It took four qualifying tries, but Antron Brown makes it to the number 1 spot.

Brown, Matco Tools team shoots to second straight pole
at Las Vegas spring race, look for efficient Sunday in eliminations

LAS VEGAS (March 29, 2014) - Antron Brown and his Matco Tools Top Fuel team would like to extend at winning streak at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday after championship eliminations of the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals.

And they took a step toward that by winning their second straight pole in the Las Vegas Spring race and 35th of his career.

Antron used his last of four qualifying runs to earn his first No. 1 qualifying spot in the past 13 events going back to last year's U.S. Nationals a few miles from his home in Pittsboro, Ind. His best run was 3.768 seconds at 325.14 mph, which is the fastest through two days of qualifying.

"Our class right now is just incredible," said Antron, who has owns 42 NHRA titles. "I saw the ignition box come out, the Matco guys went into the (electronic) management box with the clutch flows, the fuel flows and everything started changing and I said 'Uh-oh, here we go, this is when it gets good.'

The Matco Tools team led by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald with car chief Brad Mason and the Matco crew produced a consistent dragster at Las Vegas and they continue to be the hottest Top Fueler over the past seven Mello Yello events.

After advancing to last spring's championship round, the Matco team returned in the fall to win the event title.

"We are truly blessed to have the team we have. It's going to be a fight like this all year long. You don't have to be the fastest car, you have to be the most efficient car. I think we have our stuff together to go out there on Sunday and get the job done with the Matco Tools/U.S. Army/Toyota car.

"We want to be efficient and efficiency pays off. We just want to be there. We want to run strong each round. So that's our goal this year, to be more efficient. Our deal is we just want to get better week in and week out."

TOP FUEL
No. 1 Qualifier: Antron Brown (DSR), 3.768 sec., 325.14 mph

ANTRON BROWN, Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster
Qualified: No. 1
CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS
First Round: BROWN vs. Mike Strasburg
QUALIFYING
FRIDAY: 4.579 sec., 166.39 mph, (Session 1); 3.797, 322.96, (Session 2)
SATURDAY: 3.816, 320.97, (Session 3); 3.768, 325.14 (Session 4)
 

About Matco Tools

            Since 1979, the mission of Matco Tools has been to provide professional mechanics and auto enthusiasts with all of the premium tools, storage and equipment they need to get the job done, while also offering best-in-class service and customer support. The company's network of 1,500 premier independent mobile distributors is focused on developing and maintaining trust-based relationships with its customers and has increased its revenues by an average of 8% in each of the last three years. Ranked among the top 30 in Entrepreneur Magazine's 2014 Franchise 500®, the company continues to expand throughout the United States and Canada, adding several hundred mobile stores each year.  For more information, please visit www.MatcoTools.com.

About Don Schumacher Racing

     Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., fields seven professional NHRA teams. In Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel world champion Matco Tools dragster driven by Antron Brown and the Battery Extender Powered by Schumacher dragster driven by Spencer Massey; and in Funny Car, 2012 NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the Valvoline MaxLife Dodge Charger R/T, 2011 world champion Matt Hagan in the Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots Dodge, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge of Ron Capps and the Make-A-Wish Dodge driven by Tommy Johnson Jr.

     DSR has won 220 NHRA national event titles and 11 world championships.

JFR Ready for Eliminations Tomorrow

TEAM JFR QUALIFYING REPORT
2014 NHRA Final Qualifying Summary
3^rd of 24 races in the NHRA Mello Yello Series

45^th annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals

Auto Plus Raceway

Gainesville, FL
March 14-16, 2014

 * * *

C. FORCE GEARED UP FOR GATORNATIONALS AFTER STRONG SATURDAY

GAINESVILLE, FL – Courtney Force will take on the NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car field from the No. 5 spot on Sunday at the 2014 Amalie Oil Gatornationals. Force entered Saturday not in the show, but quickly turned things around for her Traxxas Ford Mustang team. The 25-year-old started the day with a 4.131 ET at 308.85 mph and moved solidly into the show at the No. 7 spot and picking up three bonus points as the quickest Funny Car of the session.

“I’m excited that our Traxxas Ford Mustang team was able to come out here on Saturday of qualifying and improve on our last two qualifying sessions. We moved up to the top half of the field and that’s what we were going for,” said Force.

In the fourth and final qualifying session, the 2012 Rookie of the Year posted a 4.121 ET at 308.64 mph and moved up to the No. 5 spot and gaining her team two bonus points for being second-quickest of that session. That run set her up to take on competitor Matt Hagan in the opening round on race day.

“It definitely feels great. We changed some things around and it seems to be going in the right direction. We went out there and ran a 4.131 and a 4.121 so we were able to improve on the last run down the track,” said Force.

This will be the eleventh time the pair have matched up on race day since Force’s Funny Car debut in 2012. They are 5-5 in previous match-ups.

“We’re excited going into tomorrow. I think we have a good feel for both lanes. We have lane choice, but we have tough competition going up against Hagan. We’re just going to give it all we got and hopefully go some rounds,” said Force.

Robert Hight and the Auto Club Mustang team made a strong run to start the day. His Mike Neff tuned Funny Car posted the second quickest ET of the session and gave the team a great boost going into the final qualifying session. With temperatures cooling slightly after a number of delays in the Top Fuel session Hight’s Mustang hazed the tires at the top end and he will go into eliminations as the No. 10 qualifier and will race former teammate Tony Pedregon.

“Today was a good day. We made another solid run in the first session under race day conditions. In the last session Neff was looking for the edge and we just missed making another good run. Every time we go down the track we learn something plus we learn from our teammates. Courtney’s Traxxas Mustang made two good runs and we were right with her in the early session. The crew chiefs will get together tonight and we will all have a good game plan for tomorrow,” said Hight.

“The lanes are pretty even and I don’t see any reason we can’t have a long race day tomorrow. Tony Pedregon will be tough and we can’t look past him. I will do my job on the starting line and I know these Auto Club guys will give me a great race car.”

Hight is 9-15 against Tony Pedregon and he defeated him in the first round of last year's Gatornationals.

John Force tried to tame the unpredictable track surface of Auto Plus Raceway for two straight days. The 16-time NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car champion struggled through four qualifying sessions and could only manage a 4.38 second elapsed time, placing his Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang in the 16th spot.

“It’s been tough and we’ve struggled with this car but all our cars are in and the dragster is running good. Even though the Castrol car is struggling, but they said to me down there on top end during the interview after that last qualifying run, ‘Cruz is low qualifier like you were in Pomona and now and you’re number 16’. At the end of the day when you’re number one and I was low ET and got both ends of the track record, I was sick over that on Sunday morning because you know that car is right on the edge because no one else can do it. We’ll be fine tomorrow,” said John Force.

While most racers agonize by not qualifying in the top-half of the field, it doesn’t faze John Force who has won the Gatornationals seven times.  

“Being the 16th qualifier, I’ve got nothing to lose I’m going out there with a full heart and going after that kid. I love Cruz, it’ll be a fun race, a Toyota against a Ford and we’re going to have some fun.”

Force is 61-29 against Pedregon, 3-1 at the Gatornationals and 13-8 in previous first round meetings. Force has never won a race after qualifying No. 16 so this is an opportunity for him to achieve another milestone.  Force's streak of No. 1 qualifying performances ends at five. 

Coming off her first Top Fuel final round appearance just last month in Phoenix, Brittany Force struggled to qualify in the top half of the field today. Brittany’s Castrol EDGE Dragster to ran a 3.86 second elapsed time placing her in the 13th spot. She narrowly missed picking up a qualifying bonus point in the first session on Saturday posting the fourth quickest Top Fuel run of the session.

“Qualifying didn’t actually go as expected as we’ve had some crazy runs and little bit of confusion in the first qualifying session,” said Brittany Force, who was recently named Rookie of the Year by RACER magazine.  

In trying to get a hold of Auto Plus Raceway crew chief Todd Smith has been trying to get Castrol EDGE Dragster back to its consistent ways. As a driver, Brittany knows the unpredictability of conditions come race day. She is 2-4 against Doug Kalitta but 2-1 in first rounds. 

“It’s been very past two days for us but the important thing is we’re No. 13 and we’re are in the show and we’re ready to play tomorrow. We’re running Doug Kalitta and we’re beaten him before so I’m pumped and ready for tomorrow and we’re ready to go some rounds,” said Brittany Force.   

* * * *

THE DRIVERS

JOHN FORCE, 64, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang

Final Qualifying: 16^th at 4.380 seconds at 246.98 mph

Bonus Qualifying Points: 0

First Round Opponent (W-L): Cruz Pedregon (61-29)

ROBERT HIGHT, 44, Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang
Final Qualifying: 10^th at 4.132 seconds at 303.78 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: +2 (2^nd quickest of Q3)

First Round Opponent (W-L): Tony Pedregon (9-15)

COURTNEY FORCE, 25, Traxxas Ford Mustang
Final Qualifying: 5^th at 4.121 seconds at 308.64 mph
Bonus Qualifying Points: +5 (Quickest of Q3 and 2^nd quickest of Q4)

First Round Opponent (W-L): Matt Hagan (5-5)

BRITTANY FORCE, 27, Castrol EDGE Top Fuel Dragster

Final Qualifying: 13^th at 3.865 seconds at 315.93 mph

Bonus Qualifying Points: +1 (3^rd quickest of Q3)

First Round Opponent (W-L): Doug Kalitta (2-4)

* * * *

RACE SCHEDULE:

Sunday, March 16

Final Eliminations                      11:00 AM

Camaro Z/28 Engineers Get Grip on Wheel Slip

Tire grip, braking capability require action to prevent wheels rotating in tires

2014-03-13

DETROIT – While running fast laps at several of the country’s most challenging tracks, Camaro Z/28 engineers noticed the tires were providing so much traction and the brakes so much stopping force that the wheels rotated inside the tire – an unexpected challenge that required fast thinking.

“We were told to build a fast car – period,” said Mark Stielow, Camaro Z/28 program manager and pro-touring expert. “We knew on Day One we’d need to bring some of the best suppliers onboard to make it happen.”

The suppliers included Pirelli and its P Zero™ Trofeo R tires and Brembo for carbon-ceramic brake rotors. The Trofeo R tires have a track-oriented tread design and compound that, together with the carbon-ceramic rotors, help the Z/28 achieve up to 1.5 g in deceleration force.

It was a perfect combination, but engineers quickly found that when the Z/28’s capability was tested, the wheels were rotating – slipping – inside the tires. They sought the root of the problem by marking one of the Pirelli P Zero™ Trofeo R tires at the beginning of a lap with a chalk line relative to the valve stem on the wheel. At the end of the lap, they recorded where the chalk line ended up and noticed the tire had rotated at least a full 360 degrees from where they started.

Racers use an abrasive paint around the bead of the wheel, where the tire meets the rim, to combat the problem on race cars. The Z/28’s engineers tried it, but it wasn’t strong enough to prevent the slippage, so other approaches were tried. Finally, they tried media blasting, which involves shooting a gritty material through an air gun at the wheel's surface, adding texture to the paint for the tire to grip.

“Media-blasting the wheel created an extremely aggressive grit on the rim, which finally got the tire to hold,” said Stielow.
Along with the tires and brakes, some of the tire slip can also be attributed to the 7.0L LS7 engine helping spin the wheels with an SAE-certified 505 horsepower (376 kW) and 481 lb-ft of torque (652 Nm). While going around corners, the helical-gear limited-slip rear differential also sends power to the wheels so well that differences in tire slip can be observed from side to side on the rear axle.

The 2014 Camaro Z/28 arrives in dealerships this spring

Modified Chevrolet Bowtie Makes Z/28 Even Cooler

Traditional badge modified in the name of all-out track performance

DETROIT – In developing the 2014 Camaro Z/28, the team scrutinized every component looking for ways to improve track performance, lap after lap. Even the iconic Chevrolet bowtie faced audit.

During aerodynamics testing, Powertrain Cooling Development engineer Richard Quinn noticed that the bowtie on the Z/28’s grill was displacing air away from the radiator, which can impact engine cooling – an important aspect for all vehicles, especially track-oriented cars.

Removing the bowtie altogether did not seem to be an appropriate solution. Instead, Quinn took a cut-off wheel to the gold fill of the bowtie, leaving the silver outline intact. He installed the prototype on the grill and retested to see the results.
“There are engineers in our team that race as a hobby,” said Quinn, “and we used that racer’s mindset to look for ways small or large to get better performance out of the Z/28. Even the smallest details on the Z/28 were weighed for cooling benefit, and this is one that stuck.”

The “Flowtie,” as the engineers now affectionately refer to it, is just the chrome outline of the traditional bowtie, with the center removed. This simple solution alone was enough to allow three additional cubic meters of air into the engine per minute. Engineers found the Flowtie dropped the temperatures of engine coolant and engine oil by 2°F (1.2°C) during extended track sessions. That seemingly small improvement was enough to justify making the Flowtie standard on every new Z/28.

“The Flowtie is just one example of the team’s focus on track performance,” said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. “That same attention to detail is evident throughout the cooling systems for the LS7 engine, as well as the carbon ceramic brakes and the differential.”

The naturally aspirated Z/28 weighs 300 pounds less than the supercharged Camaro ZL1 and 55 pounds lighter than the Camaro 1LE - with changes ranging from lightweight wheels to thinner rear-window glass.

“The Camaro Z/28 has more than 190 unique parts, compared to a Camaro SS,” Oppenheiser said. “Like the Flowtie, each of these parts were changed with one objective: to deliver incredible performance on the track – not just for the first lap, but lap, after lap, after lap.” The 2014 Camaro Z/28 arrives in dealerships this spring.

It's about time for a reversal, no matter how small.

Ford moves jobs, production from Mexico to America

 

An article from Detroit News reports that Ford Motor Co. plans to announce details of a manufacturing shift of medium-duty trucks from Mexico to the United States. 

Its F-650s and F-750s will be moved to the Ohio Assembly Plant, and the switch is planned to take place in early 2015.

According to the story, Mark Fields, who served as the company's American production president, said in 2011 that moving the commercial vehicle production in-house will streamline and strengthen the engineering and manufacturing of the next-generation medium-duty trucks. 

It was also announced in December that Ford would pour $128 million into the Ohio Assembly Plant to support commercial truck production, to in-source production of its F53 motor home chassis and F59 commercial stripped chassis, Detroit News said.

Are we building enough Buicks?

DETROIT– Closing its first full year, the Encore became the Buick lineup’s fifth model and second crossover, ringing up sales success in one of the industry’s fastest-growing segments.

Entering the small SUV and small luxury SUV segment in the U.S. at the end of last January, the Encore helped boost sales in a rapidly expanding market that just last year alone, grew by 52 percent from 2012.

“Right out of the gate, demand for the Encore was high,” said Tony DiSalle, vice president of Buick marketing. “It accounted for most of the segment’s growth last year and that’s because it offers the right safety, technology, and features in the right-sized vehicle for many customers.”

As one of the first luxury crossovers of its size, Encore’s U.S. retail sales reached 31,046 units during its first full year of sales. Globally, the Encore sold 97,311 vehicles in calendar year 2013, helping Buick set its global sales record of 1,032,056 last year.

“The small SUV segment looks like the next hot spot in the new-car market,” said Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. “The combination of functionality and fuel efficiency offered by models like the Buick Encore makes them a compelling value equation for consumers.  We're seeing rising research activity in these models from users of KBB.com, and we expect sales to grow in the coming months and years.”

Encore’s early entry to these segments is significant. Combined, the segments are expected to more than double in sales between now and 2018.

 The Encore earned an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 2013 Top Safety Pick and 5-star Overall Vehicle Score for safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It also ranked highest in the Sub-Compact CUV segment in the 2013 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study^SM and among others, was named the winner of Kelley Blue Book’s 2014 5-Year Cost to Own awards in the Luxury Compact SUV/Crossover category.

Encore customers cite good fuel economy, high quality and exterior design as the top reasons for purchase, with one in two buyers coming from a non-General Motors brand.

About Buick
Buick is an international modern luxury brand offering vehicles with sculpted designs, luxurious interiors and thoughtful personal technologies, along with responsive-yet-efficient performance. Buick is attracting new customers with its portfolio of award-winning luxury models in North America and China. Learn more about Buick cars and crossovers at www.buick.com, on Twitter @buick, on Pinterest or at www.facebook.com/buick

# # #

Antron's win in Arizona and the prelude to Gainsville.

Posted by: Megan Schumacher, Don Schumacher Racing

Hello again everyone. It’s Wednesday morning and I can honestly say that I’m glad I’m in Florida and not Indy. My friends at the shop said it was seven degrees driving to work this morning. Seven degrees! It’s almost March. This winter just won’t let up.

Well, we scored our first win of the season last Sunday at the newly named Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Antron and the Matco Tools team scored our first Wally of the season and win number 220 for DSR. The Matco car continues to run well and dating back to last season they have won three of the last six races. Now we need to get one of our Team DSR Funny Cars in the winner’s circle at the Gatornationals in a few weeks.

Phoenix was a surprisingly busy race for our drivers. TJ and Jack both did the pre-event press conference on Thursday at the track in Chandler and Jack even gave members of the media rides in the two-seat Super Comp dragster. TJ then had an early wake-up call on Friday morning and did two Phoenix TV morning shows from the track. His first hit was at 5:30 a.m. and TJ isn’t a morning person, but he knew the importance given it was Make-A-Wish’s home market. Thanks for being a trooper TJ! Haha. Our PR team jokes, that 5:30 is really 7:30 ET back in Indy where TJ lives. Saturday morning it was Antron’s turn and he joined DSR Chef Malcolm Clark for a Saturday Phoenix-area morning show. We’re lucky to have a great group of drivers who know the importance of exposing our sport of NHRA racing to new fans.

On the way to the track on Friday, we stopped at Sprinkle’s cupcakes shop in Scottsdale and brought the boys cupcakes. They all work so hard, so it’s fun to surprise them with a treat. And Sprinkle’s are so yummy!

Saturday was a very gratifying day at the track for all of us at DSR. We hosted more than 200 Make-A-Wish guests. Given Make-A-Wish is headquartered in Phoenix, it was so great to see the outpouring of support for TJ and the team at the track on Saturday. TJ made two great laps at 4.07 and 4.02 to move up to the No. 2 qualifying spot on the Q4 pass. Winning races is great, but putting a smile on the faces of the Make-A-Wish families is so extremely gratifying and I can’t express how proud we are to have partnered with both Terry Chandler and everyone at Make-A-Wish and we can’t wait to host families at Gainesville in a few weeks. I think the most touching part of Saturday came during a pit tour when a little boy gave the Make-A-Wish Dodge Funny Car a kiss for good luck. It was just adorable and that was before TJ ran the 4.02!

After the race, we celebrated in the winner’s circle. My mom had a few of her friends in town, so they got to celebrate with us. Tracy Stange is the life of the party and always keeps us in stitches. She decided to lay on Antron’s dragster in the winner’s circle photo. Tracy is a hoot.

After that, mom and I took a red eye flight home as I had a final exam on Monday. It’s final’s week. Woo hoo! The good news is that I only have one more quarter of school left after this week and then it’s all done at Lynn University for me. Now that’s exciting! Don flew to Colorado for a few days to spend some time with his daughter, Tara.

The U.S. Army and Mopar Express Lane teams tested on Monday after the Phoenix race and the other teams headed East on Monday morning. Most of the teams are back at the shop gearing up for the Gators. We have some paint work to do on the NAPA body that hit the wall on Sunday at Pomona and we have to repair the front nose of the Valvoline MaxLife car. It will go to Aerodine for carbon fiber work and then to paint at SD Enterprises up in Michigan. We also have a few Funny Cars being wrapped. Jack will have a special one-off paint scheme at Gainesville that you will read about soon. Needless to say, it will be a busy few weeks at DSR before the team’s leave to Gainesville on March 12.

That’s it for now. Stay warm and have a great week.

JFR Race Report- Wild Horse Pass- Phoenix Finals

TEAM JFR RACE REPORT 2^nd of 24 races in the NHRA Mello Yello Series

 Phoenix, AZ-Feb. 23, 2014

 Final round results from Sunday’s 30^th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, second race in the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:

FUNNY CAR – Alexis DeJoria, Austin, Texas., Patron XO Café Toyota Camry, 4.043, 309.63 mph def. Robert Hight, Yorba Linda, Calif., Auto Club Ford Mustang, 5.491, 142.19 mph.

TOP FUEL – Antron Brown, Brownsburg, Ind., Matco Tools dragster, 3.755, 324.20 mph def. Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Castrol EDGE dragster, 3.793, 322.04 mph

B. FORCE RACES TO FIRST TF FINAL; HIGHT ALSO RUNNER-UP

"PHOENIX, AZ ---- It was a historic day for John Force Racing at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park during the running of the 30th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals. For the first time JFR landed race cars in both the final round of the Funny Car and Top Fuel categories. In only 26 starts Brittany Force raced to her first career final round losing a close race to 2012 Top Fuel champion Antron Brown. Robert Hight raced to his first final of 2014 and just missed his 30th career win racing against Alexis DeJoria.

Brittany Force and the Castrol EDGE dragster enjoyed their best weekend making eight consecutive quality passes (four in qualifying and four on race day) en route to a final round appearance. On race day Brittany Force avenged her 2013 loss to David Grubnic out running him in the first round and in the second round the sophomore driver defeated  7-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher posting a winning elapsed time of 3.805 to his 5.017 seconds. It was Force’s first win over Schumacher and it was a bucket list moment for the young driver.

“That round win will definitely be a highlight of my season until we get that first win. Tony Schumacher is awesome he is the champ. He has beaten my butt many times so I was happy to go out there and get the win. That is a round win I always wanted to get. To win against him was awesome,” said Force.

Last woman to win in Top Fuel was Hillary Will on June 1, 2008 at Topeka where she beat Larry Dixon in the final. Brittany Force is the 10^th different driver to take a JFR fuel car to the final round after John Force, Tony Pedregon, Densham, Eric Medlen, Robert Hight, Ashley Force Hood, Courtney Force, Mike Neff and Phil Burkart Jr.

 In the semi-finals Force continued to make quality passes besting Steve Torrence 3.814 to 4.187 seconds. In the final round Force had to take on one of the most popular and successful drivers on tour, Antron Brown. Their dragsters launched together and at the finish line it was Brown getting the win light 3.755 seconds to Force’s 3.793 which was her best run of the weekend. While there was no winner’s circle celebration there was still plenty of excitement in the Castrol EDGE pits.

“I am still so excited. I wanted to get that win in the first final but I know that first win is coming. We are getting closer. We did great today and we made our best run in the final with that 3.79. I am stoked and I am so proud of my guys. This Castrol EDGE team is really coming along,” said Force. “We are getting better. It is the second race of the season and to go to our first final. I couldn’t be happier.”

Brittany Force ironically enjoyed one of her best Super Comp outings at Phoenix in 2007 (Feb. 25).  She won three rounds before losing to Shawn Langdon in round four. 

Today’s performance for Brittany made her the first Top Fuel driver to reach the finals in a Ford powered dragster since "Sneaky Pete" Robinson won the Summernationals at York, Pa., on July 19, 1970.  This is just the seventh time a Ford-powered dragster has been in an NHRA final round.

While Force is still learning the ropes her competitors are taking notice of her continued development and success. Perhaps the best compliment any young driver can get is the respect of their fellow racers.

“She’s in a young stage in her career and she’s just getting better and better and you can tell it. That’s how she got to the final. Her car was on point and it was consistent all day and that’s what got her those round wins. I didn’t look at who I raced, I know I’m racing John Force (Racing) and you know they can step up and they did step up. We’re not taking any of them lightly. None of these teams are out here to play games. It’s not recess anymore. School is in and you better have your thinking caps on and be ready to go out there and do work,” said Antron Brown, 2012 Top Fuel champion and 26-time Top Fuel winner.

“I don’t look at her as being a female, not because she’s a sophomore, I look at her as a tough, top competitor, and I’m going to give her my A+ game like everyone else. She was a strong competitor all day and we were not taking them lightly at all. It’s got Castrol on the side, that’s John Force Racing. We’re going after them just like we do everyone else.”

Moments before Brittany Force posted her runner-up finish Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang team smoked the tires in their final round race versus Alexis DeJoria. The Auto Club Mustang had been moderately inconsistent this weekend qualifying No. 3 with a 4.030 second pass on Friday but smoking the tires in the next three runs including the first round today. Hight won a classic pedal-fest versus Cruz Pedregon to advance to the second round.

In the second round and semi-finals Hight’s Auto Club Mustang was one of the best Funny Cars of the class posting winning times of 4.059 seconds over Jack Beckman and 4.047 seconds over Tommy Johnson Jr.

In the finals Hight launched hard and then lost traction a few hundred feet down track. He was forced to watch DeJoria drive away for her first career Funny Car win.

“First congratulations to Alexis DeJoria. I knew it was going to be a tough race and we were going for it. This Auto Club Mustang has been a little up and down this weekend. We made two killer runs in the middle of the day running 4.05 to beat Beckman and then 4.04 to beat Tommy Johnson Jr.,” said Hight.

“We knew we would need another run like that in the final to get the win. I am glad we moved up in the points. It is early in the season but you want to get round wins and put pressure on the other teams. I wish Gainesville was next weekend. My guys did a great job this weekend qualifying No. 3 and getting to a final. Our next win is right around the corner.”

It was almost a JFR versus JFR final round but John Force was upended by DeJoria in the semi-finals. The Mello Yello points leader was trying to reach his seventh consecutive final round but fell a few hundredths of a second short.

Force’s race day began in bizarre fashion as his first round opponent Jeff Diehl was shut off on the starting line due to a fuel leak. Force’s Castrol GTX High Mileage Funny Car smoked the tires on a single most likely avoiding a No. 16 versus No. 1 qualifier upset.

In the second round Force narrowly defeated Bob Tasca III 4,106 to 4.120 which would wind up being Force’s best run of the day.

“I knew he would give us a good race. We have been off a little bit since Pomona. We ran that 3.99 on Friday night here at Wild Horse Pass. Jimmy prock said we have had some ignition problems and so did Mike Neff. We dug deep and we found it. It went right down the race track. We are still in the game and we are excited to be going rounds,” said Force.

Force will leave Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park with the Mello Yello points lead and a rededication to winning. At the end of the day the 16-time Funny Car champion was proud of his entire team.

“That’s one of my kids out there and I love her and I am proud of her. That is a lot of pressure up there and it took me a lot of years to learn to handle it. She is handling it really well. She is right on her game. She was right on the tree and right there with Antron, a champion. That is all I can ask for,” said Force.

“We make a lot of power and have great chassis. I see Jimmy prock and those guys working hard. No one had any data for this race track and we were learning every run just like everybody else. We are going after another championship. It is great to get Robert up in the points in second place right behind me and they are real close to their first win of the season.”

Courtney Force lined up beside Del Worsham in the opening round of race day at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park for the 30th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals. Force in the right lane and Worsham with lane choice in the left lane gave the fans a great show, but Force couldn’t get the win.

“We went up there and had Worsham first round. He made a solid pass down the track. We had the right lane and couldn’t get down it as well, but I did the best job I could to pedal the car. It hooked up quick and got down there, but he was long gone for the win. I was hoping we could get around him, but we ran out of race track,” said Force.

This is the eighth time the pair has matched up on race day. Force had to pedal it to get her Traxxas Ford Mustang to the finish line, posting a 4.499 at 291.95 mph, but Worsham laid down a 4.121 ET at 303 mph.

“We’re working with a new car this season. It’s a lot of change for our Traxxas Ford Mustang team, but you know what, we’re staying positive. This car is very capable of running well and we’ve already seen that. We’re just trying to get it to run more consistently,” said Force.

The John Force Racing team, made up of three Funny Car teams and one Top Fuel team will be staying for post-event testing on Monday after the race weekend at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.

“We’re coming out here tomorrow in Phoenix, back at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, and testing our hotrod to see what we can bring to the table at Gainesville,” said Force."

Big & Little Changes for the 2014 March Meet- March 6-9, 2014

Bakersfield, CA - February 12, 2014 -  Jim Murphy will be chasing his record setting 5th March Meet title piloting the front engined dragster that has won the last 2 March Meets. The car, formerly owned by Frank and Debra Ousley and driven by Jimmy Young, has been purchased by Murphy giving him what many feel is his best possible chance of securing a 5th March Meet win. The Ousley’s will be back at the 2014 March Meet with their “Crop Duster” funny car. Jimmy Young, will return in his own front engine dragster.

Funny car driver & owner Jason Rupert has had a stranglehold on the NHRA Heritage Funny Car championship. 2013 was his 3rd consecutive title and rumor has it that he may be preparing to field 2 Funny Cars at this years March Meet. Rupert wasn’t ready to commit to a “for sure thing” but we may see the “Black Plague” and the “Merritt Littlefield” flopper campaigning under the Rupert flag at the 2014 March Meet.

Funny Car and Top Fuel Dragster pilot Mendy Fry will return to the Heritage series chase after taking a year off and helping Denver Schutz and his Top Fuel team. This time Mendy will find herself back in the familiar surroundings of a funny car. Larry “Smokey” Alleman wooed Fry to pilot his 1978 “Smokey’s Darkside” Challenger for the 2014 season. Alleman and crew will be running a 426-cubic inch Arias hemi, a “Hemi heads on a Chevy block” combination, unique to the 30 plus expected entrants for the 2014 March Meet funny car class.

Peter Gallen and his “Poverty Stricken” Funny Car will be making the long trek from Pennsylvania to California. Sick of the cold and snow, Peter decided to load the flopper up and enjoy some California Sun. This will be Gallens first trip back to Auto Club Famoso Raceway in 3 years.

Tim Boychuk in the Troy-Lee Designs funny car will pair up with nitro tuning guru Roland Leong for a run at the 2014 March Meet title. Boychuk and co-owner Ron Hodgson won the 2013 March Meet.

The top 8 points earners from the 2013 Boise-Bakersfield Blitz will compete in a special 8 car shootout during funny car qualifying on Friday & Saturday with the winner receiving a $3,000 bonus.

Tim Boychuk, Jason Rupert, Rick Rogers and Dennis Taylor (all tied for 9th place) have a chance to participate in the 8 car shootout now that 3rd place finisher Dennis LaCharite has vacated his driving position to Cory Lee (Lee will pilot the “Back in Black” ‘69 GTO funny car for the 2014 season).

Every year the crowds cheer the short wheel base flame spewing nitro burning altereds as they wiggle their way down the quarter-mile. Usually ran as an exhibition class, this year the fuel altereds will compete in a 6 second index class allowing all the drivers a chance to compete for a prized “Wally” and be crowned March Meet Champion. Another addition this year will be the 6.90 Door slammer class. These giant motored beasts will be a new class competing at the 2014 March Meet.

Auto Club Famoso Raceway has again partnered with TheFOAT.com. TheFOAT.com has handled the on-line ticket sales quickly and efficiently. Purchasing tickets online allows fans to bypass the lines at the gate and get right into the event.

Race fans can purchase a “Super 4-Day Event Pass” for $100 online. There are also specially priced passes for three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday: $75) and two days (Saturday and Sunday: $55).

Walk up tickets for the event will go on sale March 6 at the track. Ticket prices are $25 for Thurs., Mar. 6; $25 for Fri., Mar. 7; $30 for Sat., Mar. 8; and $30 for Sun., Mar. 9. Tickets for children ages 6-12 are $10 each day and kids 5 and under get in free when accompanied by an adult with paid admission.

Other prices announced include, event camping: $125 for all four days; VIP parking: $50 (good for the entire event); and VIP four-day Quarter Mile Courtyard seating: adults $165, children $105 (space is limited).

March Meet tickets can be ordered online at www.autoclubfamosoraceway.com. Racer, Swap Meet and Vendor entry forms can be found on the website as well.

Fans can connect with Auto Club Famoso Raceway by following them on Facebook; http://www.facebook.com/Auto.Club.Famoso.Raceway

The Kern County Racing Association operates Auto Club Famoso Raceway (just north of Bakersfield, Calif.) and promotes a full schedule of races year round, including the world famous March Meet, which is recognized as the Mecca of nostalgia drag racing. For more details, visit www.autoclubfamosoraceway.com.