FUNNY CAR

As the No. 6 qualifier, Robert Hight had to work his way through a tough trio of drivers to reach his 54th career final round against Tommy Johnson Jr. From the second round to the winner’s circle Hight drove his Chevy Funny Car quicker and faster than he had in his career and he got the win with a solid 3.956 seconds in front of Johnson Jr’s 4.130-second run.

“We had a really good Chevrolet Camaro. It was running good and we were running a little quicker than Tommy Johnson Jr. I felt good but when you have these kinds of conditions you just never know what you are going to get. This Auto Club Chevy was a handful to drive today. We changed a bunch of things on the car and it is carrying the front end. I am not going to get cocky. The DSR cars have been dominant and really good. I would say we closed the gap this weekend but we have a lot of work to do,” said Hight, after picking up his first win at Brainerd International Raceway in eleven tries.  

The win was Hight’s first of 2015 in his second final round appearance and it came on the final day he could clinch a guaranteed spot in the lucrative Traxxas Nitro Shootout. Hight will join teammate John Force as the second Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car driver in the current seven car field. The eighth spot is open to a fan vote and lottery selection.

“Brainerd has been a horrible race for me; the worst one on tour. To finally get a win here will give me a little confidence coming back here next year. Bristol was a killer for me too for a while. We got in the Traxxas Shootout with that win which is big. To have my name mentioned with Don Prudhomme and Cruz Pedregon that is impressive,” said the 35-time tour winner.

Hight moved into a three-way tie for fourth all-time in Funny Car wins with Don Prudhomme and Cruz Pedregon. The win was also the 240th Funny Car win for John Force Racing.

In the first round Hight had to pedal his Chevy Funny Car to get around veteran driver Ron Capps. Hight took the win 4.172 seconds to 4.373 seconds. It was Hight’s slowest elapsed time of the day.

Over the course of the next two rounds Hight lowered his career best time from 3.974 seconds to 3.935 seconds in his second round win over Brian Stewart to 3.928 seconds in his semi-final win over Tim Wilkerson. Hight also ran his fastest speed ever in competition in the second round, 325.69 mph.