Robert Hight had better get plenty of sleep Sunday night because he’s got a big day ahead of him on Monday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. The Funny Car No. 1 qualifier must last one round longer than Matt Hagan on Sunday and two more than Cruz Pedregon to cement the final available spot in the Countdown to the One playoffs for Funny Car.

“We did what we needed to do in qualifying,” said Hight, who is three spots better than Pedregon and 14 ahead of Hagan.

“Ashley [Force Hood] has Hagan in the first round and that’s good for us. Basically if we can win the race tomorrow, we are in. We would have to race him before the semis. Those are the two rounds I need.”

Robert Hight had better get plenty of sleep Sunday night because he’s got a big day ahead of him on Monday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. The Funny Car No. 1 qualifier must last one round longer than Matt Hagan on Sunday and two more than Cruz Pedregon to cement the final available spot in the Countdown to the One playoffs for Funny Car.

“We did what we needed to do in qualifying,” said Hight, who is three spots better than Pedregon and 14 ahead of Hagan.

“Ashley [Force Hood] has Hagan in the first round and that’s good for us. Basically if we can win the race tomorrow, we are in. We would have to race him before the semis. Those are the two rounds I need.”

Hight’s theory looks promising on paper. In reality, Pedregon is going to be no pushover. During the final qualifying session, the defending world champion broke up total John Force Racing qualifying domination with a 4.098 elapsed time at 305.36 miles per hour.

“I’m guessing he’s second to me in overall run average in qualifying,” Hight predicted. “He’s gonna be tough to beat tomorrow. He’s a world champion for a reason.”

Hight admits that he has to focus on the task at hand or first round opponent Grant Downing will have his number. Hight’s performance over the course of the weekend have been nothing short of amazing.

“That was four pretty impressive runs,”  “It’s just hard to run like that with one of these nitro cars, especially a Funny Car, that many times down the track.”

The AAA car, dating back to the last event in Reading with John Force driving, has made nine nearly flawless runs in a row. No tire smoke. No dropped cylinders.

“That’s very stout for a Funny Car,” Hight emphasized. “It’s better late than never because we have struggled all year long. We’ve never been that messed up. We’ve always felt as if we’ve been very close. I know we’ve said it a lot and I’m sure people are tired of hearing it. But it’s the truth.”

So how did Hight and tuner Jimmy Prock rediscover their groove? It’s a matter of getting back to the basics.

“We just took a step back,” Hight said. “We’re trying not to over-think things and keep them basic and just race. When things are going well, it’s so easy but when you struggle then you mess it up by over-thinking.”

Indy marked his second No. 1 of the season. He’s won the event two of the last three seasons. 

COIL ON THE LOOSE – Austin Coil was released from an unnamed Indianapolis hospital today, according to Hight. He will spend tomorrow in his Brownsburg, Ind., hotel room under doctor’s orders to remain away from ORP.

“It’s going to be tough for him since he hasn’t missed a national event since the early 1980s,” Hight added.

THAT OLD CAGEY FORCE – Today marked the first time Robert Hight has qualified No. 1 at the NHRA U.S. Nationals.

Several years ago, He nearly nailed the honor on the strength of the track’s first 4.6-second run at ORP.

He and Prock were going to turn up the wick on the next run but elected to follow the counsel of his father-in-law Force.

“Force told us, we don’t need to do that,” Hight recalled. “I asked him if he was kidding and he assured us that no one was going to go around us.”

Force even bet him $20 that his number would hold.

That session Force took the top spot by one thousandth of a second.

“You know, I never got that $20,” Hight said, laughing.

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