Robert Hight - Ford interview 2008-10-08

This Week in Ford Racing

Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang, is in third place, 74 points off the pace, in the NHRA POWERade Countdown to 1 heading into this weekend's Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park. Hight is also an avid Los Angeles Dodgers fan - he threw out the first pitch at a game on July 30 - and he's been keeping a close eye on that team's run through the MLB playoffs.

ROBERT HIGHT - Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang

THE COUNTDOWN RETURNS AFTER A ONE-WEEK BREAK. HOW DID YOU SPEND THAT OFF-WEEK? "Thinking about racing. I went to Indy with my team and worked last week, and went home and spent the weekend with my family. And, actually, right now I'm in Rockingham, North Carolina, testing, just trying to work out a few little things that we think are biting us, and that way we'll just try to make sure that we're 100-percent ready for Richmond and the last three races."

YOU'RE 74 POINTS OUT WITH THREE RACES REMAINING. DO YOU HAVE TO GUARD AGAINST TRYING TO MAKE IT ALL UP EACH RUN DOWN THE TRACK? COULD PATIENCE BE A PROBLEM? "No, not at all. We have to just [think about] one run at a time, starting with qualifying, because that's what's the most important thing, is to get qualified. Each round, whoever you're racing, it doesn't matter. We have to do everything right, and when we do we usually win, and when we don't - make mistakes, drop cylinders, different things - we get beat. That's what we're here working on."

WHAT IS THE MOOD OF THE TEAM RIGHT NOW? "Upbeat. And we're optimistic. We believe we can do it. Seventy-four points isn't that much. Honestly, you could leave the next race, leave Richmond, with the points lead, if everything fell our way and the other guys fell out. We can't control what they do, we just have to do what we know how to do, and if we do that we'll be all right."

YOU THREW OUT THE FIRST PITCH AT A LOS ANGELES DODGERS GAME EARLIER THIS YEAR. AT THAT TIME, DID YOU THINK THE TEAM WOULD DO THIS WELL? ARE YOU FOLLOWING THE PLAYOFFS CLOSELY? "Oh, big time. I went to the game Saturday night when I was home, when they clinched it versus the Cubs. It's very exciting. You know, they had a stretch there where they lost eight in a row, and they came back. You know what? If we do the same thing with the race team, it's not over yet. A lot of people would've written them off when they lost eight in a row, and they ended up getting five or six games back, and they just kept working at it, working as a team, and they came through, and that's what we need to do. It's exciting watching them, and, you know, we're going to have a Dodgers car the last two races of the year."

-credit: ford racing