POMONA, CA – November 10, 2022 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – An impressive season has put Funny Car’s Robert Hight on the verge of a fourth world championship in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. But with two heavyweight contenders looming, Hight knows he needs to take care of business one more time at this weekend at the 57th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at legendary Auto Club Raceway at Pomona to secure the title.
In what has been the best season of his career to this point, Hight has racked up eight wins, 12 finals appearances and six No. 1 qualifiers in a loaded Funny Car class, a nod to what the veteran and his team have done in their 11,000-horsepower Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS.
Despite the incredible success, defending world champ Ron Capps and Matt Hagan, who has three world titles, are still lurking. Capps is 61 points back and Hagan, who won the most recent race in Las Vegas, is just 63 points behind, meaning Hight’s quest for another title likely needs another great weekend in Pomona.
“I can’t wait to get it going,” Hight said. “The truth is, we’re focused and we’re going to try to get our ninth win. I’m battling with two great drivers, and we’ve battled all season long. I knew it was going to be this way and it’s been great racing all season long. But we’ve got to focus and make eight great runs. If we do that and get our ninth win, we’re the champs and we’ll get to celebrate, and that’s how I want it to play out.”
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) won last year’s race, while Torrence, Capps (Funny Car), Anderson and Smith all claimed world titles in Pomona as well. The race will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 (FS1), including eliminations at 4 p.m. on Sunday, and plenty is on the line to close out the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
The finale is also points-and-a-half, meaning both Capps and Hagan could get to within two rounds of Hight if they close the gap to less than 60 points during qualifying. That puts an onus on every run this weekend, but those are moments where Capps, Hagan and Hight – who have combined for six of the last eight world titles in the class – have thrived throughout their careers.
“All three of us, we’ve been in the trenches, and we understand how everything has to be perfect on these cars to make these great runs,” Capps said. “You’re talking three cars that…
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