During Robert Hight’s post-qualifying interview Friday at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals, the former Funny Car champion used the word “aggressive” about half a dozen times, more than any other word spoken in his brief discussion with the media.

Whether intentional or subliminal, it is clear the John Force Racing driver has something on his mind.

Following a disappointing year by JFR standards in 2015, Hight, team boss John Force and teammate Courtney Force spent much of the offseason looking for an edge to regain a hold on the hyper-competitive Funny Car class.

And it appears it is working.

Hight blasted to the provisional top spot Friday at Auto Club Raceway in the Auto Club Chevy Camaro, topping the charts with a 3.942-second lap at 322.19 mph that held from Friday’s first session. Hight’s JFR teammate Force, in the Traxxas-sponsored Camaro, was second with a 3.945 at 322.88.

“I think the whole Funny Car ballgame has changed in the past year,” Hight said. “You have got to be aggressive. If you look at last year, this 94 I just ran would have been a national record at this racetrack. Funny Car racing has changed. As drivers, tuners and teams, we have got to adapt to that and we have got to be more aggressive.”

That aggressive new approach was evident right from the start on Friday, as both Hight and Force set the pace during the first qualifying session with passes that would stick even through the cooler evening temperatures.

“My crew chief Mike Neff, he usually plays it pretty smart during the first run and makes a baseline run then tries to get after it in the evening when it cools off,” Hight said. “To come out here and run 94 the first run I am pretty impressed. The track cooled down a good 15 degrees during the second run and still no one ran quicker than we did.”

Just behind the John Force Racing duo in third is defending Funny Car champion Del Worsham who ran a 3.950 at 323.04 during the cooler evening session. Don Schumacher Racing teammates Jack Beckman and Ron Capps round out the top five.

Friday’s strong showing by Hight continues what has been a bit of a rebirth year for the 46-year-old as the team was also very strong in testing one week ago in Phoenix.

“You saw what it took to win the championship at the end of the year. These guys were running 80s and everybody at JFR, we didn’t like that,” Hight said. “We went into the last race of the season without a chance to win the championship and that is uncharted territory. It motivated us. We worked hard, had a great test session out in Phoenix a week ago and came right in here and showed it is not a fluke with Courtney and I one and two.”

Among the things the team focused on at that test session? You guessed it - being more aggressive.

“We went to testing with a really good gameplan. Mike Neff really looked at where we were getting beat last year and it was early in the run - the first hundred feet - so we went in there and really started knocking 60 foot times out,” Hight said. “He stayed the course and figured out how to get through that area to second without sacrificing 60 foot time. We put it all together, started running 80s and once it went, it was easy.”

Hight will look to continue his early hot-streak on Saturday as he tries to hold on for his 48th career top qualifier award after scoring just one all of last year.

“We are going to really try to get after it early and keep focusing on those 60-foot times. If you don’t get a good 60-foot time you can never pick that up. There is no way to get it back,” Hight said. “So it is all about hitting it hard and being more aggressive. Testing and then coming in here you know it is not a fluke.”