HIGHT LOOKING TO USE TEAMWORK TO TURN AROUND ST LOUIS LUCK

TEAM CASTROL/JFR
25TH ANNIVERSARY SEASONROBERT HIGHTPre-Race Package for the 14th annual AAA Insurance Midwest Nationals
April 30-May 2, 2010
Gateway International Raceway
Madison, Ill. (St. Louis)7th event in the Countdown to the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Championship * * * * follow John Force Racing at www.twitter.com/jfr_racingTo celebrate 25 years of Castrol sponsorship, go to www.castrolforce.com* * * *Castrol/JFR 25th Anniversary Flashback:            John Force’s relationship with BP/Castrol was forever solidified in 1996 when the sponsor opted to refocus its marketing effort in the NHRA series. After funding a successful six-car Super Team for 10 seasons, Castrol began 1996 with Force as its lone standard bearer in the professional categories.               The former truck driver responded by delivering the greatest single season performance in Funny Car history, driving his Castrol GTX Pontiac to the final round in 16 of 19 races, starting from No. 1 13 times, winning 13 races and compiling a 65-6 record that earned him Driver of the Year recognition for all of American motor racing, the first drag racer ever so honored. * * * *EVENT OVERVIEW:            Reigning NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car Champion Robert Hight will throw out the ceremonial first pitch Wednesday evening when the 2009 NL Central Division-champion St. Louis Cardinals play host to the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium.            Although John Force won his 1,000th competitive round at Gateway International Raceway in 2008, the track across the river from St. Louis traditionally has not been kind to John Force Racing, Inc.            The team has won three times in Midwest Nationals history, but has been shut out since 2002, when Scotty Cannon’s foul start made Force’s 8.837 second quarter mile a winner, giving the team its third victory in four years. JFR’s most dominating performance was delivered in 1999 when Force beat teammate Tony Pedregon in a final round contested after midnight because of several rain delays.            More recently, results have been disappointing. Force hasn’t taken his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford beyond the second round in three years, Robert Hight hasn’t reached the finals in his Auto Club Ford in five tries and, after making it to the semifinals at a rookie in 2007, Ashley Force Hood and her Castrol GTX Mustang have been booted in the first round the last two seasons.            * * * *JFR RACING HISTORY AT GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY:            Wins – 3. Two by John Force (1999, 2002) for Castrol GTX; one by Tony Pedregon (2001) for Castrol SYNTEC.            Last year – It was a lost weekend for JFR as only John Force’s Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang survived beyond first round and it was quickly dismissed in round two by the Dodge of points leader Ron Capps.            Notable #1 – John Force won the 1,000th competitive round of his career in 2008 when he beat Ron Capps in the first round.            Notable #2 – When Ron Capps won the Midwest Nationals in 2005, Mike Neff was serving as his interim crew chief while Ed “the Ace�?? McCulloch was being treated for a medical problem. Neff, now co-crew chief with Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly on Force’s Castrol Ford, also was handling his usual duties as crew chief to Gary Scelzi, who that year was the No. 1 qualifier. * * * *PRO POINTS (Current 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Series point standings):FUNNY CAR– 1. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 553; 2. Matt Hagan, Diehard Dodge Charger, 433; 3. Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 395; 4. Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger, 379; 5. Tony Pedregon, Quaker State Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 374; 6. Jack Beckman, MTS Dodge Charger, 366; 7. Tim Wilkerson, Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Mustang, 335; 8. Del Worsham, Al Anabi Toyota Solara, 321; 9. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 315; 10. Bob Tasca III, Quick Lane/Motorcraft Ford Mustang, 304.TOP FUEL – 1. Larry Dixon, 556; 2. Cory McClenathan, 555; 3. Doug Kalitta, 458; 4. Antron Brown, 441; 5. Tony Schumacher, 423; 6. Shawn Langdon, 328; 7. Morgan Lucas, 299; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 292; 9. Tie, Steve Torrence and David Grubnic, 238 each.PRO STOCK – 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 701; 2. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 440; 3. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 386; 4. Jason Line, Pontiac GXP, 370; 5. Greg Stanfield, Pontiac GXP, 359; 6. Jeg Coughlin Jr., Chevrolet Cobalt, 351; 7. Ron Krisher, Chevrolet Cobalt, 338; 8. Rodger Brogdon, Pontiac GXP, 309; 9. Bob Yonke, Pontiac GXP, 273; 10. Shane Gray, Pontiac GXP, 232.PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE – 1. Hector Arana, Buell, 284; 2. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson V-Rod, 244; 3. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 235; 4. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson V-Rod, 214; 5. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 167; 6. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 164; 7. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 158; 8. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 157; 9. David Hope, Buell, 142; 10. Shawn Gann, Buell, 129.            * * * *TELEVISION (all on ESPN2, all times Eastern Daylight):Qualifying – Saturday, May 1, 9-11 pmNHRA RaceDay – Sunday, May 2, 10-10:30 amRace Highlights – Sunday, May 2, 7-10 pmRepeat race highlights – Wednesday, May 5, 3-5 am            * * * *NEXT EVENTS (2010 NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship):30th annual Summit Southern Nationals, May 14-16, Atlanta, Ga.22nd annual O’Reilly Summer Nationals, May 21-23, Topeka, Kan.13th annual UA Route 66 Nationals, June 3-6, Joliet, Ill.41st annual UA SuperNationals, June 10-13, Englishtown, N.J.10th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, June 18-20, Bristol, Tenn.4th annual Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, June 25-27, Norwalk, Ohio. * * * *CONTACTS:For John Force Racing, Inc.:Elon Werner                                  Kelly Antonelli                                  Chad Light214-244-1184                                 317-858-8900                         714-921-8123elon@johnforceracing.com            kelly@johnforceracing.com              chad@johnforceracing.comFor BP/Castrol:Dave Densmore                       Lori Anne Goladenswood@aol.com               lorianne.gola@bp.com214-244-0008                           973-633-2393For Ford Racing:Kevin Kennedykkennedy@pcgcampbell.com313-203-7108For the Auto Club of Southern California:Rick Lalorlalor.rick@aaa-calif.com714-885-2085 *****HIGHT LOOKING TO USE TEAMWORK TO TURN AROUND ST LOUIS LUCK YORBA LINDA, CA (April 27, 2010) --- Before the AAA Missouri NHRA Midwest Nationals Robert Hight took time over his off weekend to write a column that will appear in an upcoming issue of National Dragster where he detailed the ups and downs of being the reigning 2009 Full Throttle Funny Car champion. In the column he talks about happily giving more time to the fans and having his sponsors, primarily Auto Club, motivate him with banners and additional appearances. Hight also points out that while it is great to be the champion the time a driver gets to celebrate seems to go by as fast as his Auto Club Ford Mustang covers the race track.“We can’t live off last year. We have to look forward and try to produce again this time. If you spend too much time patting yourself on the back, you are going to get behind. Right after the Auto Club Finals, you take a little time off with your family and then it is right back trying to figure out how to get a couple of hundredths advantage on the next guy. I think this is the toughest the Funny Car class has ever been, top to bottom. You don’t really get to celebrate like football, basketball or baseball champions,�?? wrote Hight.Heading into the AAA Missouri NHRA Midwest Nationals this weekend Hight will be looking to add a trip to the winner’s circle at his sponsor’s race to his resume. For the former crewman turned driver turned champion it is a moment that he wants to share. “Being able to win a NHRA national event is incredible but to be able to do it at your sponsor’s race makes it even sweeter. We have won at the Auto Club Finals (2007) and we would love to get the win at the AAA Missouri Midwest Nationals,�?? said Hight.“Our Ford Mustang is performing a lot better at this time of the year than we were last year when we came to St. Louis. We just need to go some rounds on Sunday. I’ve had to race John twice this year and he has the hottest race car in the category right now. It is always tough to race a teammate but if we do I would like it to be in the finals of the AAA Missouri Midwest Nationals.�??Over the winter Hight’s crew chief Jimmy Prock worked in the team’s Brownsburg, Indiana shop with Mike Neff rebuilding Force’s Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang to mirror Hight’s championship form Mustang. It has paid immediate dividends for Force who has won three times already in 2010. The tuning triumvirate of Austin Coil, Bernie Fedderly, and Neff rightly gets much of the credit as does 14-time champion John Force. Hight is hoping that the similarities between the two hot rods will start to assist his team as well this weekend. “We stayed over and tested in Las Vegas. We worked out some gremlins and made some really good runs. John also tested and I think all that data will really help both teams. It is just awesome to see John doing so well and dominating. That is my goal too. I want to dominate all season not just in the Countdown,�?? said Hight.If the domination is going to start in St. Louis Hight will have to buck a trend that has seen him traditionally qualify well but not carry that success over into race day. His best race day performance was 2008 when he reached the semi-finals before losing to teammate and 2008 Rookie-of-the-Year Mike Neff. Last year Hight was in the midst of his well documented performance tailspin, he qualified 12th and was quickly dispatched by fellow Ford driver Bob Tasca III in the first round. In Hight’s five previous appearances at Gateway International Raceway he has only qualified outside the top three once (2009) and was the No. 1 qualifier in 2006. His career record at the AAA Missouri NHRA Midwest Nationals is 4-5.****