The unique format of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals forces a driver to adjust on the fly.

Just ask Courtney Force.

After a wild ride in her first qualifying session at zMAX Dragway Friday afternoon, the John Force Racing Funny Car driver executed an elapsed-time track record run of 3.851 seconds at 323.27 mph in the evening session.

Robert Hight took the No. 2 spot with a pass of 3.873 at 333.91, while Courtney’s father, John, completed the JFR sweep with a 3.889 at 328.54 pass.
It was anything but a routine day for Courtney Force, whose Chevy Camaro seemed possessed by a gremlin on her first run in the 80-degree heat.

“It left the starting line and just immediately went left,” Force said. “In all honestly, I feel like I killed that run for my team. I don’t have the steering wheel directed left, so it just kind of a weird scenario. I had my guys check the steering and everything else out to make sure it was all good.”

Force took a more cautious approach on her second run and it paid quick dividends.

“I was really careful to make sure that the car went straight down the center of the groove,” Force said. “Lately, my car has been has been trying to go left at different tracks. You just have to get past it and get yourself better.”

According to Courtney, her biggest concern in qualifying was from her father.

“I was most worried about Dad, that he would take it away from me,” said Courtney, referring to the No. 1 spot.  “I knew the conditions would be even better for the second run, so it was nice to run that 3.85 and to hear that we had outrun dad."

After qualifying first for the last two events, Force said she’s eager to finish the job this weekend.

“I’m excited to be 1-2-3 as a team after the first day,” Courtney said. “I want to stomp on the throttle every time a see a light change here because there are so many. But this is race is so much fun. This track provides a lot of challenges and it makes everyone a better driver. A lot of people make mistakes, and you have to be on your ‘A’ game.”

While Courtney Force set the track record on time, Hight established a new track record for speed with a comeback of his own.

“We had some big problems in the first run with the ignition, and to rebound from that and get my second-fastest speed ever, hey, we’re looking good,” said Hight, a two-time Four Wide Nationals winner. “(Saturday’s) going to be hot, so we need to go up there and get points both runs. That’s race day.”

As for John Force, the charismatic team owner was all smiles after the long day.

 “These kids work really hard, the crew chiefs especially,” he said. “It’s good for them, and it builds morale with the team. You can have all the money in the world, you can have the best crew chiefs, but if you’ve got no morale, you’re dead. And that’s what we’re building. We’re trying to build John Force Racing. We had a lot of great years, and then we had some bad ones. We’re coming back."

For the first time at the Four-Wide Nationals, former Top Fuel racer J.R. Todd competed in the Funny Car class.

Dave Richards, Cruz Pedregon and Jonnie Lindberg currently stand outside the 16-car field.