NEFF LOOKING FOR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR MAGIC IN RICHMOND

John Force RacingMike Neff Pre-Race PackageEvent: 4th annual Virginia NHRA Nationals4th race of Countdown to 122nd of 24 events in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing SeriesSite: Virginia Motorsports Park, Richmond, VADates: October 8-11, 2009 * * * *NEFF LOOKING FOR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR MAGIC IN RICHMOND “We want to win. We want to win a race. We want to finish strong. Winning a race and going some rounds in the Countdown would show that we are performing well. That is the main thing for us,�?? said 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 the fourth race of the 2009 Countdown to 1 in the 9th spot. He clinched his Countdown to 1 spot when he qualified for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. He has reached two final rounds in 2009 (Phoenix and Reading). The 2008 winner of the Auto Club’s Road to the Future award that identifies the Rookie of the Year, he 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:2 – Number of final rounds in 2009, Phoenix and Reading2 – 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)5 – Number of finals Mike Neff has reached in his young career, most recently Reading, August 20099 – Neff’s position in the Full Throttle point standings178 – Difference in points between No. 9 Mike Neff and No. 1 Ashley Force Hood in Funny Car Points150 – Total number of points available at each NHRA Countdown to 1 national event * * * *Full Throttle Point Standings three Countdown to 1 races and 21 NHRA eventsFUNNY CAR – 1. Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 2308; 2. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 2305; 3. Tony Pedregon, 2282; 4. Jack Beckman, 2235; 5. Ron Capps, 2220; 6. Bob Tasca III, 2206; 7. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 2184; 8. Tim Wilkerson, 2181; 9. Mike Neff, Ford Drive One Mustang, 2130; 10. Del Worsham, 2116.TOP FUEL – 1. Tony Schumacher, 2369; 2. Larry Dixon, 2315; 3. Cory McClenathan, 2276; 4. Antron Brown, 2249; 5. Morgan Lucas, 2236; 6. Shawn Langdon, 2221; 7. Brandon Bernstein, 2191; 8. Spencer Massey, 2186; 9. Doug Kalitta, 2146; 10. Clay Millican, 2093.PRO STOCK – 1. Mike Edwards, 2374; 2. Greg Anderson, 2313; 3. Jason Line, 2296; 4. Jeg Coughlin, 2260; 5. Allen Johnson, 2234; 6. Greg Stanfield, 2222; 7. Johnny Gray, 2199; 8. Ron Krisher, 2189; 9. Kurt Johnson, 2145; 10. Rickie Jones, 2020.PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE – 1. Hector Arana, 2400; 2. Eddie Krawiec, 2392; 3. Michael Phillips, 2255; 4. Matt Smith, 2253; 5. Andrew Hines, 2249; 6. Douglas Horne, 2210; 7. Karen Stoffer, 2159; 8. Shawn Gann, 2157; 9. Craig Treble, 2136; 10. Matt Guidera, 2020.  ****TRACK RECORDS:        Top Fuel -3.771 seconds by Tony Schumacher, Oct. ‘08; 318.54 mph by Schumacher, Oct. ’08Funny Car- 4.005 seconds by Robert Hight, Oct. ’08; 309.98 mph by Melanie Troxel, Oct. ’08Pro Stock- 6.554 seconds by Jeg Coughlin, Oct. ’08; 210.37 mph by Warren Johnson, Oct. ’08(Top Fuel and Funny Car race distance is 1,000 feet; PS and PSM race distance is 1,320 feet) NATIONAL RECORDS:              Top Fuel - 3.771 sec. by Tony Schumacher, Oct. ’08, Richmond, Va.; 319.22 mph by Antron Brown, Sept. ’09, Indianapolis Funny Car - 4.023 sec. by Ron Capps, Feb. ’09, Chandler, Ariz.; 312.13 mph by Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, April ’09, AtlantaPro Stock - 6.528 sec. by Greg Anderson, Feb. ’09, Pomona, Calif.; 212.03 mph by Mike Edwards, March ’09, Baytown, TexasPS Motorcycle –6 6.851 sec. by Hector Arana, Sept. ’09, Memphis, Tenn.; 197.45 mph by Andrew Hines,  March ’05, Gainesville, Fla.(Top Fuel and Funny Car race distance is 1,000 feet; PS and PSM race distance is 1,320 feet)****Race Schedule:Friday, Oct. 9Nitro Qualifying:                        2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 Nitro Qualifying:                        12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.Sunday, Oct. 11Pre-race ceremonies      10:00 a.m.Final eliminations           11:00 a.m.* * * *TELEVISION:Saturday, Oct. 10, ESPN and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 10:30 p.m. (ET).Sunday, Oct. 11, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute pre-race show at 11 a.m. (ET).Sunday, Oct. 11, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 7p.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.comSponsor 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 NEFFNEFF LOOKING FOR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR MAGIC IN RICHMONDRICHMOND, VA (October 6, 2009) --- Mike Neff will be celebrating his 2008 Rookie of the Year award with a specialty paint scheme at the 4th annual NHRA Virginia Nationals this weekend. The Ford Drive One Mustang that Neff has campaigned all season has been redesigned as a surfer themed Woody style ride complete with a caricature of Neff “hanging ten�?? on the side. For a driver who keeps his emotions in check the new look has Neff pretty excited.“I think it is pretty neat. It is something different. It is a little off the wall. I am sure I might catch a little flack about the caricature on the side but that is alright. They did a really good job of getting my abs just right like they are in real life so I am really pleased about that. My M.O. has always been to not get too excited one way or the other over much good or bad. I grew up in Huntington Beach and lived there for ten years through high school. We would go surfing on the weekends or every chance we got,�?? said Neff.“I think the whole theme is cool. The way the wave comes off the rear part of the Mustang I think people will really talk about it. (John Force Racing graphic designer) Brandon Baker and our design team did a great job on the whole look. We did the whole thing in-house with the exception of the drawing of me which artist Chuck D did. The wood grain looks great. I can’t think of too many active drivers that have been on the side of their own cars. I know (John) Force has had a couple and (Gary) Scelzi raced a car with his face on it in Denver one year.�??While Neff is thrilled with the new Mustang he would like nothing better than to see his new look in the NHRA Virginia Nationals winners circle. With two final rounds to his credit in 2009, Phoenix and Reading, the world champion crew chief wants to get some wins as a driver.“We want to win. We want to win a race. We want to finish strong. Winning a race and going some rounds in the Countdown would show that we are performing well. That is the main thing for us,�?? said the No. 9 driver in Funny Car points.In Memphis Neff and the Ford Drive One team narrowly missed on the Friday night session and were forced to race their way into the show on Saturday. They could not break into the top half of the field and by Neff’s post race comments he knew that hurt them.“(In Memphis) we had a close race in the first round. That can be the penalty for qualifying down at the bottom. You know you are going to get somebody that is running good. Tony Pedregon has been running good all weekend. We gave him a good race we just came up a little short. That is the luck of the draw,�?? said Neff. Get team info here: www.johnforceracing.comFollow John Force Racing at www.twitter.com/jfr_racing