Sat, Oct 24, 10:52 PM ENNIS - Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Final Session

By Ed Dykes Featuring The Quickest Run in Funny Car History

ENNIS, Texas - Notes from final, round 4 qualifying in Funny Car at the 13th annual NHRA Revell Nationals, listing lane, driver name, elapsed time/top speed this round, position in order following run, (best prior elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to run):

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Left Lane: Whit Bazemore Runs 4.917/308.11 Now # 3, (Best prior run: 4.891/309.70 Was # 2)
Right Lane: John Force Runs 4.787/322.81 Now # 1, (Best prior run: 5.013/300.50 Was #10)

4:51 PM and the seven-time champ is the first in line this session, but this time of the afternoon it shouldn't matter. Sure enough, Force makes Whit's '91 look like he's backing up, running the quickest ever, the first-ever 'seventy in a Funny Car, and a leg up on a national record as well.

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Left Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 4.872/310.66 Now # 3, (Best prior run: 4.920/312.28 Was # 5)
Right Lane: Randy Anderson Runs 4.951/300.00 Now # 8, (Best prior run: 5.085/289.20 Was #11)

The floppers like these conditions, that's for sure... these two step up a bunch, and it's especially good to see Anderson making strong, solid runs.

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Left Lane: Al Hofmann Runs 4.923/308.85 Now # 6, (Best prior run: 4.970/307.06 Was #10)
Right Lane: Tim Wilkerson Runs 5.924/168.53 Now #10, (Best prior run: 4.957/292.68 Was # 9)

There's now eleven Funny Cars in the fours here; Hofmann jumps ahead of Etchells, Hoover, Anderson, and Wilkerson.

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Left Lane: Don Sosenka Runs 6.287/161.49 Now #17, (Best prior run: 5.379/281.51 Was #17)
Right Lane: Dean Skuza Runs 4.962/311.31 Now # 5, (Best prior run: 4.919/313.80 Was # 5)

Sosenka had a nice leave, but something went away at he 400' mark and he started trailing smoke out the bottom end. No oil, tho, thankfully. Skuza is quick yet again, he's been very consistent this weekend.

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Left Lane: Ronny Young Runs 6.253/157.06 Now #18, (Best prior run: 6.063/164.77 Was #18)
Right Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 4.858/311.31 Now # 2, (Best prior run: 4.839/317.90 Was # 2)

Tom Akers' Wizard Avenger will have to wait another day, Young fails to get it into the show. Force will get all the spotlight this evening, but you can bet that Pedregon will be one to watch tomorrow -- they are dialed in this weekend.

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Left Lane: Chuck Etchells Runs 4.848/300.10 Now # 3, (Best prior run: 4.931/308.00 Was # 7)
Right Lane: Gary Densham Runs 5.074/301.91 Now #12, (Best prior run: 5.105/307.27 Was #14)

The Densham camp believed that their car ran quicker than the numbers indicated last time, according to the onboard data logger. That run should have been a ninety-something, they believe, and sure enough they step up here and move ahead of Epler and Capps.

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Left Lane: Glenn Mikres Runs 5.128/295.27 Now #15, (Best prior run: 5.192/292.49 Was #15)
Right Lane: Jerry Toliver Runs 16.414/ 66.45 Now #21, (Best prior run: 8.981/ 92.86 Was #21)

Mikres doesn't improve enough to move ahead of Capps, but he's pleased with the progress the team has made this weekend. Toliver continues to learn what tire shake feels like, the Mad Machine a bear to drive this weekend. This time he was shaking before he passed the tree.

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Left Lane: Del Worsham Runs 4.994/275.31 Now #11, (Best prior run: 4.988/272.56 Was #11)
Right Lane: Al Segrini No Time Now #23, (Best prior run: 22.486/ 44.56 Was #23)

Same deal as before for Segrini, and again he rolls to a stop about 100' off the line.

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Left Lane: Dale Creasy, Jr. Runs 8.221/ 99.29 Now #16, (Best prior run: 5.221/281.16 Was #16)
Right Lane: Jack Wyatt Runs 5.727/268.81 Now #18, (Best prior run: 13.148/ 56.61 Was #22)

No help for Creasy, and there's still at least one car in line that can bump him out. Wyatt finally gets down the track under power, but it was too little, too late.

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Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 4.868/314.79 Now # 4, (Best prior run: 5.095/241.15 Was #14)
Right Lane: Frank Pedregon Runs 5.498/234.68 Now #18, (Best prior run: 6.966/128.13 Was #20)

Force is here in the press center, and he's saying that Capps has the potential to better his time, based on their comparable interval times earlier in the weekend. But it doesn't happen, the Cope Camaro a tic slower off the line then more of the same to the finish. But it's good enough to move up between Etchells and Tony Pedregon, while the elder Pedregon will fail to make the show this weekend. There's oil on the top end, almost to the finish, in the right side, so we're on hold for the cleanup.

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Right Lane: Vicky Fanning Runs 6.382/153.60 Now #21, (Best prior run: 8.100/ 98.70 Was #21)

Vicky had her best run of the weekend going here, then the car drifted left and took out the timing reflector at the eighth-mile, and as a result this number won't count. So we're down for a minute while the pick up the pieces, and then it'll be just one more car.

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Right Lane: Jim Epler Runs 5.227/216.86 Now #14, (Best prior run: 5.087/309.38 Was #14)

The last car of the last session, here... so the field is set, with Force on top -- in a big way -- and Creasy taking the last slot in the show.




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