CHEVROLET IN NHRA
2023 NHRA NEVADA NATIONALS
THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP
OCTOBER 29, 2023
CHEVROLET DOUBLES UP WITH ROBERT HIGHT IN FUNNY CAR AND ERICA ENDERS IN PRO STOCK; AARON STANFIELD SECURES THIRD FLEXJET FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN CHAMPIONSHIP WITH CHEVROLET
- Robert Hight raced to victory over Bob Tasca, III in Funny Car, earning his fourth win in six final rounds in 2023, and the 85th of his career.
- Hight’s win at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earns Chevrolet their 159th in Funny Car and 79th in the Camaro body.
- Erica Enders secured her 47th Pro Stock victory and 48th of her NHRA career, defeating Greg Anderson in the final round in the NHRA Nevada Nationals to earn her 10th victory at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
- Enders, with her win Sunday, earned Chevrolet’s 381st in Pro Stock and 262nd in the Camaro.
- Hight, driver of the Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, took the No. 1 Qualifier position for Sunday’s race for the sixth time of 2023 and earning 12 bonus points, with his No. 2 run of 3.851 seconds. Bob Tasca, III’s Saturday night run was disqualified, giving Hight the No. 1 position heading into race day.
- Kyle Koretsky, driver of the Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock for KB Titan Racing, earned the Nevada Nationals No. 1 Qualifier with his run of 6.589 E.T. at 205.66 MPH, picking up six bonus points towards the Countdown to the Championship.
- Hight led the leaderboard Friday night, qualifying provisional No. 1 with his run of 3.881 E.T. at 327.51 MPH and collecting three bonus points towards the Championship.
- Enders, with her Q1 run Friday, took the provisional No. 1 spot with her pass of 6.595 E.T. at 207.66 MPH.
- Aaron Stanfield, driver of the Stanfield Racing Engines Chevrolet COPO Camaro, clinched his third FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown World Championship Friday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
- Stephen Bell, driver of the Stanfield Racing Engines Chevrolet COPO Camaro, qualified No. 1 for the second time of his career in FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
LAS VEGAS (October 29, 2023) – It was a winning weekend in Las Vegas, with Chevrolet doubling up in the professional ranks at the 2023 NHRA Nevada Nationals as Robert Hight captured the win in Funny Car and Erica Enders in Pro Stock. With one race left in the Countdown to the Championship, both victories come at a critical time as the season champion is crowned in two weeks.
Hight, driver of the Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, first defeated Jeff Diehl in Round 1, Alexis DeJoria in Round 2, and Blake Alexander in Semifinals on his way to the final round versus Bob Tasca, III. After entering Sunday as the No. 1 Qualifier, Hight raced his way to his fourth victory of the year, and his 65th career win tying him with Jeg Coughlin, Jr. for ninth on the all-time NHRA win list with his run of 3.851 E.T. at 326.79 MPH. Additionally, Hight’s win in Las Vegas Sunday is Chevrolet’s 79th in the Camaro body and 159th in Funny Car.
“It’s going to be everything,” reflected Hight on his weekend approaching the final race of the Countdown. “We dug ourselves a hole in Dallas, and we knew we had to come in here in almost a must-win situation. These guys are running right with us, and we’re not running away with this thing. This Chevrolet Camaro, man, Chevrolet is going to be very happy with that right there. I thought to myself as I was staging, you look at this beautiful sunset in Las Vegas and you want to drive off into the sunset, and at least we’re carrying a Wally. Pomona is going to be exciting.”
“We really screwed up in Dallas and we knew when we came here, we knew we had to win, said Thomas Prock, Hight’s Crew Chief at John Force Racing. “We just really took our time to look over notes and make good decisions coming here. It’s really paid off. I’m really so proud of everyone. This is such a hard class to win in, and to do it is unbelievable, honestly, here in Las Vegas.”
On her march to a potential sixth NHRA World Championship, Enders, driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling/SCAG Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock for Elite Motorsports, captured her 47th Pro Stock win and 48th in NHRA over KB Titan Racing’s Greg Anderson in the final round, while entering and leaving Las Vegas with the Championship points lead heading into Pomona. Enders win Sunday was Chevrolet’s 381st in Pro Stock, and 262nd in the Camaro. Defeating Mason McGaha in Round 1, teammate Troy Coughlin, Jr. in Round 2, and teammate Jeg Coughlin, Jr. in Semifinals, Enders was able to capture the winlight and Wally trophy after Anderson faced issues after the start. Enders’ win in Las Vegas Sunday was her 10th at The Strip.
“You can’t do it alone. No matter how much negativity surrounds you, if you don’t let it in your boat, it can’t sink you,” said Enders. “I think that’s the biggest lesson from this weekend with what had to deal with, the adversity we had to get through, and again I say it all the time, but when our backs are against the wall, my boys perform flawlessly. Greg (Anderson) had lane choice and took the right, and my crew chiefs were thrilled. This one, this is awesome. We came in here with the (points) lead. Greg (Anderson) is right on my heels, and that was a big round for us. I’m just really proud. We’re going to Pomona, we’re going to give it all the effort. When you dig deep and play with all the heart you have, they can’t get you.”
For the 16-time champion John Force, driver of the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, he faced an unfortunate early end after hazing the tires early on his run. Qualifying No. 5, he fell to No. 12 Blake Alexander in the first round.
“Well, tough race day. Definitely not what we wanted for this black and gold PEAK Chevy and the 50th anniversary of Old World Industries,” said Force. “We qualified decent but couldn’t get the job done. I might be out of this championship fight, but Robert is right in the thick of things and I’m proud of that and that team. Hopefully, we can all put on a good show in Pomona and end this season on a good note.”
In Top Fuel, it was an early day for the pair of Brittany Force and Austin Prock, both facing elimination in Round 2. B. Force, driver of the Flav-R-Pac/Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, faced elimination by Steve Torrence after she defeated Antron Brown in Round 1. Prock, driver of the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, fell to Justin Ashley in the second round after defeating Dan Mercier in Round 1.
“We have a good race car, and the team is working hard,” said Prock. “It was unfortunate that we blew it up in that first round. Second round, it blew some spark plugs, so we were running on six cylinders, and that’s just not going to get the job done. I’m proud of this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team and I know we’ll be itching to get back at it in Pomona, California in a couple of weeks.”
Clinching his third FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown World Championship, Aaron Stanfield was able to secure the success early in the weekend by outrunning Stephen Bell in the first round, and then defeating No. 1 qualifier Lenny Lottig in the second. “It’s pretty cool to be able to do it here in Las Vegas,” said Stanfield, also an 11-time FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown national event winner. “I love this racetrack. It’s good to be able to do it, we’re happy to get it done quick this weekend. All the championships are special and they all have their own story. There’s no such thing as a bad championship so I’m very thankful, very blessed.”
“Thank you to all the all the guys that work on my hot rod. Collectively between Pro Stock and Flexjet Factory Stock there’s a lot of guys that play a big hand in me being able to do all of this,” said Stanfield. “I’m just very thankful for individually each one of them. I’m so glad to get it done and I want to thank FlexJet and the NHRA.”
Due to a cold track and adverse weather conditions, the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown will complete their NHRA Nevada Nationals race day Monday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The final race of the 2023 NHRA season and Countdown to the Championship takes place Nov. 10-12, 2023, at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. In competition and representing the Bowtie brand, Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock will all crown world champions Sunday, Nov. 12. Qualifying airs first on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), with Finals following at 4 p.m. ET on FS1. Coverage streams live throughout the weekend on NHRA.tv, and is 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 for John Force Racing:
“This Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team was faced with another tough weekend here in Las Vegas. Coming into race day from the No. 10 spot we knew we needed to step up our game to have a fighting chance. We made big moves, improving our ET with a solid 3.704 run in round one earning us a win light. Unfortunately, our performance fell off in round two as we slowed to a 3.78. That was not our plan, and it was a frustrating round loss. Our team plans to test on Monday to get us in a better position heading into Pomona. We leave seventh in points before going into the final race of the season.”
ROBERT HIGHT, driver of the Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing – NHRA Nevada Nationals Winner’s Press Conferece:
WALK US THROUGH YOUR RACE DAY…
“It’s been a strong weekend at the races. I’d like to know if anybody in a Countdown race has ever, in Funny Car, swept every single point possible. That goes to my team. They gave me a racecar that was perfect this weekend, and we had good conditions, but a 3.88 was our worst run. The 3.81, we weren’t trying to do that. Everything just happened and worked perfectly, which kind of scared me. If we weren’t trying to do that, that’s stuff that’s kind of been biting us. First round at Dallas against Haddock, we smoked the tires. You think you had to have been really close to smoking the tires to run 3.81. But Jimmy (Prock) and Thomas (Prock) got it in check, and we just did our job all day. Now, I heard it was 17 points for the top-three (in the Championship) in Funny Car. If that isn’t going to make an exciting Pomona, I don’t know what is.”
YOU’VE BEEN HERE SO MANY TIMES IN THE FINALS WITH RACES THAT ARE CLOSE. WITH SINGLE DIGIT CHAMPIONSHIPS. HOW DO YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW?
“I feel really good right now. We’ve just got to stay stead and stay focused. There’s nothing we can do about the conditions, what they’re going to be at Pomona. I’m going to pray every night that they’re great, fast conditions like we had this weekend. Whatever it is, it is. I feel my team has a good handle on this racecar, and we just got to go get it done. With two tough competitors, it’s not going to be easy. (Ron) Capps is still mathematically in it, but the three of us, we’re going to duking it out. My boss (John Force) is going to test tomorrow. Hopefully, he gets his hot rod running better and he can help me out a little bit and put some pressure on these guys.”
WITH THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS MOMENT, HOW MUCH DO YOU LIVE FOR THESE SITUATIONS?
“I’d rather be in Gaige Herrera’s spot, if I had to trade that’s what I’d do. We’re here. We’ve got to make the best of it. We’ve got to perform, and those guys are going to be right there. More than likely, it’s going to go down to the final round at Pomona to win the championship, and it doesn’t get more dramatic than that. It’s cool, and to look back on it, and you get the job done, boy, there’s not going to be anything more rewarding than that.”
IS THERE SOMETHING EXTRA IN YOUR RIGHT NOW GOING INTO POMONA THIS YEAR AFTER FINISHING RUNNER-UP IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP LAST YEAR?
“Yeah, kind of. But you can’t focus on that. You have to focus on the task at hand. What’s behind us is behind us. You might use it as a little motivation, but we’ve got our hands full here. When it’s 17 points, and points-and-a-half, every point with four points in every run in qualifying – if I did in Pomona what I did here, I’m one point back going into Sunday, potentially. Every run, the magnitude of importance, it’s going to be crazy. I’d rather it be next weekend than a weekend off. I don’t really want to think about it for 10 days.”
ERICA ENDERS, driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling/SCAG Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock for Elite Motorsports – NHRA Nevada Nationals Winner’s Press Conference:
COMING IN FROM NO. 2 QUALIFYING POSITION, AND EARNING FOURTH WIN OF THE YEAR, 10TH IN LAS VEGAS, 47TH IN PRO STOCK, YOU NOW HAVE A 114-POINT LEAD HEADING INTO POMONA. DO YOU FEEL HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF FOR A SIXTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP?
“Today, I drove, but stress level was do or die. We needed to perform perfectly, and my guys went out there and did just that. It was a challenging day. I watched Mason (McGaha) go double-0 on someone in St. Louis, and send them packing first round. You just know he can be good, so I wanted to just go up there and do my thing. Then (Troy Coughlin, Jr) my teammate, I know the horsepower he has, he has been literally within a hundredth on his reaction times all through qualifying and eliminations. I knew I had to do good there. Then Jeg Coughlin, Jr. went .004, .005, and .007 in reaction time in qualifying. His graphs looked perfect. He’s a legend, and him and I both got pretty loose out there. It was a little scary. And then the final round against Greg (Anderson), it was just kind of epic. When Greg (Anderson) and I both won the semifinals, we both shook hands down there and he said, ‘Old guys to the top.’ I really enjoy racing him but I enjoy beating him more, respectfully. It was just a tremendous day. Vegas is always great to us. We knew coming in, that was working in our favor, but you still have to put your head down and go to work. It’s stressful, it’s antagonizing, it’s all kinds of things, but the biggest lesson this weekend is trying to stay positive through all the negativity. People try to put water in your boat and make you sink, and you just have to keep them out. That’s what my guys do the best. We put our arms around each other, we put our heads down together. We don’t complain when we lose, we just do our thing and that’s what I’m most proud of today.”
TO HAVE TEN WINS AT ONE FACILITY, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?
“It’s huge. When I was 21, I was racing Super Comp dragster, and my dad said for my 21st birthday, he’d let me come out here and race. We had a great time, so I’ve been racing at this facility for a long time. Being that it was here when I got my first win with Elite Motorsports in 2014, we doubled that weekend with the K&N Challenge, won the fall race, did the exact same thing in 2015, and throughout the years have done, obviously, very well and clinched a handful of championships at this very racetrack. It’s kind of hard to even think negatively when you pull in the gate here, because you just see things that trigger memories, and the winner’s circle that goes on in the staging lanes, the sprinkles and confetti and all of the great things we do here, it’s kind of our happy place. I love it.”
YOUR RIVALRY WITH GREG (ANDERSON) HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS. WHY IS THAT SO SPECIAL FOR YOU?
“Greg (Anderson) has 100 and something wins and five world championships. He’s one of the baddest dudes to ever race Pro Stock. To be able to go toe to toe with him is pretty cool for me as a Pro Stock fan before I was ever a driver. When I first came on the scene, I was 19 years old, and I can only imagine what they thought, right? Here’s this… No girls did it ever, really, and here’s this young kid, and she’s going to come in here. We didn’t have a lot of success at the beginning, but I’m sure the thought was ‘she’ll just be a flash in the pan,’ or ‘she won’t do well and she’ll be gone.’ They had me pegged wrong because I went to work. It took a long time before we were successful. It means so much to me because it went from I feel like he hated me and didn’t want to be the first guy to lose to me, and with an awesome sense of humor, that’s what happened in Chicago. We went through a lot together. Some really low points. I’ve watched him win, he’s watched me win. We’re not best friends, but to have a mutual respect for one another. That’s something he said to me at the Dallas Champions dinner was that you never gave up, and you worked hard and you drove crap that wouldn’t qualifying. When these kids come in now with checkbooks, they want instant gratification. They don’t work hard for it. That meant a lot to me coming from him that he saw that in me. I’m glad there’s some mutual respect there. He wants it too, and we both bring our A-game.”
APPROACHING YOUR SIXTH CHAMPIONSHIP, DO YOU FEEL IT’S YOURS YET?
“No. I definitely don’t feel like it’s ours. We have to go out there and continue to earn it. Had you asked me that 12 races ago, I’d say you’re nuts if you told me we’d be contending for a sixth championship this year, because we were absolutely horrible. I don’t think that way at all. Sure, it’s 114 points, but Pomona is points-and-a-half. A lot can happen, a lot can change, so I just try to put that out of my mind. I know it sounds silly and cliché, but I just try to focus on what’s right in front of me. I don’t want to get the bigger picture in my mind too far ahead, but at the same time believe we can do it and we’re capable.”
Round 1 Recap:
Top Fuel:
No. 10 Brittany Force defeated No. 7 Antron Brown with her run of 3.752 E.T. at 304.87 MPH to Brown’s 3.736 E.T. at 326.79 MPH.
No. 3 Austin Prock defeated No. 14 Kelly Harper with his pass of 3.719 E.T. at 289.51 MPH to Harper’s 3.806 E.T. at 317.27 MPH.
Funny Car:
No. 1 Robert Hight defeated No. 16 Jeff Diehl as Diehl redlit to Hight’s 3.816 E.T. at 332.67 MPH.
No. 5 John Force fell to No. 12 Blake Alexander after smoking the tires early in his run, with Alexander running 3.940 E.T. at 319.51 MPH to the winlight.
Pro Stock:
No. 1 Kyle Korestky defeated No. 16 Jerry Tucker with his pass of 6.552 E.T. at 208.36 MPH to Tucker’s 6.595 E.T. at 208.39 MPH,
No. 8 Greg Anderson defeated No. 9 Aaron Stanfield with his run of 6.577 E.T. at 207.27 MPH to Stanfield’s 6.612 E.T. at 207.69.
No. 5 Matt Hartford defeated No. 12 Camrie Caruso with his run of 6.584 E.T. at 208.07 MPH to Caruso’s 7.370 E.T. at 142.10 MPH, facing issues mid-run.
No. 2 Erica Enders defeated No. 15 Mason McGaha after her run of 6.554 E.T. at 208.81 MPH to McGaha’s 6.625 E.T. at 207.30 MPH.
No. 7 Troy Coughlin, Jr. defeated No. 10 Bo Butner, III with his run of 6.573 E.T. at 208.26 MPH to Butner’s 6.582 E.T. at 207.75 MPH.
No. 14 Deric Kramer fell to No. 3 Christian Cuadra after running 6.597 E.T. at 205.57 MPH to Kramer’s 6.601 E.T. at 207.75 MPH.
No. 6 Dallas Glenn fell to No. 11 Jeg Coughlin, Jr. after facing issues on the start, with J. Coughlin, Jr. running 6.595 E.T. at 207.43 MPH.
Round 2:
Top Fuel:
Prock fell to Ashley on his run of 3.727 E.T. at 319.07 MPH to Ashley’s 3.703 E.T. at 331.69 MPH.
B. Force fell to Torrence with her run of 3.785 E.T. at 311.85 MPH to Torrence’s 3.674 E.T. at 330.72 MPH.
Funny Car:
Hight defeated DeJoria on his run of 3.859 E.T. at 333.99 MPH to DeJoria’s 4.085 E.T. at 247.79 MPH.
Pro Stock:
Koretsky fell to Anderson with his run of 6.567 E.T. at 207.91 MPH to Anderson’s 6.583 E.T. at 207.98 MPH, including a .004 reaction time.
Hartford defeated Cuadra, Jr. with his run of 6.589 E.T. at 207.78 MPH to Cuadra, Jr.’s 6.612 E.T. at 206.86 MPH.
Enders defeated T. Coughlin, Jr. with her run of 6.570 E.T. at 208.36 MPH to T. Coughlin, Jr.’s 6.616 E.T. at 207.88 MPH.
J. Coughlin, Jr. defeated C. Cuadra with his pass of 6.616 E.T. at 206.70 MPH to C. Cuadra’s 6.615 E.T. at 207.75 MPH.
Semifinals:
Funny Car:
Hight defeated Alexander with his run of 3.868 E.T. at 330.55 MPH as Alexader faces issues on the run.
Pro Stock:
Hartford fell to Anderson on his run of 7.294 E.T. at 153.42 MPH to Anderson’s 6.566 E.T. at 207.88 MPH.
Enders defeated J. Coughlin, Jr. with her run of 6.578 E.T. at 207.81 MPH to Coughlin, Jr.’s 6.948 E.T. at 144.12 MPH and pulling the chutes at the 800-foot mark.
Finals:
Funny Car:
Hight defeated Tasca, III after Tasca had to pedal his car and struggle on the run to Hight’s 3.851 E.T. at 326.79 MPH.
Pro Stock:
Enders defeated Anderson with her pass of 6.557 E.T. at 208.23 MPH to Anderson facing issues on the start.
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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