For the third time overall, and second consecutive, Robert Hight won the NHRA Arizona Nationals Funny Car championship. Driving the Flav-R-Pac / Cornwell Tools / AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS, Hight earned his 62nd career victory Sunday at the final NHRA national event to be hosted at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.

It was the first win for Robert Hight’s newly configured crew which is now headed by Jimmy Prock and co-assistant crew chiefs Thomas Prock, Jimmy’s son, and Nate Hildahl, a long-time crew member of the three-time championship team. It was also Hight’s first win not dawning AAA / Auto Club of Southern California as his primary sponsor. Though he’ll be back in familiar colors at next weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California.

En route to his 97th final round appearance, Robert Hight knocked out team owner, 16-time champion John Force in his BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy in the first round. Force would have tire smoke for only a 4.286-second pass at 219.27 mph while Hight would have a solid 3.911-second pass at 325.37 mph.

“Obviously never want to meet a teammate in a first round. Final round would be good, but at least we were guaranteed that one of us would be moving on,” Force said. “It was good for Robert, for Flav-R-Pac, Cornwell Tools, AAA, and to see the family dynamic of the Prock’s, that was special. Luckily this BlueDEF / PEAK Chevy can just regroup and get back after it next weekend in Pomona.”

Continuing the defense of his event championship, Hight would match-up with No. 1 qualifier Bob Tasca III in the quarterfinals. It would be a solid-side-by-side drag race for the long-time rivals. Hight would get the job done with a 3.936-second pass at 330.07 mph over Tasca’s 3.966 at 321.88.

Hight would pick up the semifinal victory over Chad Green with a 3.900-second pass at 329.34 mph to send Green’s 3.955 at 322.96 home. With his first semifinal appearance of the year, Hight also earned a spot in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge to be contested at In-N-Out Raceway at Pomona next weekend at the NHRA Winternatioanls.

The finals would be a battle between reigning world champion Ron Capps, the competitor Hight narrowly conceded the championship to in 2022 by three points. With lane choice, Hight and the Jimmy Prock, Thomas Prock and Nate Hildahl tuned Flav-R-Pac Funny Car laid down another impressive pass at 3.930-seconds at 328.62 mph that would be no match for Capps’ 5.534 at 136.80 after he smoked the tires.

“This whole Funny Car field is stacked from top to bottom and to win one of these races you’re going to have to go through four heavy hitters. You just never give up and when you have Jimmy Prock as your crew chief you just know that you’re one run away from fixing this thing and getting back to where you need to be," said Hight. "He races aggressive, I don’t need to tell you that. He wants low E.T. every round and we had that today; we had four rounds where we were low ET. That’s Jimmy Prock-style racing and it makes my job easy."

"I just gotta go up there, stay in the gas, and keep it in my lane. Proud of these guys, they keep picking at it and getting it where they want it. You can tell when Jimmy is on to something. He has the confidence and that gives me confidence.,” added Hight. “It was kind of different without Auto Club of Southern California, I don’t even recognize myself. Flav-R-Pac, Frank Tiegs stepped up and bought us. It’s amazing to get the win with them here. I’ve tried to give Frank the trophy in the past when I’ve when he was here and he always says ‘no.’ So this time this trophy is going to his wife. She’ll take it.”

w/ John Force Racing