Las Vegas, Nevada (April 4, 2016) - At the close of the 17th annual DENSO Spark Plug NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway John Force Racing held onto the points lead in Top Fuel and Funny Car while John Force raced to the semifinals and moved up to the No. 2 position in the Funny Car point standings.
The PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car started the day with a tough match-up but advanced to the second round with a win over Matt Hagan. John Force took a reaction time advantage and raced to the win light with a winning time of 4.059 seconds at 300.40 mph against Hagan’s 4.061 seconds, 308.07 mph pass.
In the quarterfinals Force had to race teammate and daughter Courtney Force and it was one of the closest races of the day. Both JFR drivers had excellent reaction times and the PEAK Chevy barely nosed out the Traxxas Chevy Funny Car at the finish line 3.991 to 3.996 seconds.
The semifinal race set up another tough battle for the five-time DENSO Spark Plug NHRA Nationals winner against Alexis DeJoria. Force was the No. 7 qualifier but he could not get around DeJoria the No. 6 qualifier who eventually took home the win in a close race, 4.012 to 4.053 seconds. “It didn’t go the way I wanted but we have to look at the big picture of my race teams, because we are turning it around. That is what I promised Jim Campbell, head of motorsports at Chevrolet that I would do. We took some hits, lost some people but I am putting the band back together,” said Force. “We are leaving here with Robert (Hight) number one in the points, I am number two, and Courtney is sixth. The dragster is also in the lead, so that shows….and I am not saying we are going to be world champions, but we are competitive now. That is what I promised Campbell, and what I promised Auto Club, PEAK, Traxxas, Monster and everybody. And that is what it is all about.” Force moved up to No. 2 in the Funny Car point standings on the strength of his performance this weekend.
Courtney Force entered race day in the No. 2 starting position for the third race in-a-row, with an average qualifying time of 3.965 seconds. She lined up beside Bob Bode for the first time in her career and dismissed the veteran driver with a 3.969 second pass at 324.20 mph, the quickest and fastest run in the first round of eliminations. He was her 31st different Funny Car opponent.
In the quarterfinals, Force fell to teammate, boss and father John Force. No other Funny Car driver had the numbers to beat her in that round except the 16-time champion. This was their 17th meeting in eliminations, but only the third time they have met in the second round and also the second time they have met in eliminations at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The first time they raced at this track was in the final in October 2013 and the PEAK Chevy Camaro driver took home the win and clinched his 16th Mello Yello championship.
“We had stellar runs all weekend so I’m really happy about that. I think we had the car to beat today, looking back at the numbers,” said Force. “Dad and I had the two quickest runs of the first Funny Car session. I know the fans said they thought it was a great side by side race with us both posting 3.99 second runs. It’s always fun getting to go up against my dad and getting to race him. I think he rolled it a little bit on me, but that’s part of the game and it makes it a little more fun.”
“I had my eye set on getting lane choice that next round and was hoping it would be against Robert. It didn’t work out the way we were hoping, but I think the thing we can take away from this weekend is the fact that we have a great race car we’re working with here. It’s quick, it’s fast and it’s consistent and that’s everything we want in a race car. That’s what we need to go rounds and pick up points. We’re moving forward in all areas right now and I’m excited to get to Four Wide in a couple weeks,” said Force.
Brittany Force and the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster looked to be on a roll once again after a tough first round win over fellow Gatornationals finalist Terry McMillen. The No. 4 qualifier had her hands full as she had to pedal the Monster Energy dragster in front of a tire smoking McMillen. The pedestrian winning elapsed time 4.274 seconds to 9.263 seconds was enough to head to the quarterfinals and surprisingly get lane choice over first round upset winner Troy Buff who won with a 4.967 second elapsed time.
On a day when there were a number of upsets Troy Buff surprised everyone racing to the final round and dispatching Force in the quarterfinals. Force who was trying to reach her third consecutive final will still hold onto the points lead and remain positive heading to Charlotte. “In the second round we had a cylinder go out right from the step. I felt it. It was sluggish right when we launched. Going out second round is a bummer but we are still on such a big high from our first win at Gainesville,” said Force. “This is still just the beginning of our season and we have all season long here. We are still number one in points, and that is huge. I am still trying to wrap my head around all the things that came with last weekend’s win. You know, we are going to test here tomorrow then pack up and head to Charlotte for the Four-Wide Nationals in a few weeks.”
Funny Car points leader Robert Hight drove his Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS to the No. 3 qualifying position and was able to pick up a win in the first round over veteran Jeff Arend. Hight had the second quickest elapsed time of the first round and faced eventual winner Alexis DeJoria in round two.
The Hight versus DeJoria race was incredibly close with nearly identical reaction times on the starting line combining with almost equal elapsed times at the finish line. When the win light flashed in the lane opposite Hight the scoreboards read times of 4.004 to 4.005 seconds. Hight was hoping for more from his Auto Club Chevy but high track temperatures and tricky track conditions worked against his team. “We should have run better than a four flat. I also should have had a better (reaction time) light than a .076. She got me, and you have to win those close ones,” said Hight, a five-time DENSO Spark Plug Nationals winner. “At the end of the year and you look back, it’s those close ones that you wish you had back. So we have to turn it around.”
While Hight will head to the Four-Wide with the points lead it is little consolation for the 37-time Funny Car winner. “I don’t look at it that way. I look at it as it was an opportunity lost and that we should have gained more points and left here with a bigger lead,” concluded Hight.
MELLO YELLO POINT STANDINGS
FUNNY CAR – 1. Robert Hight, Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS, 341; 2. John Force, PEAK Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS, 294; 3. Ron Capps, 289; 4. Del Worsham, 283; 5. Jack Beckman, 271; 6. Courtney Force, Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS, 265; 7. Chad Head, 236; 8. Alexis DeJoria, 233; 9. Tim Wilkerson, 221; 10. Matt Hagan, 150
TOP FUEL – 1. Brittany Force, Monster Energy dragster, 307; 2. Antron Brown, 269; 3. Doug Kalitta, 267; 4. Steve Torrence, 249; 5. Clay Millican, 242; 6. JR Todd, 229; 7. Dave Connolly, 217; 8. Terry McMillen, 209; 9. Tony Schumacher, 190; 10. Leah Pritchett, 188
PRO STOCK – 1. Jason Line, 463; 2. Greg Anderson, 415; 3. Bo Butner, 331; 4. Drew Skillman, 264; 5. Chris McGaha, 214; 6. Allen Johnson, 212; 7. Jeg Coughlin Jr, 191; 8. Vincent Nobile, 175; 9. Erica Enders Stevens, 171; 10. Alex Laughlin, 154
THE DRIVERSJOHN FORCE, 66, PEAK Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS Final Qualifying: 7th at 3.960 seconds, 320.81 mph Bonus Qualifying Points: 0 Race Results: Beat Matt Hagan, Courtney Force; Lost to Alexis DeJoria. ROBERT HIGHT, 46, Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Final Qualifying: 3rd at 3.935 seconds, 325.37 mph Bonus Qualifying Points: +5 (Quickest of Q1 and 2nd quickest of Q4) Race Results: Beat Jeff Arend; Lost to Alexis DeJoria. COURTNEY FORCE, 27, Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Final Qualifying: 2nd at 3.928 seconds, 326.08 mph Bonus Qualifying Points: +7 (3rd quickest of Q1, 2nd quickest of Q2, quickest of Q3 and 3rd quickest of Q4) Race Results: Beat Bob Bode; Lost to John Force. BRITTANY FORCE, 29, Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster Final Qualifying: 4th at 3.768 seconds, 321.27 mph Bonus Qualifying Points: +1 (3rd quickest of Q2) Race Results: Beat Terry McMillen; Lost to Troy Buff.
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NEXT EVENTS:
April 22-24 - NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Charlotte, NC
April 29-May 1 - NHRA SpringNationals, Houston, TX
May 13-15 - Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, Atlanta, GA
May 20-22 - NHRA Kansas Nationals, Topeka, KS
