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John Force Racing
Robert Hight Pre-Race Package
Event: 45th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals
6th and final race of Countdown to 1
Season finale of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
Site: Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Pomona, Calif.
Dates: Nov. 12-15, 2009
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HIGHT, PROCK LOOK TO LOCK UP FIRST FUNNY CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
“When you’re on a team like this, you’re expected to win, so that puts a little added pressure on you, but you also know that you have good equipment, a good car, and that makes it easier to learn. Trust me I’m still learning.”- Robert Hight
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Team info at www.johnforceracing.com
Follow John Force Racing at www.twitter.com/jfr_racing
Follow John Force RaceStation store at www.twitter.com/JFRaceStation
Follow Courtney Force at www.twitter.com/courtneyforce
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The Driver
Robert Hight, 40, driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang, entered the 2009 Countdown to 1 in the 10th spot and has risen to 1st place with one race remaining. He has won three of the previous five Countdown events Charlotte, Dallas and Las Vegas. 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:
1 – Hight’s position entering the Auto Club NHRA Finals
3 – Number of races Hight has won in the 2009 Countdown to 1 (Charlotte, Dallas, Las Vegas2)
4 – Hight’s finish in the 2008 Full Throttle point standings
5 – Number of points Hight edged out Cruz Pedregon for final Countdown position
7 – Number of positions Hight jumped after first Countdown to 1 race in 2009
10 – Hight’s position entering the Full Throttle Countdown to 1 point standings
105 – Number of points Hight is ahead of teammate Ashley Force Hood
150 – Maximum number of points a driver can earn in one NHRA national event
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Full Throttle Point Standings after five Countdown to 1 races and 22 NHRA events
FUNNY CAR – 1. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 2485; 2. Ashley Force Hood, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 2380; 3. Tony Pedregon, 2372; 4. Jack Beckman, 2371; 5. Ron Capps, 2358; 6. Tim Wilkerson, 2353; 7. Del Worsham, 2299; 8. Bob Tasca III, 2294; 9. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 2268; 10. Mike Neff, Ford Drive One Mustang,2235.
TOP FUEL – 1. Tony Schumacher, 2485; 2. Larry Dixon, 2484; 3. Cory McClenathan, 2437; 4. Antron Brown, 2405; 5. Brandon Bernstein, 2383; 6. Spencer Massey, 2337; 7. Morgan Lucas, 2300; 8. Shawn Langdon, 2289; 9. Doug Kalitta, 2270; 10. Clay Millican, 2093.
PRO STOCK – 1. Mike Edwards, 2594; 2. Greg Anderson, 2455; 3. Jason Line, 2406; 4. Greg Stanfield, 2348; 5. Jeg Coughlin, 2344; 6. Ron Krisher, 2303; 7. Allen Johnson, 2278; 8. Johnny Gray, 2267; 9. Kurt Johnson, 2215; 10. Rickie Jones, 2111.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE - 1. Hector Arana, 2525; 2. Andrew Hines, 2372; 3. Eddie Krawiec, 2471; 4. Matt Smith, 2334; 5. Michael Phillips, 2288; 6. Douglas Horne, 2262; 7. Karen Stoffer, 2213; 8. Shawn Gann, 2209; 9. Craig Treble, 2168; 10. Matt Guidera, 2020.
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TRACK RECORDS:
Top Fuel - 3.778 seconds by Antron Brown, Feb. ’09; 317.42 mph by Tony Schumacher, Nov. ’08.
Funny Car - 4.037 seconds by Robert Hight, Feb. ’09; and 310.41 mph by Del Worsham, Feb. ’09.
Pro Stock - 6.528 seconds by Greg Anderson, Feb. ’09; and 211.63 mph by Jason Line, Feb. ’09.
Pro Stock Motorcycle - 6.929 seconds by Chris Rivas, Nov. ’08; 194.66 mph by GT Tonglet, Nov. ’04.
(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.; 319.60 mph by Antron Brown, Oct. ’09, Richmond, Va.
Funny Car - 4.023 sec. by Ron Capps, Feb. ’09, Chandler, Ariz.; 312.13 mph by Ashley Force Hood, April ’09, Atlanta
Pro Stock - 6.509 sec. by Mike Edwards, Oct. ’09, Richmond, Va.; 212.36 mph by Greg Anderson, Oct. ’09, Richmond, Va.
PS Motorcycle- 6.851 sec. by Hector Arana, Sept. ’09, Memphis, Tenn.; 197.45 mph by Andrew 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:
Thursday, Nov. 12
Pro Qualifying: 1:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 13
Pro Qualifying: 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 14
Pro Qualifying: 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 15
Pre-race ceremonies 10:00 a.m.
Final eliminations 11:00 a.m.
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TELEVISION:
Saturday, Nov. 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 10:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Nov. 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day, at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Nov. 15, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of final eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
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ROBERT HIGHT
HIGHT, PROCK LOOK TO LOCK UP FIRST FUNNY CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
POMONA, CA (November 9, 2009) --- Auto Club driver Robert Hight and crew chief Jimmy Prock are heading to a track that they are very familiar with but in a total new position. The tandem enters the 45th Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals as the points leader and the favorite to win their first NHRA Full Throttle championship.
For Hight a successful weekend at Auto Club Raceway would be a culmination of a dream that he thought had already come true on one level when he joined John Force Racing as a crew member.
“I never honestly dreamed that I would be at this point. I didn’t ever think that I would ever get to drive a race car. I was just content and happy driving down the road in John Force’s truck and working on his race car, and I just owe it all to him for giving me this opportunity to come out here. When you’re on a team like this, you’re expected to win, so that puts a little added pressure on you, but you also know that you have good equipment, a good car, and that makes it easier to learn. Trust me I’m still learning,” said Hight.
The perennial championship contender Hight has been in position to win the Funny Car title almost every year of his racing career. The previous two year have by far been his best opportunities but a mechanical failure at the Las Vegas race in 2007 and then tire smoke in the first round of the Auto Club NHRA Finals last season sealed championship victories for Tony Pedregon and Cruz Pedregon, respectively.
Throughout the brief Countdown to 1 history the Funny Car driver that has entered the Auto Club NHRA Finals with the points lead has gone on to win the title. Hight hopes that trend continues but he knows he still has work to do when qualifying gets underway in Pomona.
“To have a 105 point lead going into Pomona it gives you a lot of confidence. It is still not over. I think the only (teams) that really has a chance are (teammate) Ashley (Force Hood) along with Tony (Pedregon) and (Jack) Beckman,” said 14-time NHRA national event winner.
“I knew that we would figure this thing out and fix it. Jimmy Prock has just done such a great job since the Countdown started even at Indy (where Hight reached his fourth consecutive final) getting three wins in five races of the Countdown. That is stout. It has all been on performance. We have not gotten lucky. I haven’t had to pedal the race car. We have just out muscled these guys. That is what Cruz Pedregon did last year.”
For crew chief Jimmy Prock a championship season would also me a momentous occasion. Prock narrowly missed winning a Top Fuel championship in 1992 with Cory McClenathan. They came in second place nine points behind Joe Amato. The team was forced to skip the Montreal NHRA national event for economic reasons missing out on the 10 entry
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