CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Robert Hight took his second straight Funny Car victory to kick off the Countdown to the Championship playoffs at the NHRA Carolina Nationals on Sunday.
Hight powered his Ford Mustang to a run of 4.083 seconds at 312.64 mph to race to the victory against points leader Matt Hagan in the final round. Hagan had a quicker run of 4.066, but Hight posted a quicker .055 reaction time to hang on for his second win in 2013 and 29th of his career.
Hight beat Chad Head, No. 1 qualifier Cruz Pedregon and teammate Courtney Force to reach the final round.
Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also prevailed at the first of six races in the NHRA’s playoffs.
