In a class and sport filled with unpredictability, one seemingly sure thing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is an early-season hot streak from Funny Car standout Robert Hight.

It has become almost routine to see an impressive string of performances from Hight since he won the 2009 world championship. Last season, he went to six straight final rounds at the start of the year, winning four, including a memorable performance at Royal Purple Raceway.

After a final-round appearance at the most recent race in Las Vegas to get his season on track, Hight could be gearing up for another strong stretch in his 10,000-horsepower Auto Club Chevy Camaro. That would also mean a chance for a second straight Houston win at this weekend’s 28th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA SpringNationals presented by Super Start Batteries.

“I think we tested well this year and then went to two semifinals and now a final round in Las Vegas,” Hight said. “It has been nice to have some streaks where you go to a lot of finals in a row or you win four races in a row, but now isn’t the time to do it versus the Countdown [to the Championship]. I would like to do both. I would like to have some sustained success where we win a lot of races in the regular season and then continue that success in the Countdown. The time when you want to be at the top of your game is the end of the season. You also need to have success now so you know what you need to do over the last six races.”

Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Erica Enders-Stevens (Pro Stock) joined Hight in the Royal Purple Raceway winner’s circle last year. The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event, which will again be televised on ESPN2, is the sixth of 24 races during the 2015 season, and that is just about the time of year when Hight finds his mojo.

He has done it in four of the past five seasons, including a string of four straight victories in 2012. Hight had three wins in the first nine races in 2011 and 2010 as well, but his early-season performance a year ago might have topped them all. Starting at the second event of the year in Phoenix, Hight went to six finals, winning in Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Gainesville, putting together a memorable string that he won’t soon forget. Now Hight thinks that his team, led by crew chief Mike Neff, is on the verge of putting together another string of finals after falling to teammate John Force in the final round in Las Vegas.

“We have definitely turned the corner,” Hight said. “[Vegas] was a get-well weekend. Still, we shot a spark plug out down there, and if it hadn’t have done that, we would have won. I made it a close race. I was so ready to get that win. It was a great team effort. [Force’s crew chief] Jon Schaffer came over and helped us out in the second round; otherwise, we wouldn’t have made it out of the second round. My Auto Club guys went over before the semifinals and helped them. If I have to lose, at least I had to lose to a teammate.”
Hight has been solid but not spectacular to open 2015, something that could change in Houston. The off-season included a number of changes, including a new car, but any final kinks seemed to have been removed in Las Vegas. Hight moved to third in points, and Force’s victory was the first for the John Force Racing team after Don Schumacher Racing claimed the first four of the year.

“I don’t think there were any major adjustments,” Hight said. “We just have been working together, and it finally all came together in Las Vegas. I definitely think we can get some momentum going. It will be good to get into a groove as the season progresses.”

Plenty of drivers will try to stop that, including Jack Beckman, who fell in the final round to Hight a year ago in Houston and won the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals this season. Force has seven wins in Houston, and other top challengers include Cruz Pedregon, reigning world champion Matt Hagan, who won the first two races of the season, Ron Capps, Courtney Force, Alexis DeJoria, Del Worsham, Tommy Johnson Jr., and Tim Wilkerson.

Stout competition aside, returning to Houston will always be special for Hight, and that will especially be the case in 2015.

“It will be the 10-year anniversary of my first win in Funny Car,” Hight said. “I’ll have a AAA Texas logo on the side of my Camaro, and I would love to get it back into the winner’s circle. I think we have performed well in Texas because both of those tracks are great facilities, and the Texas fans are really supportive. The key to doing well is staying focused and just getting off to a good start. On race day, it is important to just race the track and not try to get overconfident.”

In Top Fuel, Brown claimed his second Houston victory in the Matco Tools dragster last year en route to six overall victories and has started this season with a win in Charlotte. Three-time Top Fuel world champ Larry Dixon has three victories at Royal Purple Raceway, and eight-time and defending world champ Tony Schumacher, who won his first race of the season in Phoenix, has two wins in Houston. Others to watch include Doug Kalitta, J.R. Todd, fellow Texans Spencer Massey and Steve Torrence, reigning rookie of the year Richie Crampton, who won recently in Las Vegas, and four-time category runner-up Brittany Force.

In Pro Stock, local favorite Enders-Stevens claimed the 99th win by a female driver when she won at her home track last year, ending the season with the Pro Stock world championship. Four-time world champ Greg Anderson has two wins in Houston and is looking to continue his early-season momentum. Anderson’s teammate, two-time world champ Jason Line, has also won twice in Houston, and Allen Johnson, Shane Gray, Jonathan Gray, Charlotte winner Larry Morgan, Phoenix winner Rodger Brogdon, tough Texan Chris McGaha, and two-time Houston winner Vincent Nobile figure to be in the title mix in Houston as well.

As always, fans will have the opportunity to interact with their favorite drivers as they’re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet. This unique opportunity in motorsports gives fans direct access to the teams, allowing them to see firsthand the highly skilled mechanics service their hot rods between rounds and enjoy cherished face time with and get autographs from their favorite NHRA drivers.

The NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series will make its second stop of the 2015 season at Royal Purple Raceway. The race will also feature the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.

NHRA Mello Yello Series qualifying begins Friday, April 24, with sessions at 4 and 6:30 p.m. The final two qualifying sessions will take place Saturday, April 25, at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday, April 26.

To purchase general-admission or reserved seats, log on to RoyalPurpleRaceway.com or call Royal Purple Raceway, 281-383-7223. Tickets for children 13 and younger are free on the spectator side with any paid adult ticket.

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