John Force Racing pre-race releases for Thunder Valley Nationals

Dear Media Members-Below are the pre-event releases for John Force Racing
heading into the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals this weekend at Bristol Dragway. If
you need any additional information or team photos feel free to contact any one
of the JFR public relations members listed below. Thank you for your continued
coverage of JFR and NHRA.Elon Werner, JFR PR, 214-244-1184, elon@johnforceracing.comSarah Adams, JFR PR, 812-249-9823, sarah@johnforceracing.comIf you would like to be removed from this list please simply
respond with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.JOHN FORCE CONTINUES LEGENDARY CAREER THIS WEEKEND IN
BRISTOLBRISTOL, TN (June 14, 2016) --- John Force made his mark at
Bristol Dragway when he drove the iconic Superman Funny Car to the winner’s
circle as the winner of the Top Fuel vs. Funny Car Winston Showdown in 1999.
That win coupled with Force’s four victories at the NHRA Thunder Valley
Nationals contributed to Force being selected for induction to the Legends of
Thunder Valley this weekend at Bristol Dragway.“Bristol Dragway is a Bruton Smith track and I always want
to do my best at any of Bruton’s tracks. I love racing at Thunder Valley and we
have had some success there. It was big for me personally to beat the Top Fuel
dragsters in that race and Bob Vandergriff Jr. is one of the best out there so
I was proud of that,�?? said Force.Over the years at Bristol Dragway Force has raced his Funny
Car to the final round on five occasions picking up four wins most recently in
2013 when the 143-time Funny Car winner outran Cruz Pedregon. Surprisingly for
all of Force’s race day success he only has one No. 1 qualifier which was last
year with then rookie crew chief Jon Schaffer at the helm.  In fifteen seasons Force has never started
the Thunder Valley Nationals from the bottom half of the field and only four occasions
was he even No. 7 or lower.“Jon Schaffer and these PEAK crew guys have been giving me a
good racecar. We have the new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car and I love it.
A lot of work went into getting it just right and I am excited to be driving
this hot rod. Robert got his 2016 Camaro a couple races ago and Courtney should
get hers in Chicago. All my teams have been doing well this season and we are
up there in the points,�?? said Force.This season Force has raced to one final round dropping a
tough race to Tim Wilkerson in Phoenix and he has been to the semifinals at three
other races. The winningest driver in NHRA history knows that seeing four win
lights on Sunday is one of the toughest things to do in the Funny Car class
these days. That challenge does not take away the enthusiasm the 16-time Funny
Car champion has for getting into his racecar.“When I put on my firesuit I feel like I am 20 years old
again. I have all these young crew guys working on this PEAK Camaro and I can’t
let them down. They give me energy and I hope I team them something about being
champions. Last race I got them all together and we talked about what this team
means to me and how much I love every one of those kids. You have to have a
team to win out here and I think I have a pretty good team. I got my money back
with PEAK, Auto Club, Traxxas, Monster Energy, Mac Tools and Lucas Oil so we’ll
be alright,�?? said Force. HIGHT READY TO GET BACK ON TRACK IN BRISTOLBRISTOL, TN (June 14, 2016) --- Robert Hight knows that
history can be made at any track. With performance numbers dropping from race
to race these days in the NHRA Funny Car class the right conditions can lead to
record setting times on any run. The Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS is ready to
get into the performance battle and the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals is a
prime target for the 2011 Thunder Valley Nationals winner.“We tried a lot of new things on this Auto Club Camaro last weekend
in Englishtown and I was really excited to see the performance numbers. We are
making progress and even though we had a short day on Sunday that doesn’t take
away from my confidence. My crew chief Mike Neff is a smart guy and my crew
guys are some of the best guys out here,�?? said Hight from his pit in
Englishtown.Hight qualified No. 3 at the SummerNationals with a 3.915
second elapsed time but was upset by Jeff Diehl in the first round when Hight’s
10,000 hp racecar smoked the tires.  Diehl would race all the way to the semifinals
but the first round loss stuck with Hight.“We have been making good runs in qualifying since we got
the new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car body but there is an adjustment
period for sure. Plus we are trying a couple other things and getting
everything to work together is a process. I am excited to be getting back to
Bristol. I love the fans there and the track is awesome. I’ll be doing some
trap shooting with the media on Thursday and that always gets your competitive
juices flowing,�?? said Hight.This season Hight has had some early success winning the historic
Gatornationals for the third time and also posting semifinal finishes at the
Winternationals and the Arizona Nationals in Phoenix. Since that strong three
race start to the season Hight has not been able to get to the semifinals. In
two of the last for races Hight’s biggest obstacle has been his teammate
Courtney Force who was the Funny Car points leader.In Atlanta and Epping Hight matched up with Force in the
second round and first round, respectively and he  came up the losing side of both of those
races. The only positive for Hight has been that for most of the season the
Funny Car points leader has either been him or his Traxxas-backed teammate.“This is a long season and where you start doesn’t have a
lot of impact on where you will end up some times. It is nice to have the
points lead and to get some race wins. Courtney and I are locked into the
Traxxas Shootout at Indy and winning that $100,000 prize would be huge. The
real deal is you want to try and be consistent and we are in the middle of four
races in a row. My goal is to have a success race in Bristol and then go to the
next race and do well there,�?? summed up Hight.COURTNEY FORCE
WOULD LIKE EARLY BIRTHDAY PRESENT WITH WIN IN BRISTOLBRISTOL, TN
(June 14, 2016) --- Courtney Force is preparing for the third stop along a
four-race swing with her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS team. The 16th annual NHRA
Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway is the 10th of 24 races in the NHRA
Mello Yello Series and also Force’s birthday weekend. She will be turning 28
years old on Monday.“Not only is
Bristol one of my favorite tracks on the NHRA circuit because of the beautiful
scenery and dedicated fans, but it will also be a race that I hope to win as a
birthday gift to myself! My birthday is the Monday after the race so I'm really
hoping for a successful weekend. “I can't wait
to be in my race car and wouldn't want to spend it anywhere else. I get to be
with my family, friends and team and get to celebrate Father's Day with my dad
within the same weekend! I definitely hope there is a JFR car in the Winner’s
Circle and hope it's The Fastest Name in Radio Control,�?? said Force.This will be
the first time in the last four race events that Force has not sat atop the
Funny Car points. The 27-year-old driver suffered an upset in the first round
of eliminations last week at the NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township
Raceway Park beside her father and 16-time Funny Car Champion John Force, which
ultimately led to Force being bumped to the No. 3 spot in points. “Our team has
had a consistently strong performance so far this season, but lost our rhythm
this past weekend. I'm excited to get right back at it, and I know my entire
Traxxas team is as well,�?? said Force.The first
round exit was Force’s first opening round loss of the 2016 season a streak of
nine consecutive races.Last year at
the Thunder Valley Nationals, Force qualified in the No. 7 position and went
into race day with lane choice over Cruz Pedregon, but lost in a race day
upset. It was the very next weekend in Norwalk that Force went to her 14th
final round and was runner-up of the event. “My Traxxas
team is thrilled to get to Thunder Valley and thankful for the race being back
to back so we can quickly put Englishtown behind us after an early first round
exit. We are hoping for a better weekend in Bristol and will take what we
gathered from this past weekend and hopefully get this car qualified better
this weekend. We missed opportunities of gathering bonus points during
qualifying and have lost our points lead but looking forward to hopefully
making a comeback this weekend,�?? said Force.BRITTANY FORCE BUILDING MOMENTUM HEADED TO THUNDER VALLEYBRISTOL, TN (June 14, 2016) --- So far this season Brittany
Force and the Monster Energy team have been checking items off of their racing
bucket list at almost every event it seems. Force won for the first time in 75
races at the historic Gatornationals and then followed that up with a win at
the Four-Wide Nationals. In Topeka at the Kansas Nationals the fourth year pro
set the national elapsed time record of 3.676 seconds and etched her name in the
history books as the quickest Top Fuel driver ever. With the historic Thunder
Valley Nationals coming up this weekend Force is looking to continue to have
success behind the wheel of her 10,000 hp racecar.“Bristol is one of my favorite tracks on the circuit and I
would love to bring home a win there,�?? said Force, who is currently fourth in
the Top Fuel standings. “It would be pretty awesome to double-up on Father’s
Day and end up in the winner’s circle with the Monster Energy team and the PEAK
team with my dad.�??Force’s father, John Force, will be inducted into Bristol
Dragway’s Legends of Thunder Valley on Sunday morning. The second youngest
Force racing daughter has grown up watching her dad win, crash and talk across
the country. Now she is seeing up close the competitive side of her 16-time
championship father and she is using his wisdom to enhance her own racing
career.“On Sunday I was struggling with my reaction times and I was
really starting to get down on myself. I went to my dad and he gave me a good
pep talk. He said you have to race from the heart and just let everything else
go. You have to love it. I really listened to that and it made a difference. In
the semifinals I left first on the starting line and even though we didn’t get
the win against Torrence I feel like I did a much better job driving,�??
explained Force.The Monster Energy Top Fuel team was overhauled in the off-season
with the addition of Top Fuel consultant Alan Johnson and crew chief Brian
Husen. That combination along with Force’s continued experience behind the
wheel has made the JFR Top Fuel dragster one of the most consistent on tour
this season.“I can’t say enough about Alan and Brian,�?? Force said. “They
have been so great to work with and this whole Monster Energy team has really
come together. This whole team works really well together and they are a great
group of guys. I am proud of every one of them, and we all work so hard to try
and get the win every race.�??This season the Monster Energy dragster has only lost in the first
round three times and as advanced to at least the semifinals four times
including last week at the SummerNationals. Force held the Top Fuel points lead
for four races and now is comfortably in the No. 4 spot. Force continues to
develop as a driver and knows that there is room for improvement at every race.“It definitely feels good to be going rounds,�?? Force said.
“It was a tough weekend for us (in Englishtown). We struggled a little bit in
qualifying. As a driver, I was really struggling on the tree. I just couldn’t
seem to find it so it felt good on that third round to finally have a decent
tree. We didn’t get the win, but it feels good to leave on that note and
overcome the struggle I was having this weekend.�??