"We were just racing the wrong guy. I could have beaten John (Force) or I would have been right
with him. We dropped a cylinder. (Crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) thinks it would have run a little
better if it hadn't have dropped that cylinder. We moved up a little (in the points). We are three
rounds back now." - Robert Hight, on 4.32 to 4.30 2nd round loss in Norwalk to John Force
It seems to happen to a racer at least once a race. You watch pair after pair of race cars in front
of you tire smoke, spin or just simply make less than stellar runs but still get a win light while
you make a great lap only to lose because your opponent was just a little quicker.
That scenario played out in Norwalk during the Summit Equipment NHRA Nationals for Robert Hight and
the Auto Club Ford Mustang team. The No. 2 qualifier raced into the second round only to find
himself racing the winningest drag racer of all time John Force. In their race Hight made a solid
4.32 second pass which would have won any of the other three 2nd round races. Unfortunately Force
laid down an impressive 4.30 second lap to defeat Hight.
"We were just racing the wrong guy. My car dropped a cylinder. A ring broke and then it closed the
gap on two plugs and that caused the cylinder to drop. I like knowing what the problem was. We can
fix that. It wasn't our tune up," said Hight. "You see everybody smoking the tires out there. (Crew
chief) Jimmy (Prock) thinks it would have run a little better if it hadn't have dropped that
cylinder. I could have beat John or I would have been right with him."
Going a couple of rounds along with some stumbles by the drivers in front of Hight in points
allowed the two-time championship runner-up to close the gap on entering the Countdown to One Top
Ten.
"We moved up a little. We are three rounds - 55 points - back now. We went down the track five out
of six runs. We were real respectable," added Hight.
Heading into the 30th annual MOPAR Mile High NHRA Nationals Hight knows that performance number
will drop but the key will be adapting to the conditions.
"We are in a really good spot. Jimmy has a car that is tuneable. The key for us is to get a good
solid run in that first session so we can run later in that second session. It worked that way for
us in Norwalk. I miss not being able to walk the track before we run. I told Jimmy that. We were
running so early in the sessions I didn't have time to check out the track and clear my head. It
was great in Norwalk to be at the back in qualifying with (teammate Mike) Neff. We are both
fighting to move up in the points," said Hight.
Denver has been a track that Hight has had considerable success at when you consider he won the
Mile High Nationals his rookie season. He has been No. 1 qualifier twice at Bandimere Speedway and
he is the track record holder in ET and speed. Last year he advanced to the semi-finals before he
was defeated by a red-hot Tim Wilkerson. Hight is looking at this positive success as well as the
fact that his Mustang has come around the past three races to bode well for his team as they try to
break into the Top Ten to kick off the Western Swing.
Did you know.
- Robert Hight will be featured on the cover of an upcoming issue of Drag Racer magazine
which will be on newsstands the first week of July.
- Hight and sister-in-law Ashley Force Hood are featured in an Auto Club of Southern
California television commercial that is getting rave reviews on the Full Throttle Drag racing
Series.
- Hight and his three teammates will be cruising to Cabo San Lucas for New Year's Eve as
part of the John Force Racing Fan Cruise III sponsored by AAA. Fans can get more information by
calling 1-888-874-7222.
Get team info here: http://www.johnforceracing.com
Follow John Force Racing at http://www.twitter.com/jfr_racing
