WINNING, HOLDING POSITION TOP PRIORITIES FOR MIKE NEFF
John Force RacingMike Neff Pre-Race PackageEvent: 28th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, 16th of 24 events in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.Site: Brainerd International Raceway and Resort, Brainerd, Minn.Dates: August 13-16 2009* * * *WINNING, HOLDING POSITION TOP PRIORITIES FOR MIKE NEFF“I’m looking forward to these last three races before the Countdown. John Medlen and the boys will have this Ford Drive One Mustang ready to go. That first win is out there we just have to go and get it. Hopefully Brainerd will be the spot.â€??? - Mike Neff* * * *Team info at www.johnforceracing.comFollow John Force Racing at www.twitter.com/jfr_racingFollow John Force RaceStation store at www.twitter.com/JFRaceStationFollow Courtney Force at www.twitter.com/courtneyforce****The DriverMike Neff, 42, driver of the Ford Drive One Mustang, is entering his second season with high expectations. He is currently in 9th place Full Throttle point standings. This season he has reached one final (Phoenix) and was No. 1 qualifier in Norwalk, Ohio. In his rookie year he reached three finals, was No. 1 qualifier twice and qualified for the Countdown to 1 championship race. Neff took over the driving duties for the late Eric Medlen, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a testing accident in March of 2007.  * * * *Mike Neff By the Numbers:1 – Number of final rounds in 2009, Phoenix2 – Number of races Neff was the driver and crew chief this season, Phoenix and Gainesville3 – Number of JFR drivers who have been named Auto Club Road to the Future Award winners, most recently Mike Neff was honored as the professional rookie of the year (Robert Hight, 2005 and Ashley Force Hood, 2007)4 – Number of finals Mike Neff has reached in his young career, most recently Phoenix, February 20099 – Neff’s position in the Full Throttle point standings32 – Number of points Neff is behind 8th place John Force in Full Throttle point standings* * * *Full Throttle Point Standings (After fifteen of 24 Full Throttle events)FUNNY CAR - 1. Tony Pedregon, 1101; 2. Ron Capps, 1090; 3. Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 1054; 4. Tim Wilkerson, 919; 5. Jack Beckman, 889; 6. Bob Tasca III, 841; 7. Del Worsham, 824; 8. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 772; 9. Mike Neff, Ford Drive One Mustang, 740; 10. Cruz Pedregon, 713; Also 11. Matt Hagan, 707; 12. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 698.TOP FUEL - 1. Antron Brown, 1263/1283; 2. Tony Schumacher, 1088; 3. Larry Dixon, 1031; 4. Brandon Bernstein, 945; 5. Cory McClenathan, 910/930; 6. Spencer Massey, 853; 7. Morgan Lucas, 826; 8. Shawn Langdon, 807; 9. Doug Kalitta, 698; 10. Clay Millican, 619.PRO STOCK - 1. Jeg Coughlin, 1273; 2. Mike Edwards, 1213; 3. Jason Line, 1203; 4. Greg Anderson, 1049; 5. Allen Johnson, 989; 6. Greg Stanfield, 776; 7. Ron Krisher, 739; 8. Kurt Johnson, 721; 9. Rickie Jones, 680; 10. Warren Johnson, 607.PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE - 1. Eddie Krawiec, 837; 2. Andrew Hines, 767; 3. Matt Smith, 636; 4. Craig Treble, 568; 5. Douglas Horne, 580; 6. Hector Arana, 526; 7. Matt Guidera, 499; 8. Steve Johnson, 392; 9. Shawn Gann, 388; 10. Karen Stoffer, 386. ****Track Records:Top Fuel* - 4.446 sec. by Tony Schumacher, Aug. ’05; 337.58 mph by Schumacher, Aug. ’05Funny Car* - 4.730 sec. by Eric Medlen, Aug. ’05; 328.70 mph by Gary Scelzi, Aug. ’05Pro Stock - 6.648 sec. by Kurt Johnson, Aug. ’08; 207.75 mph by Warren Johnson, Aug. ’08Pro Stock Motorcycle - 6.951 sec. by Angelle Sampey, Aug. ’08; 196.82 mph by Andrew Hines, Aug. ’05 (*performance records will not be officially recorded in Top Fuel and Funny Car at this event) ****Race Schedule:Friday – Pro Qualifying:            2:45 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Saturday – Pro Qualifying:            11:15 and 2:15 p.m.Sunday – Pre-race:                      10:00 a.m.Final eliminations:         11:00 a.m.* * * *Television:Saturday, Aug. 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise one hour of qualifying highlights at 6 p.m. (ET).Sunday, Aug. 16, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day at 11 a.m. (ET).Sunday, Aug. 16, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 10 p.m. (ET).Team PR and Marketing Contacts:Dave Densmore, PR                          Elon Werner, PR                                Denswood Sports                             John Force Racing, Inc.               214-244-0008                                     214-244-1184 denswood@aol.com                         Elon@johnforceracing.com       Chad Light, Marketing                       Kelly Antonelli, Marketing                 Andrew Hagstrom, SponsorshipJohn Force Racing, Inc.                     John Force Racing, Inc.                     IMG714-921-8123                            317-858-8900                            714.326.3450Chad@johnforceracing.com      Kelly@johnforceracing.com      andrew.hagstrom@imgworld.com Sponsor PR Contacts: Rick Lalor                             Lori Anne Gola                    Kevin KennedyAuto Club of SC                  BP Lubricants                      Ford Racing                714-885-2085                     973-633-2393                     313-203-7108lalor.rick@aaa-calif.com   lorianne.gola@bp.com     kkennedy@pcgcampbell.com MIKE NEFFWINNING, HOLDING POSITION TOP PRIORITIES FOR MIKE NEFFBRAINERD, MN (August 11, 2009) --- For the past two weeks Ford Drive One crew chief John Medlen and driver Mike Neff have been going over their Ford Mustang at the John Force Racing Brownsburg, Indiana shop getting it ready for the last three races before the NHRA Countdown to One starts. Team owner John Force has dubbed these next three races as the “Countdown to the Countdownâ€??? as five drivers race to grab the final three slots in the Top Ten.“It has been a busy two weeks. Robert Hight tested in O’Reilly Raceway Park on Monday before Brainerd and we have been working in the shop making sure we had everything we needed to have some success at Brainerd and beyond,â€??? said Neff.Last year at Brained International Raceway John Force Racing had its strongest qualifying effort grabbing the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 qualifying positions for race day. Neff secured the No. 5 position but was upended by Tim Wilkerson in the first round.Neff had a tough draw in the first round facing points leader Tim Wilkerson. Crew Chief John Medlen was utilizing the same tune-up that propelled Neff to the quickest run of the last qualifying session on Saturday but that was not enough to beat a much improved performance from Wilkerson.After the run Neff spoke about his performance and it has an eerie ring with regards to how their 2009 season has played out as well.“I didn’t really catch a good break having to race Tim Wilkerson. He can step up and run good at any time and that is exactly what he did. He ran low ET (of the first round) against us. We actually were trying to run better than we did. The clutch didn’t apply itself quite the same way as it did yesterday. We had it set up the same and we thought it would run a 19 or 18. It just fell off,â€??? said Neff on that Sunday afternoon in 2008.This season Neff has been up and down bouncing in and out of the Top Ten. He moved into the 9th position in the point standings with a quarterfinals finish in Seattle and held onto that spot, even creating a little separation from the 10th spot with another quarterfinal finish in Sonoma. Neff knows that his hold is tenuous and he needs to go rounds to stay in contention.“Out mindset is not to just hold onto the No. 9 position in points. John Force had a meeting in Indy with the crew chiefs and drivers and laid out his plan and his expectations. We are all going to go out and try to win. Our strategy is to qualify as best we can and then go win as many rounds as possible. I want to get that first win. I know the clock is ticking and my team knows that as well. Every person on the Ford Drive One team wants to get a win and that is where our focus is going to be going into Brainerd,â€??? said the 2005 world champion crew chief turned driver. ####Did you know…-         When Neff does capture his first win for John Force Racing he will become the seventh different drivers to have won Funny Car races on the NHRA tour – John Force, Tony Pedregon, Gary Densham, Robert Hight, Ashley Force Hood and the late Eric Medlen.-         A strong 2008 rookie season for Neff allowed him to continue another John Force Racing tradition becoming the third John Force Racing, Inc., driver in four years to win the Auto Club’s Road to the Future Award as the NHRA Rookie of the Year following Robert Hight (2005) and Ashley Force (2007).-         Neff and his three teammates (John Force, Ashley Force Hood and Robert Hight) will be cruising to Cabo San Lucas for New Year’s Eve as part of the John Force Racing Fan Cruise III sponsored by AAA. Fans can get more information by calling 1-888-874-7222. Get team info here: www.johnforceracing.comFollow John Force Racing at www.twitter.com/jfr_racingÂ