Having raced his PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car into fourth in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series points standings after his second consecutive win at zMAX Dragway’s Four-Wide Nationals, John Force heads to the Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park with regained confidence.
Coming off a victory just two weeks ago in Charlotte that extended to 34 the number of seasons in which he has won at least one NHRA tour event, Force returns this week a year older (73) to Virginia Motorsports Park. It’s a track on which he has won a career best 78.8 percent of his two-car matches (26-7) on the way to Funny Car wins in 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2000. He is the track record holder at 3.899-seconds, a mark he set on May 17, 2019, the last time the race was contested.
“I’m excited to be heading back to Richmond. Love the area, love the fans, love that track. I know it’s been a couple of years so it’s going to be exciting,” Force said. “We’ll be really trying to put on a show, maybe set some more records. I’m feeling good coming off a win. The credit really goes to Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi who run the PEAK BlueDEF Chevy. I know drivers always get all the credit, but it really is those guys and the whole team that help get the job done, couldn’t do it without them.”
Sixteenth in points after the season-opening Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., Force will start qualifying his PEAK Chevy Camaro SS on Friday in fourth place behind Matt Hagan, teammate Robert Hight and reigning World Champion Ron Capps. In addition to 2019, John also was the No. 1 qualifier at Virginia in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000.
Qualifying at the Virginia NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park begins Friday with a night session at 8:10 p.m. and continues Saturday at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations are slated for Sunday at noon. The Virginia NHRA Nationals will be televised on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with a qualifying show Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET and a second qualifying show Sunday at 9:00 a.m. ET. Finals coverage will air Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
JFR PR
