HEADING TO BRAINERD HIGHT EYES No. 1 COUNTDOWN SPOT

TEAM CASTROL/JFRROBERT HIGHTPre-Race Package for the 29th annual Lucas Oil NationalsAugust 13-15, 2010Brainerd International RacewayBrainerd, Minn.17th and final event in the Countdown to 10 portion of 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 has won at least five times in 12 of the 23 events comprising the NHRA Full Throttle Series, but nowhere has drag racing’s biggest winner been more successful than in the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.            In 24 appearances at BIR, Force has gone to the finals 13 times, has won 82.5 percent of his two-car races (66-13) and has reached the winners’ circle on 11 different occasions, most recently in 2007 when he beat Kenny Bernstein for the title in the “King of Speed’s�?? last career final round. That means that Force has won almost every other year for 24 years.             Not only that, he has started from one of the top three qualifying positions 18 times and never has started worse than No. 6.             “There’s no race that’s more fun to win than one that’s sponsored by the competition,�?? Force said. “At the end of the day, our goal is to put a Castrol GTX Ford in the Lucas Oil winners’ circle one more time and get that No. 1 bonus for the Countdown.�?? **** HEADING TO BRAINERD HIGHT EYES No. 1 COUNTDOWN SPOT BRAINERD, MN --- Last year Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang team rolled into Brainerd with high hopes of getting on track for the 2009 Countdown to 1 championship hunt. A disasterous weekend that included a nearly devastating DNQ by Hight forced team owner John Force to shake up his teams and it took a strong race day performance at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals for Hight to slide into the Countdown as the No. 10 driver.This year Hight enters Brainerd, now the last race before the Countdown to 1, as one of two drivers who can clinch the No. 1 spot in the championship hunt as well as a 30 point lead going into the last six races.With four wins in 2010 including his first at Denver’s mile high racetrack, Bandimere Speedway, three weeks ago Hight is poised to make a strong run at his second Full Throttle Funny Car championship.“I want to do well in Brainerd for a couple of reasons. Last year we didn’t qualify and that was just terrible. It put a lot of pressure on the team but we pulled through and I think ultimately it made us stronger,�?? said the 2009 Funny Car champion. “The other reason I want to do well in Brainerd is that 30 point lead as the No. 1 Funny Car going into the Countdown. The No. 1 driver will be either me or John Force. I have more work to do than him but we will give it our best shot.�??Having more success than John Force at Brainerd International Raceway is a tall order for any driver. Force has won the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals 11 times and been in 13 finals. Both Hight and Force have a class leading four wins in 2010 so the regular season rubber match could be a clash of the JFR titans.“Every driver gets up for racing John Force. I’ll be honest it is a little tougher for me because he is the reason I am in the driver’s seat. This is his 25th anniversary with Castrol so this is a big year for him. Castrol is on my Auto Club Ford Mustang too so this is a really a win-win situation. One of us will be the No. 1 funny car for the Countdown and the other one will be No. 2. For those last six races it will be a battle I can tell you that,�?? said the 18-time Funny Car winner.“The other thing is you can’t just focus on John because Ashley’s (teammate Ashley Force Hood) Mustang has been running so well too. She has just run into some bad match-up and had some bad racer luck. If she gets hot in the Countdown that could be trouble for all of us.�??Along with the three John Force Racing Mustangs Ford Racing will also be represented by Bob Tasca III and Tim Wilkerson in the Countdown to 1.In addition to collecting a total of eight wins this season between Hight and Force JFR has also collected 12 No. 1 qualifiers. That means twenty lucky fans have been lucky winners as part of the BrandSource “Win with Force�?? promotion. Anytime a JFR driver is No. 1 qualifier and/or winner a fan wins either a Whirlpool washer & dryer set (No. 1 qualifier) or a 52�?? Mitsubishi flat screen TV (race winner). At the last race Matt Hagan snuck around John Force for the top spot but Hight was able to race into the winner’s circle and hand Dusty Springer from Rifle, Colorado a new TV.“It is cool when you win but it does make it even more special when you can share the winner’s circle with a fan who won a sponsor promotion like the BrandSource “Win with Force�?? drawing. We had Dusty in the Denver winner’s circle and I would love to have seven more winners join either me, John or Ashley in the winner’s circle the rest of the season,�?? said Hight.  EVENT OVERVIEW:            In an event in which his team has won 14 of the last 22 Funny Car titles and in which he has won a record 11 individual titles, John Force is in position to lock up the No. 1 starting position for the NHRA’s Countdown to 1 playoffs.            All he has to do is hold off the current champion, teammate Robert “Top Gun�?? Hight, to whom he lost three weeks ago in the final round of the Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Denver, Colo.             Force leads Hight by 28 points as the tour moves this week to Brainerd International Raceway where the only sure thing is that a Team Castrol Mustang – either Force’s Castrol GTX High Mileage hybrid or Hight’s Automobile Club of Southern California Ford – will lead the Funny Car field into the 56th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, which kicks off the six-race Countdown.            Returning to a track on which his cars qualified No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 in 2008, Force hopes to recapture the form that has earned him a record 66 round wins in the Lucas Oil Nationals, a race in which he reached the semifinals a year ago.            In an event contested the week that team driver Eric Medlen would have celebrated his 37th birthday, Force can secure the No. 1 position and a 30-point lead over the field simply by matching Hight, round win for round win this weekend in an event in which the reigning champion failed to qualify a year ago.            In an interesting subplot, Ashley Force Hood will try to improve her Countdown position at the wheel of the Castrol GTX Ford. The 27-year-old reigning U.S. Nationals champion is presently eighth in Full Throttle points but could start as high as No. 6 with strong performance at BIR, where she was the No. 1 qualifier two years ago and No. 3 last year. Force Hood, still seeking her first win of the season, is only 25 points behind Tim Wilkerson and 21 behind Bob Tasca III, the drivers who presently occupy the No. 6 and No. 7 spots. * * * *JFR RACING HISTORY AT BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY:            Wins – 14, 11 by John Force for Castrol GTX (1988, 1990-91, 1994-97, 1999-2000, 2002, 2007); two by Eric Medlen for Castrol SYNTEC (2004-05); one by Gary Densham for the Automobile Club of Southern California (2003).            Last year – Reigning series champion Robert Hight endured the worst moment of his ultimately successful season when he failed to qualify for the same event in which teammates Ashley Force Hood and No. 1 qualifier Mike Neff were defeated in the first round. John Force reached the semifinals for the 20th time at Brainerd before losing to Ron Capps.            Notable #1 – John Force has won more often in the Lucas Oil Nationals than in any other event in the NHRA Full Throttle Series. His 11 wins in a single event is unprecedented, as are his 66 round wins and his 84.2 per cent win rate.            Notable #2 – The late Eric Medlen earned his first and third career victories at Brainerd, a track on which he posted a 9-1 record in his all too-brief career and one on which he still owns the quarter mile track record (4.730 seconds).            Notable #3 – The team’s 1-2-3-5 start in 2008 was it’s best ever in four-car configuration. It also was the first 1-2 start for a father and daughter with Ashley Force Hood No. 1 and her dad No. 2. * * * *PRO POINTS (Current 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Series point standings):            FUNNY CAR– *1. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang,1219; *2. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 1191; *3. Matt Hagan, Diehard Dodge Charger, 1076; *4. Jack Beckman, MTS Dodge Charger, 1060; *5. Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger, 1014; *6. Tim Wilkerson, Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Mustang, 963; *7. Bob Tasca III, Quick Lane/Motorcraft Ford Mustang, 959; *8. Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 938; *9. Del Worsham, Al Anabi Toyota Solara, 897; 10. Tony Pedregon, Quaker State Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 733. Also, 11. Jeff Arend, DHL Toyota Solara, 700; 12. Cruz Pedregon, Snap-on Tools Toyota Solara, 652.            TOP FUEL – *1. Larry Dixon, 1520; *2. Tony Schumacher, 1291; *3. Cory McClenathan, 1259; *4. Doug Kalitta, 1160; *5. Antron Brown, 1127; *6. Brandon Bernstein, 1049; *7. Shawn Langdon, 761; *8. Morgan Lucas, 725; 9. Steve Torrence, 673; 10. David Grubnic, 609. Also, 11. Terry McMillen, 590.            PRO STOCK – *1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 1586; *2. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 1242; *3. Jeg Coughlin Jr., Chevrolet Cobalt, 1115; *4. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 1023; *5. Jason Line, Pontiac GXP, 875; *6. Ron Krisher, Chevrolet Cobalt, 813; *7. Greg Stanfield, Pontiac GXP, 773; *8. Shane Gray, Pontiac GXP, 762; 9. Johnny Gray, Pontiac GXP, 711; 10. Rodger Brogdon, Pontiac GXP, 677. Also, 11. Kurt Johnson, Chevrolet Cobalt, 597; 12. Bob Yonke, Pontiac GXP, 593; 13. Warren Johnson, Pontiac GXP, 549; 14. Vieri Gaines, Dodge Avenger, 546.            PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE – *1. Hector Arana, Buell, 836; *2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson V-Rod, 776; *3. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 746; *4. Matt Smith, Buell, 716; *5. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 648; *6. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-David/son V-Rod, 562; 7. L.E. Tonglet, Suzuki, 546; 8. David Hope, Buell, 520; 9. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 511; 10. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 475. Also, 11. Shawn Gann, Buell, 418, * * * * TELEVISION (all on ESPN2, all times Eastern Daylight):Qualifying – Saturday, August 14, 11 pm-1 amNHRA RaceDay – Sunday, August 15, 10-10:30 amRace Highlights – Sunday, August 15, 10 pm-1 amRepeat race highlights – Wednesday, August 18, 3:30-5:30 am            * * * *NEXT EVENTS (2010 NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship):56th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Sept. 1-6, Indianapolis, Ind.3rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals, Sept. 17-19, Charlotte, N.C.25th annual O’Reilly Super Start Batteries Fall Nationals, Sept. 24-26, Dallas, Texas26th annual Toyo Tires Nationals, Oct. 7-10, Reading, Pa.10th annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, Oct. 28-31, Las Vegas, Nev.46th annual Auto Club Finals, Nov. 11-14, Pomona, Calif. * * * *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 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 * * * * For additional information or photos, contact one of the representatives above or go to www.johnforceracing.com or www.nhra.com. * * * *