On Thursday heading into the 22nd NHRA O’Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec the entire John Force Racing contingent of drivers spent some quality time with old friends and some new fans.
John Force, Ashley Force, and Robert Hight spent the early part of the afternoon at AAA of Texas’ headquarters talking with AAA employees and staffers. A continuous line of fans came by to get a photo or an autographed hero card. Many of the AAA of Texas folks consider this an annual event and highlight of the year.
“All the AAA of Texas and Auto Club people have been so great. It is nice to see many of the same people here each year and at the track. AAA of Texas and Auto Club do so many things for my team through the sponsorship as well as for their members it is great to be able to come here and spend some time with them,” said Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club Ford Mustang.
Following a quick break the trio of drivers headed down to the American Airlines Center to participate in a pre-game event hosted by the Dallas Stars of the NHL and the Texas Motorplex. Prior to the game all the John Force drivers signed autographs for many enthusiastic hockey fans and chatted them up about the excitement level of NHRA POWERade Drag Racing. It was also an opportunity for John, Ashley and Robert to talk with the media about the upcoming event at the Motorplex.
The last official duty of the day was the most pressure packed as Ashley and Robert dropped the ceremonial first puck for the Dallas Stars versus the Colorado Avalanche game. Both drivers were introduced over the video and sound system and they received a warm welcome from the fans in attendance.
“The biggest plus about coming to an event like an NHL game is it introduces new fans to NHRA POWERade Drag Racing. The Dallas Stars were showing highlights on a huge video screen outside the arena and we were able to talk with the fans about what we do and the fact that we go over 300 mph. They really got a kick out of that,” said Castrol GTX driver and rookie of the year candidate Ashley Force.
From the left Colorado Avalanche's Tyler Arnason, Ashley Force, Robert Hight, Dallas Stars Captain Brenden Morrow.
photo credit Glenn James
