Still in contention for her first NHRA Funny Car world championship, Courtney Force and her Advance Auto Parts team head to a track that has treated them well in the recent past. With only two races left in the 2018 season, Force is focused on finishing the season strong starting with a win at the NHRA Toyota Nationals this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
After a dominant regular season that consisted of 10 No. 1 qualifiers and four wins in six final rounds, Force and the Advance Auto Parts team entered the six race Countdown to the Championship playoffs as the No. 1 seed and secured a No. 1 qualifier in the first race.
A slight misstep currently has Force sixth in points but she’s well within reach of the Funny Car crown especially after the on-track performance the team saw at the most recent NHRA event in Charlotte.
“Our Advance Auto Parts team had really great incremental times during the first round in Charlotte. The conditions were prime and we had the car set up to run in the 80s but I think we got a little ahead of ourselves. We overpowered the track, we were ahead the whole race but we spun down track and we lost the race,” explained Force. “It was definitely a bummer. I think we have a fast hot-rod, we just have to get the kinks worked out. I am really looking forward to going to Las Vegas and hopefully we can move up in the points these last two races and take home a win.”
Force has three runner-up finishes at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, all three coming at the fall NHRA event. The first was in 2013 when she lost to her father and 16-time world champion John Force in the finals, John would clinch his record 16th championship with that round win. For the past two consecutive years Force has powered her way to the final round to be cut short by her father in 2016 and Matt Hagan in 2017. At the spring four-wide race earlier this season, Force qualified No. 1 and had a semifinal finish.
“Our Advance Auto Parts team has had a lot of success at the Las Vegas race track. Not only just the two-wide race but also the four-wide race in the spring. We are looking forward to getting back on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with only two races left in the season and the Countdown to the Championship,” Force said. “We know that we still have a shot at the championship and we just have to perform at our best these last two races. Our goal is to finish out this season strong. We are looking forward to getting on track in Las Vegas. It has been a great track for my team and we have been to multiple final rounds and we are hoping to seal the deal this weekend.”
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: Gary Nastase, Auto Imagery
