The John Force Racing teams were met with challenging conditions as they made their much-anticipated return to Bandimere Speedway for the Dodge//SRT Mile-High NHRA Nationals. The track difficulties weren’t reserved for just the JFR hot rods, the troubles worked in Brittany Force and the Monster Energy dragster team’s favor landing in the No. 5 spot. John Force and the PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS coasted to the No. 11 spot while Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Camaro will work their way up from No. 12.
Brittany Force’s Monster Energy team were looking for too much from the mountain and overpowered the track for a 5.955-second pass at 106.16 mph. Only one dragster made a full pass down Bandimere Speedway allowing Force to land as the provisional No. 5 qualifier.
“I’m glad to be here in Denver. Unfortunately, that first run was a little disappointing. We pushed the car a little too hard and it chattered and went into tire smoke,” Force said. “We have two more runs tomorrow so I’m confident in this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team. We’ll figure it out and be ready for race day.”
John Force and his PEAK / BlueDEF team ran into trouble and had to shut off at the 100-foot mark to cross the finish line with a 8.131-second pass at only 86.69 mph, ending the night in the No. 11 position.
“We’ve got two more tomorrow, we’ll be fine. This PEAK Chevrolet with Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, I’m not worried,” Force said. “Love coming here to Bandimere Speedway. We’ve got a lot of sponsors out this weekend. Gates, Cornwell Tools, PEAK, Flav-R-Pac, really appreciate them coming out and letting us entertain them. We’ll put on a better show tomorrow.”
Back in his Auto Club livery, Robert Hight’s Chevy didn’t make it past the starting line, going up in smoke at the hit. The three-time world champion eventually crossed the finish line at 15.372-seconds and 68.07 mph.
“We just missed it. We were too aggressive and the track wasn’t there,” Hight said. “Not the type of run we want to make up here at Bandimere Speedway with all the fans waiting for header flames but luckily, we get to try again tomorrow. Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham will have this Auto Club Chevy dialed in.”
Qualifying at the Dodge//SRT Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway will continue Saturday at 5:15 and 8:15 p.m. Eliminations are set to begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage will be on FOX Sport 1 (FS1) with qualifying coverage Saturday at 2 p.m. ET and Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Eliminations’ TV coverage will air Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.
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