Advance in the semis was big, too. We’ve got some work to do on that dragster. We changed the chassis, and it just doesn’t seem to be working. We’re going to stay on it; it’s what we do. The Funny Cars are doing well. Mine dropped a hole; I got whooped.”
Force beat Del Worsham in the first round, coasting to a pass of 4.216 seconds at 220.08 mph while Worsham trailed with a 4.485-second run at 205.51 mph.
Force then left on Jack Beckman in the second round with a .036-second reaction time, but a dropped cylinder pushed Force’s Chevrolet Camaro SS toward the wall, and he was forced to lift in a losing 4.134-second pass at 273.39 mph. Beckman was low of the round, too: 3.897 at 329.18 mph.
But Force, 67, admitted Houston was a learning experience after returning to the mainland from a vacation in Hawaii.
“But I learned something about vacations – it wasn’t the vacation,” Force said. “I didn’t party, I lived in the gym. It’s because I had a five-hour time change. And I didn’t realize it; I couldn’t fall asleep until 2 in the morning and waking up at 6:30 like I always do.
“On Saturday, in the final session, I finally came alive. I got my lights back, I was back on my game – I just got beat today. You learn from things, even at my age.”
Force was on his game Sunday, leaving first on both opponents.
Force quickly returns to the driver’s seat for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on April 28-30 at zMax Dragway.
Monster Energy driver Brittany Force looks to next race after early Houston exit
– Brittany Force has her sights set on next weekend’s Four-Wide Nationals after an early exit in Sunday’s NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway, the fifth race on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.
Force, the No. 5 qualifier in the Top Fuel category, lost a close matchup against Troy Coughlin Jr. in the opening round. She ran an elapsed time of 3.871 at 274.55 mph. Despite a slightly slower reaction time, Force inched ahead at the 60-foot mark, and was marginally ahead much of the way.
However, she slowed in the last 200 feet, the victim of a lost cylinder. Coughlin – who turned in a time of 3.852 at 277.20 mph – went on to lose in the second round to Steve Torrence.
It marked only the second first-round loss for the driver of the Monster Energy dragster in the last 13 races. Force said the defeat is tough, but “we’ll just have to suck it up and go on to the next race.”
“Nobody likes to go out in the first round,” said Force, now sixth in the points standings. “That’s always the toughest event of the day, because your nerves are heightened, and getting past that round is tough.
“It’s frustrating knowing that our day ended early, but the good thing is, we don’t have to spend more than a week thinking or dwelling about it.”
The next event is only seven days away, with the unique Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., next Sunday. The Four-Wide Nationals is unique in that the number of competitors doubles – from two to four – each pass down the drag strip.
Force is the defending race winner of the event.
“And we’re banking on winning it again this year,” she said. “We get to go right in and try our luck again.”
Qualifying for the Four-Wide Nationals begins Friday with the first two rounds of qualifying, followed by two more rounds Saturday. Elimination rounds are scheduled for April 30.
