CONCORD, N.C. – Under normal circumstances, Robert Hight and the Auto Club of Southern California Funny Car team likely wouldn’t still be in championship contention with the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

After all, a broken collarbone for Hight – suffered during a final-round engine explosion after Hight won the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park two races earlier – could have and likely should have put him out of the car for roughly two months.

However, Hight’s persistence and ingenuity under difficult circumstances have proven to be the difference-maker in keeping his season alive.

Hight came back to Texas Motorplex two weeks ago, following surgery on Sept. 26 to repair his collarbone, and won the race to push his undefeated streak to eight rounds in a row. He carries a 50-point lead over title rival J.R. Todd into this weekend’s NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway and isn’t worried at all about any lingering effects from his recent injury.

In fact, Hight believes he should have an even larger points lead than he currently does, citing a single misstep in the opening race of the Countdown to the Championship that cost him valuable scraps in the title race.

“Basically, had I not messed up in Reading, I believe we had the best car there before I red-lit in the semis … so we could easily be talking about me having three wins in three straight races, just like Steve Torrence has,” said Hight on Friday. “But we got right back on the horse, went to St. Louis and got a win there in dramatic fashion.

“We’ve rebuilt the driver and the car since then and went to Dallas and got another win, so we’re looking good, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” he continued. “I made a prediction before the Countdown that if I wanted to win the championship again, I needed to win three races in the Countdown and not have any first-round losses … and I’m not even sure now that will be enough because J.R. Todd and that DHL team have been very, very steady.”

Hight recalled the emotional roller-coaster he went on in the hours after his Gateway victory on Friday, noting that there was a point in which he believed his season might have been over.

“The low point of the season for me was Sunday night, after a win in St. Louis, when I was laying there in a hospital bed and they were telling me I had a broken collarbone,” recalled Hight. “There are two schools of thought there: you can either let it heal or have it repaired. A lot of people subscribe to the ‘let it heal’ philosophy, but that’s eight weeks out of the car, and we couldn’t do that and win a title.

“The thought of my season being over hurt worse than the injury,” he added. “We went back to California, and the first doctor I saw said to let it heal, but the second told me it needed to be repaired … but even he wasn’t really optimistic about me getting in the car at Dallas.”

With a doctor nervous about the safety of his driver, Hight went to work to find any way possible to safely get back in the saddle. After some considerable thought, he found – and created – a solution.

“I’m a bit of a gearhead; I build and design things,” said Hight. “I realized quickly that the only way I was going to get back in the car was if I built something to protect my collarbone, because the seat belts go right over that area. That’s what broke it in the first place. So I built a carbon-fiber piece to protect myself, and when I showed it to the doctor, that’s when he signed off on me coming back and racing.

“He wouldn’t have signed off on it otherwise, because you’re going right back in the thing that bit you.”

Reflecting on what it took to win at Texas Motorplex last time out, Hight said that he couldn’t believe the lack of pain he felt from the driver’s seat and how easy it was to get back down to business.

“I really was surprised that I was so comfortable in the race car,” admitted Hight. “We have some cars in California, so I had gotten into one, strapped in and known that I was fine sitting there statically … but you don’t know what race conditions will be like until you make a pass. These cars are anything but smooth; they’re not a Cadillac. You get jerked around both back and up, and that puts a load on an injury like mine … the same with when you hit the chutes and it slams you forward.

“I felt like I was getting back in the car for the very first time, to be honest with you, but it’s an A-plus for everyone and I’m glad we’re still chasing this thing.”

Hight has had another consistent season, with four victories so far and hope of a third NHRA championship, despite it taking a modified carbon fiber chest protector to get to that point.

However, Todd has been equally consistent, lurking just one spot back in points and seeking his first title for Kalitta Motorsports in just his second full season in the Funny Car class.

As noted earlier, the defending champion had a plan coming into the playoffs that he believed would win him another title, but laid out an alternate path that could just as easily deny him that honor.

“I like looking at different scenarios, and it’s very feasible that J.R. and I could race in the final here and at Las Vegas, and even if I beat him in both of those races, I’d only have a 90-point lead. At Pomona with points-and-a-half, if I stumble and he wins the race, he’s the champion,” Hight noted. “So it’s feasible that I could win four races in the playoffs and still not win the title – that’s how close this is.

“A 50-point lead is not comfortable at all. We’re by no means safe.”

Regardless of the what-ifs, Hight is simply grateful to be at the race track again with another chance at victory.

“After what I’ve been through the last few weeks … it just feels good to be here,” Hight smiled. “This is a great place to race and I think it’s going to be another great weekend.”