Bristol: Robert Hight preview

HIGHT LOOKING TO THUNDER IN BRISTOL

BRISTOL (May 12, 2008) --- Since former John Force Racing crewman Robert Hight got behind the wheel of the Auto Club Ford Mustang full-time at the start of 2005 he has had almost unbridled success.

He won a national event in only his fourth try (Houston). He picked up the Auto Club Road to the Future Award presented to the NHRA professional rookie of the year in 2005. He narrowly missed winning the Funny Car World Championship in 2006 AND 2007. He owns the two quickest Funny Car ETs in the sport's history 6.636 seconds (Pomona, 2006) and 6.646 seconds (Phoenix, 2006). He became the quickest Funny Car driver to win 100 rounds of racing with a season opening win at the 2008 Winternationals. He is the only Funny Car driver to lead the points standings at some point the last four seasons.

These successes have translated into a reputation as one of the most respected Funny Car drivers on the NHRA POWERade Series. They have not however translated into success at Bristol Dragway.

In his three appearances at the O'Reilly Thunder Nationals Hight has never advanced beyond the first round racking up losses to Jack Wyatt, Phil Burkart Jr., and Jim Head.

"We have struggled at Bristol but we're hopeful we'll turn that trend around this year. We have been making progress with my Auto Club Ford Mustang and I am hoping for more good results in Bristol," said Hight.

Two weeks ago Hight and crew chief Jimmy Prock advanced to the semi-finals in St. Louis before losing to teammate Mike Neff. They are continuing to make some subtle and some not so subtle changes to their 8,000 hp fuel coupe.

"We moved some weight around and we put the fire bottles on the rear. That was 32 pounds. We are trying to move more weight over the rear tires. Weight is traction," said the technically minded Hight. "We also want my Mustang to pick the front end up more which transfers even more weight onto the rear tires. My feeling is as long as I can steer it the more weight transfer you can have on the rear tires the more you can put to it to make it go faster and create power."

All the teams in the John Force Racing stable have strong technical partnerships led by the Coil-Fedderly brain trust. Hight's driving skills combined with his technical skills create a perfect match with crew chief Jimmy Prock. Their relationship is built on a strong foundation of trust and mutual respect.

"After most runs I try and get with Jimmy to tell him what I think happened in the car. I am getting better at communicating what happened with my Auto Club Ford Mustang and I think that is a big plus. Jimmy and I work so well together because we are on the same page," said Hight.

As the 8th annual O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals gets underway this weekend Hight and Prock will be working to bring some of their outside the Tri-State success into the Bristol area.

-www.johnforceracing.com-