TEAM CASTROL/JOHN AND ASHLEY PRE-RACE PACKAGE FOR CHARLOTTE
TEAM CASTROL/JFR 25TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON JOHN FORCE/ASHLEY FORCE HOOD Pre-Race Package for the third annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals Sept. 16-19, 2010 Zmax Dragway at Concord Charlotte, N.C. Second race in the Countdown to 1 playoffs for the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Championship * * * * follow John Force Racing at _www.twitter.com/jfr_racing_ (http://www.twitter.com/jfr_racing) To celebrate 25 years of Castrol sponsorship, go to _www.castrolforce.com_ (http://www.castrolforce.com/) * * * * Castrol/JFR 25th Anniversary Flashback: It was a very apprehensive John Force who, almost reluctantly, was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, now housed in the Detroit Science Center, in 2008. The reason? “That’s something that happens after you quit racing,�?? Force said of his joining a group of drag racing inductees that, at the time, included retired legends Don “the Snake�?? Prudhomme, “Big Daddy�?? Don Garlits and Shirley Muldowney as well as the late Wally Parks, founder of the NHRA, “and I’m not quitting.�?? In reality, those eligible for induction have either been retired for three years OR have functioned at the top levels of their discipline for at least 20 years. Force, drag racing’s biggest winner, has been a Top 10 Funny Car driver in each of the 25 seasons in which he has enjoyed Castrol GTX sponsorship. Castrol, which also sponsors the Ford Funny Car driven by his daughter, Ashley Force Hood, has been on board for each of Force’s 130 NHRA tour victories and 14 series championships. The Hall of Fame induction followed Force’s 1996 recognition as the Driver of the Year for all of American motorsports, making him the first drag racer ever so honored. He also has been a first team member of the Auto Racing All-America team 14 times and on four occasions earned the Jerry Titus Memorial Award as the driver received the most votes from the membership of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association. EVENT OVERVIEW: With three drivers among the Top 5 in Full Throttle points entering the O’ Reilly Auto Parts Nationals, John Force Racing, Inc., is zeroing in on a record shattering 17th NHRA Funny Championship in the last 21 seasons. Entering the second of six races comprising the 2010 Countdown to 1 playoffs, John Force leads the sport’s top professionals back to zMax Dragway where he drove his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang victory last March in the inaugural NHRA 4Wide Nationals. Force leads a pair of Dodge drivers, Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan, by 60 and 61 points, respectively, with Ashley Force Hood just 69 points behind off of a second straight victory in the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals and reigning Full Throttle Champion Robert Hight only 12 points further back at the wheel of the Auto Club Ford Mustang. Although Force is the points leader, as he has been for all but two of the season’s first 18 races, as the Countdown moves on to a pair of all-concrete tracks (zMax this week and the Texas Motorplex, outside Dallas, a week later), Force Hood has the momentum and Hight has the history. After struggling in the regular season, Force Hood dominated at the U.S. Nationals where she posted quick time of eliminations (4.059) and set a track record for 1,000 foot speed at 313.07 mph. That sends her back to zMax, where she was runner-up to her dad in the 4Wide race. Hight, winner of 18 tour events include a career high four this season, is the defending O’Reilly Nationals champion. He used last year’s victory as a springboard to the championship, becoming the first driver to win from the 10th and last starting position since the Countdown format was adopted in 2007. Even though Force won the 4Wide, he has not been a factor in the fall race. After failing to make the starting field at the inaugural O’Reilly Nationals in 2008, he lost to journeyman Jim Head in the first round a year ago. * * * * JFR RACING HISTORY AT ZMAX DRAGWAY: Wins – 2, one by Robert Hight for the Automobile Club of Southern California at the 2009 O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals; one by John Force for Castrol GTX High Mileage at the inaugural NHRA 4-Wide Nationals last March. Notable #1 – The massive main grandstand at Zmax Dragway has been designated the John Force grandstand by track owner Bruton Smith. Notable #2 – Team JFR has dominated four-wide racing as contested at zMax Dragway. Mike Neff edged his boss, John Force, for a narrow victory last September in a special four-wide exhibition during the O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals. Force then won last March in the inaugural 4-Wide Nationals, a race in which his daughter, recent Mac Tools U.S. Nationals winner Ashley Force Hood, was the runner-up. * * * * PRO POINTS (Current 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Series point standings): FUNNY CAR – 1. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 2206; 2. Jack Beckman, MTS Dodge Charger, 2146; 3. Matt Hagan, Diehard Dodge Charger, 2145; 4. Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 2137; 5. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 2125; 6. Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger, 2091; 7. Bob Tasca III, Quick Lane/Motorcraft Ford Mustang, 2083; 8. Tim Wilkerson, Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Mustang, 2072; 9. Del Worsham, Al Anabi Toyota Solara, 2043; 10. Tony Pedregon, Quaker State Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 2031. TOP FUEL – 1. Larry Dixon, 2234; 2. Cory McClenathan, 2188; 3. Tony Schumacher, 2147; 4. Shawn Langdon, 2102; 5. Doug Kalitta, 2095; 5. Brandon Bernstein, 2095; 7. Antron Brown, 2087; 8. Morgan Lucas, 2073; 9. Steve Torrence, 2063; 10. David Grubnic, 2035. PRO STOCK – 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 2216; 2. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 2164; 3. Greg Stanfield, Pontiac GXP, 2135; 4. Jeg Coughlin Jr., Chevrolet Cobalt, 2129; 5. Tie, Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, and Jason Line, Pontiac GXP, 2112 each; 7. Ron Krisher, Chevrolet Cobalt, 2087; 8. Shane Gray, Pontiac GXP, 2072; 9. Johnny Gray, Pontiac GXP, 2043; 10. Rodger Brogdon, Pontiac GXP, 2031. PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE – 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson V-Rod, 2243; 2. L.E. Tonglet, Suzuki, 2145; 3. Hector Arana, Buell, 2138; 4. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-David/son V-Rod, 2119; 5. Matt Smith, Buell, 2115; 6. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 2104; 7. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 2103; 8. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 2042; 9. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 2032; 10. David Hope, Buell, 2030. * * * * TELEVISION (all on ESPN2, all times Eastern Daylight): Qualifying – Sunday, Sept. 19, 10-11 am NHRA RaceDay – Sunday, Sept. 19, 6:30-7 pm Race Highlights – Sunday, Sept. 19, 7-10 pm Repeat race highlights – Wednesday, Sept. 22, 3-5 am * * * * NEXT EVENTS (2010 NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship): 25th annual O’Reilly Super Start Batteries Fall Nationals, Sept. 23-26, Dallas, Texas 26th 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 Light _elon@johnforceracing.com_ (mailto:elon@johnforceracing.com) _kelly@johnforceracing.com_ (mailto:kelly@johnforceracing.com) _chad@johnforceracing.com_ (mailto:chad@johnforceracing.com) 214-244-1184 317-858-8900 714-921-8123 For BP/Castrol: Dave Densmore Lori Anne Gola _denswood@aol.com_ (mailto:denswood@aol.com) _lorianne.gola@bp.com_ (mailto:lorianne.gola@bp.com) 214-244-0008 973-633-2393 For Ford Racing: Kevin Kennedy _kkennedy@pcgcampbell.com_ (mailto:kkennedy@pcgcampbell.com) 313-203-7108 For the Auto Club of Southern California: Rick Lalor _lalor.rick@aaa-calif.com_ (mailto:lalor.rick@aaa-calif.com) 714-885-2085 * * * * For additional information or photos, contact one of the representatives above or go to _www.johnforceracing.com_ (http://www.johnforceracing.com/) or _www.nhra.com_ (http://www.nhra.com/) . * * * * FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE force leads funny car rivals back to zmax CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On a track on which he made history last March, John Force this week resumes his unlikely bid for the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car championship in the third annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals, an event in which he has yet to win a single round of racing. The 130-time tour winner brings his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang back to Bruton Smith’s zMax Dragway for the first time in six months; the first time since beating his daughter, Ashley Force Hood, to win the controversial and inaugural 4Wide Nationals, the first NHRA national event ever contested in a four-across format. At 61, an age at which the majority of his contemporaries are driving nothing more challenging than a golf cart, Force is poised to claim an unprecedented 15th championship in a category that arguably is the most competitive in the sport, one that features 8,000 horsepower race cars capable of zero-to-100 mile-an-hour acceleration in less than one second. The sport’s all-time leader in race victories, series championships, final rounds (210) and round wins (1,071), Force rolls onto the main stage at zMax with a three-round lead over his three closest rivals in the Countdown to 1 playoffs – Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan and Force Hood who, two weeks ago, repeated as Funny Car champion at the world’s biggest drag race, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, Ind. If Force can hold on through this and four more Countdown races, the next one at the Texas Motorplex track on which he crashed heavily in 2007, he not only would become the oldest champion ever crowned in a major racing series, he would become the first drag racer to win titles in three different decades. A 2008 inductee into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Detroit, Force earned his first Funny Car title in 1990; his last in 2006. Now, after the crash that almost ended his career and two frustrating seasons during which he battled both physical and mechanical limitations, the 14-time Auto Racing All-America selection is back on top of his game and atop the point standings. Although he won at Topeka, Kan., in 2008, less than eight months after suffering injuries to his arms, legs, hands and feet, he failed to reach a single final round last year while finishing ninth in points. It was the first time he hadn’t gone to the money round since 1985 – a span of 24 seasons. -more- force/o’reilly auto parts nationals 2222 However, after revamping his crew, adding Mike Neff to the crew chief mix, switching to a chassis developed in-house at John Force Racing East in Brownsburg, Ind., and working himself back into fighting shape through daily gym workouts, Force has been driving like a man possessed. In fact, on the season, he has posted the quickest reaction time in 80 per cent of the two-car heats in which he has been involved, easily the best mark among Funny Car drivers and one of the best in the sport overall. As a result, in a season in which he is celebrating 25 years of Castrol sponsorship, Force has gone to more final rounds than any other Funny Car driver (eight), shares the category lead in victories with reigning series champion Robert “Top Gun�?? Hight, has started from No. 1 on three occasions (his first No. 1 starts since 2006) and has posted the quickest time of the season (1,000 feet, from a standing start in 4.021 seconds). “It’s a struggle every day to race against all these kids,�?? Force said. “Ashley, Robert, (Matt) Hagan, (Bob) Tasca, (Tim) Wilkerson, Del Worsham, (Ron) Capps, Tony (Pedregon), all of ‘em. I’m just happy to be able to compete again – but I really do want this championship. I’m 61 and don’t know how many more chances I’m gonna have.�?? * * * * Force at zMax Dragway: �?? John’s record at the two NHRA national events contested at zMax Dragway is as different as night and day. In the 4Wide Nationals, contested for the first time last March, he is unbeaten at 3-0. However, in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals, contested this week for the third time, he is 0-1 with one DNQ (2008) �?? The primary grandstand at zMax Dragway is named for John Force. �?? John record his fastest career speed at the 1,000 foot distance (316.23 mph) in the final round of the 4Wide Nationals. The Breakdown: At zMax Dragway 3 races, 2 starts, 1 final round , 1 win , 0 No. 1 qualifiers, 3-1 round record (65.1%) At the O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals 2 races, 1 start, 0 final rounds, 0 wins, 0 No. 1 qualifiers, 0-1 round record (65.1%) 2010 Season 18 races, 8 final rounds, 4 wins, 3 No. 1 qualifiers, 33-14 round record (71.4%) Career 544 starts, 210 final rounds, 130 wins, 134 No. 1 qualifiers, 1071-414 round record (72.1%) Notable: John leads second place Jack Beckman by 60 points and third place Matt Hagan by 61 entering the second of six events in the Countdown to 1 playoffs. John has been the points leader after all but two of the 18 races contested thus far. Teammate Robert Hight was the leader after races at Joliet, Ill., and Englishtown, N.J. -www.johnforceracing.com- For more information about Castrol-branded products and services, please visit us at Castrol.com/US force/o’reilly auto parts nationals 3333 FORCE’s Edge Overall NHRA records (which also are Funny Car division records) – Most career victories (130) – Most series championships (14) – Most career final rounds (210) – Most career rounds won (1071) – Most consecutive series championships (10, 1993-2002) – Most consecutive seasons with one or more victories (22, 1987-2008) – Most consecutive seasons with at least one final round appearance (24, 1985-2008) – Most consecutive seasons with multiple tour victories (18, 1990-2007) – Most consecutive national events without a DNQ (395, 1988-2007) – Most consecutive Top 10 seasons (26, 1985-present) – Highest winning percentage, one season (91.5%, 65-6) Other NHRA Funny Car division records – Most final rounds, one season (16, 1996) – Most victories, one season (13, 1996) – Most rounds won, one season (65, 1996) – Most career No. 1 starts (134) – Most No. 1 starts, one season (11, 1996) – Most consecutive final round appearances, one event (nine, 1992-2000, Atlanta, Ga.) – Career starts (543) Milestones – First start, Oct. 8, 1978, World Finals, Ontario, Calif., lost to Gordie Bonin – First round win, June 1, 1979, Cajun Nationals, Baton Rouge, La., over Tom McEwen – First final round, June 1, 1979, Cajun Nat’ls, Baton Rouge, La., vs. Kenny Bernstein. – First No. 1 qualifier, May 25, 1986, Cajun Nationals, Baton Rouge, La. – First tour victory, June 28, 1987, Le Grandnational, Montreal, over Ed McCulloch – First Funny Car driver to break 4.90 second barrier, July 6, 1996, Topeka, Kan. – First drag racer to win Driver of the Year award for all of American motor sports (1996) – First Funny Car driver to break 4.80 second barrier, Oct. 24, 1998, Dallas, Texas – First (and only) drag racer to win 100 events, April 14, 2002, Houston, Texas – First Funny Car driver to break 4.70 second barrier, Oct. 2, 2004, Joliet, Ill. – No. 2 (behind Don Garlits) in balloting to determine Top 50 drivers in NHRA’s first 50 years (2001) – First win at 1,000 foot distance, Feb. 14, 2010, Winternationals, Pomona, Calif. – First (and only) drag racer to win 1,000 racing rounds, May 4, 2008, Madison, Ill. – First Funny Car driver to win in four-wide format, March 28, 2010, Charlotte, N.C. -more- force/o’reilly auto parts nationals 4444 Awards – Driver of the Year (1996) – Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2008 inductee) – AARWBA Auto Racing All-America Team (14 times, 1990, 1993-2002, 2004-2006) – Jerry Titus Memorial Award (most AARWBA votes, 4 times, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002) – AARWBA Comeback Award (2008) – Speed TV Comeback Award (2008) – SAE Motorsports Achievement Award (2008) – AutoSport Magazine’s John Bolster Award for lifetime achievement (2005) * * * * JOHN FORCE By the Numbers 0 rounds won in O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals and rounds lost in 4Wide Nationals 1 position presently occupied in Countdown to 1 driver standings 2 events this season after which he WAS NOT No. 1 in points 3 pins securing the bones in his left ankle, the result of a 2007 crash in Texas 4 time winner of the Jerry Titus Memorial Award as the driver receiving the most votes in balloting for the AARWBA Auto Racing All-America team (1996, 1999, 2000, 2002) 6 races since last tour victory (June 20, Bristol, Tenn.) 8 final rounds this season, most among Funny Car drivers 9 runner-up finishes before winning for the first time at Montreal, Canada in 1987. 10 straight Funny Car titles (1993-2002), an NHRA record 26 consecutive Top 10 finishes (1985-present), another NHRA record 130 tour events won, an NHRA record 134 No. 1 qualifying performances, four short of the record 210 final round appearances, an NHRA record 1071 competitive rounds won, another NHRA record -www.johnforceracing.com- For more information about Castrol-branded products, contact us at Castrol/US.com To celebrate 25 years of Castrol sponsorship, go to _www.castrolforce.com_ (http://www.castrolforce.com/) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE off indy win, force hood has eye on title CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Energized by a repeat victory in the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, drag racing’s oldest, largest, richest and most prestigious single event, Ashley Force Hood tries to take another step toward an historic Full Throttle Funny Car championship this week when she returns to zMax Dragway for the third annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals. The 27-year-old daughter of Funny Car points leader John Force rolls her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang back onto the all-concrete surface at zMax in fourth place in the driver standings, little more than three racing rounds behind her famous father. Already the first woman to race in an NHRA Funny Car final, the first to win an NHRA Funny Car race and the first to lead the Full Throttle points, the graduate of Cal State-Fullerton now is poised to add “first female Funny Car champion�?? to a growing competitive resume. Surprisingly, Force Hood is reluctant to embrace such gender distinctions. “Obviously, I’m a girl driver and I love girl power and all that stuff,�?? she said, “but I have twelve guys that work on my team (and) they are just as important to our success as I am. I drive the car, but they are the ones that put it together. “Ron and ‘Guido’ (crew chiefs Ron Douglas and Dean Antonelli) get the tune up just right, round-after-round,�?? she explained, “(and) it’s because of them and the rest of my guys that I’ve been successful. Together, we’re a great team. “They give me a really good, consistent race car and I do my best to work on my reaction times and keep it in the groove. Each round is really a learning experience. I just try to learn from my mistakes and get better every week.�?? It’s a simple strategy, but one that seems to be working. Borrowing a page from brother-in-law Robert Hight’s playbook, Force Hood surged from eighth to fourth in points on the strength of her second straight victory in the U.S. Nationals, which this year is the first of six races in the 2010 Countdown to 1 playoffs. Among those she passed was Hight, who after getting the last qualifying position, mounted a worst-to-first title run in which he drove the Auto Club Ford to victory in three of the six playoff races including the O’Reilly Nationals. -more- ashley/o’reilly auto parts nationals 2222 “Last year, Robert showed that if you can just make the Countdown, anyone can win the championship,�?? she said. “We struggled earlier this year but we kept remembering what the Auto Club team did a year ago. That was our motivation.�?? Although she finished second in 2009, Force Hood would have won the championship under the system the NHRA employed to crown champions prior to 2007. This year, though, she has a new perspective. “We were hating the points structure last year,�?? said the former high school cheerleader, “but we’re loving it this year. You get a second start to your season (when the points are adjusted at the end of 17 races). We went into (Indy) saying, ‘let’s put the past behind us’ and it happened.�?? Until Indy, her high water mark for the season was a runner-up finish to her dad in the controversial 4Wide Nationals contested earlier this year at zMax. With the return this week to the more traditional two-wide format, she hopes to maintain her playoff momentum. “It’s all about these next five races,�?? she said. “The Countdown gives you a chance – and that’s all you can ask for.�?? * * * * Ashley at zMax Dragway: �?? Ashley is the NHRA national record holder for Funny Car speed at the 1,000 foot distance at 316.38 mph., a mark she set at zMax Dragway last March in the final round of the inagural 4Wide Nationals �?? Ashley was runner-up to her father, John Force, by .006 of a second at the 4Wide Nationals (4.042 for her; 4.036 for him). The Ashley Report: At zMax Dragway 3 races, 3 starts, 1 final round, 0 wins, 0 No. 1 qualifiers, 5-3 round record At the O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals 2 races, 2 starts, 0 final rounds, 0 wins, 0 No. 1 qualifiers, 3-2 round record 2010 Season 18 races, 3 final rounds, 1 win, 3 No. 1 qualifiers, 19-17 round record Career 87 races, 83 starts, 16 final rounds, 4 wins, 12 No. 1 qualifiers, 99-79 round record Notable: Ashley is the two-time reigning Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Funny Car Champion, the only woman to have won the sport’s most prestigious event in two different categories (Funny Car and Top Alcohol Dragster) and the only woman to have won it as many as three times. -www.johnforceracing.com- For more information about Castrol-branded products and services, please visit us at Castrol.com/US