NHRA STANDINGS

Current Standings – Top Fuel Class

After 28th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals – Fri 02/17/12

Class	Rank	Driver	Points	Behind
Top Fuel	1	Antron Brown	212	-
Top Fuel	2	Tony Schumacher	180	32
Top Fuel	3	Spencer Massey	176	36
Top Fuel	4	Morgan Lucas	143	69
Top Fuel	5	Shawn Langdon	139	73
Top Fuel	6	Clay Millican	126	86
Top Fuel	7	Steve Torrence	89	123
Top Fuel	7	Bob Vandergriff	89	123
Top Fuel	9	Brandon Bernstein	85	127
Top Fuel	10	Doug Kalitta	85	127

Current Standings – Funny Car Class

After 28th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals – Fri 02/17/12

Class	Rank	Driver	Points	Behind
Funny Car	1	Mike Neff	196	-
Funny Car	2	Robert Hight	154	42
Funny Car	3	John Force	150	46
Funny Car	4	Jack Beckman	137	59
Funny Car	5	Ron Capps	125	71
Funny Car	6	Courtney Force	124	72
Funny Car	7	Todd Lesenko	102	94
Funny Car	8	Johnny Gray	99	97
Funny Car	9	Jeff Arend	84	112
Funny Car	10	Gary Densham	83	113

Current Standings – Pro Stock Class

After 28th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals – Fri 02/17/12

Class	Rank	Driver	Points	Behind
Pro Stock	1	Greg Anderson	209	-
Pro Stock	2	Jason Line	208	1
Pro Stock	3	Mike Edwards	147	62
Pro Stock	4	Rodger Brogdon	125	84
Pro Stock	5	Jeg Coughlin	122	87
Pro Stock	6	Vincent Nobile	111	98
Pro Stock	7	Greg Stanfield	103	106
Pro Stock	8	Allen Johnson	93	116
Pro Stock	9	Erica Enders	84	125
Pro Stock	9	Shane Gray	84	125
Pro Stock	10	Larry Morgan	84	125

NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS RESULTS

Top Fuel

Category	Pos	Driver
Top Fuel	1	Antron Brown
Top Fuel	2	Tony Schumacher
Top Fuel	3	Shawn Langdon
Top Fuel	4	Clay Millican
Top Fuel	5	Steve Torrence
Top Fuel	6	Doug Kalitta
Top Fuel	7	Spencer Massey
Top Fuel	8	Morgan Lucas
Top Fuel	9	Brandon Bernstein
Top Fuel	10	Khalid alBalooshi
Top Fuel	11	Bob Vandergriff
Top Fuel	12	Troy Buff
Top Fuel	13	Cory McClenathan
Top Fuel	14	Terry McMillen
Top Fuel	15	Mike Strasburg
Top Fuel	16	David Grubnic

Funny Car

Category	Pos	Driver
Funny Car	1	Robert Hight
Funny Car	2	Mike Neff
Funny Car	3	Jack Beckman
Funny Car	4	Courtney Force
Funny Car	5	Jeff Arend
Funny Car	6	Ron Capps
Funny Car	7	Todd Lesenko
Funny Car	8	Johnny Gray
Funny Car	9	Bob Tasca III
Funny Car	10	Tony Pedregon
Funny Car	11	Cruz Pedregon
Funny Car	12	Matt Hagan
Funny Car	13	Grant Downing
Funny Car	14	Jim Head
Funny Car	15	Bob Bode
Funny Car	16	John Force

Pro Stock

Category	Pos	Driver
Pro Stock	1	Jason Line
Pro Stock	2	Greg Anderson
Pro Stock	3	Greg Stanfield
Pro Stock	4	Rodger Brogdon
Pro Stock	5	Erica Enders
Pro Stock	6	Vincent Nobile
Pro Stock	7	Larry Morgan
Pro Stock	8	Mike Edwards
Pro Stock	9	Ronnie Humphrey
Pro Stock	10	Allen Johnson
Pro Stock	11	Kurt Johnson
Pro Stock	12	Warren Johnson
Pro Stock	13	Shane Gray
Pro Stock	14	Jeg Coughlin
Pro Stock	15	Ron Krisher
Pro Stock	16	Steve Kent

Coughlin cracks top 10

Coughlin cracks top 10 in second night at World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 19) – Cody Coughlin and the JEGS.com Chevrolet team raced to a respectable ninth-place finish in Sunday night’s 25-lap Pro Late Model race at New Smyrna Speedway.

In the Pro Late Model opener of the 46th World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing on Saturday night, Coughlin spun after contact with another car while battling for the lead. The 16-year-old Coughlin finished 23rd with a bashed-up car in that contest, but the JEGS.com team repaired the No. 1 Chevrolet team in time for Sunday’s second night of racing.

Coughlin qualified second and started from the pole after the top two positions were inverted. At one point he slipped back outside the top 10 but battled back to finish ninth.

“We had a good, solid day and had a great qualifying effort again tonight,” Coughlin said. “We were able to start on the front row but we got caught on the bottom and lost spots early on. I am happy I was able to come back, pass cars, and take a solid top-10 finish home tonight.”

Coughlin battled a loose race car early in Sunday’s feature, a condition made worse because he was pinned on the low side of the track. Still, he maintained control of the car and fought back inside the top 10.

“I am very proud of Cody and the whole team tonight,” crew chief Butch VanDoorn said. “We needed a solid run and a solid finish to get this year rolling and that is just what we did. Cody qualified second and raced smart all night, especially when he passed other cars.”

The weeklong World Series continues for Coughlin and Team JEGS on Tuesday night with another 25-lap Pro Late Model race.

Dollansky Ends Schatz’s Rule at Volusia Speedway Park

Dollansky Ends Schatz’s Rule at Volusia Speedway Park

Swindell is overall sprint car champion of UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit

BARBERVILLE, Fla. – Feb. 19, 2012 – Craig Dollansky emerged from his World of Outlaws sprint car and shared the sentiments felt by most of the teams, crew and spectators.

“This was a long day,” he said. “It was two nights of racing in one day.”

Dollansky capped a World of Outlaws doubleheader on Sunday at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., by outlasting Donny Schatz, who started on the pole and had won every race he had been in all day. Schatz claimed the afternoon feature, which had been delayed since Friday because of rain.

It was also the final event for the sprint car portion of the 41^st annual UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment, which was claimed by Sammy Swindell.

In the nightcap on Sunday, Dollansky entered the 25-lap feature on the outside front row – next to Schatz, who swept the afternoon event and claimed his heat race and the dash prior to feature.

The duo raced side by side – Schatz on the bottom and Dollansky in the high groove against the wall – for nearly a full lap before Dollansky got the edge coming to the flagstand on the opening lap. He maintained the lead while Schatz remained within striking distance for the first dozen laps.

On lap 13, the leaders entered lapped traffic. Three laps later, Schatz rocketed off the bottom in turn two to take the lead only to see Dollansky capitalize on his momentum and regain the top spot entering turn three.

“I had opportunities; I did pass him I think once coming out of (turn) two, got underneath him once going into (turn) three,” Schatz said. “We were there. Every time we got to him he was able to get a little better.”

David Gravel, who picked up his first career World of Outlaws feature victory last season, joined the mix in the final 10 laps. The top three were separated by a total of a half-dozen car lengths for several laps, and Gravel and Schatz exchanged the runner-up position with two laps remaining.

We really started catching them there at the end,” Gravel said after finishing third. “I thought we really had something and then it started taking rubber on the bottom. Those last few laps it was pretty much just one lane.”

One bobble would have cost any of the drivers in the closing laps, but Dollansky was smooth and protected the bottom of the track to pick up his first World of Outlaws victory of the season and second sprint car win of the week.”Once I settled in and just tried to watch our line and watch the bottom, I felt pretty comfortable at that point,” he said.Schatz finished a close second – less than seven-tenths behind Dollansky.

“I think my best chance was actually on the last lap there on the bottom,” Schatz said. “I needed him to make a mistake. I thought he was going to. He did the lap before and I got a good run on him. I really thought I was going to get that opportunity on the last lap, which would have been a pretty exciting finish for us.”

Kraig Kinser finished fourth and Swindell was fifth.

He received a unique four-foot trophy shaped like an alligator for being the overall sprint car champion. He finished the week with three top fives, four top 10s and an average feature finish of 6.6.”You just have to be consistent every day,” he said. “I’d like to have some wins, but we were competitive every night.”

Dale Blaney, Danny Lasoski, Jason Sides, Joey Saldana and Danny Smith rounded out the top 10, respectively.

Brad Sweet, Gravel, Schatz and Swindell each won a heat race and Daryn Pittman was the fastest in qualifying with a lap of 14.294 seconds. He also won the Last Chance Showdown.

The next World of Outlaws race is scheduled for March 8 at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas in Las Vegas.

Tickets for the rest of the 41^st annual UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit can be ordered online by clicking WorldofOutlaws.com/tickets, by calling 877-395-8606 or purchased at the track.

Volusia Speedway Park Notebook

WINNERS – Craig Dollansky – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Donny Schatz – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Danny Lasoski – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 18).

TIME TRIALS – Daryn Pittman was the fastest qualifier around the half-mile oval with a time of 14.294 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Dale Blaney (4 points), Joey Saldana (3), Sammy Swindell (2) and Kraig Kinser (1).

UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment Statistical Report; Volusia Speedway Park; Barberville, Fla.; Feb. 19, 2012

A-Main – (25 Laps) - 1. 7-Craig Dollansky [2] [$10,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [1] [$5,500]; 3. 89G-David Gravel [4] [$3,200]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5] [$2,800]; 5. 1-Sammy Swindell [6] [$2,500]; 6. 2-Dale Blaney [8] [$2,300]; 7. 33-Danny Lasoski [3] [$2,200]; 8. 7S-Jason Sides [12] [$2,100]; 9. 9-Joey Saldana [7] [$2,050]; 10. 4S-Danny Smith [10] [$2,000]; 11. 14S-Tony Stewart [13] [$1,500]; 12. 11-Steve Kinser [15] [$1,200]; 13. 49-Brad Sweet [9] [$1,100]; 14. 14-Jason Meyers [14] [$1,050]; 15. 63-Chad Kemenah [16] [$1,000]; 16. 1Z-Sam Hafertepe Jr [17] [$900]; 17. 28-Brian Paulus [20] [$800]; 18. 4-Cody Darrah [19] [$800]; 19. 24-Terry McCarl [18] [$800]; 20. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [24] [$800]; 21. 6-Bill Rose [23] [$800]; 22. 27-Daryn Pittman [11] [$800]; 23. 20E-Brian Ellenberger [22] [$800]; 24. 39-Greg Hodnett [21] [$800]. Lap Leaders: Craig Dollansky 1-25. Hard Charger Award: 7S-Jason Sides [+4].

Qualifying - 1. 27-Daryn Pittman, 14.294; 2. 2-Dale Blaney, 14.380; 3. 9-Joey Saldana, 14.453; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell, 14.461; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 14.548; 6. 7S-Jason Sides, 14.562; 7. 14S-Tony Stewart, 14.581; 8. O-Glen Styres, 14.613; 9. 7-Craig Dollansky, 14.617; 10. 89G-David Gravel, 14.628; 11. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.677; 12. 33-Danny Lasoski, 14.703; 13. 49-Brad Sweet, 14.751; 14. 4S-Danny Smith, 14.764; 15. 14-Jason Meyers, 14.780; 16. 11-Steve Kinser, 14.780; 17. 63-Chad Kemenah, 14.792; 18. 77-Aaron Ott, 14.844; 19. 1Z-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 14.849; 20. 24-Terry McCarl, 14.882; 21. 4-Cody Darrah, 14.890; 22. 28-Brian Paulus, 14.916; 23. 39-Greg Hodnett, 14.971; 24. 20E-Brian Ellenberger, 15.017; 25. 2X-Dustin Morgan, 15.075; 26. 59-Dave Blaney, 15.129; 27. 51-Fred Rahmer, 15.213; 28. 54-Cap Henry, 15.232; 29. 29-Kerry Madsen, 15.253; 30. 45-Paul McMahan, 15.328; 31. 5-Jac Haudenschild, 15.359; 32. 6-Bill Rose, 15.601; 33. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, No Time.Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 7-Craig Dollansky [2]; 3. 4-Cody Darrah [6]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 5. 63-Chad Kemenah [5]; 6. 27-Daryn Pittman [4]; 7. 29-Kerry Madsen [8]; 8. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [9]; 9. 2X-Dustin Morgan [7].

Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 89G-David Gravel [2]; 2. 4S-Danny Smith [1]; 3. 2-Dale Blaney [4]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [3]; 5. 28-Brian Paulus [6]; 6. 77-Aaron Ott [5]; 7. 45-Paul McMahan [8]; 8. 59-Dave Blaney [7].

Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 9-Joey Saldana [4]; 3. 14S-Tony Stewart [3]; 4. 14-Jason Meyers [1]; 5. 39-Greg Hodnett [6]; 6. 1Z-Sam Hafertepe Jr [5]; 7. 51-Fred Rahmer [7]; 8. 5-Jac Haudenschild [8].

Heat 4 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 2. 33-Danny Lasoski [2]; 3. 11-Steve Kinser [1]; 4. 6-Bill Rose [8]; 5. 20E-Brian Ellenberger [6]; 6. 24-Terry McCarl [5]; 7. O-Glen Styres [3]; 8. 54-Cap Henry [7].

Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) - 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 7-Craig Dollansky [4]; 3. 33-Danny Lasoski [1]; 4. 89G-David Gravel [3]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 6. 1-Sammy Swindell [6]; 7. 9-Joey Saldana [7]; 8. 2-Dale Blaney [8]; 9. 49-Brad Sweet [9]; 10. 4S-Danny Smith [10].

B-Main – (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 27-Daryn Pittman [1] [-]; 2. 1Z-Sam Hafertepe Jr [4] [-]; 3. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [13] [-]; 4. 24-Terry McCarl [5] [-]; 5. 29-Kerry Madsen [10] [$200]; 6. 77-Aaron Ott [3] [$180]; 7. 59-Dave Blaney [7] [$175]; 8. O-Glen Styres [2] [$160]; 9. 45-Paul McMahan [11] [$150]; 10. 2X-Dustin Morgan [6] [$150]; 11. 51-Fred Rahmer [8] [$150]; 12. 5-Jac Haudenschild [12] [$150]; 13. 54-Cap Henry [9] [$150].

 

World of Outlaws Top 20 Championship Standings

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Top 20 Championship Standings

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	Top 5′s	Top 10′s	QT
1	Donny Schatz	438	0	1	3	3	0
2	Sammy Swindell	433	-5	0	3	3	1
3	Brad Sweet	408	-30	0	1	2	0
	Craig Dollansky	408	-30	1	2	2	0
5	Jason Sides	402	-36	0	1	2	0
6	Dale Blaney	401	-37	0	0	2	0
7	Sam Hafertepe Jr.	391	-47	0	0	2	0
8	Joey Saldana	391	-47	0	1	2	0
9	Danny Lasoski	389	-49	1	1	2	0
	Kraig Kinser	389	-49	0	1	2	0
11	Jason Meyers	387	-51	0	1	1	1
12	David Gravel	380	-58	0	1	1	0
13	Steve Kinser	374	-64	0	0	1	0
14	Cody Darrah	367	-71	0	0	1	0
15	Brian Ellenberger	346	-92	0	0	1	0
16	Fred Rahmer	341	-97	0	0	1	0
17	Lucas Wolfe	340	-98	0	0	0	0
18	Aaron Ott	339	-99	0	0	1	0
19	Chad Kemenah	334	-104	0	0	0	0
20	Danny Smith	329	-109	0	0	1	0

AUTO CLUB’S ROBERT HIGHT WINS ARIZONA NATIONALS

AUTO CLUB’S ROBERT HIGHT WINS ARIZONA NATIONALS

PHOENIX — Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang raced into the record books extending a number of personal best streaks today winning the 28^th annual Arizona NHRA Nationals in a great all John Force Racing final round against teammate Mike Neff. In the final Hight’s Ford Mustang outran Neff’s Castrol GTX backed Mustang 4.139 seconds to 4.168 seconds, in the first all JFR final round at Firebird Raceway. Until today, no other JFR driver other than John Force had won at Phoenix and he had won eight times.

“I’ll be honest with you. We did not have a chance if Mike Neff was running like he was running all day. I am not sure what kind of a problem he had on that last run but Jimmy just made it go down the left lane. We picked it up a little from the round before,” said Hight. “We were having trouble out there because there was a little bump that just upset our car because that was right where we were giving it some clutch. I’ll be honest I would not have bet on a 4.13 beating Neff in the final.”

Hight has appeared in two previous finals at Firebird Raceway losing to Tony Pedregon in 2007 and then to Jack Beckman in 2008. Today’s win was the 24^th of Hight’s career in 38 final round appearance. He has won at least one race every year of his career. This is the 16th different tour event Robert has won and it’s the 14^th different track on which he has won. In the last two rounds Hight was relegated to the trickier left lane.

“I have been to the final here a couple times but I never got the job done. This is big. We had some runs going over there that could have run 4.07 but they weren’t good enough to run that. Those bumps (in the left lane) were just tricky. I had to pedal it second round. We slowed it down against Courtney (Force) in the semis and we got by her. It wasn’t a great run but we got by her to get into the final. Going into the final (crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) said he was going to pick it up a little more but he didn’t want to give it away. I honestly thought Neff in that right lane would run 4.07 or go low like he has been doing. That has been a tough, tough car.”

This was also the second straight week Neff has posted quick time 4.072 seconds and top speed 309.91 only to lose in the final. Last week at the O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals it was 4.036 seconds and 316.97. This is also the first time JFR has been 1-2-3 in points in the Funny Car standings.

Coming into the race Neff and Hight both have been runner-ups at Phoenix but neither had won. Hight now has a 2-0 final round record over his teammate winning today and Topeka last year which was JFR’s 200^th Funny Car national event win. This is the second straight year the two have raced at Phoenix. Neff won in the first round last year. HIght equaled his round win record at 6-6 with Neff.

This was the 37th all-JFR Funny Car final and this is just the third time that JFR drivers have opposed one another in consecutive final rounds. The last time that happened was 2001 when Tony Pedregon beat John Force at Englishtown, N.J., on May 20 and then next week (May 27) beat him again in the final round at Topeka, Kan. The only other time that there have been consecutive all-JFR finals was 1996 and again it was Force versus Tony. Force won both times, on Aug. 4 at Seattle, Wash., and on Aug. 18 at Brainerd, Minn.

Hight qualified No. 8 and had to outrun Bob Tasca III in the opening round He survived a close tire-smoking battle with the No. 1 qualifier Johnny Gray to advance to the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals he had to race teammate Courtney Force who in addition to being one of the favorites for the Auto Club Road to the Future Award, as NHRA rookie of the year has a tremendously consistent race car.

“If she keeps this pace going next race she will be in the finals. She is doing a great job. It is not as much fun having to race your teammate knowing that they can step up and run good. She had lane choice against me and she had run 4.09 the round before. We knew we couldn’t run 4.09 against her. I asked Jimmy to just make it go, let’s just see what happens. Luckily it worked out. She is doing a great job. She is loving it. I can tell you right now she is ready to go to Gainesville.”

After winning against Courtney Robert was eager to get to the final with another teammate Neff.

“This is a good comeback for us. It was pretty exciting watching Neff run 4.09 right in front of us. Seeing him get to the final guaranteed an all JFR final. It is two Ford Mustangs in the final just like Pomona. I am glad we were not out in the first round and we are racing in the final. It is going to be a great race between Neff and I. We’ll see what happens.”

By getting his first win of 2012 Hight qualified for the inaugural Traxxas Nitro Shootout. Knowing that the first seven slots could be locked up by race winners Hight wanted to ensure his Auto Club Ford Mustang was one of those seven race cars sooner rather than later.

“It is pretty exciting two weekends in a row having all John Force Racing Fords in the final. You have to cherish that because you know that is not going to keep happening. It is so tough to do. What is really cool is I got in the Traxxas Shootout. When they show you the rules and there are seven guaranteed spots for seven winners. That isn’t that easy. There are a lot of good Funny Cars out here. To get it this early that is a little bit of a relief,” said Hight.

This was the second final in a row for Neff and his only consolation today was he will leave with the Full Throttle Funny Car points lead. Neff now has led the points after 16 of the last 23 races. He led for the first time after last year’s NHRA Tire Kingdom Gatornationals which was the second race of the year.

Neff’s route to the final round started when he dispatched Bob Bode in the first round, then Ron Capps and Jack Beckman in consecutive rounds. After the final round Neff was philosophical about the day’s results.

“All in all, anytime you go to the final it’s a good day; especially to be leaving here with the points lead. That’s always a good thing, but still I’m frustrated with letting one slip away last week and then I feel like I let this one slip away here too. It was a good opportunity to win the race today,” said Neff. “Our car has been running great and to just have it not do what we wanted it to and shake and I had to peddle it an just barely lose it, you know, it’s frustrating. We want to win, we work hard, but on the positive side we’ve had two races with two Force cars in each of the finals. We’re definitely satisfied with that. We’re happy about it. We’re just a little frustrated that we haven’t won either of those two, but we’ll just keep on keepin’ on.”

In the most anticipated first round match-up of the day Courtney Force outran her father John Force and moved to the second round for the second race in a row. For Force the first round loss on the heels of his season opening win at the Winternationals was bittersweet.

“I went through it with Ashley. There is just a difference in emotion. You love your kids. You want them to do well. I want her to do well for her sponsor Traxxas. I had the points lead which I haven’t had in a while. I just choked it out there. The car dropped a cylinder. It wasn’t going to run anyway no matter what I did,” said Force. “You have to get your energy up every run. It is hard to get in that fight mode where you want to drill the competition; it is hard to get that way against your family. No matter how hard I try.”

The first round was the third consecutive time the pair had gone down the track side by side and each lap had a little bit of playful drama according to the veteran Force.

“Yesterday she had flickered the light on me and in the next session I flickered the light on her. I don’t do it to screw her up. If I screw her up and hurt her as a driver then I could have sponsor problems. I don’t want to screw her up. When I did it I wanted her to see what it was like. I’ll be honest it distracted me a little bit in the first session yesterday. When I rolled in her light flickered and instead of thinking ‘OK, whatever,’ like I would have against another driver and I’d have gone on in. With her I was like is she screwed up. I didn’t think she was screwing with me. I thought, ‘Was is she in trouble?’ What she may not realize is if you don’t light that bulb and the tree comes down you won’t get a time. I remember I was thinking get her in there, get her in there. That was in qualifying so I went back against her in the second session so she could see it from my side.”

In the first round race the student took her shot at the master and waited for the 15-time champ to stage which is highly unusual for any driver to attempt. Force traditionally has a habit of staging second.

“She doesn’t seem to be bothered by much. Even up there staging I asked her what took her so long to get in. She told me she knows that I sit. She said everybody told her that. I told her OK so this early in the game we are sitting. She said no I was just going to go in and let you go in. She is not losing her focus with all that thinking.  She is probably smarter than me. She is like her mom that way,” said Force through a broad smile.

The youngest Force qualified 12^th and successfully went up against her father for the first time ever in eliminations winning with a 4.146 ET at over 307 mph.

“Coming up here for first round I had my dad and I knew it was going to be tough. I raced him in qualifying a couple times. We both had fun and kind of messed with each other on the tree and then we were able to do it again first round. I don’t know if it threw him off, but I was able to get the win. My car went out and ran pretty good and he got in trouble early in the right lane,” said Force

Courtney got a great lead off the line and never had to look back, as the Castrol Ford Mustang got sideways and the elder Force spent time trying to correct the car.

“I hate beating him (John Force). He is my dad and I have dreamed about racing him for such a long time. The fact that I can go out there against him first round was pretty amazing. We have had a pretty consistent car all weekend. I know he was trying to step it up that run to try and outrun me. I know we have a good car and it got a little lose at the top end. We just want to go from A to B and not make any mistakes. I waited on him a little bit. He wasn’t going to go in to stage so I waited a little longer because I know he likes to be second. We definitely had some fun on the starting line. That was a good win for Traxxas and Ford plus Auto Club, BrandSource, Mac Tools and Castrol. I hate beating up on Dad, but that was fun,” said Force.

The largely-celebrated win sent her into a quarterfinals match-up where the youngest Force would have lane choice over new full-time racer Todd Lesenko. Alongside Lesenko, Force recorded her career-best ET with a 4.099 at 306 mph and proceeded to turn on her win light for the second time today.

“Second round we had Lesenko. I actually ran my career-best ET, a 4.09, and the best of the round so that definitely gave me a lot more confidence going into the semis. I was excited to get my first second-round win in a Pro category. It must be rookie luck because I am still in shock that I am even out here driving one of these. That was awesome,” said Force.

Despite the team’s constant efforts to improve, Force lost in the semifinals to teammate and brother-in-law Robert Hight. Force ran a 4.199 ET at 299.93 mph to Hight’s 4.158 ET at 304.32 mph.

Coughlin rides the ragged edge in first-round loss in Phoenix

Coughlin rides the ragged edge in first-round loss in Phoenix

PHOENIX (Feb. 19) – Following qualifying for the NHRA Arizona Nationals, Pro Stock ace Jeg Coughlin Jr. said the JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger needed to get more aggressive for Sunday’s first round matchup with Jason Line.

For the first half of the race, that plan looked like it was working to perfection, but just when things were looking good for the five-time world champ the JEGS.com Dodge made a couple of sideways moves and Coughlin had to cut off the power.

“It was a bit of a handful,” Coughlin said. “We’ve been working to try and get this car to be a little more efficient downtrack. The car went a little bit left and we couldn’t get it back right into the groove. At every gear change it was getting more upset. It got really loose in third and all the way through fourth gear.

“Eventually, I had to throw in the towel. We were still ahead of him at halftrack, even though I wasn’t even under power. It never really felt like we were at that point of no return, but a split-second longer, it might have told me different.”

Coughlin’s aggression started at the green light with a near-perfect .005-second reaction time against Line’s .078. In the end, Line finished in 6.549 seconds at 211.56 mph, while Coughlin coasted across in 7.078 seconds at 156.92 mph.

“It stings, but Jason is the world champ for a good reason,” Coughlin said. “Their performance is amazing, and it’s something we’re going to work on during the break with this team.

“We’re certainly capable of running with them, but we’ve got a lot of homework to do.”

Coughlin said the JNR Racing shop should have another engine ready for racing by the next race, the March 9-11 Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., which would allow for more flexibility during race weekend.

“Typically we love these back-to-back races,” Coughlin said. “But for a start-up team like ours, it’s not given us a lot of time to fine-tune some things all the way around the car.

“The whole program needs a little polishing up, and I think this two-and-half week break will give us the opportunity to do that.”