Brittany Force is ready to bounce back from a tough race in the most recent event of the Countdown to the Championship near St. Louis, as she will drive her Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster in the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals this weekend at Texas Motorplex.
After posting the third-quickest elapsed time ever in Top Fuel competition in the first round in St. Louis, Force fell in the second round. But thanks to other championship contenders dropping out, Force maintained third in the Top Fuel standings.
“Leaving St. Louis, we got a little lucky,” Force said. “Things didn’t change that much. We still picked up bonus points, we went a couple rounds, and we maintained No. 3 position, which is really helpful for what we need to do.”
She’s 41 points out of second and 83 out of first with three races remaining in the 2017 season. Dallas marks the fourth of six races in the Countdown.
Force, though, knows it’s go time, and second-round losses won’t cut it. But she relishes the chance for her and her John Force Racing team to prove they belong in the title hunt.
“We need to go beyond that in Dallas,” Force said. “We need to go rounds, we need to win the thing, we need to gain as many points as we can because the fight for the championship is not out of reach. We’re still going after it.
“The Monster team is strong, and I know that if we put our mind to it, and we work hard, it’s possible.”
Two qualifying sessions are slated for Friday (3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Central) and Saturday (2 p.m. and 5 p.m.), with eliminations slated for 11 a.m. Central on Sunday.
Fox Sports 1 will televise one hour of live qualifying on Friday at 5 p.m. Central, one hour of coverage at 1:30 a.m. Sunday and three hours of live qualifying at 1 p.m. Central on Sunday.
4-Second Reads:
- Brittany Force has competed in four races at Dallas and every race since 2013, her rookie season.
- Force is still looking for her first victory at Dallas. She has made it to the quarterfinals in each of the three races she has qualified for – 2013, 2015 and 2016.
- Force is 3-3 in six elimination-round races at Dallas and 3-0 in first-round matchups.
- Force’s best qualifying effort at Dallas came in 2015, when she earned the No. 3 position.
- Force is currently third in the Top Fuel points standings. She entered the Countdown to the Championship sixth in the standings.
- In 2017, Force has two victories, a 30-19 elimination-round record, and one No. 1 qualifier. Her next round will be her 50th of the season (career-best is 55 in 2016). She has set the event quick elapsed time twice, and event top speed a series-high six times.
- In her career, Force has five victories, 117 elimination-round wins and seven No. 1 qualifiers.
- Most recent NHRA victory – 2017 NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa.
- Most recent No. 1 qualifying effort – 2017 NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill.
- Best time/speed at Dallas – 3.721 seconds (2016); 327.90 mph (2015)
- Best time/speed of career – 3.644 seconds (2017 St. Louis E1); 333.66 mph (2017 Topeka E1)
John Force Racing PR/Photo Gary Nastase and Auto Imagery
