Sat, Feb 6, 04:10 PM POMONA - Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Session # 2

By Rick Green

POMONA, Calif. - Notes from round 2 qualifying in Top Fuel at the 39th annual NHRA AutoZone Winternationals , 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: Joe Amato Runs 5.093/223.91 Now # 9, (Best prior run: 9.966/ 83.53 Was #15)
Right Lane: Bruce Sarver Runs 9.619/ 82.86 Now # 7, (Best prior run: 4.769/307.23 Was # 7)

Amato pulls the front wheels and carried them as far as he can before it comes back over on him. Sarver shakes the tires and starts to smoke the big Goodyears and clicks it off.

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Left Lane: Don Lampus Runs 12.324/ 76.92 Now # 9, (Best prior run: 4.907/292.27 Was # 8)
Right Lane: Bob Vandergriff Runs 4.801/308.71 Now # 8, (Best prior run: 12.700/ 56.46 Was #22)

Lampus launches hard and loses a fuel line and loses traction. Vandergriff pedals it right before half-track and then starts mixing up the cylinders right in the lights.

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Left Lane: Ray Stutz No Time Now #24, (No prior time)
Right Lane: Terry Mullins Runs 4.981/247.31 Now #10, (Best prior run: 8.213/ 90.76 Was #14)

Stutz is shut off after the burnout. The fuel cap fell off during the burnout. Mullins is on a pass skating a round a little and then just past the half-track mark there is a big fireball when he loses an engine. The engine is almost blown out of the frame rails.

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Left Lane: Kenny Bernstein Runs 4.625/306.81 Now # 2, (Best prior run: 4.709/312.21 Was # 5)
Right Lane: Randy Parks Runs 14.335/ 67.29 Now #22, (Best prior run: 12.170/ 67.22 Was #22)

Bernstein is skating around just a little and it looked like he had a cylinder go out on the top end. Parks loses traction right off the starting line and clicks it off and will have one more shot to make the field.

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Left Lane: Andrew Cowin Runs 4.809/285.23 Now # 9, (Best prior run: 11.685/ 77.38 Was #21)
Right Lane: Gary Scelzi Runs 8.355/ 90.25 Now # 5, (Best prior run: 4.670/317.57 Was # 5)

Scelzi smokes the tires big time and is completely sideways before he lifts, all of this before half track. The Australian Kid starts to move around a little from half track on but he stays with it to get in the show.

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Left Lane: Jim Head Runs 4.901/263.62 Now #10, (Best prior run: 9.668/ 86.39 Was #16)
Right Lane: Doug Herbert Runs 9.882/ 88.63 Now # 6, (Best prior run: 4.752/304.19 Was # 6)

Both cars with real good short times and then Head makes a move toward the centerline and when he reels it back into his lane he gets over close to the wall. Finally he has to lift, but still is off the bump. Herbert lifts the front wheels and when they come back to earth he loses traction and clicks it off.

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Left Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 4.790/310.84 Now # 8, (Best prior run: 9.887/ 80.21 Was #17)
Right Lane: Eddie Hill Runs 4.649/298.47 Now # 1, (Best prior run: 4.535/313.80 Was # 1)

Kalitta is able to make it stick and gets into the top half of the field. Hill loses a cylinder on the top end, but still makes a great run.

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Left Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 4.584/306.67 Now # 3, (Best prior run: 10.493/ 75.93 Was #19)
Right Lane: Mike Dunn Runs 4.564/312.93 Now # 2, (Best prior run: 4.631/313.22 Was # 3)

We have great drag race here. Dunn with a career best pass here, and the Schumacher car is right there with him.

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Left Lane: Gina Ferraro Runs 6.014/166.48 Now #18, (No prior time)
Right Lane: Robert Reehl Runs 4.591/304.46 Now # 4, (Best prior run: 5.838/149.65 Was #17)

Gina lifts the front tires and clicks it off. Reehl is on a great pass here. Rick Cassil is helping Reehl out and you can really tell as this is a career best pass for Reehl before it was a 4.81-second pass.

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Left Lane: Connie Kalitta Runs 4.748/292.90 Now # 8, (Best prior run: 12.875/ 79.94 Was #24)
Right Lane: Bobby Baldwin Runs 5.535/177.44 Now #18, (Best prior run: 11.239/ 79.43 Was #22)

Kalitta lifts the front wheels to about the 330-foot mark and when he sets them back down he just motors on through the quarter-mile. Kalitta goes from the outside to the top half of the show. Baldwin is up in smoke and clicks it off.

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Left Lane: Arley Langlo No Time Now #21, (Best prior run: 6.754/143.40 Was #21)
Right Lane: Tim Gibson Runs 10.918/ 77.44 Now #22, (Best prior run: 10.077/ 82.06 Was #22)

Langlo has a big bang when he explodes the engine on the burnout. Gibson launches hard and then shuts off.

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Left Lane: David Grubnic Runs 5.218/211.89 Now #19, (Best prior run: 10.738/ 78.22 Was #23)
Right Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 4.659/300.80 Now # 7, (Best prior run: 5.761/154.79 Was #19)

Grubnic starts mixing up cylinders, but he stays with it and then around 1000 feet the engine lets go with a big ball fire. Dixon is on a really good pass and then gets really loose from half track on, but gets into the top half of the field.

That is it for Top Fuel when end with Eddie still on top and Don Lampus is on the bump with a 4.907.




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