Force Sisters Lead Day Two Of NHRA U.S. Nationals Test Session

Words and photos courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

The defending Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force powered atop the Top Fuel competitors on day two of the Indianapolis test session. The 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series continues with the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals August 29-September 3, and the test session allows teams an opportunity to dial in their respective tune-ups prior to the final regular season race of the NHRA schedule.
Force drove her Monster Energy dragster to a run of 3.739 seconds at 330.55 mph to send her to the top of the day’s leaders.
“I’m excited to be back out here with my team, because we’ve been struggling this year so this testing is very important to us,” Force said. “We are fighting to stay in the top 10 right now so we are trying to get this car figured out and setup next weekend so we can have a strong race.”
Eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher powered his U.S. Army dragster to a 3.779 at 329.58 to improve upon his run from Wednesday and record the second-best pass of the day.
Clay Millican, the No. 1 qualifier at the 2017 Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, had a run of 3.979 at 244.96 on the day as he looks for his first-ever win at Indianapolis.

“This has been a great test session because every time we have stepped on the gas this car has responded well,” Millican said. “Winning this event would be awesome, because we want to enter the Countdown second in the standings. The guaranteed way to do that is to win the race, which I feel like we can do every time we show up.”
Three-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown topped out at 6.278 at 108.45 on the day, as his Matco Tools team looks to get dialed in prior to race weekend.
“This test session has gone well for us so far, we’ve been trying some different clutch discs out, but we have been on the aggressive side to see what this track will hold,” Brown said. “We are just working on making our package better and testing some new parts so we can come out here and be ready for the first round of qualifying on Friday.”
The current Funny Car points leader Courtney Force jumped atop the pack after driving to a 3.884 at 327.82 as she aims for her first career win at Indianapolis. Defending Funny Car world champion Robert Hight had the second-best run of the day with a 3.898 at 331.20 as he looks to enter the Countdown in position for his second straight title.

Wednesday

 

The 2012 Funny Car world champion Jack Beckman led all competitors in the class at the Indianapolis Test Session on Wednesday at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. The 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series continues with the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals August 29-September 3, and the test session allows teams an opportunity to dial in their respective tune-ups prior to the final regular season race of the NHRA schedule.
Beckman powered his Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger R/T to a pass of 3.908 seconds at 327.35 mph to send him to the top of leader board.
Bob Tasca III was right behind Beckman in his Ford Performance Chevrolet Mustang with a 3.958 at 317.05 as he is still fighting for a top-10 position in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
The current Funny Car points leader Courtney Force drove to a 4.185 at 237.30 as she aims for her first career win at Indianapolis.
“We’re excited to be out here for two days of testing with this Advance Auto Parts team to get ready for the U.S. Nationals,” C. Force said. “This is huge to get this car running more consistently so we are hoping to find the changes we need before getting into race weekend.”
The defending U.S. Nationals event winner J.R. Todd put together a 3.978 run at 308.92 as the former Top Fuel competitor looks for his second straight Indy Funny Car title.

“This is one of our most important test sessions of the year, because we are getting ready for both the U.S. Nationals and the Countdown,” Todd said. “This is the perfect time for us to test the parts and pieces, and make our stuff better and to bring the performance of our car around.”

Eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher and defending world champion Brittany Force are tied atop the Top Fuel class with identical 3.791 passes on the day. Schumacher had the quicker of the two passes at 326.71 mph, while Force clocked in at 324.59. Both drivers are entering the U.S. Nationals with their sights on a second Top Fuel victory this season as they prepare for the Countdown to the Championship.

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