Ashley Force fastest qualifier at Brainerd
Ashley Force topped the qualifying field at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota. Ashley Force ran her Castrol GTX Mustang 4.110 seconds E.T. at 299.40 MPH to secure the position on Friday. Qualifying ended with four John Force racing cars in the top five positions. John Force qualified second with a 4.112 second E.T. at 301.27 MPH run, that was 0.002 behind his daughter Ashley. Robert Hight ran a 4.119 second E.T. at 300.26 MPH for the third spot and Mike Neff took the fifth spot with a 4.176 second E.T. at 298.80 MPH.
Del Worsham and his Checker Schuck’s Kragen Impala managed to be the only competitor to break through John Force Racing's domination of qualifying, by running a 4.152 second E.T. at 291.01 MPH for the forth qualifying slot. Worsham is currently 12th in points and is hoping to break into the top ten this weekend to make it into the Countdown to One. He'll have to earn two more points than Bob Tasca III and 42 points more than Jack Beckman to make the countdown.
Tags: Ashley Force, Del Worsham, John Force, Mike Neff, NHRA, Robert HightRobert Hight fast qualifier in Funny Car at Norwalk
Robert Hight drove his Automobile Club of Southern California Mustang to the number one qualifying position at the 2nd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio today. Hight's 4.882 second E.T. at 309.77 MPH in Saturday's final qualifying session. The Fuel Funny Car qualifying field had 0.318 second spread by the end of qualifying.
The event was plagued with water issues. On Friday, qualifying was cancelled after the first PSM round when water began seeping out of the track near the finish line. The Norwalk area has had more than a foot of rain in the last week and the water percolates to the surface has the day warms up. Track officials worked for over five hours to dry the track before giving up. Saturday qualifying was put on hold twice due to rain, but the track workers were able to dry the track and complete Saturday's scheduled sessions.
Melanie Troxel and Gary Scelzi will not be racing on Sunday, as both were disqualified for having loose ballast in their cars. NHRA disqualified both drivers from the event when the loose weight was discovered after their qualifying runs in the first session.
Qualifying results and Sunday's first round elimination pairings are:
Position Driver E.T. MPH
1 Robert Hight 4.882 309.77
16 Mike Neff 5.200 224.43
2 Ron Capps 4.909 297.42
15 Jerry Toliver 5.085 278.12
3 Tim Wilkerson 4.910 304.32
14 Tommy Johnson Jr. 5.064 288.95
4 Bob Tasca III 4.932 303.64
13 Tony Bartone 5.007 260.11
5 Jack Beckman 4.965 300.26
12 Cruz Pedregon 4.995 296.83
6 Tony Pedregon 4.975 276.35
11 Jim Head 4.994 295.34
7 Del Worsham 4.977 302.14
10 John Force 4.988 274.11
8 Ashley Force 4.980 290.07
9 Gary Densham 4.983 297.29
Timing and scoring data courtesy of NHRA.
Tags: NHRA, Norwalk, Robert HightTim Wilkerson continues winning season at Englishtown and racing community mourns the loss of a driver
Tim Wilkerson continued his hold on the number one position in Fuel Funny Car championship points with his latest win at the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ. Wilkerson defeated Mike Neff by 0.010 seconds in the final round.
The win was bittersweet for Wilkerson, who in the winner’s circle, expressed the need to make the cars safer to protect the drivers and lamented the loss of Scott Kalitta on Saturday.
During the coverage of Sunday’s race, ESPN2 devoted a great deal of time to eulogizing Scott Kalttita, who lost his life in a crash during the final round of qualifying on Saturday. The outpouring of support for the Kalitta family was tremendous, as drivers paid their condolences and messages of concern. Each car featured a Scott Kalitta remembrance decal. NHRA has creeated a tribute to Scott Kalitta at NHRA.com and notes that fans may send their condolences to the Kallita family using the email address champion@kalittaracing.com. The loss of Scott was also remembered at the beginning of the NASCAR race at Sonoma.
Robert Hight’s first round pairing would have matched him up against Scott Kalitta. The members of the Kalitta racing teams stood together at the starting line of the lane that Scott Kalitta would have made his run against Hight and covered there ears in anticipation of the thunderous roar of Hight’s car taking the green light. When the green light illuminated, Hight idled his car down the entire length of track in tribute Scott. It was a very touching tribute that brought tears to the eyes of many. A fitting reminder of the mourning and sense of family felt throughout the drag racing community.
Tags: Englishtown, Mike Neff, Robert Hight, Scott Kalitta, Tim WilkersonWilkerson Top Qualifier Again
Wilkerson's stellar year continues as he earned a start from the top of the Funny Car field for the fourth time in seven races, this time with the lowest e.t. of the season. The driver of the Levi, Ray, and Shoup Chevy Impala flew to a 4.744 at 326.16 mph in the first session of the day and held onto the lead despite the incredible efforts of three drivers: Mike Ashley, whose eleventh-hour ...
Read the full article at NHRA.com
Hight Heads to Gainesville with respect and hope
GAINESVILLE, FLA (March 7, 2008) --- Robert “Top Gun” Hight has a high level of respect for the drivers that have won and competed at Gainesville Raceway for the past four decades. He knows it is a special place for a variety of reasons, some happy and some sad.
Gainesville and Gainesville Raceway are home to the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame and the first 300 mph run in drag racing history. This is one of the few tracks on the NHRA tour where Hight is the current track record holder for elapsed time and speed at 4.686 seconds, 331.94 mph. But Gainesville is most special since it was here that Hight shared the race track with his good friend and teammate Eric Medlen for the last time.
“This is honestly a race I want to win really badly. This is where the Hall of Fame is and this is where you get great crowds for the races. It is unbelievable how many people turn out plus all the sponsors and older racers; guys that have won championships and are Hall of Famers. That is one race I really want to win,” said Hight, the current Funny Car points leader.
Read full story at John Force Racing
Tags: drag racing, Force, Funny Car, Gainesville, Hight, John Force, NHRA, points, race, racing, Robert HightWorld’s fastest drag racers speak out against bane of illegal street racing
They'd always start with a cruise toward Washington, D.C., to V Street. Cars lined both sides of the road. Then the bragging began. Stakes on the illegal street races were raised as high as $5,000 to $10,000. Justin Humphreys' '89 Mustang GT 5.0 could run a high 10 on the street, he said.
“It had nitrous and all that good stuff,” Humphreys said. “Back when I was young, I had 15 to 20 friends that all had
Tags: Del Worsham, NHRA, Nitro, race, racing, Robert HightJack Beckman Wins in Phoenix
Jack Beckman beat Robert Hight to win his fourth Wally in Phoenix at the 24th annual Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals at Firebird International Raceway. Beckman qualified his Don Schumacher Racing, Valvoline,Mail Terminal Series Dodge 15th on Saturday. Jack Beckman out ran Mike Neff, then Gary Scelzi, and Jim Head (in that order). To get to the final round, Robert Hight had to beat Gary Densham, independent Bob Bode, and Tommy Johnson, Jr.
Bob Bode deserves special mention, because his self-sponsored AR-BEE Transparent Products Monte Carlo has qualified and competed in both Pomona and Phoenix. He came back from a huge engine explosion on Saturday, that also destroyed the body of his car, to compete against Jack Beckman in second-round eliminations. His performance this season has been better than many big name racers so far. Bob is still looking for sponsors for the 2008 season. If you are interested in having your company's name, or even your own name, on the side of a competitive NHRA Funny Car, please go to Bob Bode's site to learn more about sponsoring his car for a race, or even a season.
Tags: Beckman, Bob Bode, Dodge, Funny Car, Gary Scelzi, Hight, Jack Beckman, Jim Head, Johnson, King, Mike Neff, NHRA, Phoenix, Pomona, race, racing, Robert Hight, Scelzi, Tommy JohnsonNHRA: Winning Funny Car built for safety
John Force proved you don't have to slow down to be safe in the NHRA.
Driving a revolutionary Funny Car designed to help bring the class into the 21st century, Robert Hight defeated Cruz Pedregon by 7 feet in the Funny Car final to give John Force Racing its 18th victory at Auto Club Raceway.
Hight clocked in 4.861 seconds at 284.39 mph in the NHRA season opener, which was slightly quicker than...
Read full story by Damian Dottore in The Orange County Register
Tags: Cruz Pedregon, Force, Funny Car, Hight, John Force, NHRA, Pedregon, race, racing, Robert Hight, safety