John Force got to Sunday’s final round of the Route 66 Nationals presented by PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant, but he was unable to hold off Matt Hagan in the Funny Car class at Route 66 Raceway.
Force, who turned 75 two weeks ago, was competing in the record 268th final round of his long racing career. He has 156 wins, the most recent being earlier this year at the Winternationals.
“Yeah, it was disappointing,” Force explained. “There was a lot to win, as there always is. However, you cannot win them all. Hagan is a fantastic racer; they do their job, and we were on the chase. “We dropped some cylinders, and it was over.”
Force (4.042 seconds/317.49 mph) won the first round of Sunday’s eliminations in the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, defeating Buddy Hull, the 150th Funny Car driver in Force’s career.
Force subsequently won another round (4.008 seconds at 319.37 mph) in the quarterfinals, capitalizing on Alexis DeJoria’s slow.400 reaction time and advancing to the semifinals.
“No doubt, when something like that happens, you surely don’t want to mess it up,” Force’s co-crew chief, Chris Cunningham, said of DeJoria’s delayed start off the line.
In the semifinals, Force (3.987 seconds/317.94 mph) overcame Daniel Wilkerson, who had upset Force’s teammate, Austin Prock, one round earlier, exacting revenge and advancing Force to the final.
Despite Sunday’s last round setback, Force climbed to third in the Funny Car standings.
“We’re going to go to Epping and go and try and win, that’s all you can do,” Force stated. “We need to put the automobile back on track. We owe it to each of our sponsors.”
Force’s teammate, No. 1 qualifier and Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS driver Austin Prock, had an easy day in the first round of eliminations since opponent Jack Wyatt’s car failed to start. Despite having a single run, Prock said he “raced the track” and finished in 3.975 seconds at 324.67 mph.
Prock (4.109 seconds/305.01 mph) fell to Wilkerson in the second round, putting an end to his chances of winning his second race of the season.
Prock’s loss, along with Hagan’s triumph, knocked him off the top of the Funny Car point standings, where he had been for the previous three races.
“We ended up having some ignition trouble,” Prock explained. “It ultimately cost us the round, but I didn’t leave like I usually do. I’m very frustrated with myself. If I had received my normal.060 (response time), we would have turned on the win light.
“I have some homework to complete. We’re going to test on Tuesday to work out our ignition difficulties and aim to come out strong in Epping (New Hampshire, the next NHRA national race).
“It’s been a tremendous season for John Force Racing and the Funny Car category; we made it to the final round, and both John and I won. We have fantastic hot rods; we just need to capitalize on them.” Brittany Force, John Force Racing’s Top Fuel driver who was sponsored in this race by PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant, could not compete Sunday after failing to qualify for the first time in 190 consecutive national events, dating back to the season finale in Pomona, Calif., in 2014. Despite this, Brittany remains 10th in the Top Fuel point standings.
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