Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Funny Car team defeated John Force in the final round of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn. to earn his fifth career Funny Car win and first for the new Ford Performance Mustang.

Bob Tasca III celebrates a very relieving fuel FC victory!

Tasca qualified third at the track famous for its speed with a 3.959-second run at 318.54 mph.

“What an important win,” Tasca said. “This one means so much to me and the whole Motorcraft/Quick Lane team. So much work has gone into getting this new Ford Mustang Funny Car into competition and to win with it here in Bristol is a big deal for us.”

Tasca converted a quicker reaction time into a 4.008-second win at 316.23 mph to Force’s 4.155 at 287.05. Through his role as team owner and driver, Tasca works to help Ford attract and retain automotive technicians by talking to students who attend NHRA’s YES (Youth and Education Services) programs at the track.

Tasca had defeating Jim Campbell, Robert Hight and Ron Capps during earlier eliminations after qualifying 3rd for the eliminator (3.959 secs).

“It’s well-deserved. He’s such a great dealer for us,” said Jasmine Pendleton, marketing manager, Ford Customer Service Division. “We couldn’t have a better representative for Motorcraft. We knew that the new body was going to be fast. The team’s worked so hard over the past year and a half to put this one together and it’s great to see the hard work pay off.”

Tasca debuted the new body at the beginning of the 2019 NHRA season. It was the first new body for Ford in a decade and was the first Ford racecar to skip the full-size prototype phase of development, resulting in a process that had significant cost reduction implications for both road and race vehicle design.

“It’s great to get the first win with the Mustang Funny Car,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “There was a lot of thought and development that went into the project and we could not have done it without the input from Bob and his team as we went through the process. To get that first win against a legend like John Force makes it even more special. We look forward to this being the first of many wins for the new car.”

The Tasca Racing team now competes in Ford’s backyard when the NHRA races in Norwalk, Ohio this weekend (June 20-23, 2019), just hours from the company’s World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.

Posted with files by Lachelle Laney and Bruce Biegler

Photos by Luke Nieuwhof

Iconic John Force came close again to his milestone 150th win — but was denied in the final round.

Event Essentials:   NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals (June 14-16th, 2019) 

Points leader Robert Hight fell in round#2 at Bristol’s event.

Ron Capps had a strong “final four” placing with his Napa Dodge.

Now racing a Dodge body — Cruz Pedregon qualified #11 but lost out in round #1.