With the snowcapped Oquirrh Mountains as a picturesque backdrop, Funny Car
points leader Ashley Force along with John Force Racing teammates Robert Hight
and Mike Neff completed the two day Ford Racing High Performance Driving School
at the state-of-the-art Miller Motorsports Park today.
“One the first day I was not in my comfort zone at all. I missed by Castrol
GTX Funny Car but after I got with the instructors by the end of the day I
didn’t want to get out of these Mustangs. This morning I was excited to get back
on the course and work on getting better,’ said Ashley Force the current Funny
Car points leader. “This facility reminds me of some of my favorite tracks on
the NHRA circuit like Las Vegas or
Sonoma. You have everything you need
here and it is totally clean and well laid out. There is lots of open space
around the track so you never have to worry about getting into anything.”
All three drivers were put through a variety of driving courses as well as
classroom review. The driver made their laps behind the wheel of high
performance Miller Mustang GTs, Mustang Challenge cars, and they even took some
time to work on their handling skills inside the Ford Skid Car.
With the snowcapped Oquirrh Mountains as a picturesque backdrop, Funny Car
points leader Ashley Force along with John
Ashley Force, Robert Hight and Mike Neff took time out to talk with the Utah media about their racing experience at Miller Motorsports Park.
Force Racing teammates Robert Hight
and Mike Neff completed the two day Ford Racing High Performance Driving School
at the state-of-the-art Miller Motorsports Park today.
“One the first day I was not in my comfort zone at all. I missed by Castrol
GTX Funny Car but after I got with the instructors by the end of the day I
didn’t want to get out of these Mustangs. This morning I was excited to get back
on the course and work on getting better,’ said Ashley Force the current Funny
Car points leader. “This facility reminds me of some of my favorite tracks on
the NHRA circuit like Las Vegas or
Sonoma. You have everything you need
here and it is totally clean and well laid out. There is lots of open space
around the track so you never have to worry about getting into anything.”
All three drivers were put through a variety of driving courses as well as
classroom review. The driver made their laps behind the wheel of high
performance Miller Mustang GTs, Mustang Challenge cars, and they even took some
time to work on their handling skills inside the Ford Skid Car.
Ashley Force exits the East Course in her Mustang GT.
“More than anything I wanted to go out there and get quicker and faster with
each lap. I’m new at this so I am going to make mistakes but I know with every
session we get behind us I get more confidence,” said Hight, the fastest Nitro
driver to reach 100 career round wins. “Just when you start thinking you have
these Mustang GTs figured out an instructor gives you a tip or pointer that
shows you how much better you can be. One thing that is cool is Ford Racing has
made us feel like we are part of their family.”
The goal of the two day course was to give the drivers a new driving
experience as well as expose them to the superior handling and acceleration of
the Mustang GT as they took it through the paces at the impressive
Miller
Motorsports
Park.
“This experience was better than I expected it to be. This is an awesome
facility. This is something that most people never
Auto Club Ford Mustang driver Robert Hight takes a spin behind the wheel of the Ford Skid Car as part of the Ford Racing High Performance Driving School.
get the chance to do. It has
just been a thrill and I want to thank Dan Davis and Ford for giving the three
of us this chance,” said rookie Funny Car driver Mike Neff. “I’ve driven
go-karts and that is an extreme measure of this as far as the precision you
need. What we have picked up is the importance of picking the right line or apex
through the corners, when to brake and when to accelerate. We are just learning
to be smooth with the fundamentals that apply to any type of racing.”
The drivers also took time to meet with Salt Lake
City media members to talk about their experiences at
Miller
Motorsports
Park as well the NHRA POWERade
season.
John Force Racing drivers (in driving suits from left) Robert Hight, Mike Neff and Ashley Force talk with Dan Davis, Director of Ford Racing Technology (center) and Scott Denby, Ford Racing (second from right) during a break in the action at Miller Motorsports Park.
Miller
Motorsports
Park, home of the
Ford
Racing High
Performance
Driving
School, is a 511 acre multi-use
motorsports facility that has a main course which is 4.5 miles long and features
23-turns making it the longest lap in North America. The
John Force Racing drivers spent the majority of their time on the 2.18 mile,
10-turn West Course.
In addition to the massive loop
Miller
Sports
Park boasts a race paddock that is
twenty-four paved acres, a KART Track, the
Larry
H. Miller
Auto
Museum, and a premium level clubhouse
that can be used for corporate and group events.