Fri, Feb 26, 03:14 PM CHANDLER - Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Michael L. Jex Right Lane Tricky In Round One

CHANDLER, Ariz. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Funny Car at the 15th annual NHRA Checker Shuck's Kragen Nationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Left Lane: Al Segrini No Time, Now #1
Right Lane: Wyatt Radke No Time, Now #2

12:04 PM It's sunny, warm, the track has proved quick, but tricky - hey sounds like Firebird Raceway in Chandler doesn't it! Radke's entry has a fuel system problem during the starting procedure, the motor running only on squirts from the crew chiefs fuel bottle, then died. Segrini lifted the left side of the car right at the hit of the throttle, amid tons of tire smoke, then made a move towards the wall, and stopped at the 330-foot mark.

Looks like a broken axle will be one of several things to repair before round two of qualifying for the Massachusetts driver.

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Left Lane: Jerry Toliver Runs 5.068/277.37, Now #1
Right Lane: Frank Pedregon Runs 10.416/82.24, Now #2

Frank Pedregon is THE driver for Jim Dunn and Penthouse for 1999, and will not be driving the In-N-Out Burger Federal-Mogul Dragster this weekend.

Toliver had a very nice run going till he started showing flame out the left side of the motor and lost at least one cylinder on that side. It looked like a gasket got pushed out on that run.

Pedregon shook and chattered the tires hard at the launch, then aborted the run.

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Left Lane: Dean Skuza Runs 4.944/303.30, Now #1
Right Lane: Jim Epler Runs 5.092/295.21, Now #3

One of Skuza's crew members caused quite a stir, he "just" got the timer button on Skuza's Avenger set when the lights went green and Dean left the starting line.

Epler's crew was up late last night prepping their 99 Corvette, and are very happy with a straight as a string run, staying even with the Matco tools entry till the 1000-foot mark.

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Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 5.243/276.01, Now #4
Right Lane: John Force Runs 6.189/194.23, Now #5

Capps and crew Chief Roland Leong "drove the wheels off this thing" in testing since Pomona.

Force got out of the narrow groove and lifted before finding the right side guardwall. Capps had a clyinder go out at the top end of the track, keeping the Copenhagen Camaro in the five second zone.

For now anyway....

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Left Lane: Scotty Cannon Runs 10.039/92.67, Now #7
Right Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 4.964/296.18, Now #2

Cannon's new car goes right at the hit off the throttle, his handling problems not yet cured after all.

The Interstate Batteries bunch are happy with that baseline pass, no worries here about not qualifying for this race.

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Left Lane: Cory Lee Runs 5.056/293.03, Now #3
Right Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 9.486/82.14, Now #8

Pedregon's burnout was much longer than Cory Lee's, he had to hustle getting back to the starting line.

Pedregon shakes then smokes the tires. Lee rattled the Goodyears a little but was able to drive through it to the top half of the program.

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Left Lane: Gary Densham Runs 5.102/285.83, Now #6
Right Lane: Del Worsham No Time, Now #14

Densham has the new body back on his Avenger this weekend.

Worsham pitched sideways right at the hit of the throttle, then crossed the centerline by a foot or so just past the 60 foot mark. He came to a stop at half track, a little smoke coming out past the blower. It looked like he broke an oil

line and got some of the slippery stuff under the tires at the start.

Densham started mixing up cylinders at the top end of the track, and lifted before for the finish line.

The safety safari has been called into service to clean the oil in the right lane.

12:35 PM

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Left Lane: Randy Anderson Runs 5.672/178.24, Now #8
Right Lane: Al Hofmann Runs 8.473/99.13, Now #10

12:48 PM That oil cleanup was about a three bagger, lots of the gooey stuff in the right lane.



Hoffman carried the front wheels past the 60 foot cones then boiled the hides off the Goodyear tires. Anderson was on a pretty good pass till half track, then he suddenly lit up the tires when a clutch timer kicked in.

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Left Lane: Mitch McDowell Runs 16.932/79.53, Now #15
Right Lane: Glenn Mikres Runs 7.797/110.29, Now #10

McDowell's engine continued to idle all the way down track, he must have broken something in the throttle linkage at the start. Mikres rattled and rolled over towards the wall, then lifted when a cylinder went out.

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Left Lane: Dale Creasy, Jr. Runs 5.103/286.56, Now #7
Right Lane: Whit Bazemore Runs 7.087/118.78, Now #11

Another Car in the right lane, the same result. Shake, Rattle and roll towards the wall, then lift. Bazemore's variation was he tried to get back in the throttle and lifted the front end a foot in the air before more tire smok

e rewarded his efforts.

Alfred E. Neuman takes a ride with Dale Creasy to the top half of the program, the pas looked even quicker from our vantage point.

Round one ends with Dean Skuza on top in the Matco Tools Entry, and Frank Pedregon is on the bubble.




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