JOHN FORCE LEADS 1-2-3 QUAL EFFORT AT KANSAS NATIONALS

TEAM JFR QUALIFYING REPORT2013 NHRA Final 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 * * * * JOHN FORCE LEADS 1-2-3 QUAL
EFFORT AT KANSAS NATIONALS TOPEKA, KS (May
18, 2013) – It was a banner day for John Force Racing as qualifying for the 25th
annual NHRA Kansas Nationals concluded with all three JFR Ford Mustangs atop the
Funny Car qualifying order. On Friday it was Robert Hight and Courtney Force
sitting at the top the provisional order but today 9-time NHRA Kansas Nationals
winner John Force ran 4.043 setting the track ET record en route to his 11th
No.1 qualifying effort at Heartland Park Topeka. It was the 141st No. 1 of
Force’s illustrious career and the first of the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing
season. “It was so
smooth on that run I told (crew chief Mike) Neff we could go harder. He said OK
but we have to race tomorrow. He slowed it down on that run and it still spun
at the other end. When I went past the lights I almost got into the wall down
there. When I hit the chutes it sucked me over. Neff is a real sharp cookie but
I knew that. With his driving ability and what he has done as a crew chief,�??
said Force after his final run of the day a 4.077 second pass. The last
time Force was No. 1 was the Chicago NHRA event in 2012. Force has won the NHRA
Kansas Nationals six times from the top spot. In the first round he will face
former teammate and two-time Funny Car world champion Tony Pedregon. Force
holds a commanding 57-26 win record against Pedregon. “It was 125-126
degrees yesterday and I said that was awful hot. It ran that 4.11 which was
pretty good (for the second session). Then my daughter and Robert both run in the
4.0s and I thought geez. We have been working on different chassis and they are
starting to run for us. I told Neff this morning if I knew what was going on
then I wouldn’t need to pay all these crew chiefs. We are a good team because we
work together and we communicate. Even with all my experience I sometimes still
struggle with the driving and Neff can talk to me and ask me why I am doing
something in the car.�?? Force raced
around his daughter, Courtney Force, and son-in-law, Hight, on the way to the
top of the Funny Car field. This was the 11th time John Force Racing was 1-2-3
in Funny Car qualifying. The last time JFR achieved this feat was Houston 2010
when Force was No. 1 followed by Ashley Force Hood, then Robert Hight. “We are 1-2-3
and for Ford, Castrol, Traxxas, Auto Club, this means a lot. It shows that John
Force still knows what to do. I surround myself with good people. I would like
to take credit but credit goes to the people that give you the power. It starts
at Mike Neff and then right down the line. All our crew chiefs work together
from Jimmy Prock to Dean Antonelli to Ron Douglas,�?? said Force. “That is what
it is all about. We have been struggling and I have done media stories about
that. My dad always taught me when you are struggling don’t change in the middle
of the stream and don’t forget which way you are going. Don’t swim backwards.
The guys believe in me and I believe in them. They turned my cars around.�?? Force’s
on-track success meant that Arlie Ryan from Solomon, Kansas won a washer and
dryer set thanks to BrandSource and the Win with Force promotion. If a JFR
driver wins the race tomorrow a different lucky fan will win a 55�?? flat screen
TV. When
qualifying was said and done, Courtney Force drove her Traxxas Ford Mustang
straight down the track and claimed the No. 2 spot right. She will take on the
No. 15 qualified car, that of Dale Creasy Jr., on race day. Force had an
identical ET to teammate Hight but by virtue of her faster 315.56 mph she was
awarded the second spot The
24-year-old blonde from Yorba Linda, Calif. picked up four qualifying bonus
points on Friday alone, and added 2 bonus points from her fourth and final
round of qualifying today at Heartland Park Topeka. “It feels
great to come out here and make consistent runs each pass. We were trying
something different on the third qualifying shot, trying to get it to go
quicker down there. The track ended up being a little bit better than we
expected on that run, but we came back up and improved our time. We tried to go
for that top spot and we were just a little off. I wanted to steal it away from
my dad and take that track record away from him, but I’m very proud of my
Traxxas Ford Mustang team. I’m proud of my teammates; my dad going to the top
and Robert in the No. 3 spot. It’s pretty amazing that we’ve all been running
so strong out here during qualifying at Heartland Park Topeka,�?? said Force. Force has
never raced Dale Creasy Jr. in previous events. Last year in 2012, Force’s
rookie year, she qualified No. 8 here at Heartland Park Topeka and lost to
Robert Hight in the first round.“I’m excited
to go into tomorrow. It’s going to be interesting. It’s the first time I’ll be
running Dale Creasy Jr. and my brother-in-law, Danny, his dad works on that
team. It’s going to be a lot of fun to be out there with my family. I’m just
excited that our three John Force Racing Funny Car teams are back on top,�?? said
Force. As excited
as the Forces were about their respective qualifying efforts, the biggest
smiles in the JFR pit area belonged to the Auto Club Mustang crewmen, crew chiefs
and driver Robert Hight. Since the end of last season the team has been
searching for a consistent tune-up and in the past two days the team feels like
they have a good handle on one. “I am
thrilled. This is the best four runs we’ve put together. We had the fastest car
out here early on. We’ve been trying to search for that for three years. Right
now, there is nobody out here that has a car as fast as us at the beginning
part of the track. I’m excited and to be one, two and three with our Ford
Mustangs as bad as we’ve been struggling this is a great start to the season
for us,�?? said Hight. Hight is 9-1
versus veteran Jeff Arend in first round match-ups. Tomorrow will be the
sixteenth meeting between Hight and Arend with Hight only having losses to the
Jim Dunn backed driver.  “When you qualify well, you know you get an
easier pick. We’ll have to bring our ‘A’ game for sure but I’m excited. We do
everything right, we ought to be deep in this deal and maybe meet one of my
teammates in the final,�?? added Hight.Hight’s Auto
Club Ford Mustang earned eight qualifying bonus points this weekend. The last
time they earned that many bonus points in one event was over a year ago at the
spring NHRA event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His qualifying
struggles have been well chronicled but to put this weekend’s turn around in
perspective from the Sonoma event in July until the end of the season Hight’s
team only earned seven qualifying bonus points. The Castrol EDGE
Top Fuel dragster had a pressure filled day with overcast skies threatening all
day and a few brief showers halting racing action they were trying to post a time
quick enough to qualify for the race. At the end of Friday’s qualifying session
they were the 13th quicket Top Fuel dragster and did not carry a time
over to Saturday.  In the first
session the Dean Antonelli and Eric Lane tuned dragster went right down the
track and solidified rookie Brittany Force’s position in the field. Conditions
afforded the team the chance to put a little more into the tune up and with
each run of the first three runs the Castrol EDGE dragster improved. In the final
session the team was pressing and slowed a bit to 3.856 seconds but the pass
was straight and heading into the first round Force is confident in her
chances. “We’ve been
running a pretty consistent car. We ran a 3.856 in the last run and a 3.846 in
the previous run. We’re in the show and we ended up 13th. The Castrol EDGE team
gets to run tomorrow so we’re pretty excited about that. We get Khalid
alBalooshi in the first round and I’ve never run him before so I’m excited and
looking forward to tomorrow,�?? said Force, who is writing a daily diary for the
Topeka Capital Journal newspaper. “I really
like Khalid. I’ve talked to him quite a few times. He’s always offered help and
advice if I ever needed any. He’s a great guy and I’m excited to be in the lane
next to him tomorrow.�?? Final
eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. tomorrow.  * * * *THE DRIVERS JOHN FORCE, 64, Castrol GTX Ford
MustangFinal Qualifying: 1st
at 4.043 seconds, 313.22 mphBonus Qualifying
Points: +4 (quickest of Q3 and 3rd quickest of Q4)First Round Opponent
(W-L): Tony Pedregon (57-26)  ROBERT HIGHT, 43, Auto Club of Southern
California Ford Mustang
Final Qualifying: 3rd at 4.050 seconds at 315.12 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +8 (Quickest of Q1 and Q2;
2nd quickest of Q3)First Round Opponent
(W-L): Jeff Arend (13-2) COURTNEY FORCE, 24, Traxxas Ford Mustang
Final Qualifying: 2nd at 4.050 seconds, 315.56 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +7 (2nd quickest
of Q1 and Q2; quickest of Q4)First Round Opponent
(W-L): Dale Creasy Jr. (0-0) BRITTANY
FORCE, 26, Castrol EDGE Top Fuel DragsterFinal Qualifying: 13th at 3.846, 320.89 mphBonus Qualifying Points: 0First Round Opponent
(W-L): Khalid alBalooshi (0-0) * * * *RACE SCHEDULE: 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-