NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

NHRA's Brittany Force and NASCAR's Kurt Busch met the media to preview their championship chases.

Force, far lane, beat Busch in a two-of-three match race in matching COPO Camaros.

Busch then took Force for a high-speed ride around the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway oval.

NHRA Top Fuel standout Brittany Force and NASCAR star Kurt Busch saw their high-speed worlds collide in show-stopping fashion on Wednesday at zMAX Dragway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, where the two hot shoes engaged in a thrilling preview of playoff racing at the world’s only venue to host both an NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship race, the Sept. 16-18 NHRA Carolina Nationals, and a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup event, the Oct. 8 NASCAR Bank of America 500.

Force returns to zMAX Dragway as the track’s most recent winner, having claimed the Top Fuel title at the April 22-24 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Foods, but her return trip to "the Bellagio of dragstrips" was to beat Busch in a best-of-three battle aboard brand-new Chevrolet Camaros, then take a three-lap ride alongside the 2010 Coca-Cola 600 winner. Busch – a drag racing enthusiast – prevailed in the match between two Monster Energy-sponsored racers and offered Force a firsthand view of the adrenaline-fueled excitement that comes with racing on the iconic 1.5-mile superspeedway.

“This is my second home,” Busch said. “There’s a pride factor when you race at Charlotte. When you get a win and you take home one of those trophies, you know you’ve accomplished something.

“What [Force] does on the dragstrip and what I do on the oval, we have a lot of fun with it. … It’s fun to get out of our comfort zones and just go fast.”

Force – who called her introduction to NASCAR “insane” – believes similar feelings will return when she goes for a Top Fuel title and a season sweep at zMAX Dragway.

“I’m definitely pumped,” Force said. “That was a big win for us, especially for me as a driver. … To get to come out here and race Kurt, who is one of my Monster Energy teammates, that was really awesome. It’s a day I’ll never forget for sure.”