John Force Racing News

HIGHT HAS HIGH HOPES FOR RETURN TO ATLANTA SUCCESS

“We’ve had a pretty good four years in Atlanta. We did go out first round last year but the three years before that we went to the final. I’m aware that this is the longest I have gone to start a season without winning a race. We have always won (a race) by the fourth race before 2007 which was my rookie year.” – Robert Hight

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Team info at www.johnforceracing.com

Follow John Force Racing at www.twitter.com/jfr_racing

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The Driver

Robert Hight, 39, driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang, is entering 2009 following his fourth consecutive Full Throttle Top Five finish. He is the only Funny Car driver to have led the points each of the last four seasons. The 2005 winner of the Auto Club’s Road to the Future award that identifies the Rookie of the Year, he owns the two quickest 1000 foot times in Funny Car history (4.056 and 4.005 seconds) and well as the quickest quarter mile times in Funny Car history (4.646 and 4.636 seconds).

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Robert Hight By the Numbers:

3 – Number of times of Hight has reached the finals at the NHRA Southern Nationals in four appearances

4 – Number of different John Force Racing drivers that have won the Southern Nationals (Ashley Force Hood, Robert Hight, Tony Pedregon, and John Force)

5 – Number of races for Hight without a win to start this season; the longest losing streak Hight has ever started a season with

8 – Hight’s position in the Full Throttle point standings

45 – Number of years since the first Ford Mustang was first introduced April 17, 1964, at the New York World’s Fair

800 – Number of Mustang 45th Anniversary stickers that will be distributed to lucky fans at the NHRA Southern Nationals by John Force Racing and Ford Racing

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Full Throttle Point Standings (After five of 24 Full Throttle events)

FUNNY CAR - 1. Ron Capps, 408; 2. Matt Hagan, 302; 3. Del Worsham, 296; 3. Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 296; 5. Tony Pedregon, 290; 6. Bob Tasca III, 289; 7. Jack Beckman, 282; 8. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 273; 9. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 253; 10. Mike Neff, Ford Drive One Mustang, 252.

TOP FUEL – 1. Tony Schumacher, 412; 2. Antron Brown, 394; 3. Brandon Bernstein, 388; 4. Larry Dixon, 335; 5. Cory McClenathan, 324; 6. Morgan Lucas, 263; 7. Doug Kalitta, 256; 8. Shawn Langdon, 248; 9. Joe Hartley, 219; 10. Spencer Massey, 190.

PRO STOCK – 1. Jeg Coughlin, 430; 2. Jason Line, 418; 3. Mike Edwards, 344; 4. Greg Anderson, 325; 5. Allen Johnson, 294; 6. Greg Stanfield, 282; 7. Ron Krisher, 257; 8. Kurt Johnson, 251; 9. Rickie Jones, 220; 10. Larry Morgan, 199.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE - 1. Matt Smith, 194; 2. Hector Arana, 172; 3. Andrew Hines, 152; 4. Craig Treble, 151; 5. Douglas Horne, 125; 6. Eddie Krawiec, 107; 7. Steve Johnson, 105; 8. Shawn Gann, 104; 9. Karen Stoffer, 87; 10. Matt Guidera, 84.

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Track Records:

Top Fuel* - 4.448 seconds by Tony Schumacher, May '06; 331.28 mph by Schumacher May '06
Funny Car* - 4.680 seconds by Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang May '06; 331.04 mph by Mike Ashley, April '07
Pro Stock - 6.627 seconds by Greg Anderson, April '07; 208.71 mph by Anderson, April '07
Pro Stock Motorcycle - 6.943 seconds by Chip Ellis, April '08; 192.60 mph by Ellis, April '08
(*performance records will not be officially recorded in Top Fuel and Funny Car at this event)

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Race Schedule:

Friday –
Pro Qualifying: 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Saturday –
Pro Qualifying: 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Sunday –
Pre-race: 10:00 a.m.
Final eliminations: 11:00 a.m.

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Television:
Saturday, April 18, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 6 p.m. (ET).
Sunday April 19, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, April 19, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).

ROBERT HIGHT

HIGHT HAS HIGH HOPES FOR RETURN TO ATLANTA SUCCESS

ATLANTA (April 15, 2009) --- Robert “Top Gun” Hight is chasing points leader Ron Capps and he hopes he catches him at the 29th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals this weekend. In three of the last four years Hight has pulled his Auto Club sponsored Ford Mustang up beside Capps at the Southern Nationals winning twice before eventually reaching the finals. Last year Hight dropped a first round match-up to the current Full Throttle points leader.

Getting past Capps or getting four round wins is top of mind for the young John Force Racing driver. Heading into Atlanta without a win is new territory for the former trapshooting champion. In the previous four years as a funny car driver Hight has entered Atlanta with at least one victory. He has his eye on hitting the bulls-eye with a Funny Car win.

“We’ve had a pretty good four years in Atlanta. We did go out first round last year but the three year before that we went to the final. I’m aware that this is the longest I have gone to start a season without winning a race. In 2007 we won here and then went to Atlanta and won again. We have always won by the fourth race before 2007 which was my rookie year.”

Hight saw flashes of progress during his semi-final finish at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Crew chief Jimmy Prock has returned to familiar territory with new engine components and Hight thinks they are just a few tweaks away from consistent success

“(Las Vegas) was a lot better than the last two races. I am upbeat about our car because it is definitely tunable. It is real tunable. We just need a few more runs and I think we are there. In qualifying we made two good runs. We stepped up. We have all the old stuff back on it. We have a new chassis. It is working well. I am definitely excited about that. We are going to test here (in Las Vegas) and use one of our four days. We’ll see if we can’t get it to where we want it,” said Hight.

Hight has high hopes for the new Auto Club Ford Mustang.

“This is definitely a better car than our last one. That car got hurt when we lost a header. I had a new front half on it. This one definitely has more traction. That is what we need. It is definitely tunable now. (Crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) has something going right since he has all the controls in the car he is used to. He has been using them the last six or seven years. He knows how to tune that. It is not a learning curve like the other stuff we had in it.”

Hight also knows that winning is important personally as well as for his manufacturer sponsor Ford. This weekend will be the 45th anniversary of the Mustang. It was April 17, 1964 that the Ford Mustang was unveiled during the New York World’s Fair.

“It would be great to get another win in Atlanta and to get that win on the anniversary of the Ford Mustang would be awesome for everyone at John Force Racing. We have won nine world championships with Mustangs and I want to make that ten this year. A win this weekend would be a great step towards my first championship,” said Hight.

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Did you know…

- Hight led a team of Funny Car drivers to victory during a special NHRA competition at the U.S. Bowling Congress Open Championships on April 2nd before the Las Vegas NHRA National event

- Hight and sister-in-law Ashley Force Hood are featured in an Auto Club of Southern California television commercial that is getting rave reviews on the Full Throttle Drag racing Series.

Get team info here: www.johnforceracing.com

Follow John Force Racing at www.twitter.com/jfr_racing