J. FORCE, B. FORCE LEAD JFR INTO RACE DAY IN NEW ENGLAND

TEAM JFR QUALIFYING REPORT2016
NHRA Final Qualifying Summary9th of
24 races in the NHRA Mello Yello Series 4th
annual NHRA New England Nationals
New England DragwayEpping,
NHJune
3-5, 2016Photos courtesy of
Gary Nastase Photography (JForce, BForce, CForce) and Ron Lewis Photography
(Hight) for media use only *
* * * J.
FORCE, B. FORCE LEAD JFR INTO RACE DAY IN NEW ENGLANDEPPING, NH –
The quartet of John Force Racing race cars put on a tremendous show for the
sold-out crowd at New England Dragway today on the final day of qualifying for
the 4th annual NHRA New England Nationals. Defending event winner John Force
held onto the No. 4 qualifying position while Robert Hight and the AAA
Insurance Chevrolet Camaro raced into the show and will face No. 8 qualifier
Courtney Force in an epic intra-team race in the first round. Brittany Force
and the Monster Energy Top Fuel team continued to post quick times and will
race Todd Paton from the No. 3 qualifier position.The Monster
Energy team will bring a consistent race car to the starting line tomorrow
looking for their third win of the season. Brittany Force made the second quickest
run of the final qualifying session, a solid 3.744 second run. The fourth year
pro will face Todd Paton in the first round for the first time in her career.
The No. 3 starting position will be Force’s best start at the New England
Nationals (was No. 4 in 2014).
“It feels
good to come into Epping and qualify No. 3. We made some solid runs down the track
with this Monster Energy dragster. I think we have a pretty good ladder
tomorrow. We’ll just take it one round at a time and see what we can do,�?? said
Force.
Last year
Force raced to the semifinals from the No. 10 qualifying position and was
ousted in a close race by Larry Dixon Jr.
While
Brittany was holding onto her strong qualifying position in Top Fuel Robert
Hight and the AAA Insurance Chevrolet Camaro were making their presence known
for the first time with their new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. After two
lackluster runs on Friday Hight and his team blasted into the field with a
3.929 second run that wound up as the second quickest of the first session
today.
In the
second session Hight stepped up even more and posted a 3.919 second run at
329.26 mph and moved up into the No. 9 spot. Unfortunately, the performance
improvement put him on a collision course with teammate and Funny Car points
leader Courtney Force in the first round. The pair have split in their two meetings
this season with Hight holding a 10-6 advantage over his Chevrolet teammate
over their respective careers.
The 2009
Funny Car champion was enthusiastic about his team’s improvement and optimistic
there was more room for improvement.
“This is the
first day that we have gotten the new Camaro down the track. We made two really
good runs. I honestly believe (crew chief) Mike Neff was looking for a little
more,�?? said a focused Hight at the top end after the final qualifying session. “You
saw the Top Fuel guys step up and we were hoping to do the same and maybe run
in the 3.80s. Coming up here I was going to be racing (reigning Funny Car world
champion) Del Worsham and that is no walk in the park. We are going to have to
be on our game tomorrow now against Courtney. I think we will be.�??
Courtney
Force qualified in the No. 8 position after four sessions and will go into race
day with lane choice over her opponent in the opening round. Unfortunately,
Force will line up with teammate and President of John Force Racing, Robert
Hight.
“Our Traxxas
team is going into race day tomorrow in the No. 8 spot. It’s not exactly where
we wanted to be, but we’re still in the top half and we have lane choice.
Unfortunately, we have to run our teammate Robert Hight in the first round, but
we’re going to see if we can get this Traxxas car ready to go,�?? said Force.
They are 1-1
in 2016, a result of Force losing to Hight in the 2nd round at the
Winternationals and Force beating Hight in the second round two races ago in
Atlanta. This is only the fourth time they have met in the opening round of eliminations,
but the second time they have squared off in Epping.
“I think (my
car) is running a little too slow early in the run so we’re going to have to
change some things and my crew chief said he’s going to try to get it running a
little quicker early on so we can get the car to the other end,�?? said Force.
“It’s
definitely going to be a rough round for us against Robert. He’s a really great
driver and I know he has a good car. We’re going to give it everything we have
and just go for it. Tomorrow will be a crucial day for us keeping a hold on the
points lead.�??
The driver
of the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car and NHRA Funny Car points leader
completed three of the last four passes down New England Dragway. Force went up
in tire smoke at the hit in Q1, but followed up with a 3.915, a 3.959 and
finally a 3.919. She is competing for her second victory at New England Dragway
in the Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. She won the inaugural event in
2013 when she beat her father John Force in the final round of eliminations. It
was her seventh final round and third victory of her Funny Car career.
As the
defending event champion John Force came into the New England Nationals with a
chip on his shoulder and something to prove to himself and his competition. Two
weeks ago the winningest driver in NHRA history unveiled the 2016 Chevrolet
Camaro SS Funny Car to much fanfare but on only the second pass Force brushed
the guardwall and was forced to trailer his brand new racecar. The 16-time
champion went immediately to the team’s shop in Brownsburg, Indiana where he
stayed until he flew to New Hampshire last Thursday.
The time
spent in the shop paid dividends on and off the track for the winner of 143
NHRA Funny Car national events.
“I spent a
lot of time with my guys and we figured a lot out on this Camaro. I used to
just come into the shop of a day and we would have to rush. That was my fault
but I told my guys I would give them all the time they needed and we have a
great race car now,�?? said an enthused Force.
Force made
the quickest run of his career on Friday night 3.886 seconds at 329.75 mph, also
a career best mark. To close out qualifying today Force posted the quickest run
of the session a blistering 3.913 second pass beside and in front of, eventual
No. 1 qualifier Ron Capps. The performance improvement had Force thanking
everyone from JFR as well as all the fans who packed New England Dragway.
“Chevrolet
is doing OK. It drives pretty nice especially when you don’t crash it. I am
excited my guys put together a good hot rod for me. We have everybody on it
from PEAK to Blue DEF, Auto Club, Traxxas and Monster Energy and we want to put
on a good show,�?? said Force. “It ran 3.88 yesterday and ran 3.91 today. I have
a racecar I can come out here and play with. We are learning about it every day
and tomorrow will be exciting. What really excited me this weekend was seeing
all you fans in the stands. God bless you. We love you and we need you.�??
Force will
begin his title defense against Bob Tasca III in the first round. *
* * *THE DRIVERSJOHN FORCE, 67, PEAK/Blue DEF 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SSFinal Qualifying: 4th at 3.886, 329.75 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: +4 (3rd quickest
of Q2 and quickest of Q4)First round opponent (W-L): Bob Tasca III (10-11)ROBERT HIGHT, 46, Auto Club 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS
Final Qualifying: 9th at 3.919, 329.26 mph Bonus Qualifying Points: +3 (2nd quickest
of Q3 and 3rd quickest of Q4)First round opponent (W-L): Courtney Force (10-6)COURTNEY FORCE, 27, Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS
Final Qualifying: 8th at 3.915, 317.12 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: 0First round opponent (W-L): Robert Hight (6-10)BRITTANY FORCE, 29, Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster
Final Qualifying: 3rd at 3.729, 327.19 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: +7 (Quickest of Q1 and 2nd quickest of Q2
and Q4)First round opponent (W-L): Todd Paton (0-0) *
* * *RACE SCHEDULE:Sunday, June