CHAMP HIGHT EXCITED ABOUT COUNTDOWN LAUNCH IN INDY

TEAM CASTROL/JFR25TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON ROBERT HIGHTPre-Race Package for the 56th annual Mac Tools U.S. NationalsSept. 1-6, 2010O’Reilly Raceway ParkIndianapolis, Ind. First race in the Countdown to 1 playoffs for 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 * * * * CHAMP HIGHT EXCITED ABOUT COUNTDOWN LAUNCH IN INDYINDIANAPOLIS, IN (August 30, 2010) --- It is recognized as the biggest and most prestigious race on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. This year the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals will also take on an additional air of importance as the first race of the Countdown to 1. As if there wasn’t enough pressure to win one of the most historic races now driver’s turn up the heat to start their championship dreams on the right foot with a win at O’Reilly Raceway Park. For Robert Hight the defending NHRA Funny Car champion rolling into Indy this year has a comfortable and excited feeling. “I’m definitely excited about going into the Countdown this year. Last year, [I] just barely made it and I still really believe we owe that to John Force and his making a lot of changes with our team right at the end before the regular season was over. He shuffled things around, it got the crew chiefs’ minds right and we went back to basics. We used the ‘One Ford’ approach and got all the cars on the same page and working together and we carried that philosophy into this year,�?? said the four time 2010 winner.During the regular season Hight and Force battled for the top spot and Hight came up one point short in his quest to have the points lead going into Labor Day and the final six races of the season.“John moved Mike Neff around, put him in charge over there. They basically duplicated our Auto Club Mustang and as you can see the first 17 races, John and my car, we were just winning four races each and ended up one point apart. I think we learned a lot. That one point also makes us think that in the next six races, every run we make, every qualifying run, there’s points available and we have to make the most of everything if we want one of these Ford Mustangs to win. I still owe it to John Force for making all of this happen and shuffling people around and making the right calls.�??“We also have the 2010 Ford Mustang body that I believe is definitely more efficient aerodynamically. John and Ashley have both gone 316 miles an hour this year, so we owe a lot to them and their engineers for giving us the best equipment to go out there and compete with. I’ve been in finals at the last four Indys so I’m looking forward to going back to Indy this year.�??  For Hight starting the Countdown in Indy is something that he is looking forward to because of the history of the event.“This is biggest race we have all year long. This is the grand daddy of them all. We’ve all had good luck here. It was exciting racing Ashley in the final last year. It doesn’t get much better than that, to have two Force Ford Mustangs in the final. Don Garlits once told me that because I had won Indy I could retire now. I want to win championships though. I want to win more Indys and more championships. This is a great place to start the Countdown and we have had good luck there,�?? added Hight.“The Mac Tools U.S. Nationals start out Friday night, one run under the lights and you have got to get that run in and you have got to be quick. You are going to see less than a tenth of a second from number one to number 16 in Funny Car at US Nationals. Every run counts. It is an exciting time for us. On Thursday we have an all Ford car show at the shop in Indy, an open house to kick off the US Nationals. It is going to be very busy the next week and a half for John Force Racing.�??Hight has appeared in the past four finals in a row picking up wins in 2006 and 2008. John Force Racing has had tremendous success at O’Reilly Raceway Park. If the pattern holds true it could be a successful start for one of the three John Force Racing drivers. For the past decade a JFR driver has won the U.S. Nationals on the even numbered years, John Force (2002), Gary Densham (2004), Hight (2006 and 2008). ****Castrol/JFR 25th Anniversary Flashback:            Qualifying for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, drag racing’s marquee event, has been feast or famine for the sport’s marquee personality, John Force.             Although the driver of the Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang has started from the No. 1 qualifying position 11 times, more than he has in any other event in the Full Throttle Series, he also has failed to make the starting lineup four times, most recently in 2007 and 2008.            Moreover, Force hasn’t won the Labor Day event since 2002 when he needed all his starting line skills to beat Tommy Johnson Jr. on reaction time the final round.             Force’s U.S. Nationals highlights include “double-up�?? victories in both 1993 and 1996, years in which a Funny Car bonus race was contested at ORP in conjunction with the Labor Day classic.             In addition to his four U.S. Nationals titles, Force won six times (1987, 1990, 1993, 2000, 2006) in the Funny Car bonus race that began life as the Big Bud Shootout and ended it in 2008 as the U.S. Smokeless Showdown.EVENT OVERVIEW:            Robert “Top Gun�?? Hight hopes that history repeats itself this weekend. Who can blame him insomuch as he begins defense of his Full Throttle Funny Car Championship in a Mac Tools U.S. Nationals event in which he has reached the final round each of the last four years and in which his team has appeared in the finals five of the last six seasons.            Winner of the world’s oldest, largest and richest drag race in 2006 and 2008, Hight starts his latest title bid for the $500,000 Full Throttle Championship in a far better position than he began his last.            The 41-year-old driver of the Automobile Club of Southern California Ford Mustang will roll onto the concrete and asphalt at O’Reilly Raceway Park 30 points down to boss, teammate and father-in-law John Force, who won the regular season championship (determined in the first 17 races) by a single point.            Last year, Hight grabbed the 10th and final starting position on the final day of the regular season before going on a three-wins-in-six-races rampage that delivered a 16th Funny Car championship to John Force Racing, Inc.            Meanwhile, Hight’s other teammate, defending U.S. Nationals champion Ashley Force Hood, is hoping to follow his 2009 path. A three-time tour winner, Force Hood begins the Countdown from the No. 8 position – 90 points behind her father and 60 back of her brother-in-law.            One of only a handful of drivers to have won the U.S. Nationals in two different racing categories (Funny Car and Top Alcohol Dragster), Ashley returns to ORP still looking for her first win of the 2009 season. She’s been close (losing in final rounds at Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta, Ga.) but has not yet closed the deal in a season in which she’s started from No. 1 four times.            As for Force, he is back in legitimate contention for a championship for the first time since winning his 14th title in 2006. After a debilitating 2007 crash followed by two mediocre campaigns, the 61-year-old has appeared in a category-high seven final rounds this year with four wins in a revitalized Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang.           * * * *JFR RACING HISTORY AT O’REILLY RACEWAY PARK:            Wins – 9, four by John Force for Castrol GTX High Mileage (1993, 1996, 1998, 2002); one by Gary Densham for the Auto Club of Southern California (2004); two by Robert Hight for the Auto Club of Southern California (2006, 2008); two by Ashley Force Hood for Castrol GTX (2004, in Top Alcohol Dragster; 2009 in Funny Car).            Last year – Ashley Force Hood became the first woman in Mac Tools U.S. Nationals history to win the Funny Car championship as well as the first to win the world’s largest, richest and most prestigious event in two different categories. In the final round, she beat teammate, brother-in-law and eventual Full Throttle Champion Robert “Top Gun�?? Hight, who qualified No. 1 and took his Auto Club Ford to the finals for the fourth straight time.             Notable #1 – Ashley Force Hood earned her first national event victory when she won the Top Alcohol Dragster title at the 2004 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals the same year that Gary Densham won the Funny Car title for John Force Racing, Inc.            Notable #2 – Crew chief Jimmy Prock has put a Funny Car in the final round five of the last six years at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, winning with Gary Densham in 2004 and Robert Hight in 2006 and 2008.  * * * *PRO POINTS (Full Throttle Series pro point standings entering the six-race Countdown to 1 playoffs):            FUNNY CAR– 1. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 2110; 2. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 2080; 3. Jack Beckman, MTS Dodge Charger, 2070; 4. Matt Hagan, Diehard Dodge Charger, 2060; 5. Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger, 2050; 6. Tim Wilkerson, Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Mustang, 2040; 7. Bob Tasca III, Quick Lane/Motorcraft Ford Mustang, 2030; 8. Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 2020; 9. Del Worsham, Al Anabi Toyota Solara, 2010; 10. Tony Pedregon, Quaker State Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 2000.            TOP FUEL – 1. Larry Dixon, 2110; 2. Cory McClenathan, 2080; 3. Tony Schumacher, 2070; 4. Doug Kalitta, 2060; 5. Antron Brown, 2050; 6. Brandon Bernstein, 2040; 7. Shawn Langdon, 2030; 8. Morgan Lucas, 2020; 9. Steve Torrence, 2010; 10. David Grubnic, 2000.            PRO STOCK – 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 2110; 2. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 2080; 3. Jeg Coughlin Jr., Chevrolet Cobalt, 2070; 4. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 2060; 5. Jason Line, Pontiac GXP, 2050; 6. Shane Gray, Pontiac GXP, 2040; 7. Ron Krisher, Chevrolet Cobalt, 2030; 8. Greg Stanfield, Pontiac GXP, 2020; 9. Johnny Gray, Pontiac GXP, 2010; 10. Rodger Brogdon, Pontiac GXP, 2000.            PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE – 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson V-Rod, 2110; 2. Hector Arana, Buell, 2080; 3. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 2070; 4. Matt Smith, Buell, 2060; 5. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 2050; 6. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-David/son V-Rod, 2040; 7. L.E. Tonglet, Suzuki, 2030; 8. David Hope, Buell, 2020; 9. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 2010; 10. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 2000. * * * * TELEVISION (all on ESPN2, all times Eastern Daylight):Qualifying – Sunday, Sept. 5, 10-11 am; 11:30-2 pm; 5-7 pmNHRA RaceDay – Sunday, Sept. 5, 11-11:30 am. Race Highlights – Monday, Sept. 6, 1-6 pmRepeat race highlights – Wednesday, Sept. 8, 3-5 am Top Alcohol Dragster highlights – Sunday, Sept. 12, 10-11 am            * * * *NEXT EVENTS (2010 NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship):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 Automobile Club of Southern California 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.com For 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. * * * *