Ordinarily, NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series testing wouldn’t merit much coverage.
But Courtney Force’s run Friday at the Nitro Spring Training test at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park was no ordinary run.
In fact, Force dropped the hammer in her new Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS for John Force Racing at an unofficial national elapsed time record of 3.804 seconds in the 1,000-foot distance, at 333.33 mph.
“It was a pretty unbelievable run,” Force said in a team release. “It’s all thanks to these guys; I’m just the one piloting the car down to the other end. But it was really exciting hearing them come on the radio and be so excited about it.
“It’s great being out here at Phoenix testing. We’re going to try some new things tomorrow and just see what the car does. So far, we’re definitely happy with it.”
The official record was set last year by Matt Hagan at 3.822 seconds in a Dodge, on August 20 in Brainerd, Minn.
Force’s unofficial record time came after an earlier career best time of 3.847 seconds at 331 mph set earlier in the day.
.@courtneyforce talks about her amazing 3.804-second run with the @AdvanceAuto Chevy. #NitroSpringTraining #NHRA pic.twitter.com/owQYJ24TBx
— John Force Racing (@JFR_Racing) February 4, 2017
My @AdvanceAuto team is seriously awesome. We just unofficially ran the quickest funny car ET in history!! A 3.804 at 333.33mph! What a ride https://t.co/W7tOAzaRvb
— Courtney Force (@courtneyforce) February 4, 2017
Here's my last pass of a 3.847 at 331mph! Getting ready for one more! @AdvanceAuto @TeamChevy #TestDay https://t.co/hCviioe4Op
— Courtney Force (@courtneyforce) February 3, 2017
Just hopped out of my @AdvanceAuto Chevy at the top end of the race track after running a career best 3.847! @TeamChevy @peakauto @QALORing pic.twitter.com/LrxcqGh6m7
— Courtney Force (@courtneyforce) February 3, 2017
Lest Courtney be the only speed demon on the day, Leah Pritchett topped the Top Fuel times in her Papa John’s dragster at 3.677 seconds, unofficially tied for the fourth fastest pass in Top Fuel history.
That official record is a 3.671, set by Steve Torrence at Sonoma on July 31 of last year.
A full report on the day’s sessions is linked here via NHRA’s website, while a rundown of the record times is linked here.