NHRA Story » Hight comes to Indy in different position this year

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Hight comes to Indy in different position this year

Thursday, September 02, 2010

The way that Robert Hight looks at it, he has had one heck of a title-defense season in his Auto Club Ford Mustang. He has already set a personal best for victories in a season at four and won three races in a row in early summer. He has led the points for parts of the season and finished the regular season just a few points behind his team owner, John Force.

So as he and his team gear up for what should be an exciting and challenging run in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship playoffs, Hight knows that this is no time for reflection. Sure, his team has come a long way in a year. Last year, the team barely qualified for the playoffs and then made a thrilling underdog charge to take the crown.

As he prepares to try to win his third Funny Car title at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil Sept. 1-6, Hight comes to historic O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis for the world’s most prestigious drag race with a quiet sense of confidence based on his team’s consistent efforts during the regular season.

“The most I had ever won in a season was three races, and we have already won four this year,” Hight said. “At this point last year, we hadn’t even been in a final. We were very optimistic as the 2010 season started, hoping to start off where we finished last year. We have done that. What matters now is what we do going forward. If we stay together as a team and work together, help each other like we have always done in the past, then I believe our chances are good. You are never going to predict a championship, but I am very optimistic.”

Hight comes to Indy riding a streak of four consecutive final-round appearances at the Big Go. After wins in 2006 and 2008, Hight would like to add a third trophy to his collection. Last year, he finished a close second to teammate Ashley Force Hood, who made history by becoming only the third woman to win drag racing’s Super Bowl in a pro division.

Force Hood leads a host of competitors who will be trying to win the prestigious event and get their playoff runs off to a good start. The Funny Car field has proven to be one of the most competitive classes of the season with eight winners. In the past, several first-time Funny Car winners have emerged in Indy as well. Force, who has won the race four times, three-time winner Cruz Pedregon, and past winners Del Worsham, Jim Head, and Tim Wilkerson are certainly in the mix. The field also contains a host of drivers who are hungry to win the race for the first time, including Ron Capps, Tony Pedregon, Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan, and Bob Tasca III.

“This is the biggest race we have all year long,” Hight said. “This is the granddaddy of them all. Don Garlits once told me that because I had won Indy, I could retire now. I want to win championships, though. I want to win more Indys and more championships. This is a great place to start the Countdown, and we have had good luck there.”

And when it comes to the Countdown, Hight has shown that he can make it happen, no matter what position he’s in at the beginning of the playoffs.

“We proved last year that if you are in the top 10, you can win it,” Hight said. “It is all about timing, having your act together, and getting your combination right. You also need some luck along the way.”

• SCHEDULE: The first of five qualifying sessions is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Sept. 3. Two sessions will be held Sept. 4, at 3 and 6 p.m., and the final two qualifying sessions will take place Sept. 5 at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. Sept. 6.

• TICKETS: Call 800-884-NHRA (6472) or log on to www.NHRAtix.com.

• ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise more than 10 hours of coverage of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil. One hour of qualifying coverage will air Sept. 5 at 10 a.m. ET. NHRA Race Day presented by Lucas Oil, a 30-minute newsmagazine show, will air Sept. 5 at 11 a.m. ET. Two more qualifying shows will air Sept. 5, a two-and-a-half-hour show at 11:30 a.m. ET and a two-hour show at 5 p.m. ET. Five hours of final eliminations coverage will air Sept. 6 at 1 p.m. ET.

• LUCAS OIL SERIES: The Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil also will feature competition in all categories of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, in which some of the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series get their starts. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 1, and eliminations begin at 8 a.m. Sept. 2 and continue through Sept. 6.

• GET SCREENED AMERICA PRO MOD SERIES: NHRA’s newest touring series will make its eighth start of the 10-race season at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil. The series features some of the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars, with an eclectic mix of vintage and late-model body styles in quarter-mile competition. The first of four rounds of qualifying will be held Sept. 3 at 4:30 p.m. The first round of eliminations is scheduled for Sept. 5. Eliminations will continue Sept. 6.

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