NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

A world championship may not be in the equation for Funny Car standout Robert Hight this season when he heads to historic Auto Club Raceway in Pomona for the Auto Club NHRA Finals, Nov. 10-13, but the 2009 world champion can end his year in the next best way and that’s finishing the season with a win.

Hight and his 10,000-horsepower Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS have proven to be capable of winning events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship, but the California native has come up short at each of the first five playoff races. There is one last chance to amend that in Pomona, while also giving the team plenty of good vibes heading into 2017.

“Getting a win in Pomona would be huge because that is the one you remember all off-season,” Hight said. “If you can win the last race, you end the season on a high note.  The key is just consistency. We made every qualifying run in Dallas in the 3.80-second range and then ran in the 3.80s the first two rounds of eliminations. These Funny Cars are a handful now and you have to be on top of them all the time. I am steering a lot on every run. They create a lot of power and are a lot of fun to drive.”

Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of the season-ending event that will be aired for the first time on FOX Sports 1 this November. On Sunday, FS1 will televise three hours of live finals coverage starting at 4 p.m. (ET). It is the final race in the Countdown to the Championship in what has been a solid 2016 season for Hight.

He picked up an early-season win in Gainesville, posted a strong showing at the Traxxas Nitro Shootout and is 42 points back of reigning world champion Del Worsham for a spot in the top five. But Hight, who has 37 career wins, also lamented missed opportunities that came his team’s way in 2016.

“When you start the season I think you want to get some wins early and get locked in to the Traxxas Shootout which we did,” Hight said. “Then you want to be consistent throughout the season and get a spot in the Countdown. We did that and we got to the final round of the Traxxas Shootout for the third year in a row.

“Those are positive steps. We came into the Countdown with a lot of confidence and just didn’t capitalize. We have done some things well in the Countdown with our qualifying but we need to get wins. We will focus on Pomona and then as soon as that race is over we’ll take some time off and then start getting ready for 2017.”

Hight has two No. 1 qualifiers in the Countdown – both coming at AAA and Auto Club-sponsored events – but hasn’t advanced out of the semifinals, as Ron Capps has cemented his No. 1 spot. Capps leads Tommy Johnson Jr. by 64 points in his quest for his first world title, but Hight has his own sights set on finishing strong in Pomona.

“I think we have made a lot of progress on the performance side of things,” Hight said. “I think we have a race car that can win races. This Auto Club Camaro team really worked well together this season and I am looking for a strong finish. This is a home track race for me so I’ll sleep in my own bed and have lots of friends and family at the race.”
 
Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying feature two rounds at 11:45 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28, and two final rounds of qualifying on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 11:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30.
  
Tickets are available at NHRA.com/tickets or by calling 1-800-884-NHRA. Kids 12 & under can see it all for free with a general admission ticket, while all students can save 50 percent on general admission at the gate with a student ID.