CHEVROLET AT GAINESVILLE
What: Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
Where: Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida
TV: FS1 will telecast taped eliminations at 7 p.m. ET Sunday, March 13
Team Chevy rolls to quick times at Gainesville
Brittany Force, Aaron Stanfield set records; Robert Hight goes to top in Funny Car
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 12, 2022) – Chevrolet drivers were quick off the truck and turned in record-setting runs during truncated qualifications for the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock teams were limited to one qualifying pass. The day’s events got off to a late start because of inclement weather that impacted track preparations, and safety was the chief concern in the early evening because of falling track and ambient temperatures.
Brittany Force reset her year-old Top Fuel track record with a blistering 337.75 mph pass in the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster. Force, who ran 331.94 mph at Gainesville last spring, also holds the national record of 338.17 mph set in 2019 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Force also won her first-round matchup in the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout against Antron Brown with a pass of 3.684 seconds that gave her the No. 2 qualifying position heading into eliminations.
Pro Stock points leader Aaron Stanfield made the quickest run in the electronic fuel injection (EFI) Pro Stock era at 6.468 seconds (211.66 mph) in the Janac Brothers Chevrolet Camaro SS. Stanfield won the NHRA’s last race at Chandler, Arizona, and was runner-up in the season opener at Pomona, California.
“That’s pretty fast. It’s been a while since Pro Stock has been that fast,” said Stanfield, who also is the No. 4 qualifier in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown in the Janac Brothers Chevrolet COPO Camaro. “The track was a little tricky, so I’m sure the crew chiefs were a little nervous out there. I had all the confidence in them, and they did a great job today. Let’s see if we can get it done this weekend.”
Kyle Koretsky, the No. 1 qualifier in Arizona, remained steady with a pass of 6.484 seconds (212.06 mph) in the Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS. Pro Stock drivers will be chasing the 350th win for Chevrolet since the inception of the class in 1970.
Robert Hight, who has swept the two Funny Car races, topped the field in the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS with a pass of 3.831 seconds at 333.41 mph. Fourteen of Hight’s 15 runs this season (qualifications and eliminations) have been in 3.8 seconds. He holds the track Funny Car record of 3.828 seconds.
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to be No. 1. I talked with (crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) before the run and he told me it’s good out there, but he said, ‘We backed this thing down and we just needed to make a good run to have a solid baseline for tomorrow,’ ” said Hight, who claimed his 72nd career No. 1 Funny Car qualifier honor.
“Tomorrow we’ll have to pick it up a little bit, but when we do that this thing is going to run even better. This thing is amazing.”
Sixteen-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force qualified 15th in the PEAK BlueDEF Platinum Chevrolet Camaro SS. Austin Prock qualified eighth in Top Fuel in the Montana Brand/Rocky Muontain Twist Chevrolet dragster.
FS1 will telecast taped eliminations at 7 p.m. ET Sunday, March 13.
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.
