Monster Energy Dragster driver Brittany Force shattered the Bandimere Speedway track record by seven miles an hour in her final qualifying pass Saturday to seize the low-qualifier award in the Top Fuel class at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals.
 
She charged down the Morrison, Colo., 1,000-foot course with an elapsed time of 3.724 seconds at a speed of 337.33 mph – especially outstanding in the oxygen-poor atmospheric conditions that aren’t friendly for high-horsepower race cars.
 
Rival Tony Schumacher, the eight-time series champion, said he wasn’t at all surprised at Force’s and her team’s feat. He said, “I would expect – before even [hearing who it was to clock such a speed] – that it would be them.”
 
Four-time champ Steve Torrence had a little fun with it. He called out to the two-time and current champion Force, “Brittany, you’re just showing off now.”
 
She said, “It really shows a lot about this sport and the competitors in it for them to come over and congratulate me and the entire Monster Energy team on a run like that.”
 
And if she were showing off, that was all right for Force’s crew chief, David Grubnic, who said, “Well, we had to get it down the track. We’re developing a new program, and there’s no right or wrong decisions in this business. What we learn up here [on Thunder Mountain] we can’t take back down to sea level. It’s just a matter of getting it all right.
 
“This is our last time here in Denver. So we want to try to do something for the crowd and everybody that supported us over the years here,” he said. That run, he said, “is for everybody here.”

With a hint of a smile, something a bit rare for the ultra-serious tuner, Grubnic said, “It’s a lot of risk – but she made it.”
 
An elated Force, who replaced Friday and early Saturday leader Antron Brown at the top of the order, said, “We’ve struggled this season, so to come out here at Bandimere Speedway . . . We love this racetrack. I’ve been coming here since I was kid. And it’s sad to see it go away, but we want to leave our mark here.”

She did that. Her elapsed-time track record remains intact so far as she earned her fourth No.1 starting position of the season and 46th of her career.  
 
Force said a 337-mph blast “is like being strapped to a rocket. I can’t compare it to anything. My guys pull [strap] me down tight to where I can’t even breathe. But we want to get our car down there and turn wins lights on. That’s what we really want to do.”
 
Rob Passey will be her opening-round opponent in Sunday’s eliminations.
 
Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also will lead their fields into eliminations Sunday in this 43rd and final edition of this race, at least in its current location.
 
Justin Ashley won his fifth straight Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge over finalist Austin Prock.
 
Told that the trophy nameplates say, “Justin Ashley, Justin Ashley, Justin Ashley . . .,“ he said, “It should say, ‘Team, team, team . . . on there.”