CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
CIRCLE K NHRA FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS
ZMAX DRAGWAY IN CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA
MAY 1, 2022
Chevrolet victorious as John Force adds to record win total
• John Force gets Funny Car career win No. 155, first of 2022
• Brittany Force remains points leader in Top Fuel
• Chevrolet COPO Camaro captures victory in Stock Eliminator competition
CONCORD, N.C. (May 1, 2022) — Legendary drag racer John Force was fast all weekend at zMAX Dragway and closed out the deal with his first win of 2022 and 155th overall in the Funny Car class.
Force and his PEAK/BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS race team entered eliminations of the four-wide event in the No. 1 qualifying position for the 164th time in his career after a record-setting run on Friday night of 3.850 seconds at 334.24 mph. Force, who won the event in 2021, has three wins at zMAX Dragway in the four-wide format. He also won the first four-wide event at the track in 2010.
Force’s teammate, Robert Hight, also made it to the final Funny Car quad and came in as runner-up in the Auto Club of Southern California Camaro SS.
In Top Fuel, Austin Prock fell in the first round in his Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, while teammate Brittany Force fell in the semifinals in the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy Chevy. She retained the championship points lead after six events.
Darren Poole-Adams of Shelby, North Carolina, drove his Chevrolet COPO Camaro to victory in Stock Eliminator competition to give drivers of the powerful COPO Camaro five victories in the Sportsman category in six national event races.
“Chevrolet Performance has given me awesome COPO Camaros to drive and I’m just blown away right now,” said Poole-Adams, who claimed his first national event victory.
David Barton of Reading, Pennsylvania, was runner-up in his COPO Camaro in the second round of the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown. Len Lottig won the first of the eight scheduled races in the series in March at Gainesville., Florida.
The Virginia NHRA Nationals on May 13-15 at Virginia Motorsports Park is the next event for Chevrolet Top Fuel and Funny Car teams. The event was not held in 2021 or 2020. FS1 will telecast eliminations at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday, May 15.
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, FLAV-R-PAC/MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER: “It was a tough weekend here in Charlotte. This Flav-R-Pac team came in here with back-to-back wins and just had that momentum moving forward. We went out qualified seventh, and it was a tough position to be in,” Force said. “We got past first round but in that second round we got beat and had to pack up early. It was still a good weekend for the John Force Racing teams with my dad winner and Robert getting the runner-up.”
AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER: “It was a frustrating way to end our weekend. I felt like we had a competitive car all weekend and I was hoping it would all come together this morning but it didn’t,” Prock said. “First round losses are always tough to swallow, especially because we all had high expectations going into this morning. It was a tough break but luckily we get to play again in Richmond. I think the team is definitely on the right track. We just have to get our ducks in a row and we should be fine.”
FUNNY CAR
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK BLUEDEF PLATINUM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I walked down to the trailer and I said, ‘Danny, I got to get my energy up, you have got to get me fired up’ and he yells ‘swap motors’ and awe man, my blood pressure shot up and I was going to tip over. I want to take a minute to thank Blue Def, Power Solar, Auto Club, Cornwell, Monster, Flav-R-Pac, Montana Brand, and Chevrolet. And hey, Bruton, I love you. This one is for my daughter Adria and just shows that I can still hang in the fight. We just keep fighting and we are going to be fine.
I wanted to do this last year for Bruton, you know what I am saying. I have been trying to find God for a lot of years, I am working on it, my wife works on it. So, I don’t want to get into that, but things just seem to happen to me in my life that are almost like you are destined. And Bruton Smith last year, when I spoke with him on the phone, was struggling but now he is better. To whatever degree, I got the win for him and mentioned him a few times down there. What was amazing is going up for the final, I was struggling as a driver, I will be honest. These kids are just good, and I have to jump on that tree and attack it whenever I can. What was funny was that we were sitting in the pits, and I told Danny, my crew chief, that they get the credit. I was standing there, and I said, ‘Danny, somebody fire me up. If I don’t get some energy I am going to go out there and get treed.’ And he goes, ‘how about this? Switch motors’. And I said, ‘what are you talking about?’ He said, ‘the motor is dead’. All the sudden they start ripping it apart. I was like, ‘no, its time to tow up, are you going to do this in ten minutes?’. Whatever time they took, they made it and it was amazing. But my energy went straight to the top. Its hard to find that moment that you need when you really need that fire in your belly.
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “It was a great day for John Force Racing. Any time you can get two cars to the final, it’s a good day. If this Auto Club Chevy team is going to come up short, I’d rather it be to John and that PEAK Chevy than anyone else,” Hight said. “Ran into some issues there at the end that we’ll get figured out and be ready to come do it all again out in Richmond.”
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.
