HIGHT WANTS FULL THROTTLE TEXAS MOTORPLEX EXPERIENCE

TEAM CASTROL/JFR25TH ANNIVERSARY SEASONROBERT HIGHTPre-Race Package for the 25th annual O’Reilly Super Start Batteries Fall NationalsSept. 23-26, 2010Texas MotorplexDallas, TexasThird 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 * * * * HIGHT WANTS FULL THROTTLE TEXAS MOTORPLEX EXPERIENCEDALLAS, TX (September 22, 2010) --- A year ago Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang team rode into the Texas Motorplex with a brand new Wally in their possession from a win in Charlotte and a building wave of momentum. They dominated the competition at the famed Dallas area track and went on win Hight’s first Full Throttle Funny Car world championship, the 16th in 20 seasons for John Force Racing.This year the team will attack the 25th annual O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals with the same degree of aggressiveness but not with the Wally hardware. In the first round of the O’Reilly NHRA Nationals in Charlotte Hight fell victim to a broken throttle cable in the first round and his race day ended for the second consecutive event in the first round. A dejected Hight knew that this misstep had dealt a severe blow to his championship hopes and he knew that the O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex held the key to his 2010 success.“We had a throttle cable break in the first round. That was the worst thing that could happen to us. I had no chance once that happened. We will go to Dallas and try to get a win. We won at the Texas Motorplex last year and we have had some good luck there. (Sunday) was disappointing but my Auto Club team is ready to fight for this championship. With (crew chief) Jimmy Prock making the tuning calls with Eric Lane and my guys we will be OK,�?? said Hight.The team stayed over in Charlotte and tested on Monday laying down two sub 4.10 passes under the baking North Carolina sun. That kind of performance could come in handy at the Texas Motorplex where temperatures can soar under the hot Texas sun.The good news for Hight is he has had success on the all-concrete race track that Funny Car super star Billy Meyer opened 25 years ago. Hight has been the No. 1 qualifier three of the last four Fall Nationals and he has picked up wins twice in the past four years. “I love racing at the Texas Motorplex. We left Dallas last year with the points lead and that was pretty amazing. This year we have not started the Countdown the way we planned. We had two first round stumbles. Breaking that throttle cable in Charlotte really hurt. Fortunately for us we weren’t hurt too bad in the points. It is going to be a battle for the championship and that is the way we want it,�?? said Hight.“We have been in the championship battle until the last day of the season the past couple of years so we are used to the pressure. My Auto Club team will be ready. We are excited to be representing AAA Texas this weekend and hopefully we can get them another win.�??Throughout the Countdown Hight will be contributing his thoughts to a blog for RACER Magazine and RACER.com. His first installment touched on how the team is approaching the Countdown as well as how they look at making changes on the Auto Club Ford Mustang.“The simple fact is, if things aren't the way you want them, they aren't going to get fixed by themselves. You have to make changes – and then you have to be willing to live with the consequences of them. When you make a change to one aspect of the car, you can be certain it will affect something else,�?? wrote Hight. “As an example, you can make a change to the clutch, but then you'll need to change the fuel system because the engine is either being pulled on harder or less hard and, obviously, its optimum running is completely dependent on the fuel flow. If the engine is being pulled on harder, you'll need more: if you're not pulling on it – in other words, you're more gliding away from the start (that's all relative, obviously!) – then you're going to want to slow down the fuel flow.�?? “So, in those circumstances, where one change triggers a bunch more, it requires a crew chief like Jimmy, who can think his way all along the logical chain of effects. He'll consider everything. Another great thing about Jimmy is that he won't just keep flogging an idea that has no chance of working. He's going to fix that car no matter what. Even if we're not testing, if there's something he believes we can do better, he's going to try it. Oh, and that's another reason I like working with him: he's usually right!�??As the team prepares to race at the Texas Motorplex Hight knows that the kind of change they need is round wins on Sunday and he knows that the team he has behind him will go Full Throttle to get those wins.   Castrol/JFR 25th Anniversary Flashback:            The Texas Motorplex was the site of the 2007 crash in which John Force suffered the most serious injuries of his drag racing career.             In a semifinal showdown with fellow Hall of Fame driver Kenny Bernstein, Force’s Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford suffered a blown tire after winning the race. Subsequently, it crashed into Bernstein’s Dodge at more than 300 miles per hour.            That started a chain of events that ended in the 14-time champion being airlifted out of the track to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas where he underwent six hours of surgery and was hospitalized for a month while undergoing accelerated physical therapy.            The sport’s biggest winner suffered a compound fracture of the left ankle, broken bones in his hands and feet as well as his fingers and toes, tendon damage due to a severe laceration of the right knee and a dislocation of the left wrist so severe that it initially was diagnosed as a fracture.            After returning to California, Force continued to re-hab and, on Feb. 7, 2008, was back in his Castrol Ford for the start of qualifying at the Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., an event in which he reached the semifinals.             In his 2008 return to the Motorplex, he qualified seventh and then beat Cruz Pedregon and his daughter, Ashley Force Hood, before losing to Tim Wilkerson. EVENT OVERVIEW:            John Force’s bid for an unprecedented 15th NHRA Funny Car championship this week brings him back to the site of some of his biggest accomplishments and most bitter disappointments.            Entering the third of six races in the NHRA’s Countdown to 1 playoffs, the 130-time tour winner is nursing a four point lead over Jack Beckman although four other drivers, including teammates Robert Hight and Ashley Force Hood, remain solidly in contention for the $500,000 champion’s bonus.            Although he’s won seven times (six times in this event), Force hasn’t reached the winners’ circle since beating Frank Pedregon in the 2005 final. Moreover, he has been involved in three crashes at the Motorplex including a 2007 accident that left him with career-threatening injuries (see above).            While this week’s race isn’t “make-or-break�?? insofar as Force’s bid is concerned, it could be so for Hight and Force Hood.            The reigning Full Throttle Champion and the Texas Motorplex track record holder at 4.063 seconds and 305.56 mph, Hight is the defending event champion at the wheel of the Auto Club Ford Mustang that owns the quickest times at both the traditional quarter mile and 1,000 foot distances (4.636 and 4.005 seconds, respectively).            Although he failed to qualify in 2007, a misstep that probably cost him the championship, Hight has started from No. 1 three times in the last four years.             Force Hood, who had reached the semifinals when she opted to withdraw from the 2007 race because of her father’s crash, is seeking her first victory at the Motorplex since she won in the Top Alcohol Dragster class in 2004.   The two-time reigning Mac Tools U.S. Nationals champion, she is trying to become the first woman ever to win the NHRA Funny Car title and the fourth different John Force Racing driver to do so.            * * * *JFR RACING HISTORY AT THE TEXAS MOTORPLEX:            Wins – 13. Seven by John Force for Castrol GTX (1992-1995, 1999-2000, 2005); two by Robert Hight for the Auto Club of Southern California (2006 and 2009); two by Tony Pedregon for Castrol SYNTEC (1996, 2003); one by Gary Densham for the Auto Club (2001) and one by Ashley Force Hood for Castrol GTX (Top Alcohol Dragster, 2004).            Last year – After barely qualifying for the Countdown to 1 playoffs, Robert “Top Gun�?? Hight sped into the Funny Car points lead by winning his second straight Full Throttle tour event en route to the team’s 16th championship in 20 years.             Notable #1 – John’s 1992 final round race with Cruz Pedregon was one of the sport’s classics. Trying to chase down Pedregon, who had taken over the points lead, he hit the guardwall not one time, not two times, but three times in losing a final round showdown despite the fact that the first impact automatically disqualified him.            Notable #2 – It was at the 1997 Castrol Nationals, a spring race no longer contested at the Motorplex, that Force was involved in another bizarre incident in a race with Ray Higley. Force had won the heat handily and was decelerating when Higley lost control beyond the finish line and hit his car from behind. The incident inflicted only minor damage to the car and Force went on to runner-up honors.            Notable #3 – At the 1989 Fall Nationals, Force was involved in a first round race with Ed McCulloch, now crew chief for Ron Capps but then one of the premier drivers in the Funny Car division. Both cars lost traction at the start and, out of control, were obscured by tire smoke. Obviously one car hit the guardwall and NHRA initially ruled that it was Force who did so. The sport’s biggest winner refused to get off the track until NHRA officials checked McCulloch’s car body, which was found to have impact damage while Force’s had none. Force was re-instated but lost in the following round to eventual series champion Bruce Larson.            Notable #4 – Robert Hight has qualified his Auto Club Ford No. 1 a category-best 38 times over the last six seasons. Although he’s won just five times from the front of the pack, he’s done so twice at the Motorplex (2006 and 2008).  * * * *PRO POINTS(Current 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Series point standings after three of six events in the Countdown to 1 playoffs):            FUNNY CAR– 1. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 2245; 2. Jack Beckman, MTS Dodge Charger, 2241; 3. Matt Hagan, Diehard Dodge Charger, 2203; 4. Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 2192; 5. Bob Tasca III, Quick Lane/Motorcraft Ford Mustang, 2160; 6. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 2157; 7. Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger, 2123; 8. Tony Pedregon, Komatsu Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 2085; 9. Tim Wilkerson, Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Mustang, 2082; 10. Del Worsham, Al Anabi Toyota Solara, 2077.            TOP FUEL – 1. Larry Dixon, 2355; 2. Cory McClenathan, 2270; 3. Tony Schumacher, 2207; 4. Doug Kalitta, 2190; 5. Brandon Bernstein, 2172; 6. Antron Brown, 2146; 7. Shawn Langdon, 2134; 8. Steve Torrence, 2115; 9. Morgan Lucas, 2104; 10. David Grubnic, 2066.            PRO STOCK – 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 2260; 2. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 2233; 3. Greg Stanfield, Pontiac GXP, 2226; 4. Jeg Coughlin Jr., Chevrolet Cobalt, 2180; 5. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 2164; 6. Jason Line, Pontiac GXP, 2159; 7. Ron Krisher, Chevrolet Cobalt, 2121; 8. Shane Gray, Pontiac GXP, 2105; 9. Rodger Brogdon, Pontiac GXP, 2085; 10. Johnny Gray, Pontiac GXP, 2075.            PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE – 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson V-Rod, 2347; 2. L.E. Tonglet, Suzuki, 2281; 3. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-David/son V-Rod, 2180; 4. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 2176; 5. Hector Arana, Buell, 2171; 6. Matt Smith, Buell, 2167; 7. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 2160; 8. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 2085; 9. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 2078; 10. David Hope, Buell, 2061. * * * * TELEVISION (all on ESPN2, all times Eastern Daylight):Qualifying – Saturday, Sept. 25, 10:30 pm-12 midnightNHRA RaceDay – Sunday, Sept. 26, 10-10:30 amRace Highlights – Sunday, Sept. 26, 7-10 pmRepeat race highlights – Wednesday, Sept. 29, 3:30-5:30 am            * * * *NEXT EVENTS (2010 NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship):26th 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.* * * *