CHEVROLET IN NHRA
NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS
BRISTOL DRAGWAY
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE
JUNE 9-11, 2023
STACKED WEEKEND OF COMPETITION ON HAND FOR CHEVROLET NHRA TEAMS AT THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS
DETROIT (JUNE 8, 2023) – With less than favorable weather conditions postponing the 2023 NHRA New England Nationals, Bristol Dragway and Thunder Valley will boom with the sound of both NHRA New England Nationals and NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals action this weekend.
With the Top Fuel and Funny Car teams of John Force Racing competing concurrently during qualifying this weekend, Round 1, running during Q2, will see No. 11 Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, face off against No. 4 Josh Hart. Her teammate, Austin Prock, driver of the Montana Brands/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, qualified No. 7 and will face No. 8 Steve Torrence.
Qualified No. 9, John Force, driver of the BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car and 16-time NHRA champion, will face No. 6 Tim Wilkerson in Round 1 of the postponed Epping battle, with Robert Hight, driver of the AAA/Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS and qualified No. 5, will face Alexis DeJoria.
“It’s disappointing weather stopped us from getting things done in Epping, NHRA, they tried, too wet and too cold,” noted J. Force. “It does add some extra excitement for this weekend though. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens. Could be an important weekend.”
Adding to the already-packed action, the #2Fast2Tasty Mission NHRA Challenge will be featured on Saturday as well, offering bonus money, bragging rights, and points in the professional classes competing in Thunder Valley.
Back in action after Chicago, Dallas Glenn, of KB Titan Racing and driver of the RAD Torque Chevrolet Camaro Pro Stock machine, looks to Bristol Dragway to keep his strong 2023 season momentum rolling, along with adding to his latest win at Route 66 Dragway, his third of the season and seventh of his NHRA Pro Stock career. On the contrary, four-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders, of Elite Motorsports, looks to Thunder Valley to turn her season into a winning one.
Rounding out the stacked show at Bristol this weekend, the Factory Stock Showdown Chevrolet competitors are back in action in their COPO Camaros. With Len Lottig capturing the win in Charlotte at the Four Wide Nationals as well as Chicago most recently, David Barton also enters Bristol this weekend as defending race winner from 2022. Both look to return to the Winner’s Circle in Thunder Valley.
Coverage of the postponed 2023 NHRA New England Nationals eliminations and 2023 NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals from Bristol Dragway kicks off Friday, June 9 on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with Bristol qualifying coverage at 7 p.m. ET. New England Nationals Round 1 will then follow, airing at 8 p.m. ET, also on FS1. Round 2, Semifinals, and Finals of the New England Nationals makeup event will air Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET on FS1. A recap of Saturday’s Thunder Valley Nationals qualifying airs Sunday, June 11 at 12:30 p.m. ET. The Thunder Valley Nationals Finals will wrap up the stacked weekend, airing on FS1 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. 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-Pac Chevrolet Top Fuel Dragster:
“Arrived in Bristol, Tennessee for the Thunder Valley Nationals and it’s going to be a busy weekend. Going to be two events in one with the carryover from Epping, N.H. We get one qualifying shot to figure out the track before going into the first round of the New England Nationals. It’s added pressure and going to be a lot of work for the team but nothing this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team can’t handle. It also opened the doors for a double-up race weekend.”
Austin Prock, driver of the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster for John Force Racing:
“I’m excited for a big weekend in Bristol. Every round has a possibility of high excitement. This Montana Brand/Rocky Mount Twist team is hoping to get off on the right foot in the first qualifying session and carry that through the weekend. There is potential to make a big points gain this weekend and I believe we have all the tools on this team to do just that.”
John Force, driver of the BlueDEF Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing:
“I love racing in Bristol, I’ve raced here a lot. I remember standing with Bruton (Smith) breaking ground. It’s a special place. Would be the perfect spot to really turn the corner on this season. Especially with two race to win. It’s disappointing weather stopped us from getting things done in Epping, NHRA, they tried, too wet and too cold. It does add some extra excitement for this weekend though. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens. Could be an important weekend.”
Robert Hight, driver of the AAA/Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing:
“It’s going to be an interesting weekend, busy, hopefully. A lot going on with running Epping eliminations during qualifying. Definitely disappointed we couldn’t get the race done last weekend, but it was a difficult weekend. The two runs we did get didn’t go as planned with the weather. We’ll get that first qualifying round in this weekend and then we’ll see what happens. I think this Cornwell Tools team will perform well under the added pressure.”
TEAM CHEVY BY THE NUMBERS
1,428: Round wins for John Force (1st all-time)
600: Round wins for Robert Hight; 13th all-time. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), sits 12th, with 619.
372: Number of wins in Pro Stock since 1970; 253 won in the Chevrolet Camaro body
165: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for John Force (1st all-time)
157: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins since 1967
78: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for Robert Hight (6th all-time)
77: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins with the Camaro body
45: 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
20: 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
Chicago – Route 66 Raceway
Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock)
Len Lottig (Factory Stock Showdown)
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 917 elimination round wins. He could reach 950 round wins with a decent run in the 18-race schedule.
600: Robert Hight achieved 600 Funny Car elimination wins in Chicago to rank 13th on the all-time NHRA list; Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) sits 12th with 615.
441: By qualifying for his next race, Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) will extend his NHRA record to 441 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.
266: By qualifying for his next race, Robert Hight will extend his NHRA record to 265 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 274).
65: Robert Hight moved into the top 10 on the all-time NHRA victory list with his win in Pomona 1 with 63. 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, first win coming at Chicago, 2012 and last win at Las Vegas 2, 2022). 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
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