Drag Illustrated Issue 152, January 2020 | Page 67

[ NHRA FUNNY CAR ]
Robert H ight
R
obert Hight has never had a
problem with big finishes, winning
a pair of Funny Car world titles on
the strength of hot performances
in the Countdown.
That happened again in 2019, as Hight became
just the fifth driver in NHRA Funny Car history
to win three championships by putting together
a steady performance in the playoffs.
But how this 2019 season will be remembered
will be one where Hight was dominant from Po-
mona to Pomona. He won the opening race in
Pomona and then led 23 out of 24 races, only
slipping momentarily at the Countdown opener.
Hight won six races, went to nine final rounds
and was left feeling proud with a true start-to-
finish performance.
“It’s unbelievable,” Hight starts. “To win six rac-
es from start to finish, lead the points from start
to finish which has been a dream of mine since
the Countdown era, and with the competition
level in Funny Car, this is by far the championship
I’m going to cherish the most because we earned
it. We did our job.
“This has been the steadiest year I’ve ever had
and that’s a real tribute to the Auto Club team
and Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham,” Hight
continues. “It’s amazing. I’m
the luckiest guy in the world
to drive this Funny Car.”
Hight continued to put his
name among the elite in Fun-
ny Car history. He remains 100
wins behind his boss, John
Force, but that gives Hight 51
career wins, picking up the
milestone 50th win earlier this
year in Sonoma.
Paired with standout crew
chief Prock, it’s almost been
unfair for the rest of the class.
Hight, known as one of the
best drivers in the NHRA, has
won world titles in two of the
past three years, finishing just behind J.R. Todd
a year ago.
He’ll once again try to be the first repeat winner
in the class since Force last did it almost 20 years
ago, but losing on the final day to Todd a season
ago put Hight on an intense
path. He was locked in from
wire-to-wire, never falling off
and going on a championship
run that takes him into another
stratosphere as a driver.
“What’s amazing is not
that you win more than two
championships but that it
puts you in a real elite group,”
Hight says. “To be among big
names like Raymond Beadle,
Don Prudhomme, John Force,
Kenny Bernstein and then
you add my name to that list,
it’s almost like it doesn’t be-
long.” – JOSH HACHAT
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
Joel Greathouse
Ja n u a r y 2 0 2 0
ULTRA STREET
//
Tii Tharpe
NHRA TOP FUEL HARLEY
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