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Details: Created: 07 August 2021

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.''

Details: Created: 07 August 2021

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Friday night qualifying hasn't been real kind fo NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car driver J.R. Todd in recent weeks, but the former world champ changed that trend Friday at Heartland Motorsports Park, making his quickest pass of the season en route to the provisional No. 1 spot in qualifying at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.

"We've been struggling to capitalize on the Friday night run that is usually pretty crucial for qualifying,'' said Todd, driver of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car. "It was nice to make a hell of a run. We haven't run that well in a long time. It's a testament to all the DHL Toyota guys for digging deep and not giving up.

"I feel like we've got some momentum coming from Pomona (Calif.) where we gained a lot of points on the cars in front of us. It's nice to get the three points tonight and, hopefully, we can keep pace with those guys heading into the Countdown. It's a good time to start building momentum."

J.R. Todd set the Funny Car qualifying pace Friday night in the Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo by NHRA]J

Todd went 3.884 seconds at 332.67 miles per hour putting him in line to pick up his second No. 1 qualifier in '21 and the 20th in his career.

Alexis DeJoria is currently second after she went 3.894 at 329.67 in her ROKiT Toyota Camry:and Bob Tasca III is currently third with his run of 3.905 at 328.66.

"In the past here in Topeka, I haven't done that well,'' DeJoria said. "But with everything we've accomplished so far this year I knew coming into this race we were going to do something and right out of the box we ran an .89. We weren't expecting it.

"We thought we were going to run a .92. We're No. 2 right now. If we hold it through tomorrow, it will be our sixth No. 2 qualifier of the season. I'll take that. So hopefully we can carry tonight's run all the way through qualifying and into the finals on Sunday."

Along with his quickest pass of the season, Friday night was also the first time Todd made a run in the 3.80s in '21, giving him plenty of momentum for the weekend.

Todd is seeking his second win of the season and his first victory in Topeka.

Billy Torrence had the quickest Top Fuel qualifying run Friday night in the Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo by NHRA]

Billy Torrence (Top Fuel) and Kyle Koretsky (Pro Stock) were also provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories Friday night at the 11th race of the 2021 season.

Torrence rocketed to the No. 1 spot in Top Fuel, going 3.717 seconds at 322.27 m.p.h in his Capco Contractors dragster.

If it holds, the run would give Torrence his third low qualifier of the season and eighth overall.

Torrence won a Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series race three weeks ago at the HMP in Super Comp and kept up his strong pace in Topeka as he looks for his second Top Fuel win of the year.

Former Top Fuel champ Brittany Force, who is looking for her first win of the season, went 3.734 at 329.42 to move into the No. 2 on Friday, while Mike Salinas took the third spot after a run of 3.739 at 316.08.

Kyle Koretsky put himself in position to earn his first Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier with a strong run Friday night at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo by NHRA]

Koretsky impressed in his first appearance at Heartland Motorsports Park in Pro Stock, jumping to the provisional No. 1 spot with a run of 6.634 at 205.51 in his Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro.

If it holds, it would give the young standout his first career No. 1 qualifier. Following a strong showing in Pomona at the most recent race, Koretsky is trying to pick up his first career win.

Troy Coughlin Jr. is currently second with his promising pass of 6.635 at 203.74 and Greg Anderson is third after he ran 6.636 at 205.29. Anderson, the current points leader, is aiming for his ninth No. 1 qualifier in 2021.

MENARDS NHRA NATIONALS

Details: Created: 11 August 2021

Three-time NHRA Top Fuel champ Antron Brown will launch his own team, AB Motorsports, in 2022. [Rebilas Photography]

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Three-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown is quick to admit that he has had a pretty sweet deal with Don Schumacher Racing.

And because in large part of all the success he's had, the relationships he's built and the things he's learned at DSR, Brown is ready to take the next step in his career in 2022, launching his own team in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.

"That's been something that I've been after for a long time,'' said the 45-year-old Brown, who is racing the Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster in this weekend's Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. "It's not something new, it's something that I've thought about for years and years and years and it's finally come to fruition.

"It was literally staying after it and it's been a dream. Covid slowed it down and it's one of those deals where I'm very excited, but the other side of it is that I'm also very nervous. There's nothing to lean back on so what we have to lean back on is each other.''

Antron Brown will be looking for his second career Top Fuel win at Heartland Motorsports Park this weekend in the Menards NHRA Nationals. [Rebilas Photography]

Brown's new venture, AB Motorsports, will be backed by many of his longtime sponsors, including Matco and Toyota, and Brown, third in Top Fuel history with 52 wins, will continue to purchase parts from DSR.

"What really is making this dream a reality, honestly, is all our partners,'' said Brown, who began the weekend second in Top Fuel points. "Matco Tools has been with us a long, long time and Toyota has always been behind us since Day 1. Whenever we needed something they always had our back. That's a big deal, a tremendous big deal.

"The partners have stuck with us through the thick and thin of this deal. It would have been really easy for partners to drop out during Covid, but our partners and our distributors stayed strong and always have our back. You have to have great people around you and I have a great family and my team.''

Brown, who will continue to drive in '22, said one of his major motivations in starting his own team is the prospect of tackling a new challenge.

"Being at Don Schumacher Racing for all these years I've learned tremendous things from Don, his whole organization and all the teams he had around us,'' Brown said. "It's a great place to be, but anybody knows in life that if you want to grow you have to get yourself uncomfortable.

"I've been comfortable for way too long and that's not like me to sit back. I've always wanted to move forward, to grow. I look at our sport and Don Schumacher picked that torch up a long time ago for his son (Tony) and built this championship organization. I've been very fortunate, very blessed to be a part of that and always grateful. I'm very, very, very grateful.''

Brown said he looks at his new venture as an opportunity to help the sport he loves move forward.

"I just looked at our sport as a whole and said, 'How can our sport grow?' '' Brown said. "Now Don can flourish and bring some new talent in, younger talent in, at DSR and then I can grow in my landscape and not just be a driver but be an owner and our team could bring in other talent underneath of us and maybe cultivate a second team down the road and maybe go to a third or four-car team and maybe other people can do the same thing.

"If we can keep doing this and building, our sport is only going to grow and go to new heights and new levels.''

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Details: Created: 29 July 2021

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

There's been a lof tough calls for the No. 1 spot in TopSports.news' Best of the Best Shawnee County Top 25 lists.

Men's golf wasn't one of those.

Shawnee Heights product Gary Woodland all but assured himself of the top spot when he made it on the PGA Tour back in 2007 and the four-time Tour winner cemented that position when he won the 2019 United States Open.

Gary Woodland [PGA Tour]

Coming off a tie for seventh last week, the former basketball All-Stater and two-time Class 5A state champ for the T-Birds, is currently 45th on the PGA Tour's all-time career money list with more than $29 million in career earnings.

But while the 37-year-old Woodland is the unquestioned headliner, the TSN Top 25 list is loaded with other county stars who have carved out their own niche in the game.

Andrew Beckler [Washburn Athletics]

Justice Valdivia

Former Washburn Rural state champ Andrew Beckler, who received the 2021 Jack Nicklaus Award as the NCAA Division II Player of the Year holds down the No. 2 spot on the Top 25 local legends Frank Rose and Bill McDonald sit in the next two spots, followed by former Rural two-time state champion Parker Beal and multi-sport Silver Lake product Mark Elliott.

Three-time Washburn University All-American Matt Ewald and local stars Ben Moser, Bill Mosimann and Gary Lucas round out the top 10.

Former Hayden state star Justice Valdivia, a state individual and team champ and multi-time All-MIAA honoree topped Woodland for the Readers Choice award, with former Rossville state champ and four-time state medalist Garrett Donovan earning the third spot in reader votes.

Here's a look at the Top 25 and Readers Choice Awards:

TSN TOP 25 BEST OF THE BEST MEN'S GOLFERS