John Force Racing drivers John and Courtney Force set the pace in Funny Car on the first day of qualifying for the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pennsylvania. The patriarch of the family set the top time of the day with a 3.987-second run, the first-ever three-second run for a JFR car, and on the same pass, his youngest daughter set a record for the fastest pass in Funny Car history at 329.42 mph.
“I’m excited right now,” said the elder Force. “(Crew chief) Jimmy Prock is throwing hardball right now. We feel really good about a run like that.”
“Dad keeps one-upping me,” said Courtney. “My guys are stoked that we ran 329. We’re all going to make copies of the time slip. The run felt unbelievable. When I got out at the top end, they told me my dad ran in the threes. I was like, ‘Well, what did I run?’ When they told me it went 329, I said, ‘I’ll take it!’”
Jack Beckman, who set the E.T. record (3.986 seconds) last year at Maple Grove, sits third after a pass of 4.034 seconds (318.99 mph).
Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Michael Ray (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also led first day qualifying at Maple Grove.
Qualifying for the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals concludes Saturday at 11:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. ET; eliminations get underway Sunday beginning at 11 a.m. ET. Keep up with the action at www.nhra.com.
Quotes in this piece provided by the NHRA.
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