CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
VIRGINIA NHRA NATIONALS
VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK IN NORTH DINWIDDIE, VIRGINIA
MAY 15, 2022
Chevrolet doubles up at Virginia NHRA Nationals
• Top Fuel points leader Brittany Force records third victory of the season
• Robert Hight delivers 150th Funny Car victory for Chevrolet and 56th of his career
• Daniel Condon drives COPO Camaro to runner-up in Factory Stock Showdown
NORTH DINWIDDIE, Va. (May 15, 2022) — Robert Hight and crew chief Jimmy Prock didn’t find the sweet spot with the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS in qualifications, checking in at the No. 10 spot. But it got down the Virginia Motorsports Park quickly and consistently in eliminations, with Hight earning his third NHRA Funny Car victory of the season.
Teammate Brittany Force’s Flav-R-Pac/Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster checked in as the No. 1 Top Fuel qualifier and the 2017 champion ran the table for her third victory of the season for a big weekend for John Force Racing and Chevrolet.
Hight, who claimed his 56th career Funny Car win, delivered the 150th Funny Car victory for Chevrolet sine 1967. The Camaro body has been to the winner’s circle 70 times. Hight and 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force have combined for 25 wins with the Camaro.
Hight’s pass of 3.907 seconds at 328.86 mph eclipsed the 3.948-second run by Matt Hagan.
“I was a crew member for so many years, so nobody knows that better than I do. It takes eight guys pulling together and there is nothing like it at the end of the day when you can hoist one of these Wallys up,” said Hight, who remains second to Hagan in the standings through seven of the scheduled 22 races. “I just want to thank everybody … Auto Club, Chevrolet. This trophy is going to Mary Barra from Chevrolet, she is the CEO. Come out to a drag race and see us.
“I think we’ve had three battles with Hagan this year and it seems like it happens every week. I think we’ve got the best two cars in the class and when you race them, you better be up for it. They were better than us in qualifying, but what a difference a day makes. We had mechanical failure the first run and it set us behind the whole weekend. But when you’ve got this great team, you just believe in them and they just navigated things great today. We’re going to have a lot of these battles the rest of the year and hopefully we can just keep winning them.”
Entering eliminations as the No. 1 spot for the 34th time in her career – and with the Top Fuel track elapsed time record of 3.654 seconds in her pocket — after a bye run, Force made passes of 3.778, 3.770 and 3.770 seconds in the final against reigning champion Steve Torrence to collect her third win of the season and 14th of her career.
“This has been our greatest season yet,” said Force, who retains the top spot in the Top Fuel standings. “To come on this strong, with this many wins with our Flav-R-Pac team, I am so excited. We’ve never won here in Virginia, so it was very cool to get this win. This Wally (trophy) is for (crew chief) David Grubnic because he makes the impossible happen. Any win is special, but to qualify No. 1, set the track record and then get the win, it’s great. Robert and I seem to have a lot of luck together, and it was great to see him win. Our whole team has come a long way and we’re already ahead of ourselves from last year.”
Austin Prock, who posted a season-high No. 2 spot in qualifications in the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, advanced to the semifinals against Torrence.
John Force, who registered the 155th win of his Funny Car career on May 1, also advanced to the semifinals before falling to Hagan. Force, driving the PEAK BlueDEF Platinum Chevrolet Camaro SS, was the No. 12 qualifier.
Daniel Condon of Wilmington, Illinois, drove his Chevrolet COPO Camaro to a runner-up finish in the third round of the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown.
Chevrolet teams return to competition June 3-5 at the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire. Pro Stock rejoins the schedule after a long break. Four-time class champion Erica Enders, who has won three of the five races in the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, is first in the standings. FS1 will telecast eliminations at 7 p.m. ET Sunday, June 5.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. 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.
