CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
NHRA TEXAS FALLNATIONALS
TEXAS MOTORPLEX IN ENNIS, TEXAS
OCT. 16, 2022
Chevrolet drivers step up at Texas FallNationals
• Erica Enders ties career best with ninth Pro Stock win of season, moves closer to title
• No. 1 Top Fuel qualifier Austin Prock is runner-up; Brittany Force sets track record
• David Barton drives Chevrolet COPO Camaro to second Factory Stock Showdown title
ENNIS, Texas (Oct. 16, 2022) — Erica Enders took large step to claiming her fifth National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock world championship, driving the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS to victory in the NHRA Texas FallNationals.
Austin Prock, driving the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, was runner-up in the Top Fuel race at the Texas Motorplex. Prock, who won the Countdown to the Championship opener, earned the No. 1 qualifier honor for the first time in his career.
In a battle of Nos. 1 and 2 in the Funny Car standings, Robert Hight’s AAA Texas Chevrolet Camaro SS lost traction early in the run and the front-runner lost to eventual event winner Ron Capps. Hight, an eight-time winner this season, retained his advantage in the standings, though his lead was sliced to 10 points.
John Force, driving the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS, lost in the Funny Car quarterfinals in the 121st career race day matchup with Capps.
Brittany Force broke her own Top Fuel track speed record, recording a pass of 336.30 mph in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster in the first round of eliminations. The 2017 Top Fuel champion ran low elapsed time of the weekend (3.676 seconds) in the quarterfinals but fell on a holeshot when her opponent tripped the light at .039 of a second to her .097 reaction time. She is second in the standings.
In a metaphoric passing of the torch, Enders defeated reigning and five-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson, driving the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS, in the final with a pass of 6.537 seconds. Enders, the No. 1 qualifier, matched her 2015 career high with her ninth victory of the season and secured her 42nd Pro Stock win overall in 72 finals. She extended her points lead to a whopping 166 with two Countdown events left.
Enders swept the two events in her home state this season.
“I hope they keep coming. You never know when it’s going to be your last, so we never want to let up,” she said. “Being here in my home state of Texas, my sister reminded me right before that final round that if you can get this done you’ve accomplished the Texas two-step for the last time since Houston is going away. So, that cowboy hat is going to mean the world to me. I love Texas.”
Anderson, who earlier in the week was recognized as a Texas Motorplex Legend, dispatched Aaron Stanfield, driving the Janac Brothers Camaro SS, and Enders upended teammate Troy Coughlin Jr., driver of the JEGS.com Camaro SS, in the semifinals.
David Barton of Robesonia, Pennsylvania, clinched his second Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown championship in the Saw Mill Auto Chevrolet COPO Camaro.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet. It is hard to believe we came out on top amongst all these people who are trying so hard to accomplish the same goal,” said Barton, who picked up his first title in 2017. “It has been a lot of work from all our teammates and all our employees and all our families. This whole operation is like a big travelling family circus. It has been great, and I am honestly speechless.”
Drivers of the COPO Camaro have won the past three Showdown titles, including Aaron Stanfield in 2020 and ’21. Stanfield, of Bossier City, Louisiana, gave Chevrolet its fifth victory in the eight races in the series this season, driving the Janac Brothers COPO Camaro to a 7.764-second pass at 165.mph.
“I’m just happy for all of our guys. It’s been a lot of hard work and maybe we got our mojo back.” he said.
The penultimate race in the Countdown to the Championship is scheduled for Oct. 28-30 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. FS1 will telecast eliminations at 5 p.m. ET Sunday, Oct. 30. Dallas Glenn won the Pro Stock race in the RAD Torque Systems Camaro SS on the way to the rookie of the year title. Brittany Force was the No. 1 Top Fuel qualifier in the Chevrolet dragster.
An interview with Pro Stock winner ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS:
YOU HAD AN AMAZING CAR THIS WEEK.
“It speaks volumes for the talent that’s in our crew chief lounge. Those guys are just bad to the bone and even when I’m not confident they are, and they carry me.”
YOU SAID AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WE’RE RACING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. YOU ARE IN A NICE SPOT FOR THAT RIGHT NOW.
“We are and we’ll take it. The fashion we lost last year gave us all the motivation that we needed in the race car shop, in the engine shop and my mental state behind the wheel of that Melling Performance Chevy Camaro. We have been mean, we’ve lost a few that I wish I had back but what a tremendous season we’ve had up to this point. We’re headed to Vegas and I’m looking forward to that. I hope the wins keep coming. You never know when it’s going to be your last, so we never want to let up.”
YOU WON BOTH AT HOUSTON AND HERE.
“Being here in my home state of Texas, my sister reminded me right before that final round that if you can get this done you’ve accomplished the Texas two-step for the last time since Houston is going away. So, that cowboy hat is going to mean the world to me. I love Texas.”
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER: “There are still two races left in this Countdown to the Championship and weekend to weekend things can change so much. We can pick up points during qualifying, we have been all season. That’s going to remain this Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac team’s plan going into Las Vegas, qualify well and go rounds on race day. It’s not over yet. It will end in Pomona at the Auto Club Finals so we’ll keep on fighting.”
AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER: “Outstanding weekend for this Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist team. We just missed it in the final round and came up short of sweeping the weekend. I was proud of the team, and the crew chiefs. They made progress each and every lap and it showed. We showed up when we needed to. We’re in good hands for the rest of the season, we’re definitely back and we can’t wait for Vegas.”
FUNNY CAR
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE AND COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I’m going to leave here and head into Vegas to win. I never give up. This PEAK Chevy team doesn’t give up. We just don’t have a mindset like that. There wasn’t anything left on the tree; I stole it all. I got away with the light and I was trucking on through there, but it got over into the wall. I had to lift and got back on it, but it was too late. He got around me. We never give up and it’s not over until we say it’s over.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AAA TEXAS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “Tough way to go out. This AAA team had been on a great streak of solid A to B passes. Disappointing to get that loss in the semifinals. We wanted to try and grow our points lead, but luckily we did have a lead and we had a good two days of qualifying where we took some points. So, with two races left, we’ll head to Vegas still ahead. We have to continue to do what we know how to do. Pick up those small points in qualifying and then continue to go rounds on Sunday. Just two races left, we really need to be on our game.”
About Chevrolet
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