Hight sets NHRA speed mark in Funny Car run
339.87 mph fastest for any pro category
In baseball, you know it when it leaves the bat.
In auto racing, one must wait for the track announcer for confirmation.
During Tuesday’s Rangers-mariners game, Joey Gallo of Las Vegas hit a baseball so far that some of his Texas teammates jumped over the it’s possible Las Vegas drag racing fans could see 340 mph when the NHRA returns to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in late October.
A lot of drag racing people were raving about Hight’s 339.87-mph run in his trimmed out police cruiser.
But the last word, as always, went to Hight’s father-in-law, car owner and racing rival John Force.
“They said, ‘You almost got Robert’s record,’ ” Force said after topping 337 mph for the first time in his illustrious career. “I said ‘You never want to outrun the Highway Patrol.’ ”
Green, white, checkered
■ Noah Gragson’s streak of top 10 NASCAR Truck Series finishes has ended at seven as the Las Vegas teenager crashed out of last week’s run at Pocono Raceway after being tapped from behind. It was a long day for the 19-year-old after he slid his Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota through his pit box on his first stop, going a lap down. “It’s kind of a bummer we ended our streak of top10 finishes,” the youngster said. “We just need to win races from here on out and be perfect.”
■ After following up on his June victory at Pocono with a runner-up finish last weekend, another Las Vegas teenager is eager for a new challenge in the ARCA series. “It’s famous, fast, old and rough,” 18-yearold Riley Herbst said in anticipation of running the half-mile oval at tradition-steeped Winchester Speedway in Indiana on Sunday, where he’ll try to improve on his thirdplace position in season points.
■ Kevin Harvick on teammate
Kurt Busch’s uncertain status with Stewart-haas Racing: “Kurt Busch can drive the heck out of a racecar … I have a hard time buying into that they are just going to boot him out the door.” Harvick called the Las Vegas driver’s situation one of those racin’ (business) deals, and that race fans should not read too much into SHR not exercising Busch’s contract option. “It’s one of those situations where you get to the end of a contract, and you have to negotiate moving forward,” Harvick told Siriusxm NASCAR Radio.
■ The 2017 installment of
SNORE’S KC Hilites Midnight Special is this weekend in Jean. This is how veteran off-road racing enthusiast Mike Henle describes the event: “Around 80 competitors will start at dusk, weave their way through the desert for several hours and finally arrive at the start-finish line as the midnight hour quickly approaches … and then those same drivers and
their crews must pack up their gear, load up their off-road machinery and find a place to sleep.” Hopefully, somebody will leave a light on for them.
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal. com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ ronkantowski on Twitter.