John Force (Ron Lewis photo)

Bob Tasca (Richard Muir photo)

John Force got past old Ford teammate Bob Tasca III in the first round and Tim Wilkerson in the second to meet Ron Capps in the semifinal.

This race was the second time the pair have raced each other in the semifinals at the New England Nationals. In 2013 Force defeated Capps before losing to daughter Courtney Force in the final. This time the defending New England Nationals winner came up a few thousandths of a second short.

Force was happy with the improved performance of his new Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Cars.

“I am excited for all my Chevrolets that they are performing. We still have work to do but we have room to run. I had a good day but I am still not in that Traxxas Shootout,” said Force. “(Crew chief) Jon Schaffer and this team worked really hard for a number of weeks to just get it back together after I crashed it in Topeka. I want to keep reminding myself of that so I don’t do it again. It is a long way to the championship but I feel good.”