All four John Force Racing teams posted solid runs on Friday and Saturday at Summit Motorsports Park, but saved their best runs for day two of qualifying for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.
Josh Hart and the Speedmaster Top Fuel team got better with each session. They ran 3.966 seconds in Q1, 3.803 seconds in Q2, and 3.762 seconds in Q3, Saturday’s first session, before securing the No. 2 qualifying spot with a Q4 run of 3.722 seconds at 332.51 mph. Hart will face No. 15 qualifier Scott Farley (4.669 seconds, 162.51 mph) in round one on Sunday.
“I think for myself and the entire Speedmaster team this weekend, it’s just been a confidence builder every time we got down the track A to B, and it just got progressively faster and faster,” said Hart. “Everybody on this team wants that No. 1 spot and we’re going to get there. I have all the confidence in the world in our program and how cool is it that right before they fired up the car, I get to see John Force, one of the greatest of all time, standing right there to give me a fist bump. I have zero complaints going into race day.”
Alexis DeJoria, John Force Racing’s top performer in Friday’s two qualifying sessions, ran her quickest run of the event Saturday in Q3 when the Bandero Café Chevrolet SS Funny Car posted a 3.886-second elapsed time at 330.31 mph. She ran 3.947 and 3.918 seconds in Q1 and Q2 Friday, respectively, and 3.900 seconds in Q4. She’ll face No. 15 qualifier Blake Alexander (3.983 seconds, 324.62 mph) in tomorrow’s first round of eliminations.
“The Bandero Café team has made a great showing in qualifying here in Norwalk,” DeJoria said. “We made four solid runs, finished No. 2 in qualifying and gained seven of a possible nine bonus points which is absolutely incredible. Zippy and Jonnie (crew chiefs Mike Neff and Jonnie Lindberg) really have a handle on this race car and I can’t wait to go rounds tomorrow.”
The PEAK Chevrolet SS Funny Car smoked the tires in Q1 (4.612 seconds), but Jack Beckman and the PEAK SQUAD then clicked off a 3.945 in Q2, a 3.916 in Q3, and then 3.911 seconds at 332.02 mph in Q4 to secure the No. 4 qualifying spot. Beckman will face No. 13 qualifier Spencer Hyde (3.965 seconds, 322.19 mph) in round one.
Qualifying was a mixed bag for Jordan Vandergriff and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car team. There was tire smoke in Q1 (4.438 seconds), then a solid 3.936-second run in Q2. In Saturday’s first session (Q3), the Cornwell Tools Chevy dropped a cylinder and slowed to a run of 4.611 seconds but the team bounced back in Q4 with a run of 3.935 seconds at 322.81 mph to earn the No. 11 qualifying spot. Vandergriff will face No. 6 qualifier J.R. Todd (3.916 seconds, 335.90 mph) in round one on Sunday.
The first round of eliminations is scheduled for Sunday, June 28, beginning at 11 a.m. ET. Television coverage includes qualifying action on Sunday from 12-2 p.m. ET on FS1, leading into eliminations from 5:30-9 p.m. ET on FOX.
The post John Force Racing Drivers Post Best Qualifying Runs on Saturday in Norwalk first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
