John Force Racing News

“The way my Auto Club Mustang is running now, we could actually win it from the number 10 spot. I can’t wait for Charlotte; that race cannot come too soon. It would be nice to keep this roll going because our Mustang is running very well.”- Robert Hight

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Team info at www.johnforceracing.com

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The Driver

Robert Hight, 40, driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang, is entering the 2009 Countdown to 1 in the 10th spot. He clinched his Countdown to 1 spot by reaching the finals at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, a feat he accomplished for the fourth year in a row (two wins 2006 and 2008). 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:

2 – Number of times Hight has been No. 1 qualifier in 2009 (Winternationals, Pomona and Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis)

2 – Qualifying position at 2008 Carolina Nationals, highest for JFR

4 – Hight’s finish in the 2008 Full Throttle point standings

5 – Number of points Hight edged out Cruz Pedregon for final Countdown position

10 – Hight’s position in the Full Throttle Countdown to 1 point standings

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Full Throttle Point Standings (Countdown to 1 adjusted points) after 18 NHRA events

FUNNY CAR – 1. Tony Pedregon, Q Racing Chevrolet, (2110) 1364; 2. Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger, (2080) 1250; 3. Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, (2060) 1245; 4. Bob Tasca III, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang, (2060) 1061; 5. Jack Beckman, Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger, (2050) 1027; 6. Tim Wilkerson, Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Mustang, (2040) 1014; 7. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, (2030) 993; 8. Del Worsham, Al-Anabi Toyota Solara, (2020) 963; 9. Mike Neff, Ford Drive One Ford Mustang, (2010) 928; 10. Robert Hight, Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang, (2000) 861.

TOP FUEL – 1. Antron Brown, Matco Tools dragster, (2110) 1473; 2. Larry Dixon, Al-Anabi dragster, (2080) 1343; 3. Tony Schumacher, U.S. Army dragster, (2070) 1311; 4. Brandon Bernstein, Budweiser dragster, (2060) 1105; 5. Cory McClenathan, Fram dragster, (2050) 1094; 6. Spencer Massey, US Smokeless Tobacco dragster, (2040) 1051; 7. Morgan Lucas, GEICO Insurance dragster, (2030) 1035; 8. Shawn Langdon, Lucas Oil dragster, (2020) 984; 9. Doug Kalitta, Kalitta Racing dragster, (2010) 798; 10. Clay Millican, Nitrofish dragster, (2000) 713.

PRO STOCK – 1. Jeg Coughlin Jr., Jeg’s Chevrolet Cobalt, (2110) 1550; 2. Jason Line, Summit Racing Pontiac GXP, (2080) 1450; 3. Mike Edwards, Young Life/Penhall Pontiac, (2070) 1427; 4. Greg Anderson, Summit Racing Pontiac GXP, (2060) 1256; 5. Allen Johnson, Team Mopar Dodge Stratus, (2050) 1111; 6. Greg Stanfield, Attitude Apparel Pontiac GXP, (2040) 956; 7. Ron Krisher, Valvoline Chevrolet Cobalt, (2030) 880; 8. Kurt Johnson, ACDelco Chevrolet Cobalt, (2020) 834; 9. Rickie Jones, Quarter-Max/RJ Race Cars Dodge Stratus, (2010) 773; 10. Johnny Gray, Johnny Gray Racing Dodge Stratus, 758.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE – 1. Eddie Krawiec, Englishtown, N.J., Harley-Davidson V-Rod, (2110) 1059; 2. Andrew Hines, Brownsburg, Ind., Harley-Davidson V-Rod, (2080) 873; 3. Hector Arana, Milltown, Ind., Buell, (2070) 839; 4. Matt Smith, King, N.C., Suzuki, (2060) 778; 5. Douglas Horne, Aberdeen, Md., Buell, (2050) 757; 6. Craig Treble, Harvey, La., Suzuki, (2040) 724; 7. Michael Phillips, Baton Rouge, La., Suzuki, (2030) 595; 8. Matt Guidera, Loomis, Calif., Buell, (2020) 583; 9. Shawn Gann, Stoneville, N.C., Buell, (2010) 529; 10. Karen Stoffer, Smith, Nev., Suzuki, (2000) 511.

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Track Records:

Top Fuel - 3.846 seconds by Larry Dixon, Sept. ’08; 317.64 mph by Tony Schumacher, Sept. ’08
Funny Car - 4.072 seconds by Frank Hawley, Sept. ’08; 307.16 mph by Hawley, Sept. ’08
Pro Stock - 6.680 sec. by Kurt Johnson, Sept. ’08; 208.26 mph by Warren Johnson, Sept. ’08
PS Motorcycle - 6.952 sec. by Matt Smith, Sept. ’08; 192.91 mph by Eddie Krawiec, Sept. ’08

(Top Fuel and Funny Car race distance is 1,000 feet; Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle race distance is 1,320 feet)

NATIONAL RECORDS:

Top Fuel - 3.771 sec. by Tony Schumacher, Oct. ’08, Richmond, Va.; 319.22 mph by Antron Brown, Sept. ’09, Indianapolis
Funny Car - 4.023 sec. by Ron Capps, Feb. ’09, Phoenix; 312.13 mph by Ashley Force Hood,Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, April ’09, Atlanta
Pro Stock - 6.528 sec. by Greg Anderson, Feb. ’09, Pomona, Calif.; 212.03 mph by Mike Edwards, March ’09, Houston
PS Motorcycle – 6.860 sec. by Andrew Hines, May ’09, St. Louis; 197.45 mph by A. Hines, March ’05, Gainesville, Fla.

(Top Fuel and Funny Car race distance is 1,000 feet; Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle race distance is 1,320 feet)

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Race Schedule:

Friday, Sept. 18
Pro Qualifying: 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 19
Pro Qualifying: 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 20
Pre-race ceremonies 11:00 a.m.
Final eliminations noon

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Television:

Saturday, Sept. 19, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qual. coverage at 11:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 20, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will telecast NHRA Race Day at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 20, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise 3 hours of final round eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).

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ROBERT HIGHT

REGULAR SEASON OVER, HIGHT READY FOR COUNTDOWN

CHARLOTTE, NC (September 14, 2009) --- Robert Hight is ready to race for his first Full Throttle Championship. Again.

The perennial championship contender struggled throughout the NHRA regular season finally clinching the 10th spot in the Countdown to 1 with a final round appearance at the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. It was Hight’s fourth consecutive final round appearance but he missed his third win when his sister-in-law Ashley Force Hood grabbed her first professional Mac Tools U.S. Nationals title.

For Hight the race was an affirmation of his predictions that his Auto Club Ford Mustang’s performance had finally turned the corner. He qualified No. 1 on Friday and had the quickest ET every qualifying session except one.

“It looks like we’re finally getting our act together at the right time. I guess it’s better late than never, but we’re happy to have all of our Ford Mustangs in there. That was a major accomplishment for us. It wasn’t an easy thing. The way my Auto Club Ford Mustang is running now, we could actually win it from the number 10 spot. I can’t wait for Charlotte; that race cannot come too soon,” said Hight. “It would be nice to keep this roll going because our Mustang is running very well. It takes a lot of work and if you struggle a little like we did, you can get behind and almost not make it. I’m excited that six of the top 10 are Ford Mustangs and, you know what, one of us ought to win this Championship.”

The pressure of grabbing the final Countdown position was constant for Hight. Team owner John Force shuffled drivers for the two regular season races but an unexpected medical emergency for Hall of Fame crew chief Austin Coil reunited Hight with crew chief Jimmy Prock for the must perform event, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. When it was all over Hight was simply relieved to have survived and reached the Countdown to 1.

“Very relieved, because basically if you don’t make the Top 10 it means your season is over for all practical purposes. I guess you could look at it like you can start testing for next year, but I wasn’t ready for my season to be over. It’s just now getting started, the way I look at it. I’m very excited about that, relieved, but excited going into Charlotte, knowing that we could be moving up in this deal.”

Throughout the struggles of the regular season Hight never got too down or too distracted. He and his Auto Club team simply put their collective noses to the grindstone and fought through the grind that is the NHRA regular season. When his Auto Club Mustang started showing consistent improvement in Reading, Hight knew a wave was building for his team. It crested at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, a track that Hight has dominated the past four years.

“I was never a big believer in the fact that some people just have luck at certain races, but I’m starting to feel that way because this is my fourth Mac Tools U.S. Nationals final in a row. Don Prudhomme has the record of six in a row. I’ve won two of them. I’m very proud of Ashley for winning, but, yes, momentum is a big deal, and hopefully we can get on a big roll starting (at Indianapolis). The way my car ran, dating back to Reading when John switched us and he was in the car, it went down the track all the runs, and all the runs in Indy. It qualified number one, and it doesn’t get much better than that.”

“Well, people probably got tired of hearing me, throughout all the struggles, say, ‘We’re close.’ I would say that Jimmy – crew chief Jimmy Prock- is not that far off, he’s getting closer, and of course things would happen and we wouldn’t do well. Little things would come up, mistakes were made, but everybody stuck together. I still have the same exact team that I had last year. We stuck together as a team, worked through it, and we believed in each other. We knew we were close, and we just kept working hard, and that’s what it takes to win.”

Last year at zMax Dragway Hight qualified No.2 and had the car to beat but in the semi-finals Jack Beckman, by his own admission guessed the light, and recorded a spectacular .002 reaction time (.000 is perfect) and he defeated Hight with a slower 4.15 second run to Hight’s 4.10 second pass. Beckman went on to win the inaugural event and Hight ultimately finished fourth in his quest for his first Funny Car championship.

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COUNTDOWN STATS

John Force Racing drivers head to head statistics with the rest of the Countdown to 1 qualifiers.

AFH JF MN RH

1. Tony Pedregon 5-11 53-23 3-6 6-13 67-53

2. Ron Capps 6-6 41-21 2-3 12-8 61-38

3. Ashley Force Hood ----- 3-3 1-3 3-3 7-9

4. Bob Tasca III 5-1 3-3 2-3 1-2 11-9

5. Jack Beckman 3-3 5-9 2-2 4-5 14-19

6. Tim Wilkerson 3-6 25-8 4-8 6-5 38-27

7. John Force 3-3 ----- 3-1 8-7 14-11

8. Del Worsham 8-3 44-21 0-1 11-5 63-30

9. Mike Neff 3-1 1-3 ----- 3-3 7-7

10. Robert Hight 3-3 7-8 3-3 ----- 13-14

Totals 39-37 182-99 20-30 54-51

John Force Racing drivers head to head statistics final rounds only with the rest of the Countdown to 1 qualifiers.

AFH JF MN RH

1. Tony Pedregon 0-3 12-10 0-0 0-3 12-16

2. Ron Capps 0-2 7-5 0-1 2-0 9-3

3. Ashley Force Hood ----- 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-2

4. Bob Tasca III 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1

5. Jack Beckman 1-1 1-1 0-0 1-1 3-3

6. Tim Wilkerson 0-2 2-2 0-2 0-0 2-4

7. John Force 1-0 ----- 0-0 0-2 1-2

8. Del Worsham 0-1 6-6 0-0 0-0 6-7

9. Mike Neff 0-0 0-0 ----- 0-0 0-0

10. Robert Hight 1-0 2-0 0-0 ----- 3-0

Totals 3-9 30-25 0-4 3-7

Get team info here: www.johnforceracing.com

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