Monster Energy driver Brittany Force will bring a lot of momentum into final eliminations for the NHRA Nationals on Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Force is the most recent winner in Top Fuel, having gone to the winner’s circle in Dallas two weeks ago. And she qualified No. 4 for Vegas, saving her best run for last.
“Overall, looking at our qualifying runs over the weekend, we had three great runs, and our best run was the last one of the day,” Force said. “We feel good going into (Sunday) – we face (Shawn) Reed in round one of eliminations, and we’re going after a long day. That’s our plan. We have to win this thing if we want to get around (Steve) Torrence.”
Force came into the race second in the Top Fuel standings, moving into that spot after the Dallas win. She’s 60 points behind leader Torrence with two races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship.
Torrence qualified No. 2 and picked up five bonus points in qualifying to Force’s four – though Force earned two in the final session with her best pass of the weekend: 3.722 seconds at 317.49 mph.
The points battle is on Force’s mind as she races this weekend, but she knows what her and her John Force Racing team need to do to continue the fight for the championship.
“I try not to focus on it too much, but obviously I’ll come back over here and look at points and see what Steve did and what our team did, and people right behind us, like (Doug) Kalitta and Antron (Brown),” Force said. “I’m curious about what they’re all doing. But you have to keep your focus in the right place. You don’t want to get too far off, too distracted, and you want to make sure you’re doing your job, and have your focus be where it should be.”
Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. Pacific on Sunday. Fox Sports 1 will televise three hours of live finals coverage at 1 p.m. Pacific on Sunday.
4-Second Reads:
- Qualifying Round 1 (Left Lane): 3.758 seconds/327.51 mph; straight down the middle with excellent pass (No. 3 of session and No. 3 overall; one bonus point in session)
- Qualifying Round 2 (Right Lane): 7.710 seconds/82.81 mph; car showed smoke right at the starting line and she shut it off (No. 11 of session and No. 5 overall; no bonus points in session and one bonus point overall)
- Qualifying Round 3 (Right Lane): 3.762 seconds/321.81 mph; strong launch and strong pass for a couple more points (No. 2 of session and No. 2 overall; two bonus points in session and three bonus points overall)
- Qualifying Round 4 (Left Lane): 3.722 seconds/317.49 mph; best run of the weekend to jump to fourth best (No. 3 of session and No. 4 overall; one bonus point in session and four bonus points overall)
- This is the sixth time this season and 14th time in her career Force has qualified No. 4. The last time she qualified No. 4 came last month in the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa., a race which she won. It also marked her only victory and second finals appearance from the No. 4 position.
- This is the second time this season and third time overall Force has qualified No. 4 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Both times she has made it to the quarterfinals.
- Force’s first-round matchup against Shawn Reed marks the first time the two will compete against each other. Reed is the fifth new competitor Force has competed against this season. In four first-time matchups against new competitors this season, Force is 3-1 (defeated Steve Faria, Steven Chrisman, Wayne Newby; lost to Troy Coughlin Jr.).
John Force Racing PR/Photo Gary Nastase and Auto Imagery
