CHEVROLET AT POMONA
What: Auto Club Finals
When: Friday, Nov. 12-Sunday, Nov. 14
Where: Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California
TV: FS1 will telecast eliminations live at 4 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 14
Team Chevy drivers aiming to lock up championships
Titles on the line in pro categories at Auto Club Finals in California
DETROIT (Nov. 11, 2021) – Chevrolet drivers in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series return to Southern California with championships on the line in the Auto Club Finals.
Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California, will host its second NHRA event in the past 14 weeks, and titles will be decided in the four professional classes. The points-and-a-half structure will set the stage for race day drama.
Team Chevy drivers Greg Anderson and Erica Enders are locked in the Pro Stock “drive for five” as both seek their fifth world championship.
Anderson, who has led the Pro Stock standings since the opening race in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro SS, holds a 32-point advantage over Enders. Rookie of the year favorite Dallas Glenn, driving the RAD Torque Systems Camaro SS, is also in the hunt.
“We just have to keep doing what we’re doing and execute,” said Anderson, who has scored four wins, four runner-up finishes and 11 No. 1 qualifiers through 16 races as he seeks his fifth Pro Stock championship. “It doesn’t make much sense for us to change our gameplan because the bottom line is we have the best package when we execute. We’ll treat it as another race and go do what we do best and that’s go and try to win.”
Enders claimed her third Pro Stock title at the track in 2019. The 2020 season finale was not held at Auto Club Raceway because of state COVID-19 protocols.
Said Enders, who has four wins and a pair of runner-up finishes in the Melling Performance Camaro SS for Elite Motorsports: “Sometimes you have to remove yourself from the situation to really grasp how cool it is and almost surreal. As a kid driving junior dragsters, I could have only imagined competing for one world championship let alone our attempt at a fifth. This is a dream come true for me.”
Brittany Force, who wrapped up the 2017 Top Fuel title at Auto Club Raceway, is second in the standings and within striking range of her second championship. Force recorded one of her 12 No. 1 qualifier honors driving the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster in the first race at Pomona.
“We still have a shot at getting to the top, but that team needs to be defeated in the first round and we need to win the event,” she said. “It’s Pomona, my home track and I’ve seen crazier things happen with teams pulling off a championship at the very end. Our team did it in 2017 and we’re going after it again. One race, one weekend and we’re giving it everything we got.”
Auto Club Raceway is the home track for John Force Racing. Team patriarch John Force is the Funny Car leader with a whopping 16 wins and 16 No. 1 qualifier honors at the track, including eight victories in the season finale. Force, driving the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Camaro SS, will challenge for his record-extending 17th Funny Car title.
Teammate Robert Hight, driving the Auto Club of Southern California Camaro SS, has recorded five victories between the twice-yearly races at the track.
Chevrolet has clinched its 26th Manufacturers Cup and Aaron Stanfield is the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown champion for the second season in a row driving the Janac Brothers Racing Chevrolet COPO Camaro. Stanfield will be recognized alongside his father Greg, who earned his fifth Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series championship driving his ’87 Camaro, as the first father-son duo to win NHRA national championships in the same season.
FS1 will telecast eliminations live at 4 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 14.
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (second in points): “We head into the final race of the 2021 season in Pomona this next weekend. I’m ready to get Friday qualifying started and get this weekend going. We are currently No. 2 in points, 105 behind Steve Torrence. We still have a shot at getting to the top, but that team needs to be defeated in the first round and we need to win the event. It’s Pomona, my home track and I’ve seen crazier things happen with teams pulling off a championship at the very end. Our team did it in 2017 and we’re going after it again. One race, one weekend and we’re giving it everything we got.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE 7 COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (fifth in points): “I’m still in it. It could still happen. I know it’s a slight chance, but it’s still a chance and we’re going to do everything we can to try to make it happen. Winning championships, it comes down to the wire, things can get wild. I would know. It’s going to be a fight, but I know this PEAK Chevy team, they’re up for it. Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, Joe Barlam and all my guys, they want it just as much as I do.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (seventh in points): “It’s been an inconsistent season for this Auto Club team. I’m hoping that the progress we’ve made towards the end here will continue into next year. We’ve worked hard, and, in some places, it’s paid off. There’s been some mistakes, but we’ve worked as a team to overcome them. Now it’s about going out there and finishing the year off with a bang and having some fun while doing it. Auto Club Raceway, the Auto Club Finals. There’s so much to be racing for at this event. It’s the end of the season, it’s my sponsor’s race at my sponsor’s racetrack and it’s home for John Force Racing. All the more reason for us to come out and do well. Take it one pass at a time starting in qualifying. I can’t wait to get out there and get the weekend started.”
PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (first in points): “We just have to keep doing what we’re doing and execute. As long as we execute, we’ll be just fine, we’ll when the thing. We’ve got, I believe, the fastest car and if we can make the run we need and I can get the light I need to have, then we’re going to win. It doesn’t make much sense for us to change our gameplan because the bottom line is we have the best package when we execute. I think the odds are in our favor. I’d rather have the lead going in; it makes them have to do a better job than we do. We’ll treat it as another race and go do what we do best and that’s go and try to win. I’d love nothing better than to close out the season with a win. I’ve always said I don’t go to a race to make more points than the next driver, I go to win the race. That’s the goal and it all ties together.”
ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (second in points): “My plan is to park it in the winner’s circle. I’m looking forward to it; I know my guys are up for it. Here we are in our attempt at a fifth world championship. Sometimes you have to remove yourself from the situation to really grasp how cool it is and almost surreal. As a kid driving junior dragsters, I could have only imagined competing for one world championship let alone our attempt at a fifth. This is a dream come true for me.”
DALLAS GLENN, KB RACING, RAD TORQUE SYSTEMS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (third in points): “Our Vegas win two weeks ago really put us in a good spot for this last race of the season. Obviously, we’re the longshot for the championship but it’s still mathematically possible. If Greg and Erica go out in the first round and I take it to the winner’s circle, we’ll be the champs. All I need is a chance.”
KYLE KORETZKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (fourth in points): “I’m pumped up and sad in the same sentence. The season has gone by so quickly. We’ve had a great season so far and looking to finish strong. We’re going to Pomona to do everything we can to finish off our second season on a winning note. I think every run I learned something new. I learned a different way to win and a different way to lose and keep pushing forward. That’s part of the learning curve. We’re looking good right now to run a full 2022 season.”
TROY COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM ORDER CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (fifth in points): “The Finals are one of those almost mythical drag races you grow up dreaming about. For a kid from Ohio, the Finals invoked thoughts of sunshine, a really cool So-Cal drag racing vibe, and the history of all the greats that have won there. Plus, it’s nearly always the place where championships are decided. If we can have a strong finish with our JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, then I’ll be happy. It’s been such a fun season and I’ve learned so much. The time has absolutely flown by for me. I don’t want it to stop.”
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
