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TOPEKA, Kan. (May 9, 2012) – Coming out of a successful weekend for John Force Racing as a whole, Courtney Force looks to boost her top ten position in the points and go some rounds at Heartland Park Topeka for the 24th annual Dollar General NHRA Summernationals, May 18-20.
“I'm so excited going into the Topeka race this week and I'm confident in my Traxxas Ford Mustang and my team that we can perform well. My car has been pretty consistent this entire season and coming off of a good weekend in Atlanta, I think we will have a competitive race car going into this weekend,” said Force.
Force qualified in the no. 9 spot in Atlanta for the 32nd annual NHRA Summit Racing Southern Nationals. She upset veteran Jack Beckman in the first round match-up and then gave teammate Robert Hight a run for his money in second round. Force was quickest off the line by .020 of a second over the 2009 champion. Although she lost, Courtney was pleased with her effort against her brother-in-law, who won by just .013 of a second.
Force, the youngest daughter of 15-time Funny Car champion John Force, is currently in 10th place in the Full Throttle Funny Car standings. She is the highest positioned in front of Alexis DeJoria (15th in Funny Car) and Khalid AlBalooshi (13th in Top Fuel), her two main competitors for Auto Club’s Road to the Future award for “Rookie of the Year,” a prestigious award that recognizes the most accomplished rookie driver of the season.
“It's definitely an amazing feeling to be in the top ten in points so far this season and I'm really hoping we can stay in it. There are so many tough competitors in the Funny Car category, so we are just going to have to be consistent and earn those points. I'm so proud of my team and obviously couldn't be in the top ten without their dedication and hard work,” said Force.
Force has the most round wins, five, compared to DeJoria, one, and alBalooshi, zero. She also defeated DeJoria in their only head to head race this season, the first round of the O’Reilly Spring Nationals in Houston two weeks ago.
This weekend, Force will be partaking in several media opportunities to advance the race at Heartland Park Topeka. A main focus for her, aside from racing, will be to give fans inside information as to what she is experiencing during the weekend. Force will be writing a daily column for the Topeka Capital Journal that can be found in the newspaper Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
“I'm looking forward to sharing my experience at the Topeka race with a behind the scenes article for the Topeka Capital Journal. I'm excited to share with fans a look into my life and our team throughout the entire race weekend, while sharing about our progress throughout the race with a personal twist. On top of that, who knows what will happen with dad around,” Force said.
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