CHEVROLET IN NHRA
NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS
CHANDLER, ARIZONA
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
TEAM CHEVY TACKLES TRICKY TRACK AT NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS WITH DOUBLE-UP VICTORIES IN FUNNY CAR AND PRO STOCK
CHANDLER, Ariz. (March 26, 2023) – As the sun sets on the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park for the final time, a pair of Chevrolet Camaro SS drivers were hoisting their Wallys in the air. Robert Hight raced to his 62nd NHRA victory in Funny Car (his 27th with Chevrolet), while Camrie Caruso nabbed her first victory in Pro Stock, Chevrolet’s 368th in the division and 249th with the Camaro, on what proved to be a tricky track for many throughout the weekend. In doing so, Caruso became the second female Pro Stock winner in NHRA history.
In Funny Car, the John Force Racing pair of John Force (BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS) and Robert Hight (Flav-R-Pac/Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS) qualified No. 8 and No. 9 respectively, facing each other in Round 1. With Hight coming out on top over J. Force, he then overtook the No. 1 qualifier of Bob Tasca in Round 2 to move on to the semifinals. Facing a strong-running Chad Green, Hight made a strong effort to nab the win light with his run of 3.900 ET at 329.34 MPH and advancing to the finals.
Facing last year’s champion Ron Capps, Hight beat Capps on reaction time with a difference of .001, getting the jump and the winlight with his pass of 3.930 ET at 328.62 MPH to earn the Arizona Nationals Wally. With his four round winlights in Phoenix, Hight is within reach to notch his 600th round win in his next race at Pomona, now holding 597 round wins in 399 races.
“This whole Funny Car field is stacked from top to bottom,” noted Hight. “To win one of these races, you’re going to have to go through four hitters. We did that today. You just never give up. When you have Jimmy Prock as your crew chief, you just know you’re one run away from fixing this thing and being back to where we need to be. He races aggressive. I don’t need to tell you guys that. He wants a low ET every round, and we had that today. We had four rounds where we were all low ET. That’s Jimmy Prock’s style of racing and it makes my job easy. I just got to go up there and stand on the gas, do my job, and keep it in the lanes. Pretty impressive that they didn’t give up.”
Marking her second final round appearance of her young Pro Stock career, Camrie Caruso, in her Tequila Comisario/Powerbuilt Chevrolet Camaro SS for the newly formed KB Titan Racing, raced to her first Wally after beating Elite Motorsports’ Bo Butner, III in his Johnson’s Horsepower Garage Chevrolet Camaro SS at the start and to the line with her pass of 6.592 ET at 210.31 MPH.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Caruso. “I’m so thankful and blessed for all of my sponsors and all of my teammates. It’s just been such a great start to the season and I’m so thankful. It was awesome. Honestly, I have a great team and great partners, and I couldn’t do it without any of them. It was crazy how close we were but we said it yesterday, if we all do our job, we’ll win the race.”
“We were very fortunate a couple of rounds to squeeze by like we did,” said Butner, III. “We had some good luck on our side. The car made a very good run in the final. We still don’t need to be that late. We’ll try to work on that a little bit, but the car was really good today.”
Hitting the track first for Team Chevy to start race day, Brittany Force and her Flav-R-Pack/Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel team showed speed and strength they’re known for to post the top speed of the event with her pass at 336.23 MPH. Unfortunately for B. Force, Round 2 proved tough a second weekend in a row and was eliminated after smoking the tires on the run. With her John Force Racing teammate making his first run of the day as a solo pass, Austin Prock, in the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, was also knocked out in the second round of race day.
Up next for the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series is the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals Friday, March 31-Sunday, April 2, 2023, at the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, California. Broadcast of Sunday’s eliminations will air live on April 2 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).
ROUND 1 RECAP
Top Fuel:
No. 5 Brittany Force defeated No. 12 Josh Hart with a strong run of 3.682 ET at 336.23 MPH to clock top speed of the meet at the time of her pass.
No. 3 Austin Prock defeated No. 14 Jim Maroney on a solo pass after Maroney faces mechanical issues on the starting line.
Funny Car:
No. 9 Robert Hight defeats No. 8 John Force after Force gets Hight on the line with reaction time but shakes the tires at half-track, Hight taking the win with a pass of 3.911 ET at 325.37 MPH.
Pro Stock:
No. 11 Bo Butner, III defeated No. 6 Erica Enders with his pass of 6.565 ET at 208.17 MPH.
No. 8 Camrie Caruso defeated No. 9 Deric Kramer with her 6.564 ET run at 210.57 MPH.
No. 4 Aaron Stanfield defeated No. 13 Jerry Tucker with his pass at 6.558 ET at 208.55 MPH.
No. 5 Matt Hartford defeated No. 12 Mason McGaha with his run of 6.552 ET at 210.24 MPH.
No. 2 Kyle Koretsky defeated No. 15 Chris McGaha with a .003 reaction time and a pass of 6.657 ET at 209.49 MPH.
No. 10 Greg Anderson defeated No. 7 Troy Coughlin, Jr. with his run of 6.561 ET at 209.26 MPH.
No. 3 Dallas Glenn fell to No. 14 Fernando Cuadra, Jr. after a strong pass by Glenn at 6.561 at 209.88 MPH.
ROUND 2 RECAP
Top Fuel:
Prock fell to Steve Torrence in a close race after getting off the start line first with a .093 reaction time and a pass of 3.768 ET at 327.59 MPH.
B. Force fell to Leah Pruett after smoking the tires on the start.
Funny Car:
Hight defeated No. 1 qualifier Bob Tasca with a pass of 3.936 ET at 330.07 MPH.
Pro Stock:
Butner, III defeated Cuadra, Jr. with a run of 6.591 ET at 208.17 MPH.
Caruso defeated Cuadra after double-bulbing her opponent and Cuadra timed out, making a solo pass to the win light.
Korestky gets the win over Anderson with a run of 6.589 ET at 209.20 MPH.
Hartford defeated Stanfield with a pass of 6.559 ET at 209.49 MPH.
SEMIFINALS
Funny Car:
Hight defeated Green with his pass of 3.900 ET at 329.34 MPH, setting low ET of the event at the time of the round.
Pro Stock:
Butner, III defeated Koretsky after Koretsky red lit on the start.
Caruso defeated Hartford in a close race with her pass of 6.568 ET at 210.41 MPH.
FINALS
Funny Car:
Hight defeated Capps with his pass of 3.930 ET at 328.62 MPH.
Pro Stock:
Caruso defeated Butner, III with her pass of 6.592 ET at 210.31 MPH.
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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