YORBA LINDA, CA (February 12, 2013) --- In two days the start of the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will rev up at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona and for 2009 Funny Car champion Robert Hight time cannot pass fast enough. Three times Hight has driven his Auto Club Ford Mustang into the winner’s circle at the kick-off event of the NHRA season. Most recently in 2011 Hight won the NHRA Winternationals and for the 27-time national event winner the first race of the year always has special meaning.
“I'm super-excited. The last time NHRA had a new sponsor in 2009, which was Full Throttle, I won the championship. To come out and be the first Mello Yello champ, that's my goal. We've all had good luck at Pomona. We've won that race quite a few years in a row, the Winternationals. No different this year,” said Hight.
Hight will be joined in the Funny Car ranks by two teammates 15-time Funny Car champion John Force and 2012 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award winner Courtney Force.
“We have three great Ford Mustang Funny Cars that can come out and win. What I'm looking for with my Auto Club Mustang is a little more consistency. We got hot last year and won four in a row, but I want to win races throughout the whole season and definitely be ready for the Countdown to win the championship. We signed a long-term deal with Auto Club. They're on for five years. That's big. We have to prove to them that we can do this and do a good job for them.”
Hight was the No. 1qualifier at the Winternationals last season before being upset in the opening round by rookie Todd Lesenko. After that surprise loss Hight and his Jimmy Prock tuned Auto Club Funny Car did not lose another round for four and a half races racking up seventeen consecutive round wins and reaching five finals in six races, including four wins in a row.
Hight has had a dominant race car since his rookie season but every season the crewman turned driver has raised his expectations as a driver. When asked if he thought on-track success was more natural ability or experience the winningest Funny Car driver over the past five seasons gave a thoughtful response.
“I honestly think it's 50-50. I mean, you've got to be able to feel what the car does and have a certain reaction to the tree and stuff. But I also believe with a certain amount of willpower, hard work and determination you can accomplish anything. If you work hard and want to do something, I believe you can be successful at it. But I do believe there has to be a certain amount of natural talent.”
Hight will bring his natural talent and dominant race car to the Winternationals on the heels of two enlightening test sessions over the off-season. In December his team spent two days in Florida testing and then they returned in January for nearly a week of full day test sessions. Each lap down the track gave the team more data to evaluate the direction the team was moving.
“I think we definitely learned a lot in testing. We have trying a number of different things with this Auto Club Mustang Funny Car. Jimmy has been slowly making adjustments so we don’t over-correct. These Funny Cars are so complex now that you really have to make small adjustments. Jimmy has a great handle on the direction we are going and it really showed on the last couple of days of testing,” said Hight.
“You can test a lot but it really matters once you start racing and I am excited to get to Auto Club Raceway at Pomona and start the season.”
From: Elon Werner
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“I'm super-excited. The last time NHRA had a new sponsor in 2009, which was Full Throttle, I won the championship. To come out and be the first Mello Yello champ, that's my goal. We've all had good luck at Pomona. We've won that race quite a few years in a row, the Winternationals. No different this year,” said Hight.
Hight will be joined in the Funny Car ranks by two teammates 15-time Funny Car champion John Force and 2012 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award winner Courtney Force.
“We have three great Ford Mustang Funny Cars that can come out and win. What I'm looking for with my Auto Club Mustang is a little more consistency. We got hot last year and won four in a row, but I want to win races throughout the whole season and definitely be ready for the Countdown to win the championship. We signed a long-term deal with Auto Club. They're on for five years. That's big. We have to prove to them that we can do this and do a good job for them.”
Hight was the No. 1qualifier at the Winternationals last season before being upset in the opening round by rookie Todd Lesenko. After that surprise loss Hight and his Jimmy Prock tuned Auto Club Funny Car did not lose another round for four and a half races racking up seventeen consecutive round wins and reaching five finals in six races, including four wins in a row.
Hight has had a dominant race car since his rookie season but every season the crewman turned driver has raised his expectations as a driver. When asked if he thought on-track success was more natural ability or experience the winningest Funny Car driver over the past five seasons gave a thoughtful response.
“I honestly think it's 50-50. I mean, you've got to be able to feel what the car does and have a certain reaction to the tree and stuff. But I also believe with a certain amount of willpower, hard work and determination you can accomplish anything. If you work hard and want to do something, I believe you can be successful at it. But I do believe there has to be a certain amount of natural talent.”
Hight will bring his natural talent and dominant race car to the Winternationals on the heels of two enlightening test sessions over the off-season. In December his team spent two days in Florida testing and then they returned in January for nearly a week of full day test sessions. Each lap down the track gave the team more data to evaluate the direction the team was moving.
“I think we definitely learned a lot in testing. We have trying a number of different things with this Auto Club Mustang Funny Car. Jimmy has been slowly making adjustments so we don’t over-correct. These Funny Cars are so complex now that you really have to make small adjustments. Jimmy has a great handle on the direction we are going and it really showed on the last couple of days of testing,” said Hight.
“You can test a lot but it really matters once you start racing and I am excited to get to Auto Club Raceway at Pomona and start the season.”
From: Elon Werner
More...
