NHRA
Sonoma: Mike Neff preview
NEFF LOOKING TO EXTEND JFR SONOMA STREAK SONOMA, CA (July 22, 2009) --- Over the past three NHRA national events Mike Neff and the Ford Drive One Mustang team have been moving in and out of the Full Throttle points top ten. As the team exited ...
Published: Oct 2, 2009, 4:38 PM
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NEFF LOOKING TO EXTEND JFR SONOMA STREAK
SONOMA, CA (July 22, 2009) --- Over the past three NHRA national events Mike Neff and the Ford Drive One Mustang team have been moving in and out of the Full Throttle points top ten. As the team exited Seattle Neff and his Ford Drive One Mustang team was sitting in 9th place and poised to move up as the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads to Infineon Raceway for the 22nd annual FRAM Autolite NHRA Nationals this weekend.
During the Seattle race Neff's Mustang grabbed the No. 2 qualifying position but was less than dominant in qualifying until the last session. Still on Saturday night Neff was pleased with the team's performance and he knew they were moving in the right direction.
"We have been trying to run good every run we just kept putting cylinders out. We knew that if it would just run on all eight it would run pretty good. That is exactly what happened. We made enough changes to get it to run on all eight cylinders and it put up a good run. We are excited about that. We really needed something good to carry over into (Sunday)," said Neff.
As the team rolls into Sonoma they know that they could be battling hot temperatures. Luckily the superior race surface at Infineon Raceway will give all the teams a decent shot at putting up good numbers. Neff knows that teams have to be able to overcome the elements at this stretch of the Western Swing.
"The hot conditions are the trickiest. I would always rather make a good run in the heat. That is what you are most likely to be racing in. John Medlen and the boys have been working hard the past two races and all season long to make this Ford Drive One Mustang one of the top funny cars out there. I think we are right around the corner from finding the consistency we need," said Neff.
Mike Neff and teammate Robert Hight are locked into one of the tightest points battles in recent Countdown to One history. Neff is currently in 9th place with 683 points, rookie Matt Hagan in is 10th place with 669, reigning funny car champion Cruz Pedregon is in 11th place with 662 and Hight is in 12th place with 626 points. With each round win worth 20 points fortunes can change on a Sunday afternoon in the blink of an eye.
"Qualifying is important and going rounds on Sunday is important. In Seattle we made up some ground by qualifying number two and going to the second round. Having the guys around us go out in the first round was a plus. We need to go rounds in Sonoma and hopefully help Robert out as well. Our goal all season has been to get all four John Force Racing Mustangs into the Countdown to One and that is what we are going to work towards," concluded Neff.
-credit: jfr
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