By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Three-time world Funny Car champion Robert Hight knew in his heart that John Force Racing made the right decision when it decided to sit out the covid-altered 2020 NHRA season.
But for somebody that's spent virtually his whole life in the sport, it was extremely tough to watch the sport from home ... impossible in fact.
"It was painful,'' said the 51-year-old Funny Car star, who also serves as president of JFR. "I wouldn't watch. I didn't do it, I couldn't do it. It wasn't any fun.
"It's just something that we've done so long and we've been a part of and it was tough to see other people out there racing and enjoying themselves, but it didn't make sense for us or our sponsors. We had to do what was best for us.''
John Force Racing teammates Robert Hight (front) and John Force take a qualifying run Friday night at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The good news is that a JFR organization that has produced 21 world championships has picked up right where it left off, with Hight and John Force in the thick of the championship battle in Funny Car and Brittany Force having a very solid year in Top Fuel.
"There's always some doubt,'' Hight said Friday at Heartland Motorsports Park. "It's like when you come back are you going to be behind because you sat out, but right off the bats we started getting wins and we're where we need to be.
"We feel that we have two Funny Cars that can win a championship and Brittany has a car that runs well. We're going to have three cars fighting it out to the last race of the year, so I think we've erased all the doubts that it hurt us sitting out.''
Hight is racing at a HMP facility has figured prominently in his career over the years.
Topeka is where Hight first joined John Force Racing as a crew member, where he earned his Funny Car license and where he has won three times, including the most recent race at HMP in 2019 on his way to the championship.
"A lot of years we raced here twice a year and we've got a lot of data and know a lot of the fans,'' Hight said. "A lot of fans walk up to the back of the trailer and you know them. You know those fans and it's good to be able to see those people again because we missed seeing them last year. It's cool to see things starting to get back to normal in sports. It's been a tough couple of years.
"I've had a lot of luck here and run really well and love this place -- a lot of history and the fans and everything about this place. It seems like every year we come here there's new records set and it's just one of the best racetracks in the country and some of the best fans here in the Midwest that really enjoy any kind of sporting event so we want to put a good show on for them. You don't appreciate things until they're gone and you get out here with these fans who didn't get to see drag racing last year and want to show them how much we appreciate them being back as well.''
