JFR FUNNY CARS "WICKED" QUICK ON FRIDAY AT NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS

John Force at the N.E. Nats. Image Credit: Dicken Wear (2015)

JFR FUNNY CARS "WICKED" QUICK ON FRIDAY AT NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS

EPPING, NH – At the conclusion of the first day of qualifying only two Funny Cars were quicker than the trio of John Force Racing Chevrolet Camaros at the 3rd annual NHRA New England Nationals.

The team was led by 16-time Funny Car champion John Force who capped the day with a 4.055 second pass as the provisional No. 3 finisher. Force was followed by daughter Courtney Force’s 4.059 second run and son-in-law Robert Hight’s 4.068 second pass. Brittany Force powered the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster to the provisional No. 10 spot and will look to improve on Saturday at New England Dragway.

Image Credit: Dicken Wear (2015)

John Force who is seeking his first NHRA national event win at New England Dragway started the day with a run that had him No. 10 after the first session. His first run of 4.696 seconds hazed the tires at half-track. In the second session Force’s Peak Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car blazed down the left lane and lit up the scoreboard with a 4.055 second elapsed time at 318.24 mph. It was quick enough to hold up as the quickest time until the last three pairs took to the track. Force earned qualifying bonus points as the third quickest Funny Car of the second session.

“We ran a little bit quicker there. We showed them what is out there. We are playing with a new combination. I have Jon Schaffer and this young team working hard. Like I said in the paper we have a long ways to go and we’ll be ready when the Countdown gets here,” said Force from the top end.

Bob Tasca, III Burnout at New England Dragway. Epping, NH. Image Credit: Dicken Wear (2015)

The AAA New England Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car and driver Robert Hight started the day with a solid 4.139 second run that had him in the No. 6 position going into the night session. His Mike Neff tuned Chevy Funny Car took advantage of the later qualifying position to improve to the No. 5 spot on the strength of a 4.068 second run at 320.13 mph. Both runs were smooth and right down the middle of the racing surface. Hight and Neff will have two solid runs to build on going into the second day of qualifying as they work towards a dominant race day tune-up.

“That was a pretty good start for this AAA New England Chevy Funny Car. Neff has a pretty good handle on the tune up and I think there is more performance out there. I am looking forward to tomorrow and I think we are in a good spot,” said Hight.

Courtney Force drove her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car straight down the race track during both qualifying sessions and ended the day in the No. 4 spot at the 3rd annual NHRA New England Nationals. She made a 4.137 second pass at 314.17 mph on the first qualifying attempt and followed up with a 4.059 ET at 319.45 mph to go to the top half of the field.

“I’m proud of my Traxxas guys this weekend. We have definitely started out on the right foot which is what we need to do this weekend if we want to make any progress in points,” said Force. “We went out and ran a 4.13 which put us in the top half of the field in Q1. Then we came back and improved with a 4.05 later on in the day so we’re excited. We’re going home tonight in the No. 4 spot and we’re looking to stay in the top half tomorrow throughout the rest of qualifying. We’re trying to hopefully work off the good runs we had today and keep this Traxxas Chevy consistent.”

After the first session of Top Fuel qualifying Brittany Force and the Monster Energy dragster were No. 7 with a consistent 3.856 second pass at 319.75 mph. The data gathered on that run allowed crew chiefs Todd Smith and Ronnie Thompson to step up on the performance side with an improved 3.819 second run at 320.89 mph. Force will head into the second day of qualifying as the No. 10 qualifier.

“I feel good going into tomorrow. We held onto the No. 10 spot which helps us going into Saturday. We made two solid passes. The car went down there both runs and that is where we have been struggling lately. We improved on the second pass which is even better. We aren’t exactly where we want to be but we can try and step up tomorrow. I have great crew chiefs in Todd Smith and Ronnie Thompson and a great crew with this Monster Energy team.”

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THE DRIVERS

JOHN FORCE, 66, Peak Anti-Freeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS
Qualifying: 3rd at 4.055 seconds, 318.24 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: +1 (3rd quickest of Q2)

ROBERT HIGHT, 45, AAA New England Chevrolet Camaro SS
Qualifying: 5th at 4.068 seconds, 320.13 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: 0

COURTNEY FORCE, 26, Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS
Qualifying: 4th at 4.059 seconds, 319.45 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: 0

BRITTANY FORCE, 28, Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster
Qualifying: 10th at 3.819 seconds, 320.89 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: 0

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RACE SCHEDULE:

Saturday, June 13
3rd round qualifying 1:00 PM
4th round qualifying 3:30 PM

Sunday, June 14
Final Eliminations 11:00 AM

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Report by: Elon Werner JFR-PR, reposted by:Dana Marino
http://www.twitter.com/jfr_racing.com

Coming soon our NHRA Only site by Dicken Wear and Dana Marino

Editor's Note: Apologies to our readers. It turns out there has been a link missing to our “NHRA” and “Ladies Point of View” website hosted by Dana Marino. We are working on it and hope to have a solution soon and have the site back up as quickly as possible. Thanks to Anthony Vestal of the NHRA for bringing it to our attention. - Dicken Wear, Editor-in-Chief.