Fri, 09 Nov 2012, 14:46 PM Competition Eliminator Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By David Gerard

POMONA, Calif. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Competition Eliminator at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 48th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, amount over/under index, and position in order following run, class and class index:

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Left Lane: Chip Rumis Runs 6.919/200.38/-0.191, Now #2 A/AA Index: 7.11
Right Lane: Thomas Shambaugh Runs 6.967/194.41/-0.303, Now #1 I/D Index: 7.27

11:13 a.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 65 degrees, relative humidity 47 percent, barometer 28.80 inches, adjusted altitude 2,184 feet, track temperature 93 degrees.

Rumis is usually a Div. 7 TS racer.

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Left Lane: Joe Roubicek Runs 6.861/198.82/-0.249, Now #3 A/AA Index: 7.11
Right Lane: Gary Ross Runs 6.666/208.23/-0.444, Now #1 A/AA Index: 7.11

Roubicek is a TS racer too.

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Left Lane: Phil Cocuzza Runs 7.906/171.42/-0.574, Now #1 A/SMA Index: 8.48
Right Lane: Mark Lelchook Runs 7.400/178.59/-0.510, Now #2 D/ED Index: 7.91

Two good leaves and two runs more than five hundred under their index.

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Left Lane: Alan Ellis Runs 6.612/205.16/-0.498, Now #4 A/AA Index: 7.11
Right Lane: Ed Sigmon Runs 8.486/155.54/-0.554, Now #2 C/SR Index: 9.04

Two very different kinds of roadsters.

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Left Lane: Jeff Lane Runs 8.001/168.39/-0.579, Now #1 B/SMA Index: 8.58
Right Lane: Tyler Hogan Runs 8.620/170.39/1.070, Now #10 C/DA Index: 7.55

Lanes car makes a move towards the centerline and drives through it.

Hogan's dragster is lazy off the line and he clicks it off.

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Left Lane: Tom Mettler Runs 7.635/176.47/-0.585, Now #1 PSTA Index: 8.22
Right Lane: Brian Fitzpatrick Runs 10.177/82.42/3.257, Now #12 H/D Index: 6.92

Fitzpatrick is off the power quickly, after a strong 1.020 leave.

Mettler makes a strong pass into the top spot for now.

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Left Lane: Scott Hedlund Runs 7.715/175.87/-0.625, Now #1 A/SM Index: 8.34
Right Lane: Ross Wilson Runs 13.034/68.40/4.274, Now #14 C/SM Index: 8.76

Nice wheels up leave for Hedlund and a good past into the sixty under range and the new number one spot.

Wilson has a good leave and then lifts.

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Left Lane: John Edwards Runs 7.336/185.59/-0.574, Now #5 C/AA Index: 7.91
Right Lane: Steve Graham Runs 7.376/184.93/-0.554, Now #7 C/A Index: 7.93

Edwards' Neon drives directly towards the guard rail and he has to lift.

Nice pass for Graham into the top 8.

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Left Lane: Aaron Strong Runs 8.308/164.31/-0.602, Now #2 G/A Index: 8.91
Right Lane: Ray Skillman Runs 8.414/160.18/-0.526, Now #9 E/SMA Index: 8.94

Skillman shows up in Comp for this race in a Cobalt. He is currently #1 in Super Stock. Clean pass into the field in the current #9 spot.

Strong IS strong and runs into the sixty under group and #2 on the ladder.

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Left Lane: Chuck Haubiel Runs 8.102/164.61/-0.658, Now #1 C/SM Index: 8.76
Right Lane: Clint Neff Runs 7.681/168.58/-0.629, Now #2 K/A Index: 8.31

Two great looking passes and we get a new #1 and #2 on the ladder.

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Left Lane: Lou Ficco Runs 7.094/178.14/-0.436, Now #16 B/AA Index: 7.53
Right Lane: Mike DePalma Runs 8.852/151.44/-0.718, Now #1 I/SM Index: 9.57

DePalma was the winner at Las Vegas last weekend and is making a big statement here with our first seventy under his weekend.

No problems for Ficco.

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Left Lane: Adam Bowdish Runs 7.969/169.44/-0.611, Now #5 B/SMA Index: 8.58
Right Lane: Randy Jones Runs 8.472/157.30/-0.568, Now #11 C/TA Index: 9.04

Jones makes a big zig zag about the sixty foot lights and stays on the throttle.

Good pass for Bowdish into the top eight.

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Left Lane: David Billingsley Runs 8.749/150.70/-0.591, Now #8 L/AA Index: 9.34
Right Lane: Dick Maris Runs 6.956/190.24/-0.594, Now #7 C/DA Index: 7.55

Both cars run close to sixty under and take over the #7 and #8 spots.

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Left Lane: Doug Lambeck Runs 8.360/160.35/-0.580, Now #10 D/SMA Index: 8.94
Right Lane: David Rampy Runs 7.267/181.08/-0.563, Now #15 A/EA Index: 7.83

Lambeck's car does a big wheel stand and drives towards the center line. He still makes a good pass.

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Left Lane: Bo Butner Runs 8.404/161.50/-0.646, Now #3 E/SM Index: 9.05
Right Lane: Dan Fletcher Runs 8.035/168.28/-0.565, Now #16 B/EA Index: 8.60

Butner goes to near the top of the ladder in #3 and Rampy misses getting into the top half of the field at #16.

11:36 a.m. DePalma is number one at -0.718 under his index. Field not filled, no bump spot.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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