Brittany Force takes Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster to Sonoma Nationals semifinals

Brittany Force takes Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster to Sonoma Nationals semifinals Photo credit: Gary Nastase and Auto Imagery SONOMA, Calif. (July 30) – Brittany Force advanced to the semifinals for the fifth time in the last seven NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series races, moving her inside the top five of the Top Fuel points standings following Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.   Force took the Monster Energy dragster to a pair of elimination round wins before falling in the semis to points leader Steve Torrence, the eventual winner. It made up for a tough qualifying effort Saturday, in which she failed to make a full pass. Still, her No. 2 qualifying effort put her in position to vie for the victory at Sonoma, one of her favorite tracks and the second of three races on the annual Western Swing.   Force outran No. 15 Steven Chrisman in the opening round, charging down the track at a session-best 3.705 seconds at a track record 331.61 mph to set up a quarterfinals matchup against No. 7 Shawn Langdon. The two both ran into trouble, but Force pedaled the car and crossed the finish line in 4.071 seconds at 264.75 mph with Langdon trailing close behind.   That put her up against No. 6 Torrence, who had no major problems on race day. He ran 3.753 seconds at 329.02 mph in the semis, while Force ran 3.882 seconds at 315.27 mph, fuel spilling out the left side of her car.   Still, she leapfrogged veteran Doug Kalitta in the standings, moving to fifth, two points ahead of Kalitta. Ironically, Force took the track speed record away from Kalitta with her first-round pass.   “To have a day like that and then have low ET of the session ... I thought we were going to carry it all through the day,�?? Force said. “But we made a semifinal appearance, which is what we did last weekend too.  So that’s pretty good, but the plan for next week in Seattle is to take it off the trailer and end up in the winner’s circle.�??   The NHRA Northwest Nationals, the 16th round of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, is scheduled for Aug. 4-6 at Pacific Raceways outside Seattle.   4-Second Reads: Best Qualifying Effort: 3.689 seconds/330.63 mph (Round 2, Qualified No. 2) Elimination Round 1 (Right Lane): 3.705 seconds/331.61 mph, def. No. 15 Steve Chrisman, 4.220 seconds/226.66 mph; straight down the track for quickest pass of session and fastest pass of the weekend; vs. Chrisman – now 2-0 all-time; 2-0 this season; 1-0 at Sonoma Elimination Round 2 (Quarterfinals, Right Lane): 4.071 seconds/264.75 mph, def. No. 7 Shawn Langdon, 4.110 seconds/271.46 mph; took an early lead and extended lead when Langdon smoked tires, then held on as she hazed tires at top end; vs. Langdon – now 6-6 all-time; 1-1 this season; 1-0 at Sonoma Elimination Round 3 (Semifinals, Right Lane): 3.882 seconds/315.27 mph, lost to No. 6 Steve Torrence, 3.753 seconds/329.02 mph; a little fuel coming out of the left side of the car early and couldn’t catch Torrence at the end; vs. Torrence – now 4-6 all-time; 1-4 this season; 0-1 at Sonoma Now 108-103 (211 rounds) all-time in elimination rounds (.512) Now 12-4 (16 rounds) all-time in elimination rounds after qualifying No. 2 (.750) Now 3-5 (8 rounds) all-time in elimination rounds at Sonoma Raceway (.375) Now 21-14 (35 rounds) this season in elimination rounds (.600) Funny Car Points Standings: 1. Steve Torrence 1,369; 2. Antron Brown 1,294; 3. Leah Pritchett 1,250; 4. Tony Schumacher 1,008; 5. Brittany Force 935. About John Force Racing John Force Racing, Inc., based in Yorba Linda, Calif., and Brownsburg, Ind., is a professional sports dynasty, one that has earned 18 NHRA championships and claimed 253 professional victories in Funny Car (249) and Top Fuel (4). Led by team owner and driver John Force, a 16-time Funny Car Champion, 1996 Driver of the Year for all of American motor racing, 2011 International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee, and driver of the PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, JFR is additionally comprised of Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS driver Robert Hight, 2009 Funny Car champion and 2005 NHRA Rookie of the Year; Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS driver Courtney Force, 2012 NHRA Rookie of the Year; and Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster driver Brittany Force, 2013 NHRA Rookie of the Year. For more information, please visit johnforceracing.com. Media Contact: Lee Montgomery John Force Racing Public Relations (704) 258-0903 lmontgomery@johnforceracing.com Media Contact: Michael Harker John Force Racing Public Relations (386) 547-3943 mharker@johnforceracing.com Connect with us       John Force Racing | 498 Southpoint Circle, Brownsburg, IN 46112 Unsubscribe submit@theautochannel.com Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by lmontgomery@johnforceracing.com in collaboration with Try it free today