Fast Fords Falter in Florida
The Team Castrol Fords weren’t able to capitalize on a 1-2-3 start in the 36th annual Mac Tools Gatornationals and Ashley Force wasn’t able to close the deal in her bid for the Top Alcohol Dragster championship at Gainesville Raceway.
A hotter track surface that made the transition from concrete to asphalt far more troublesome was the undoing of the two cars that led the qualifying – the Team Castrol/Automobile Club of Southern California Ford driven by rookie Robert Hight and the Castrol SYNTEC Mustang driven by Eric Medlen.
After posting the quickest times in round one (4.809 and 4.824, respectively), Hight and Medlen found themselves tractionless at virtually the same spot on the racetrack in round two. The result? Hight slowed to 5.253 and Medlen to 5.260 in losing to Whit Bazemore and Bob Gilbertson, respectively.
As for team leader John Force, he appeared on his way to a record 182nd final round when an input shaft broke in the semifinals, making it impossible for the 13-time series champion to chase down Gilbertson after his car erupted in flames from a blown engine.
The upshot was that Bazemore got a free pass to his first win of the season and to the POWERade points lead when an obviously flustered Gilbertson was guilty of a foul start in the final round.
As for Ms. Force, she took the Castrol/Hot Wheels dragster all the way to the final round before losing a heartbreaking .001 of second decision to Aaron Olivares. Despite the loss, the 22-year-old took the national points lead in the Lucas Sportsman Series in which she finished fourth a year ago.
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