HIGHT EXTENDS LEAD, MOVES CLOSER TO FIRST FULL THROTTLE FUNNY CAR TITLE

BY TEAM FORD RACING CORRESPONDENT

Pomona, Calif. — While Robert Top Gun Hight took another step toward securing his first NHRA Funny Car championship, John Force fired the shot heard round the drag racing world Friday during second day qualifying for Sunday’s 45th annual Auto Club Finals.

Force, drag racing’s biggest winner, stopped the 1,000 foot timers in a career best 4.060 seconds at 307.72 miles per hour Friday to earn the provisional No. 1 spot and move into position to earn his first No. 1 start in more than three years.

Force’s effort at the wheel of a Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang whose performance this year has been erratic, at best, enabled him to hold off Hight for the top spot in the best conditions of the weekend. A warmer track on Saturday will make improvement difficult, though certainly not impossible.

“Tomorrow is a new day,” Force said. “Conditions will be good. They’ll run quicker out there. I know Jimmy Prock [crew chief on Hight’s Auto Club Ford] will. Right now, there is a lot of focus [within our team] just trying to get me back in the game.”

Hight, who was quickest on Thursday, improved Friday to 4.069 seconds at a whopping finish line speed of 310.55 mph. That earned him two more valuable bonus points and put his blue-and-white Mustang into position to secure the championship before the start of eliminations on Sunday. If he still has a lead of 101 points or more after Saturday’s qualifiers, he’ll become the third different JFR driver to win the title in the last seven years.

Despite the fact that Hight is on the verge of adding a new chapter to the history of John Force Racing Inc., Friday was a day of retribution for Force, who has bristled this season at the suggestion that, at age 60, maybe he should retire.

“I don’t smile too much anymore,” Force said. “I don’t want to hear about what I did in the past. I don’t need people coming up to me saying, ‘it’s okay champ; you have done it all.’ I don’t care about what I did [in the past]. I care about where I’m going. If I can get my race car back, I can get back in the game. It’s what I love.

“I haven’t been competitive, honest to God, since the crash,” Force said, referring to the September 2007 accident at the Texas Motorplex that left him hospitalized for almost a month. I’ll leave here tonight and I’ll go do some stuff for the Auto Club and then I’ll get in the gym for two hours.

“This is the greatest life in the world,” Force said in his press room interview. “All year I’ve been trying to get in here to see ya’ll [but] I couldn’t even run fast enough to get a good fire where you might feel sorry for me and let me in here.

“It feels great guys. I have to give Jimmy Prock a lot of credit. We’ve just been off our game. I ain’t exactly back. There are only two days left in the season, [but] I’ve got a chance to come back and give the fans what they pay for and what they deserve.

“If they care for me, then they deserve to see me race and not just go down the race track. I want to be a guy that can actually compete. When I can’t compete, I’m that’s the deal. It’s all about the fight and the journey.”

Force, who has started from the front of the pack a Funny Car best 131 times, hasn’t done so since Sept. 1, 2006, a span of 73 races, the longest such drought of his remarkable 32-year NHRA career.

The last time the 14-time champ was even a provisional No. 1 was Oct. 31, 2008 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where his 4.062-second effort on Friday was eclipsed on Saturday by Hight (4.043).

“This is the second worst season I’ve had since I started. [Crew chiefs] Austin Coil and Bernie [Fedderly] are working really hard [and] we aren’t getting any younger. Credit goes to the whole brain trust. John Medlen came over to work on our car. Jimmy Prock helped. So did Gudio [Dean Antonelli] and Ron Douglas from Ashley’s team.

“They got me out of an embarrassing situation, made me respectable, at least for a day. I’ll take it, but it will be gone tomorrow—without a doubt. Robert almost got it tonight. A low qualifier would mean a lot, though. I used to just take them for granted.

The only non-JFR cars among the top six qualifiers Friday were the Team Schumacher Dodges of Ron Capps and rookie Matt Hagan. Capps, was third at 4.076 seconds in the NAPA Dodge; Hagan fifth at 4.107 in the Valvoline Dodge. The other two JFR Mustangs are No. 4 (Ashley Force Hood at 4.098 in the Castrol GTX Ford) and No. 6 (Mike Neff at 4.137 in the Ford Drive One Mustang).

The two other Mustangs also were Top 10 Friday with identical elapsed times. Bob Tasca III got the No. 9 position on the top speed tiebreaker after the two teammates were clocked in 4.154 seconds.

“That was the kind of run I am used to,” Force Hood said of her 4.09. “It was pulling me all the way down the track. That was definitely like my good old Mustang. I am really pumped and actually had a tear going down my face. I don’t know if it was from my allergies or just the force of the run or being happy that my car was back. I think it was a little of all three. I was actually crying on that run. It was funny that I had tears going down my face.”

For Force, who has won 101 competitive rounds at Auto Club Raceway, the only driver to accomplish that feat at any single track, Friday’s performance provided at least a glimmer of hope for record-setting streaks that have been on life support this season.

Since he hasn’t advanced beyond the semifinals all year, Force’s streaks for consecutive seasons with a final round appearance and successive seasons with a tour victory both are in jeopardy. Also at risk is Force’s streak of having posted a winning record in 24 straight seasons.

A DAY’S WORK
Second day qualifiers for Sunday’s 45th annual Auto Club of Southern California Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona:

FUNNY CAR – 1. John Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 4.060, 307.72 mph; 2. Robert Hight, Yorba Linda, Calif., Automobile Club of Southern California Ford Mustang, 4.069, 310.55 mph; 3. Ron Capps, Carlsbad, Calif., NAPA Dodge Charger, 4.076, 307.65 mph; 4. Ashley Force Hood, Anaheim Hills, Calif., Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 4.098, 307.58 mph; 5. Matt Hagan, Christiansburg, Va., Valvoline/Shelor.com Dodge Charger, 4.107, 304.84 mph; 6. Mike Neff, Fishers, Ind., Ford Drive One Ford Mustang, 4.137, 300.00 mph; 7. Tony Pedregon, Brownsburg, Ind., Quaker State Chevrolet Impala, 4.144, 303.98 mph; 8. Jack Beckman, North Hills, Calif., MTS Dodge Charger, 4.145, 303.57 mph; 9. Bob Tasca III, Cranston, R.I., Quick Lane Ford Mustang GT, 4.154, 295.28 mph; 10. Tim Wilkerson, Springfield, Ill., Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Mustang, 4.154, 294.18 mph; 11. Gary Densham, Bellflower, Calif., Chevrolet Impala, 4.188, 294.63 mph; 12. Jeff Diehl, Salinas, Calif., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 4.192, 292.20 mph.

TOP FUEL – 1. Larry Dixon, Indianapolis, Al Anabi dragster, 3.801, 318.99 mph; 2. Spencer Massey, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. Smokeless dragster, 3.809, 317.54 mph; 3. Tony Schumacher, Long Grove, Ill., U.S. Army dragster, 3.832, 316.52 mph; 4. Brandon Bernstein, Lake Forest, Calif., Budweiser dragster, 3.832, 312.28 mph; 5. Doug Kalitta, Ann Arbor, Mich., Technicoat dragster, 3.836, 316.82 mph; 6. Cory McClenathan, Brownsburg, Ind., FRAM dragster, 3.838, 316.38 mph; 7. Antron Brown, Pittsboro, Ind., Matco Tools dragster, 3.853, 313.88 mph; 8. Bob Vandergriff Jr., Alpharetta, Ga., 3.881, 308.99 mph; 9. Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Dexter Tuttle Motorsports dragster, 3.891, 306.53 mph; 10. Chris Karamesines, Chicago, Ill., Strange Engineering dragster, 3.897, 308.57 mph; 11. Morgan Lucas, Brownsburg, Ind., GEICO dragster, 3.909, 303.84 mph; 12. Dave Grubnic, Ennis, Mont., DHL dragster, 3.914, 317.42 mph.

PRO STOCK – 1. Mike Edwards, Coweta, Okla., Young Life/ART Pontiac GXP, 6.575, 210.31 mph; 2. Allen Johnson, Greeneville, Tenn., Mopar Dodge Stratus, 6.611, 208.78 mph; 3. Rodger Brogdon, Tomball, Texas, Kent Trucking Pontiac GXP, 6.621, 208.78 mph; 4. Greg Anderson, Concord, N.C., Summit Pontiac GXP, 6.630, 209.72 mph; 5. Jason Line, Troutman, N.C., Summit Pontiac GXP, 6.630, 208.91 mph; 6. Greg Stanfield, Bossier City, La., Attitude Apparel Pontiac GXP, 6.632, 209.26 mph; 7. Ronnie Humphrey, Jacksonville, N.C., Summit Pontiac GXP, 6.632, 209.23 mph; 8. Jeg Coughlin Jr., Delaware, Ohio, Jeg’s Chevrolet Cobalt, 6.632, 208.26 mph; 9. Ryan Ondrejko, Roslindale, Mass., Wiley-X Eyewear Pontiac GXP, 6.637, 207.85 mph; 10. Dave Northrup, Perkasie, Pa., 6.637, 207.85 mph; 11. Rickie Jones, Galesburg, Ill., QuarterMax Dodge Stratus, 6.641, 208.49 mph; 12. Johnny Gray, Artesia, N.M., Mopar Dodge Stratus, 6.642, 208.91 mph.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE – 1. Karen Stoffer, Smith, Nev., GEICO Suzuki, 6.982, 191.70 mph; 2. Andrew Hines, Brownsburg, Ind., Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson V-Rod, 6.986, 192.33 mph; 3. Larry Cook, West Linn, Ore., Buell, 6.987, 188.96 mph; 4. Douglas Horne, Aberdeen, Md., Horne Racing Buell, 6.989, 191.54 mph; 5. Eddie Krawiec, Englishtown, N.J., Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson V-Rod, 6.995, 193.13 mph; 6. Hector Arana, Milltown, Ind., Lucas Oil Buell, 6.997, 189.71 mph; 7. Michael Phillips, Baton Rouge, La., Suzuki, 7.021, 193.54 mph; 8. Shawn Gann, Stoneville, N.C., Master Cam Buell, 7.021, 188.81 mph; 9. Craig Treble, Harvey, La., Suzuki, 7.049, 188.96 mph; 10. Freddie Camarena, Placentia, Calif., Suzuki, 7.050, 192.03 mph; 11. David Hope, Nevada, Mo., Vroom Racing Buell, 7.050, 188.41 mph; 12. Jim Underdahl, North Branch, Minn., 7.075, 190.57 mph.

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER (first round pairings) – 1. Monroe Guest, Mannford, Okla., A/Fuel dragster, 5.193, 278.46 mph, vs. 16. Shawn Cowie, Delta, British Columbia, Canada, Top Alcohol dragster, 5.376, 267.00 mph; 2. Johnny Ahten, Santa Clarita, Calif., A/Fuel dragster, 5.256, 269.78 mph, vs. 3. Hillary Will, Ypsilanti, Mich., A/Fuel dragster, 5.268, 273.05 mph, vs. 14. Brian Smith, Fullerton, Calif., Top Alcohol dragster, 5.355, 267.48 mph; 4. Bill Reichert, Owosso, Mich., A/Fuel dragster, 5.289, 267.43 mph, vs. 13. Michael Manners, Willis, Texas, A/Fuel dragster, 5.355, 269.19 mph; 5. Duane Shields, Boulder City, Nev., A/Fuel dragster, 5.306, 271.95 mph, vs. 12. Chris Demke, Sunland, Calif., Top Alcohol dragster, 5.346, 265.43 mph; 6. Courtney Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., A/Fuel dragster, 5.306, 263.72 mph, vs. 11. Brandon Johnson, Shelton, Wash., A/Fuel dragster, 5.344, 270.81 mph; 7. Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., A/Fuel dragster, 5.311, 270.75 mph, vs. 10. Joey Severance, Spanaway, Wash., Top Alcohol dragster, 5.346, 265.43 mph; 8. Mark Niver, Phoenix, Ariz., A/Fuel dragster, 5.322, 267.06 mph, vs. 9. Jim Whiteley Grand Junction, Colo., Top Alcohol dragster, 5.346, 265.43 mph.