{"id":14723,"date":"2011-02-27T21:40:10","date_gmt":"2011-02-28T04:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again\/"},"modified":"2013-02-17T18:08:47","modified_gmt":"2013-02-18T01:08:47","slug":"team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Force Break&#8217;s Hagen&#8217;s Heart in Pomona Again!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mr_social_sharing_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- Social Sharing Toolkit v2.2 --><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrideisme.com%2FBlog%2Fteam-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again%2F&amp;media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrideisme.com%2FBlog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F02%2F2011-NHRA-winternationals-Hight-Hagan.jpg&amp;description=Team+Force+Break%E2%80%99s+Hagen%E2%80%99s+Heart+in+Pomona+Again%21\" class=\"pin-it-button\" count-layout=\"none\" rel=\"lightbox[14723]\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/images\/PinExt.png\" title=\"Pin It\" \/><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><fb:share-button type=\"button_count\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again\/\"><\/fb:share-button><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-count=\"horizontal\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again\/\" data-via=\"myrideisme\" data-text=\"Team Force Break\u2019s Hagen\u2019s Heart in Pomona Again!\"><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><div class=\"g-plusone\" data-size=\"medium\" data-annotation=\"none\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again\/\"><\/div><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a class=\"mr_social_share_email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Team Force Break\u2019s Hagen\u2019s Heart in Pomona Again!&amp;body=https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-sharing-toolkit\/images\/icons_small\/email.png\" class=\"nopin\" alt=\"Email\" title=\"Email\"\/><span class=\"mr_small_icon\">Email<\/span><\/a><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"linksalpha_button linksalpha_link\" href=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/social\/mobile\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again\/\" data-text=\"Team Force Break\u2019s Hagen\u2019s Heart in Pomona Again!\" data-desc=\"2011 Winternationals \"Hole Shot\" win for Hight TEAM JFR RACE REPORT 1st of 22 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series 51st annual Kragen O\u2019Reilly NHRA Winternationals Auto Club Raceway at Pomona Pomona, Calif. Feb. 24-27, 2011 * * * * Final round results from Sunday\u2019s 51st annual Kragen\" data-image=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/2011-NHRA-winternationals-Hight-Hagan.jpg\" data-button=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/images\/social_share_button.png\" alt=\"Share\" class=\"linksalpha_image\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/scripts\/loader_iconbox.js?v=2.4\"><\/script><\/span><\/div><h3>2011 Winternationals &#8220;Hole Shot&#8221; win for Hight<\/h3>\n<p><a class=\"highslide\" onclick=\"return vz.expand(this)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/2011-NHRA-winternationals-Hight-Hagan.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[14723]\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-14724\" style=\"border: 2px solid black; margin: 4px;\" title=\"2011 NHRA Winternationals Funny Car Showdown\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/2011-NHRA-winternationals-Hight-Hagan.jpg\" alt=\"2011 Winternationals, Funny Car, funny car racing, winternational results\" width=\"575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/2011-NHRA-winternationals-Hight-Hagan.jpg 2128w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/2011-NHRA-winternationals-Hight-Hagan-150x99.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/2011-NHRA-winternationals-Hight-Hagan-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/2011-NHRA-winternationals-Hight-Hagan-400x266.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2128px) 100vw, 2128px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>TEAM JFR RACE REPORT<\/strong><br \/>\n1st of 22 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series<\/p>\n<h4>51st annual Kragen O\u2019Reilly NHRA Winternationals<br \/>\nAuto Club Raceway at Pomona<\/h4>\n<p>Pomona, Calif.<\/p>\n<p>Feb. 24-27, 2011<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<p>Final round results from Sunday\u2019s 51st annual Kragen O\u2019Reilly Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, first race in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:<\/p>\n<p>FUNNY CAR \u2013 Robert Hight, Yorba Linda, Calif., Auto Club Ford Mustang, 4.056, 312.71 mph, def. Matt Hagan, Christiansburg, Va., DieHard Dodge Charger, 4.023, 310.20 mph.<\/p>\n<p>TOP FUEL \u2013 Morgan Lucas, Brownsburg, Ind., GEICO\/Lucas Oil dragster3.835, 316.38 mph def. Shawn Langdon, Brownsburg, Ind., Lucas Oil dragster, 4.047, 313.73 mph<\/p>\n<p>PRO STOCK \u2013 Jason Line, Mooresville, NC, Summit Pontiac GXP, 6.529, 211.89 mph def. Greg Stanfield, Bossier city, La., Safety Sentry Inc. Pontiac GXP, 6.595, 210.70 mph<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<h4>HIGHT WINS WINTERNATIONALS FOR THIRD TIME<\/h4>\n<p>POMONA &#8212; Robert Hight had to endure a long cold winter. Beginning with his last round win in Brainerd at the Lucas Oil Nationals in August the 41-year old former crewman\u2019s season ground to a halt when over the next seven races Hight posted a 0-6 record with an October DNQ in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<p>Those struggles and tribulations lasted for an extra few weeks as the NHRA started its 60th anniversary season two weeks later than usual opening the season this weekend at the 51st NHRA Kragen O\u2019Reilly NHRA Winternationals.<\/p>\n<p>That is all past history as Hight drove his Auto Club Ford Mustang to the winner\u2019s circle for the third time to open the season today. Hight defeated a \u201cWho\u2019s Who\u201d of tough competitors. In the first round he dispatched fellow Ford racer Bob Tasca III and then he out-distanced boss and 15-time funny car champion John Force. In the semi-finals Hight had to outrun Don Schumacher Racing veteran Ron Capps before besting DSR\u2019s young star Matt Hagan in the final. In the final Hight used a reaction time advantage to beat Hagan on a hole shot. The win was reminiscent of Force\u2019s 2010 Winternationals hole shot win over Capps.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe biggest deal for me is how long it has been since we have won even a round.  It goes clear back to Brainerd last year,\u201d said Hight, a 19-time NHRA national event winner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only thing that made (last year) good was John winning everything and Ashley (Force Hood) winning the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. We stayed together as a team. What is really important to me is this is the fourth year in a row that my team has been together, 100% of them. That makes it so easy to get out here and do what you know how to do. You don\u2019t have to train new people and everyone knows how to do their job. It makes it that much more special when you win because you pulled together and you stayed together. I was on John\u2019s teams a lot of years and we had the same nucleus of guys. You become a family. They are like brothers to you and that is what makes these times so special. To win the Winternationals to start the year it has been a long winter. To win at Auto Club Raceway is just awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This was Hight\u2019s third win at the Winternationals (2006 and 2008) and it was John Force Racing\u2019s 8th win in eleven events at Auto Club Raceway. Last year John Force won both events in Pomona and Mike Neff closed out the 2009 NHRA season with a win here.<\/p>\n<p>Hight will leave his home track with the points lead and for the seventh year in a row Hight has had the points lead at some point in the season. No other driver has ever led the points at least once for every year of their career. He is now tied with legendary driver Don \u201cSnake\u201d Prudhomme for second most career times holding the Funny Car points lead. John Force is the all-time leader with eighteen seasons as points leader.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Neff shook the rust off after a one year break from racing to come within a few hundredths of a second from facing Hight in the final. In the semis Neff dropped a tight race to Hagan. Neff\u2019s Castrol GTX Ford Mustang was actually quicker on the track but a slight starting line advantage gave Hagan the win. Neff was pleased with his team\u2019s overall performance and tough on himself.<\/p>\n<p>He battled clutch gremlins throughout the day and thought he had the problem cured before the semi-final race.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor whatever reason when we tested in Florida everything went smooth and in qualifying here everything went well. Then the first run today it wore an excess of clutch. It put a cylinder out in the first round. I thought that was kind of a fluke deal. I didn\u2019t do a lot about it,\u201d said the two-time funny car champion crew chief.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt got even worse the second round. It murdered the clutch on that run. This last run I had to make some big moves to make the clutch wear I got it a lot better. It was still not anywhere close to where I wanted. It was one of those deals that it was good for a while then things change once and a while\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am just kind of disappointed in myself. For whatever reason I was just dead late right there. The bummer is all through testing and qualifying I was cutting good lights. That is the worst light I have had all year. I have been out of the car for a year. Doing it in qualifying or testing is one thing but race day is what counts. I don\u2019t have any excuses. I was just dead late.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Team leader John Force did not accept Neff\u2019s tough self assessment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(Neff) did his job for Castrol. That is what matters to me. Everyone is watching to see if we are going to fall apart this weekend,\u201d said Force a 132-time winner. \u201cWe all stayed in the game. That is what is most important. (Neff\u2019s) got overload as crew chief and driver but he did both your jobs well. That is all we expect. We\u2019ll take good and then we\u2019ll turn that into great.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The three John Force Racing Mustangs will head to Gainesville in first, third, and fifth place in the Full Throttle points standings.<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<h4>FULL THROTTLE POINT STANDINGS<\/h4>\n<p>FUNNY CAR &#8211; 1. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 118; 2. Matt Hagan, 93; 3. Mike Neff, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 78; 4. Ron Capps, 73; 5. Cruz Pedregon, 63; 6. John Force, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 55; 6. Jim Head, 55; 8. Jeff Arend, 51; 9. Johnny Gray, 43; 10. Gary Densham, 32; 10. Bob Bode, 32; 10. Paul Lee, 32; 10. Jack Beckman, 32<\/p>\n<p>TOP FUEL &#8211; 1. Morgan Lucas, 114; 2. Shawn Langdon, 94; 3. Antron Brown, 82; 4. Del Worsham, 74; 5. Larry Dixon, 64; 6. Tony Schumacher, 58; 7. Spencer Massey, 57; 8. Doug Kalitta, 53; 9. Terry McMillen, 51; 10. Steve Torrance, 33; 10. Brandon Bernstein, 33; 10. TJ Zizzo, 33; 10. Bob Vandergriff, 33<\/p>\n<p>PRO STOCK &#8211; 1. Jason Line, 112; 2. Greg Stanfield, 95; 3. Greg Anderson, 80; 4. Ronnie Humphrey, 72; 5. Erica Enders, 61; 6. Ron Krisher, 57; 7. Kurt Johnson, 53; 8. Vincent Nobile, 51; 9. Allen Johnson, 38; 10. V Gaines, 35<\/p>\n<h4>THE DRIVERS<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">JOHN FORCE<\/span>, 61, Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang<\/p>\n<p>Final Qualifying: 5th at 4.093 seconds, 305.84 mph<\/p>\n<p>Bonus Qualifying Points: +1 (3rd quickest of Q1)<\/p>\n<p>Race Results: Beat Paul Lee. Lost to Robert Hight.<\/p>\n<p>Quotable:  \u201cWe are excited but at the end of the day Auto Club, Castrol, Ford, Mac Tools, BrandSource we are doing our job today. Mike Neff got bit there but he is new in the seat. His hot rod ran. He just got beat. Robert Hight is still in. We are excited about it. Most of all I am a fan and I am tripping out here. \u201c\u2013 JOHN FORCE<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">MIKE NEFF<\/span>, 44, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang<\/p>\n<p>Final Qualifying: 3rd at 4.060 seconds, 312.42 mph<\/p>\n<p>Bonus Qualifying Points: +2 (2nd quickest of Q2)<\/p>\n<p>Race Results: Beat Tim Wilkerson, Jim Head. Lost to Matt Hagan<\/p>\n<p>Quotable: \u201cI feel good. You are always a little disappointed whenever you lose. As a whole for the first race I feel pretty good. We ran pretty solid until today. The one thing I know is the Mustang is reacting well.\u201d  \u2013 MIKE NEFF<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ROBERT HIGHT<\/span>, 41, Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang<\/p>\n<p>Final Qualifying: 4th at 4.071 seconds, 313.00 mph<br \/>\nBonus Qualifying Points: +3 (3rd quickest of Q2 and 2nd quickest of Q3)<\/p>\n<p>Race Results: Beat Bob Tasca III, John Force, Ron Capps&lt; Matt Hagan<\/p>\n<p>Quotable: \u201cThe NHRA announces they are going to have pewter trophies and you think man I want one of those so bad. You look at the class and it is not that easy to get them. Look at the guys I had to beat today. Bob Tasca III, John Force 15-time champ, Ron Capps and Matt Hagan. It is not that easy. If we would have slipped up just a little in the final we would have been dust.\u201d   \u2013 ROBERT HIGHT<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<p>FOLLOW JOHN FORCE RACING AT www.twitter.com\/jfr_racing.com<\/p>\n<p>****<\/p>\n<p><strong>NEXT NHRA EVENT:<\/strong><br \/>\n42nd annual NHRA Gatornationals, March 10-13, Gainesville, Fla.<\/p>\n<p>12th annual SummitRacing.com Nationals, April 1-3, Las Vegas, Nev.<\/p>\n<p>2nd annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals, April 15-17, Charlotte, N.C.<\/p>\n<p>24th annual O\u2019Reilly Spring Nationals, April 29-May 1, Houston, Texas<\/p>\n<p>31st annual Summit Southern Nationals, May 13-15, Atlanta, Ga.<\/p>\n<p>23rd annual O\u2019Reilly Summer Nationals, May 20-22, Topeka, Kan.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"mr_social_sharing_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- Social Sharing Toolkit v2.2 --><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrideisme.com%2FBlog%2Fteam-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again%2F&amp;media=&amp;description=Team+Force+Break%E2%80%99s+Hagen%E2%80%99s+Heart+in+Pomona+Again%21\" class=\"pin-it-button\" count-layout=\"none\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/images\/PinExt.png\" title=\"Pin It\" \/><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><fb:share-button type=\"button_count\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again\/\"><\/fb:share-button><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-count=\"horizontal\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again\/\" data-via=\"myrideisme\" data-text=\"Team Force Break\u2019s Hagen\u2019s Heart in Pomona Again!\"><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><div class=\"g-plusone\" data-size=\"medium\" data-annotation=\"none\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again\/\"><\/div><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a class=\"mr_social_share_email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Team Force Break\u2019s Hagen\u2019s Heart in Pomona Again!&amp;body=https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-sharing-toolkit\/images\/icons_small\/email.png\" class=\"nopin\" alt=\"Email\" title=\"Email\"\/><span class=\"mr_small_icon\">Email<\/span><\/a><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"linksalpha_button linksalpha_link\" href=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/social\/mobile\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/team-force-breaks-hagens-heart-in-pomona-again\/\" data-text=\"Team Force Break\u2019s Hagen\u2019s Heart in Pomona Again!\" data-desc=\"2011 Winternationals \"Hole Shot\" win for Hight TEAM JFR RACE REPORT 1st of 22 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series 51st annual Kragen O\u2019Reilly NHRA Winternationals Auto Club Raceway at Pomona Pomona, Calif. Feb. 24-27, 2011 * * * * Final round results from Sunday\u2019s 51st annual Kragen\" data-image=\"\" data-button=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/images\/social_share_button.png\" alt=\"Share\" class=\"linksalpha_image\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/scripts\/loader_iconbox.js?v=2.4\"><\/script><\/span><\/div><p>Email 2011 Winternationals &#8220;Hole Shot&#8221; win for Hight TEAM JFR RACE REPORT 1st of 22 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series 51st annual Kragen O\u2019Reilly NHRA Winternationals Auto Club Raceway at Pomona Pomona, Calif. Feb. 24-27, 2011 * * * * Final round results from Sunday\u2019s 51st annual Kragen O\u2019Reilly Winternationals at Auto Club [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[384,19],"tags":[446,319,376],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14723"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14723"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22273,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14723\/revisions\/22273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}