Phoenix, Arizona (February 28, 2016) – Courtney Force and the Traxxas team pushed their Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car to the No. 1 position today at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals with a killer 3.930 ET at 323.97 mph.

Not only did it hold through two qualifying sessions, but it was a track elapsed time record for the Funny Car category at Wild Horse Pass Motorsport Park.

“It’s definitely what we hoped for. When we came out here and tested a few weeks back, we were running pretty consistently. We stumbled a little bit at first and then kind of got the car figured out and started running pretty consistent in the 3.0s so I was excited to come back to this track. I was hoping we could carry it over to Pomona, but I was really excited to get back here because we felt comfortable here, we made good runs and the track heated up quite a little bit, but it was definitely a run we were looking for so I’m really excited,” said the fourth year Funny Car driver.

In the second session, Force did not have the opportunity to improve. Her Traxxas Chevy had a cylinder out and she shut it off, but luckily she didn’t need to improve. She kept a solid hold on the No. 1 position going into Saturday’s two additional qualifying sessions.

“In Q2, that’s not what we were looking to do,” said Force. “It dropped a hole and I had to get out of it pretty early, but I’m just excited that our Traxxas car, The Fastest Name in Radio Control, was able to hold onto that top spot for the time being. I know a lot of the other drivers were creeping up there. I hope we get another shot tomorrow to push this car even harder and see what kind of numbers we can put on the board.”

“I hope it holds, but honestly I think a lot of these drivers, especially after the two runs today and a couple of them that stepped up, I think you’ll see some faster runs tomorrow. Our game plan is stepping our own Chevy up and getting it in the top even after those guys run good numbers. We’ll do the best we can. I’m just excited to be out here and back in Phoenix. It’s a good track and I’m ready to put on a good show for the fans out here,” said Force.

If Force’s time holds through tomorrow, this will be her tenth No. 1 qualifier. Despite narrowly missing the Countdown to the Championship in 2015, Force kept a firm hold on the record for most Funny Car wins in a season by a female (four) and most Funny Car wins overall for a female Funny Car driver with seven career tour victories.

“Last season was pretty tough, mentally really. But we were just pushing through and really just focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel. I think it took a whole new season and coming out with a fresh start. Just seeing the car perform, I don’t care if its race day or not, I just love getting it down to the other end of the race track. It definitely feels good from a driver standpoint and I think it’s getting my whole team motivated. We’ll see what we can do with it.

“I’ve got a great group of guys on my team and Ronnie Thompson and Dan Hood working on my car as co-crew chiefs. It definitely feels awesome. This is a great start for our season so far and picking up bonus points, every little point counts. I learned that last year with not making it into the top ten. We’re definitely in full focus trying to pick up every point we can and just really try to get this car running more consistent. I think that’s the main thing. It doesn’t really matter what kind of number you put on the board if it’s top number or what as long as you can get the car running round after round. That’s all that matters on race day,” said Force.

The team tested their Chevrolet Funny Cars in Phoenix before the season began. After a few attempts, the young driver was making impressive full pulls which led to a career-best 3.890 seconds at 323.89 mph.

“I’m just the pilot in the car taking it down there for a ride. I’m very lucky; I’m very fortunate. I’ve got a lot of great guys on all the John Force Racing teams; a lot of crew chiefs. We’re just excited that we were able to carry (testing success) over and continue the momentum into this race weekend and hopefully it will show on race day,” said Force.

John Force and the PEAK Antifreeze/Republic Services Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car started the day as the provisional No. 3 qualifier after the first session at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Force tripped the finish line timing system with a solid 3.990 seconds which was third quickest of the session and good for one qualifying bonus point.

In the second qualifying session Force was lined up beside Tim Wilkerson and Force improved in elapsed time with a 3.973 second run at 321.12 mph but slipped to No. 5 in the qualifying order. Force and teammate Robert Hight had the exact same elapsed time but Force had the faster speed and got the higher qualifying spot.

“It was exciting today. We had a lot of PEAK customers here and some of the Chevrolet people were over here from the Indy Car testing. To go out there and put our race cars all up in the top five or six with Republic Services on my Camaro is great. That is our job and what we are paid to do. We didn’t clean up the race track like they (Republic Services) clean up the city but we did OK,” said Force, an eight time winner at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals.

The Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team ended the day on a decent run but it was the overall attitude of the team that had Robert Hight motivated to get back to the track. In the first session Hight’s Funny Car dropped a cylinder early in the run wounding the 10,000 hp engine. The team dove into midday repairs with ease and as the Funny Car pulled up to the starting line Hight was looking forward to making a solid run.

“We dropped a cylinder on our first run and we came right back with an aggressive tune up in the second session. I think there is more out there. What I like is the attitude of this Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro team. We came right back after that first run and got to work and we were ready to go for the second session,” said Hight. “Mike Neff has a great handle on the tune up and you see it in how well all our race cars are running. I am excited to get back to the track tomorrow and try and move up in the qualifying order.” Hight’s second run of the day was a solid 3.973 second run and he was pair of the quickest side by side run of the day in Funny Car. The Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster picked up today where it left off three weeks ago at testing posting quick numbers and turning heads. Brittany Force blasted to the provisional No. 3 spot after the first session and that solid qualifying effort gave crew chief Brian Husen the confidence to use the second session as a go big or go home run. Force was paired up with Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools dragster in the last pairing of the day. It was obvious at the hit of the throttle that both Top Fuelers were loaded up to make a run at the No. 1 spot but both smoked the tires with very aggressive tune-ups.

“It feels good to be back in Phoenix after being here a few weeks ago for testing. The first run it went right down there and put us No. 3. It was great to run 3.80 especially in the heat. We wanted to step it up on that second run but unfortunately we went up into tire smoke,” said Force. “We get two more runs tomorrow and we are in the top half of the field which is most important. You have to try and make moves and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Force will have confidence and the provisional No. 5 spot on her side when she returns to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park tomorrow. “It always feels good to have that option to be aggressive on that last run. You don’t want to be in a situation where you have to make a good run to get into the show. It feels good to start out near the top and be able to be aggressive,” added Force.

NHRA ON TV

• Feb. 27 Qualifying - 10PM - 12AM ET/7PM - 9PM PT (FS1)
• Feb. 28 Finals - 5PM - 8PM ET/2PM - 5PM PT (FS1) LIVE

THE DRIVERS
JOHN FORCE, 66, PEAK Antifreeze/Republic Services Chevrolet Camaro SS
Qualifying: 5th at 3.973 seconds, 321.12 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: +1 (3rd quickest of Q1)

ROBERT HIGHT, 46, Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS
Qualifying: 6th at 3.973 seconds, 319.14 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: 0

COURTNEY FORCE, 27, Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS
Qualifying: 1st at 3.930 seconds, 323.97 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: +3 (Quickest of Q1)

BRITTANY FORCE, 29, Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster
Qualifying: 5th at 3.800 seconds, 320.05 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: +1 (3rd quickest of Q1)

RACE SCHEDULE:
Saturday, February 27
3rd round qualifying - 2:00 PM
4th round qualifying - 4:30 PM
Sunday, February 28 - Final Eliminations - 11:00 AM

FOLLOW JOHN FORCE RACING AT www.twitter.com/jfr_racing.com