Mustang Club of Maryland

NHRA: Hight Clinch Championships

Two NHRA Full Throttle Series drivers clinched their first world championships at the conclusion of Saturday's qualifying for the NHRA World Finals at Auto Club Speedway.
Hight and teammate Force Hood battled to the final event of the year, with Force Hood just losing the title at Auto Club Speedway Saturday night.

Robert Hight completed a run to the Funny Car championship that seemed improbable at mid-season.

"The best advice John Force ever gave me was to become (crew chief) Jimmy Prock's buddy, and that's what we've done," Hight said. "He's become my brother and my best friend. I still can't believe this happened, John taking a chance on a guy from California who had never driven anything but an F-150 truck, this is a dream come true."

Hight's ascent to the throne was not without controversy. He struggled for much of the season in the Auto Club Ford Mustang with DNQs at both Bristol and Brainerd and seven first-round exits in the first 17 races leading up to the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

"It is unbelievable. It makes it more special when you consider how we got into the Countdown," Hight said. "We were 12th going into Indy. Jimmy Prock just got this thing fixed. It is all about timing. He got it all right at the right time. It could not have happened better."

He was still in the hunt for a berth to the Countdown to 1 at the cutdown race at Indy and needed to go round farther than 2008 champ Cruz Pedregon to punch his ticket to the playoffs. Pedregon lost to Hight's boss and teammate John Force in the second round that day, which set up a semifinal matchup between Force and Hight. All Hight needed to do was beat Force to win the championship.

Hight won that race easily when Force quickly got out of the groove. Pedregon's brother, Tony -- a former Force driver himself -- accused Force of throwing the race. That led to a heated confrontation between Force and Tony Pedregon that was captured by the ESPN cameras.

Hight finished second to teammate Ashley Force Hood at the U.S. Nationals, but that was just the first sign that the sleeping giant had awakened.

"You always believe in your team," Hight said. "I believed that they would turn it around. We worked hard. I tell you what you don’t dream like this. This is absolutely amazing what we have done in the last two months. It is all about believing in your team."

He won at Charlotte and Dallas to vault from 10th to first in the points. His car was regularly among the top qualifiers, so he feasted on bonus points. He was still neck-and-neck with second-place Force Hood heading into Las Vegas. However, a quirk of the ladder saw Force Hood and Hight matched up in the first round at Vegas.

Hight won the matchup and the race to secure a triple-digit lead on his teammate heading into this weekend's race. His qualifying effort this weekend gave him enough points to put the Funny Car title out of reach before the start of Sunday's eliminations.

This is Hight's first championship in five years as a pro. He finished fifth in his rookie season of 2005 and finished second the next two years. He wound up fourth in last year's standings.

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