Courtney Force powered her Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car to the winner’s circle for the second time this season and the 10th time in her career during the NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

The win was also a commemorative one – as it came ten years after sister Ashley Force Hood won the first victory for women in Funny Car at the Southern Nationals.

“It was great to get a win here in Atlanta at the track my sister Ashley (Force Hood) got her first Funny Car win (2008 Southern Nationals). All day long I thought getting a win here would be so cool especially because Ashley is here with us. She doesn’t come to a ton of races so I am glad she can be here to celebrate with me and my team,” Courtney Force said. “I grew up watching Ashley and to see everything she has accomplished in the Funny Car category is great. She has been a mentor and I have always looked up to her. She has always been there to give me advice or anything I needed from my rookie season until now. It has been great to have her support and Brittany’s support. They are my best friends. It will be cool to be in the winner’s circle with them.”

(Courtney Force visited NHRA victory lane for the 10th time in her short career after winning at Atlanta’s fabled Southern Nationals)

Courtney Force opened race day with a squirrely first round run against Jeff Diehl. Force crossed the finish line with a 4.581 after pedaling her Chevy Camaro on the tricky track. Her second-round win over Tim Wilkerson was more routine, she laid down a 4.144 pass at 297.35 to advance to the semifinals.

Without lane choice, Force defeated the most recent NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event winner, Cruz Pedregon with a 4.038 pass at 313.12 to land herself in her second Southern Nationals final round. The round win was a bit of an anomaly coming in the unfavorable left lane.

“We lost lane choice in the second round and the semis but we kept fighting,” Force said. “We were dropping holes and hitting that bump down there. We managed to get it tuned up and stopped it from dropping holes and, with the win in the left lane, we got lane choice in the final round.”

“The second round run was not as easy as it was in Q3. It’s trying out here,” added crew chief Brian Corradi. “I can’t imagine what Courtney thinks when she looks out the front of that windshield and all she sees is tire smoke. She did a great job getting that win over Wilkerson. In the semis we needed everything to work. She did a great job driving and we had the right tune-up. The racetrack is what it is and we’re running the best we can on it. Danny and I are doing our best to give her a consistent race car.”

In the finals, Force outran Matt Hagan with a 4.046-second pass at 313.73 mph in her Advance Auto Parts Chevy. It was the 13th time in her career she had defeated Hagan and third time in a final round.

“We had a great race car all day long. This Advance Auto Parts Camaro team did a phenomenal job all weekend from getting the No. 1 spot to winning the race. We It was a tough match-up like all races against a DSR race car. Our Advance Auto Parts boys got it done and we ended up turning on that win light with a 4.04 to his 4.14. It feels good to be back in the winner’s circle for the second time this season.”

It is Force’s sixth victory from the No. 1 qualifying positions. Her first win of 2018 also came after securing a No. 1 position at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. With the win, Force now takes over the Mello Yello Funny Car points standings by 13 over Jack Beckman who lost to Hagan in the semifinals.

Event Essentials:   NHRA Southern Nationals (May 4-6th, 2018) 

Posted by Sara Slaughter
Photos Courtesy of Marc Gewertz and Gary Nastase