Championship homestretch starts for Hight
Richmond, Va. -- Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Ford Mustang have won three races this season including the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. They have been the number one qualifier at four races. They started the Countdown to 1 in third place and in the opening two races they lost because of a miraculous reaction time in one race and then by .003 of a second in another race.
They are not going to talk about the past this anymore. They are totally focused on the future. For Hight the future is the next three Countdown to 1 POWERade events.
There are only twelve rounds of racing left and Hight is a little over three rounds, 74 points, behind points leader Tim Wilkerson. A strong showing at Virginia Motorsports Park could get Hight right back into the POWERade points lead. An early exit by Wilkerson and fellow Countdown to 1 competitors, combined with a Auto Club Ford Mustang final round appearance or win would move Hight right to the front of the pack.
Hight is eager to face off against his fellow Countdown competitors. He knows that every win over someone in the Countdown is really a 40 point swing. He is adding 20 points for moving onto the next round and stopping his competitors from picking up 20 additional points.
“Knocking Countdown guys out early all depends on how the ladder works out. Wilkerson runs just well enough to beat everyone he races. It is tough to beat a guy like that,” said Hight. “There are still twelve rounds left.”
The final three races of the season will be contested at facilities Hight has had success including The Strip at Las Vegas and Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. The track that is the “x” factor is Virginia Motorsports Park. Last year Hight was forced to race at VMP without teammates as John Force Racing evaluated additional safety measures following John Force’s near-career ending crash at the Texas Motorplex. This season he is looking forward to having teammates 2007 rookie of the year Ashley Force, 14-time champion John Force, and 2008 rookie of the year front runner Mike Neff joining him. With three JFR drivers working together Hight feels he still has a good shot at his first championship.
“(Racing for the championship again) is huge but I honestly believed the day I stepped into this car that it could win a championship if I could do my job. I knew the team and (crew chief) Jimmy Prock with the resources we have from the get go it could win a championship. The big question was; can the driver do his job? In the beginning until you have won races and done anything you don’t know. It is not that you doubt yourself you just don’t know because you haven’t done it,” said the two-time championship runner-up. “I still haven’t won a championship but I know I can. There is no doubt in my mind.”
