ROBERT HIGHT SETTLED INTO HIS GROOVE
Sat, 2010-05-22 14:50
It’s safe to say, Robert Hight has found his groove.
The reigning Funny Car world champ won in St. Louis and again in Commerce, Ga. Now, he is on the provisional pole at Topeka with a 4.095-second effort at 308.21 mph. Both are track records. It’s safe to say, Robert Hight has found his groove.
The reigning Funny Car world champ won in St. Louis and again in Commerce, Ga. Now, he is on the provisional pole at Topeka with a 4.095-second effort at 308.21 mph. Both are track records.
“This is pretty exciting,” Hight said. “These are the times you dream about. When your car can win two in a row and then you go out there and you’re No. 1 qualifier in both sessions at the next race. As a driver, it gives you a lot of confidence. Saturday it is going to be hot and Sunday is going to be hot, but we just came from two hot race tracks and you saw how my car performed. And, having only 15 cars here (in the field), that No. 1 spot is pretty important tonight because that’s going to give me a bye run because I do not think anybody is going to beat that (Saturday) in the heat. A bye run in the first round, that doesn’t hurt either.”
Tim Wilkerson (4.103) and Jeff Arend (4.104) are second and third on the qualifying ladder.
If the No. 1 spot holds it would be Hight’s third of the season, fourth at Topeka and 35th in his career. Nitro qualifying is at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, and Hight is keeping things in perspective.
“The unfortunate truth about when you dominate, and obviously we’re kind of dominating right now with all the Force teams being 1,2,3 (in the points), you make the competitors work harder, and they’re going to come back and get you,” Hight said. “We have to be careful that we do not celebrate and get too excited. We need to stay focused and work hard because those other guys are coming.”
Hight says life at John Force Racing couldn’t be better.
“It’s a lot of fun right now,” Hight said. “It’s especially fun with John where he is. He’s the old John Force. He goes to every race, knowing that he can win that race and qualify No. 1. The last couple of years, it has been a gut ache for him having to go to the race wondering if he’s even going to qualify. Having the boss back, and to see how bad he wants to win his 15th championship, it makes the whole team that much better.”
Hight also believes the changes in the off-season at JFR, reducing the number of cars from four to three, also is paying dividends.
“When we dropped Mike Neff’s car and reshuffled some things, we really have three quality Funny Cars right now, and it is not about quantity,” Hight said. “Even though we had good people, maybe we were spread a little thin. We also would run into to each other too much with four cars.”
The reigning Funny Car world champ won in St. Louis and again in Commerce, Ga. Now, he is on the provisional pole at Topeka with a 4.095-second effort at 308.21 mph. Both are track records. It’s safe to say, Robert Hight has found his groove.
The reigning Funny Car world champ won in St. Louis and again in Commerce, Ga. Now, he is on the provisional pole at Topeka with a 4.095-second effort at 308.21 mph. Both are track records.
“This is pretty exciting,” Hight said. “These are the times you dream about. When your car can win two in a row and then you go out there and you’re No. 1 qualifier in both sessions at the next race. As a driver, it gives you a lot of confidence. Saturday it is going to be hot and Sunday is going to be hot, but we just came from two hot race tracks and you saw how my car performed. And, having only 15 cars here (in the field), that No. 1 spot is pretty important tonight because that’s going to give me a bye run because I do not think anybody is going to beat that (Saturday) in the heat. A bye run in the first round, that doesn’t hurt either.”
Tim Wilkerson (4.103) and Jeff Arend (4.104) are second and third on the qualifying ladder.
If the No. 1 spot holds it would be Hight’s third of the season, fourth at Topeka and 35th in his career. Nitro qualifying is at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, and Hight is keeping things in perspective.
“The unfortunate truth about when you dominate, and obviously we’re kind of dominating right now with all the Force teams being 1,2,3 (in the points), you make the competitors work harder, and they’re going to come back and get you,” Hight said. “We have to be careful that we do not celebrate and get too excited. We need to stay focused and work hard because those other guys are coming.”
Hight says life at John Force Racing couldn’t be better.
“It’s a lot of fun right now,” Hight said. “It’s especially fun with John where he is. He’s the old John Force. He goes to every race, knowing that he can win that race and qualify No. 1. The last couple of years, it has been a gut ache for him having to go to the race wondering if he’s even going to qualify. Having the boss back, and to see how bad he wants to win his 15th championship, it makes the whole team that much better.”
Hight also believes the changes in the off-season at JFR, reducing the number of cars from four to three, also is paying dividends.
“When we dropped Mike Neff’s car and reshuffled some things, we really have three quality Funny Cars right now, and it is not about quantity,” Hight said. “Even though we had good people, maybe we were spread a little thin. We also would run into to each other too much with four cars.”
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