2023 Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals
In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip
Pomona, California
March 30-April 2, 2023
Round 3 of the 2023 NHRA season continues out west, as the Chevrolet Funny Car, Top Fuel, and Pro Stock drivers and teams take on the historic In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip this weekend in Pomona, California. Seeking the 157th Funny Car Wally, 20th Top Fuel victory, or the 369th Pro Stock win for the Bowtie brand, drivers and teams face stacked fields ahead as they continue their championship hopes early in the year.
Leaving Phoenix with his 62nd NHRA victory, and 27th with Chevrolet, Robert Hight, in his AAA/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car, looks to move closer to his 600 rounds wins milestone, currently with 596 after this last weekend’s win, while protecting the now-acquired NHRA Funny Car points lead heading to Pomona.
APPROACHING MILESTONES
After racing to his 62nd NHRA victory, Robert Hight looks to Pomona this weekend to add to his NHRA Funny Car round win count, currently at 596. If he reaches the finals and wins the Winternationals this weekend, he will achieve 600 round wins. On the Top Fuel side of John Force Racing, Brittany Force looks to notch her fourth consecutive No. 1 qualifier at Pomona 1, previously earning the top spot on the ladder heading into race day in 2020, 2021, and 2022. B. Force also looks to Pomona with her sights set on the Winner’s Circle, showing success and strength at the track while it also is the site where she set the NHRA national speed record in 2022 at 338.94 MPH at Pomona 2.
RACING TO [HER]STORY IN PHOENIX
Becoming the second female to win in Pro Stock, Camrie Caruso looks to Pomona to capitalize on the momentum she’s gained after completing her first season and earning 2022’s Rookie of the Year honors. With Caruso’s first win, along with Erica Enders, Chevrolet holds both victories by a female in Pro Stock in the Chevrolet Camaro SS. “The win in Phoenix was great but I think this team has a lot of confidence right now and we want to keep the momentum going, said Caruso. “Being able to see the success of this KB Titan Racing team so early shows what we are all capable of heading into this season.”
PUSHING TO REACH THE POMONA WINNER’S CIRCLE
Looking for redemption from NHRA’s first two events of 2023, both John Force (Funny Car) and Austin Prock (Top Fuel) at John Force Racing seek their first No. 1 qualifiers and trips to the NHRA Winner’s Circle this year. Prock has his sights on Pomona, a track where he’s seen success in his young NHRA career that includes winning the Pomona 2 event and racing to runner-up in Pomona 1, both in 2022.
John Force, the holder of the most event victories at Pomona 1 with seven, enters his 834th race seeking his 156th Funny Car Winner’s Circle as well as the same redemption to the 2023 start as Prock.
In Pro Stock, Erica Enders, driver of the Johnson’s Horsepower Garage Chevrolet Camaro SS for Elite Motorsports, looks to Pomona to shift her season start, and enters the weekend defending her 2022 win as well as the No. 1 qualifier at Pomona 1. Looking to join her Elite teammate Troy Coughlin, Jr., driver of the JEGS.com Chevrolet Camaro SS, as an early winner this season, Elite Motorsports seeks to add to Chevrolet’s win count in Pro Stock this weekend.
At KB Titan Racing, Greg Anderson, driver of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro SS, looks to add to his achievements this weekend as he hopes to pick up where he ended the 2022 season, the Winner’s Circle at Pomona (Pomona 2). By qualifying for Pomona 1 this year, Anderson will extend his streak of race day appearances to 438, holding the longest career qualifying streak in NHRA with his first coming at Pomona 2 in 2002.
The Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals action from In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip airs first with Friday qualifying on Saturday, April 1 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Saturday qualifying from Pomona airs Sunday, April 2 at 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Sunday’s Finals also air on FS1, starting at 7 p.m. ET. Coverage streaming live throughout the weekend can be found through NHRA.tv, available via AppleTV, Android TV, and Roku devices.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pack Chevrolet Top Fuel Dragster for John Force Racing:
“Heading to race number three on our circuit at my home track in Pomona. This Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team is coming out of Phoenix with a better understanding of our car after a post-event test session. Our goal is to improve on last weekend. We plan to qualify in the top three and advance on race day. We made some big changes to this car coming into the season, so we knew it was going to take a handful of races to get our stride back. I’m excited to be back in Pomona and hunting down the first win of our season surrounded by friends and family.”
John Force, driver of the BlueDEF Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car for John Force Racing:
“I love coming home to race at Pomona. All the history, the success, hopefully, it plays into our had this weekend because I could sure use it. This BlueDEF team, we’re running well, just need a little bit of luck and maybe a little bit of extra effort on my part, but Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, and Mac Savage helping out now, they’ve got this car figured out. We’ll keep doing what we’re doing, qualifying well, making good solid passes, and then we’ll see what happens on race day.”
Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club/Cornwell Tools Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car for John Force Racing:
“Last weekend was great, just what this Auto Club / Cornwell Tools / Flav-R-Pac team needed. Jimmy Prock, he really is the best. I have all the faith and confidence in him with Thomas Prock and Nathan Hildahl. This whole team really stuck with it. We were testing some new things out, Jimmy had to get it all fine-tuned. We almost scrapped it but, like I said, 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. I’m ready to get back in the seat, I don’t like having downtime so the fact that we get to keep our momentum rolling right into the next weekend here in Pomona, it’s great. We’ll be looking to Auto Club the win on Sunday.”
Austin Prock, driver of the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster for John Force Racing:
“Heading to Pomona always excited me. I got my first-round win there and have had success in the past, along with being the most recent winner at the track. The place is just good to me. I feel like if the track is in a good place, there should be some really quick runs and those types of conditions really suits our setup.”
Camrie Caruso, driver of the Powerbuilt Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock for KB Titan Racing:
“I am excited to get this Powerbuilt Tools Chevrolet Camaro back on the track this weekend at the Winternationals. The win in Phoenix was great but I think this team has a lot of confidence right now and we want to keep the momentum going. Being able to see the success of this KB Titan Racing team so early shows what we are all capable of heading into this season. I know we have a lot more races to go but doing well in Pomona will only keep us focused.”
On working with her KB Titan Racing teammates…
“Getting to work with Greg (Anderson), Dallas (Glenn) and Kyle (Koretsky) has been so great. They are really supportive and I am so comfortable in my Powerbuilt Camaro thanks to all their input. Seeing my whole team in the winner’s circle in Phoenix was great. I have to thank my mom, dad and Papa for all their support too. I am looking forward to racing in the 2Fast2Tasty race on Saturday and then chasing that second Pro Stock win on Sunday.”
TEAM CHEVY BY THE NUMBERS
1,422: Round wins for John Force (1st all-time)
596: Round wins for Robert Hight (14th all-time; Bob Glidden sits 13th at 597)
368: Number of wins in Pro Stock since 1970; 249 won in the Chevrolet Camaro body
264: Final Round wins by John Force (the last coming in Topeka, runner-up)
165: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for John Force (1st all-time)
156: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins since 1967
77: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for Robert Hight (6th all-time)
76: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins with the Camaro body
43: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for Brittany Force
27: Number of NHRA championships Chevrolet holds as a manufacturer since entering the first in 1966. No other manufacturer has won it more than Chevrolet.
24: Wins by John Force in a Chevrolet-bodied Funny Car
18: Number of Pro Stock championships
16: Chevrolet career Top Fuel wins in NHRA
16: Number of Chevrolet career wins by Brittany Force
7: Number of Funny Car driver championships
2: Number of Top Fuel driver championships
MOST RECENT WIN IN NHRA BY CHEVROLET
Phoenix, 2023: Robert Hight, Funny Car
Phoenix, 2023: Camrie Caruso, Pro Stock
2022 NHRA POMONA 1 WINS BY CHEVROLET
Robert Hight, Funny Car
Erica Enders, Pro Stock
2022 NHRA POMONA 1 NO. 1 QUALIFIERS BY CHEVROLET
Brittany Force, Top Fuel
Erica Enders, Pro Stock
MOST RECENT DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIPS IN NHRA BY CHEVROLET
2022: Brittany Force, Top Fuel
2022: Erica Enders, Pro Stock
2022: David Barton, Factory Stock Showdown
2019: Robert Hight, Funny Car
UPCOMING NHRA MILESTONES
950: Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) is second all-time with 915 elimination round wins. He could reach 950 round wins with a decent run in the 18-race schedule.
600: Robert Hight has 596 Funny Car elimination round victories to rank 14th on the all-time NHRA list. Reaching 600 round wins will tie him with Bob Glidden (Pro Stock), who holds 597. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) sits 12th with 615.
438: By qualifying for his next race, Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) will extend his NHRA record to 438 consecutive race day appearances. His first appearance came in 2002 at Pomona 2, and he holds the longest career qualifying streak in NHRA.
138: Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) ranks third on the NHRA all-time list with 121 No. 1 qualifiers. He will tie Warren Johnson (Pro Stock, 138) for second to John Force (165) on the list.
260: By qualifying for his next race, Robert Hight will extend his NHRA record to 260 consecutive race day appearances. His first appearance came in 2010 at Pomona 2, and he currently sits seventh in career qualifying streaks in NHRA (Doug Kalitta is sixth at 268).
65: Robert Hight moved into the top 10 on the all-time NHRA victory list with his win in Phoenix, tying the retired Larry Dixon (Top Fuel) at 62 wins. Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock, retired) is next ninth on list with 65.
46: Erica Enders has 43 career Pro Stock victories (all with Chevrolet). Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) is the all-time NHRA female leader with 46.
18: Brittany Force (16 Top Fuel career wins) will move past Shirley Muldowney (18 wins) into third on the NHRA all-time victory list for females. Erica Enders (Pro Stock, 43) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle, 46) are ahead.
6: Erica Enders (Pro Stock) could tie Warren Johnson (6 Pro Stock championships) for second on the class list. The same holds for Greg Anderson. Bob Glidden is the leader with 10.
3: Brittany Force (Top Fuel, 2 championships) would tie Shirley Muldowney (Top Fuel) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) for second on the NHRA all-time championship list by females with another title in 2023. Erica Enders (Pro Stock, 5) is the leader.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with 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.
