Courtney Force surged to the No. 2 spot in the second qualifying round of the NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, driving the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet to a pass of 3.878 seconds at 331.77 mph.
Force bounced back from a Q1 run where she struck the tires and coasted across the finish line.
“Great job by my Advance Auto Parts team,” Force said. “I’m really proud of my guys to pull together and pick up two bonus points in our second pass and go into the No. 2 spot. Running the .87 was a solid run, and we think we can do even better tomorrow.
“Looking forward to another day of qualifying out here in Vegas. I’m thankful for all the fans who came out here this weekend.”
John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight was just behind with the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet, which sits No. 3 after a run of 3.880 at 329.99 mph.
JFR was inches away from a 1-3-4 qualifying run, but PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil driver John Force had his run of 3.854 seconds at 335.48 mph – both of which would have been track records – disqualified because he crossed the centerline.
Instead, John Force is in the No. 12 spot based off his first run of 4.013 at 302.82 mph.
Brittany Force sits in the No. 5 spot with the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster after a run of 3.758 seconds at 327.51 mph. She did earn one bonus point for being third-quickest in the first session. Force came into the Vegas race – the penultimate event of the 2017 season – second in points.
Hight is also second in points, in Funny Car, and he earned one bonus point for that Q2 pass. Courtney Force is third in the standings as she tried to move closer to the top two.
She is racing a special pink paint scheme on her Camaro Funny Car in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Fans can text “FORCE” to 50555 to donate $10 to Young Survival Coalition.
“We’re still running our pink Young Survival Coalition Funny Car this weekend,” Force said. “We’re hoping to bring awareness to breast cancer in the month of October.”
Two more qualifying runs are scheduled for Saturday at 2 and 4:30 p.m. Pacific. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. Pacific on Sunday.
John Force Racing PR/Photo Gary Nastase and Auto Imagery
