John Force took the No. 8 qualifying position for Sunday’s NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season finale, the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Force’s best pass came Saturday afternoon, as he raced down his home track at 3.935 seconds at 327.51, two hundredths of a second quicker than his first-round run of 3.955 seconds at 316.60 mph. The means Force and the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS will meet J.R. Todd in the first round of eliminations. Todd’s best run was 3.946 seconds at 325.53 seconds.
“I look at the overall picture,” Force said. “The PEAK car went down the race track. My car is not where I want it to be, but in the big picture I have two cars running for titles with Brittany (Force) in Top Fuel with Monster Energy, Robert (Hight) in Funny Car with Auto Club, and that’s important to me as a car owner. And Courtney (Force) with Advance Auto Parts and Chevrolet is still in the (Funny Car) running.”
The all-time leader in Funny Car victories at Pomona with 16, Force would like to end the same way he started it – going rounds. The 16-time Funny Car champ made it to the semifinals of the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, falling just short of winning that matchup to daughter Courtney Force.
“We’re in the hunt, and I’m not guaranteeing we’re going to win, but we’re going down swinging,” Force said. “When this race is over, we’ll start getting ready for next year right away.”
Elimination rounds for the Auto Club NHRA Finals begin at 11 a.m. Pacific. Live television coverage begins at 1 p.m. Pacific on Fox Sports 1.
4-Second Reads
- Qualifying Round 1 (Left Lane): 3.955 seconds/316.60 mph; strong run despite shutting off early (No. 4 of session and No. 4 overall; one bonus point in session)
- Qualifying Round 2 (Right Lane): 7.283 seconds/89.09 mph; strong launch but tires shook at 330 feet and slowed (No. 8 of session and No. 6 overall; no bonus points in session and one bonus point overall)
- Qualifying Round 3 (Right Lane): 3.935 seconds/327.51 mph; down the middle and moves up a spot for the time being (No. 4 of session and No. 8 overall; one bonus point in session and two bonus points overall)
- Qualifying Round 4 (Left Lane): 5.667 seconds/126.74 mph; great 60-foot time but tires came loose at 330 feet and he slowed (No. 15 of session and No. 8 overall; no bonus points in session and two bonus points overall)
- This is the first time this season and 34th time in his career Force has qualified No. 8 for a race. The last time he qualified No. 8 came in last October at Texas Motorplex.
- Force is looking for his sixth victory and nine finals appearance from No. 8. His last victory from No. 8 came in the 2015 spring race at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
- This is the first time Force has qualified No. 8 in 74 races at Pomona. He has qualified in the top half of the bracket in 58 of the 70 races for which he has qualified.
- Force’s first-round matchup against J.R. Todd marks the third time the two will compete against each other. The two are tied at 1-1 – both races this season – with Force winning the most recent matchup in August at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wash.
- John Force Racing announced Saturday at Hot Wheels ™ Americana Series™ Car Care Products will become the Official Car Care Products of the championship-winning NHRA drag racing series team, starting this weekend.
John Force Racing PR/Photo Gary Nastase and Auto Imagery
