HIGHT AND C. FORCE DOMINATE KANSAS NATIONALS ON FRIDAY

TEAM JFR QUALIFYING REPORT2013 NHRA Friday Qualifying Summary8th
of 24 races in the NHRA Mello Yello Series 25th annual NHRA Kansas NationalsHeartland Park TopekaTopeka, KSMay 17-19, 2013Photos courtesy of Will Lester Photography for media use only * * * * HIGHT AND C. FORCE
DOMINATE KANSAS NATIONALS ON FRIDAY TOPEKA, KS (May
17, 2013) – It is only the first day of the NHRA Kansas Nationals but it was a
great day for Robert Hight and Courtney Force who finished each qualifying
session 1-2 in the Funny Car category. It was the first time all season Hight’s
Auto Club Ford Mustang has been the quickest of the first two sessions and the
two-time Kansas Nationals winner was pleased with his first day effort. Hight
gave a lot of the credit to his crew chief Jimmy Prock and his pre-race
decision to try a new tune-up. “For some
reason we always do good here in Topeka. We have qualified well but here lately
we have been struggling and we’ve been working on the early part of the run. We
definitely got it today being low ET of both sessions. It has been ages since
we did that.  The back half of both of
those runs weren’t very good. If we could have finished those out this thing
would have really run,�?? said Hight. “It put a couple cylinders out. The reason
it put cylinders out is it wore the clutch out and it didn’t lock up. We definitely
fixed what we have been looking for what seems like a year. You see these other
guys out there running these low numbers to the 330 (ft. mark) and you just can’t
be giving that away. It has taken a lot of hard work and a lot of testing.
Jimmy Prock just hit it right out of the box.�?? Hight and
the Auto Club Mustang have been inconsistent throughout the start of the season
earning one No. 1 qualifier in Las Vegas. The rest of the season Hight has
struggled to put two or three runs in a row together. A combination of lack of
testing and poor weather during races has hurt the team’s ability to gather
data “Mother
Nature hasn’t allowed us to test much. That is the biggest problem. We are
missing twelve runs that we would have had from testing in Las Vegas, Charlotte
or Houston. We have lost six qualifying runs we have missed because of weather.
That has really hurt us but obviously it is the same for everybody. Jimmy just
made a decision to come in here with a new set-up. We just really hoped we
would get some data that first run. Luckily he hit it right on the head in that
first run,�?? said Hight. It has been
a complete team effort to get a workable tune-up for the Auto Club Mustang that
can be transferred to all the JFR Funny Cars.  “We always
work together. It got us back on track be were struggling. It still didn’t get
us quick enough in the ET department where we can make up some of that ET on
the back half but as Jimmy has been looking at it we have some hot races coming
up and summer is here. It will be tough to make that up if you give that much
away early. You just can’t get that time back,�?? said Hight.  “We definitely found it today I know it is
only two runs, what we have been missing. If we can get the back end right we’ll
be in good shape. That run was pretty hairy because it had at least two
cylinders out. I have looked at the computer data yet. It was dragging me over
towards the wall. If we could have finished that off and run 270 (mph) at half-track
this thing would have run 4.03 easily.�?? Courtney
Force, driver of the Traxxas Ford Mustang, made two great passes today to
kick-off the weekend and qualify in the provisional No. 2 spot.  The 24-year-old
ran a 4.133 ET at 307.16 mph, followed by a 4.068 ET at 312.86 mph in the
second session which sent her to the top of the pack. Force stayed No. 1 until
the next pair of cars including Robert Hight made their last pass. Hight beat
out Force for the top spot by .001 seconds. “It feels
great coming out to Topeka and being able to make two great passes. We went to
the top of the field only to be bumped down to the No. 2 spot by .001 of a
second by my teammate and brother-in-law Robert Hight. I guess if I had to be
bumped by anyone, I’m glad it’s someone on our team. I’m proud of my guys. They
have been working hard. We really needed those runs for ourselves. We collected
some points and to try to creep our way back up to the top. But, you know what
we’re out here to have fun. It’s great to be back here at Heartland Park
Topeka,�?? said Force.  Nine-time
NHRA Kansas Nationals winner John Force stepped up in the second qualifying
session posting a solid 4.117 second pass at 309.27 mph. He will go into
Saturday’s final day of qualifying as the provisional No. 8 qualifier.  “We got all
three Funny Cars in the show and Robert got low ET and that’s big. Courtney is
right up there with him. I was No. 8 and we’re testing this new chassis. This
is only its second run. It’s hard to tell what is going to happen tomorrow
because we were 1, 2 and 3 after the first session in Atlanta. What matters is
if we get to race tomorrow, I think we will be okay,�?? said Force. In the first
session the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang shook the tires loose but crew chief Mike
Neff stepped up in the night session and got Force down the track with a good
run as one of the early pairs. The Castrol
EDGE Top Fuel dragster piloted by Brittany Force made to good runs and the
rookie driver was the quickest Top Fueler to not carry a time over into
Saturday. The twelve quickest race cars post a time but on Saturday the Yorba
Linda, California driver will have two opportunities to grab a spot in the top
sixteen. In the first
session Force had a respectable 3.884 second pass that was good enough to be in
the top half. Her Dean Antonelli and Eric Lane tuned dragster improved in the
second session to a 3.847 second run at 319.52 mph but many of the teams
stepped up as conditions improved. “I’ve always
loved coming to Topeka, so I’m excited to be here. We had two qualifying runs
today and ended up 13th. We were hoping to improve on that last run, but we
still get two more rounds tomorrow so that’s what we’re banking on and hoping
to get us in the top half of the field and race on Sunday,�?? said Force.   * * * *THE DRIVERS JOHN FORCE, 64, Castrol GTX Ford
MustangQualifying: 8th
at 4.117 seconds, 309.27 mphBonus Qualifying
Points: 0 ROBERT HIGHT, 43, Auto Club of Southern
California Ford Mustang
Qualifying: 1st at 4.067 seconds at 302.62 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +6 (Quickest of Q1 and Q2) COURTNEY FORCE, 24, Traxxas Ford Mustang
Qualifying: 2nd at 4.068 seconds, 312.86 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +4 (2nd quickest
of Q1 and Q2) BRITTANY
FORCE, 26, Castrol EDGE Top Fuel DragsterQualifying: 13th quickest at 3.847, 319.52 mphBonus Qualifying Points: 0 * * * *RACE SCHEDULE: Saturday,
May 18 Nitro
qualifying                                     1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Sunday,
May 19 Final
Eliminations                      11 a.m. ****  FOLLOW
JOHN FORCE RACING AT www.twitter.com/jfr_racing.com **** Contacts: Dave
Densmore                      Elon
Werner                               Sarah Adams                               Denswood
Sports                  
John Force Racing, Inc.                John Force Racing Inc.           
214-244-0008                         214-244-1184                                812-249-9823denswood@aol.com              
Elon@johnforceracing.com           sarah@johnforceracing.com Michelle McCulloughJohn Force Racing, Inc.575-405-2929michelle@johnforceracing.com   -www.Castrol.com/us-