Time isn’t on Robert Hight’s side.

If the veteran John Force Racing driver wants to win a fourth nitro Funny Car world championship, he knew there was no better time than the present – the Nevada Nationals this weekend – to make his move.

He came to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in third place in the points standings, 69 points behind leader Matt Hagan.

Hight made a small charge Friday, capturing the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot at the Nevada Nationals with his 3.851-second elapsed time at 327.51 mph.
  
“You dig yourself a big hole and you've got to get out of it -- and the only way you're going to do that is to race aggressively, try to get all the points you can get, and yes, it's a must-win,” Hight said. “Pomona is a little different story with points and a half. But the way those other cars are running that we're fighting against, you're going to have a win and (be) in the semifinals to even have a chance. And as far back as we are, we may have to win both, and that still might not be enough. That's how close this is and the caliber of cars. You see out there, just got Tasca by two thou. That's what you're going to see on race day too. That's a very close race, and there's going to be a lot more of that all weekend.
  
“I think Vegas here is like Denver. You've got to make big moves to run quicker and faster. And a lot of people don't make those big moves, and everybody's bunched up. It's an equalizer here, racing here. Proud of the guys. We did exactly what we had to do (Friday), but I predict that if I don't step up (Saturday), we won't be here (Saturday) night.

Pomona is the final race of the season Nov. 9-12.
  
If Hight holds his No. 1 spot it will be the 83rd of his career and sixth this season.

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As competitors were making runs in front of him, Hight was anxious to see what his team could do.
  
“Yeah, we were in a good position based on our first run that we could press, and I did like it,” Hight said. “A lot of times, Jimmy will get in the box after somebody running in front of us. (He) didn't touch a thing. He has some confidence and confidence in the car and the setup. And he and Thomas (Prock), they're really getting a system here with numbers and being able to predict what it's going to run.

“Really proud of him and got to do it two more times (Sunday). ... It would be nice to take this thing less than three rounds going into race day. Right now, it's four rounds. All these points are adding up, and nobody knows better than I do that three points are pretty important.”
  
Hight acknowledged everybody is pushing the envelope to try and produce quicker elapsed times.
  
“I think it's guys really trying, they're not complacent. They're trying to make changes and get quicker because they know how tight everything is, trying to get a leg up.” Hight said. “And the only way you do that is to try things. Sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward, a couple steps. You can't sit still. You've got to be trying things and changing and constantly moving.”
  
Hight’s Camaro is running the black Cornwell Tools paint scheme this weekend, which sits well for him.
“Actually, Cornwell wants to run it next year, so they're really pleased with it. It's easy for us. It's cool, the flat black,” Hight said. “I like it. It's something different. It's funny, we'd already asked them if we could run it at Vegas because that body was lighter than the blue body. And sure enough, right after we asked them, we blow the blue body up. Maybe should have waited until that race was over to ask.”

Hight knows that to keep pace with the competition teams like his – John Force Racing – must keep evolving.

“Even last year with all the wins we had, we were constantly trying to get better and improve and get quicker. It's a never-ending process,” Hight said. “And sometimes you look at Brittany (Force’s) (Top Fuel dragster), she had the best car on the planet last year, and a lot of the competition caught up to her. So, her crew chief (David Grubnic) decided to make some big changes over the winter, and it's cost him. But in the long run he's still sticking with it because he believes in the long run it's going to put him back ahead of everybody.”

Hight acknowledged that staying in front of the competition is no easy task.

“I think all the cars out here are pretty equal. NHRA has done a good job with the rules,” he said. “And it's really about managing horsepower with the clutch, traction and getting the chassis to be right and all of that, that's where really your gains are at today.”