The timing is perfect as two-time Top Fuel World Champion Brittany Force returns to Virginia Motorsports Park this week.
Desperate for a win after a troubled start to the 2024 season, the 37-year-old can't wait to get her 12,000-horsepower HendrickCars.com Chevrolet back on the all-concrete surface where she set track records for time (3.654 seconds) and speed (335.82 mph), paving the way for her to win the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals in 2022, the last time the race was run.
“We're excited to return to Richmond with HendrickCars.com as our primary sponsor,” said the NHRA national record holder in both time and speed (3.623 seconds, 338.94 mph), “especially after a strong weekend at Bristol. The team has been making progress on the track and we're starting to see results on race day.”
As a semifinalist at the most recent tour event, the former NHRA Rookie of the Year has qualified for the Mission #2 Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge with a chance to upset points leader Doug Kalitta in the standings. This will be her first time competing in a bonus race since losing to Tony Schumacher in the Phoenix final in April.
The 16-time Tour winner is also excited about the unique changes to his routine.
“Richmond is making a change,” she said. “It will be a two-day event, which is a first in my career. I'm excited to see the fans' reaction to the event on Saturday and Sunday. It will definitely speed things up and I'm hoping for a good result (for the team).”
Three qualifying sessions will take place on Saturday, with the final two culminating in the #2Fast2Tasty competition, to determine the competitors for Sunday's qualifiers on what is expected to be a very hot track surface.
Brittany's win at the 2022 VMP extended John Force Racing's Virginia Nationals success, including a win over Steve Torrence in the final round. With this win, she became just the fifth JFR driver to hoist the trophy in the event's 13 runnings since first doing so in 1995. Additionally, she has never started further back than third in the qualifying standings in her last three appearances.
This story was originally published on June 19, 2024. 
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