To say the battle for the 2018 Funny Car world championship has been a wild ride for reigning Funny Car champion Robert Hight is an understatement of epic proportions. After the St. Louis event, the second race of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, Hight took over the Funny Car points in spectacular fashion, endured a broken collarbone and the ensuing surgery, picked up a win at the next event in Dallas, and held off a charge by his closest competitor two weeks ago in Charlotte. Heading into the NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the two-time champion finds himself in familiar territory. Like in his 2017 championship campaign, there are two races left in the season with eight rounds of racing remaining and a championship on the line with every pass.
“Racing in Las Vegas in the fall is all about the Mello Yello NHRA championship,” said Hight. “We have the points lead but we need to keep the pressure on the rest of the Funny Cars. No one can afford a mistake. I love racing here and we have done well at The Strip. The key is to just treat this like any other race. You can’t change your routine or focus because there are only two races left. We are going to come out on Friday and start trying to get some of those qualifying bonus points and get that No. 1 qualifier spot.”
So far in the Countdown Hight has collected two consecutive wins and a semifinal finish, right on track with where the 45-time Funny Car winner wants to be at this point in the championship fight.
“At the beginning of the Countdown I felt like you would need to win three races and not have any first round losses if you wanted to win the championship,” said Hight. “I am not sure three wins will be enough but we are in a good spot to defend our championship. I love how (crew chiefs) Jimmy (Prock) and Chris (Cunningham) have this Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro running. We are going down the race track every run and we are quick and fast. I need to be at the top of my game, too. This is going to be an exciting weekend and last two races.”
Hight has picked up two wins at the fall NHRA event at The Strip and has three final round appearances to his credit. Last year, he was the No.3 qualifier, raced to the semifinals and took over the points lead for good. This year he will be looking to extend his 11-point lead and pick up his third win of the Countdown, fifth of the season. In his career at The Strip Hight has started from the top three nine times including three No. 1s.
“We have a lot of data from The Strip and that race track has been good to us,” Hight said. “We have tested therein the past and Jimmy and Chris have a lot of confidence. I feed off of their confidence and I think it makes its way through the whole team. We have been through this fight before and we are going to give it our best.”
Hight will continue to run the Distracted Driving themed Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro fans have seen throughout the Countdown. As the season winds to a finish and a third champion looms on the horizon, Hight has taken the distracted driving theme even more to heart when he straps into his 10,000 horsepower Funny Car.
“The ‘Don’t drive intoxicated. Don’t drive intexticated.’ program is a great message,’ said Hight. “I am proud to be working with Auto Club to try and keep all drivers safe behind the wheel. I am taking that lesson with me every time I strap in. Trust me, there are a lot of distractions in a town like Las Vegas. I am staying focused on my job every day which is to get John Force Racing and the Auto Club another championship.”
Nitro qualifying at the NHRA Toyota Nationals is scheduled at 12:30 and 3 p.m. on Friday, 12:30 and 2:45 p.m. Saturday. The single elimination tournament will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.
JFR PR/Photo Credit: Ron Lewis
