Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster team picked-up their third No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway. Robert Hight and the Flav-R-Pac / Cornwell Tools / AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS landed in the No. 2 spot with John Force in the BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy Camaro SS and Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster both sitting No. 7.
Starting the day sitting seventh, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac team laid down a track record elapsed time of 3.651-second pass at 336.32 mph to rocket to the No. 1 position for the 45th time of her career. The two-time reigning world championship team picked up three bonus points for their efforts. The Flav-R-Pac hotrod closed out qualifying with another clean pass of 3.742 at 320.20.
“That was an incredible run. It was more than I think this Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team expected. A 3.65 is just outstanding and then to be able to run a 3.74 in that last run. So, we had three solid runs, three of the four which is great going into race day. It gives us enough information to hopefully carry it over and go some rounds tomorrow,” Force said. “We’ve had success here in the past. I’ve always loved this track. We’ve won the Four-Wide before years ago. It’s tricky, it’s a challenge for the entire team, everybody involved, but that’s what makes winning it so much better.”
Robert Hight, racing the Flav-R-Pac colors for the final time this season, started Saturday in the No. 3 spot but would improve on his Friday qualifying efforts with a 3.865-second pass at 330.23 mph during his third try. In the final session, Hight would have to shut off his Chevy Camaro early but still put up a 3.947 at 274.44.
“Good qualifying effort for this Flav-R-Pac team. There’s more out there for us, but we had three solid passes to work off of for race day,” Hight said. “Jimmy Prock, I know he’s been working hard on this car. He’ll do whatever it takes to get us to where we need to be, and we have the team to get the job done. Keep our heads down and trust the process, we’ll be good. I’m excited for tomorrow. Looks like we’ll have a chance to get it done, so we’ll see what happens.”
After an impressive close to day one, Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / RMT team maintained their consistency through Saturday starting things off with a solid 3.710-second pass at 332.34 mph in the third session. Prock ended qualifying with his best run of the weekend going 3.701 at 330.47 to secure the No. 7spot.
“So far so good this weekend for this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team. We made four clean passes down the racetrack. We weren’t the quickest every hit, but the car is responding,” Prock said. “It gives you confidence going into Sunday with a consistent car. I’m ready to get after it tomorrow and hopefully walk away with my first Four-Wide win.”
John Force and the BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy improved Saturday starting with a 3.898-second pass at 331.12 mph during their third qualifying try to jump from 10th to seventh. In the final qualifying session, the BlueDEF Camaro would smoke the tires at the starting line to coast to a 10.096 at 76.71. He’ll stay seventh off his 3.898.
“Well, it’s a new hot rod and I’m learning to drive it. We’re getting a handle on it. Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, this whole BlueDEF team, they’ve had a busy off week getting this Chevy Camaro ready,” Force said. “Cars are changing and I have to stay up with it. Have to keep improving to keep up with these young kids out here. Looking forward to race day here at Bruton Smith’s Bellagio.”
Weather permitting, the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway continues with eliminations slated to begin Sunday at noon. Television coverage of the event continues on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) Sunday at 6:00 p.m. ET.
JFR PR
