Sat, Feb 27, 03:47 PM CHANDLER - Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #3

By Larry Sullivan Lots of Tire Smoke This Round

CHANDLER, Ariz. - Notes from round 3 qualifying in Funny Car at the 15th annual NHRA Checker Schuck's Kragen 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: John Force No Time, Now #1; Best prior run: 4.853/311.20, Was #1




12:04 PM This session opens with Glenn Mikres on the bubble at 7.797, so you can expect a lot of shuffling in the order.

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Left Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 4.918/310.20, Now #2; Best prior run: 9.486/82.14, Was #17
Right Lane: Ron Capps Runs 5.000/295.34, Now #5; Best prior run: 5.156/276.86, Was #11

Now it's Mustangs 1-2 as Tony jumps from outside the field to the number two spot, right behind team owner John Force. Capps' team appears to be getting the handle on that five-disk clutch setup, missing the fours by the smallest-possible margin.

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Left Lane: Del Worsham Runs 5.419/195.56, Now #8; Best prior run: 5.043/253.33, Was #8
Right Lane: Scotty Cannon Runs 5.612/267.96, Now #17; Best prior run: 10.039/92.67, Was #18

Worsham lost traction and pedaled, finally giving it up past half track when the car skated over very near the wall. Cannon dropped cylinders on both sides and never did pick them back up. Randy Anderson's 5.362 is the mark to beat, by the way.

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Left Lane: Al Hofmann Runs 8.689/96.40, Now #15; Best prior run: 5.344/264.03, Was #15
Right Lane: Cory Lee Runs 4.969/297.61, Now #5; Best prior run: 5.056/293.03, Was #9

Hofmann lost traction almost immediately, the RPMs going way up. Lee made a nice pass, the car on a rope, but his chute was very late and he took a tour of the desert at the end of the track.

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Left Lane: Glenn Mikres No Time, Now #18; Best prior run: 7.797/110.29, Was #18
Right Lane: Gary Densham Runs 5.117/291.32, Now #11; Best prior run: 5.102/285.83, Was #11

Densham's new NEC Camaro is a very good-looking race car, and here he's paired with the equally good-looking "Geronimo" Camaro. But after staging, Mikres' car just sat there while Densham streaked away. There was no obvious reason for the failure, but apparently Mikres decided not to make the run when the "high-side" of the fuel system failed to respond as expected before the launch.

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Left Lane: Whit Bazemore Runs 4.908/306.12, Now #2; Best prior run: 5.016/299.53, Was #8
Right Lane: Randy Anderson Runs 8.883/93.93, Now #16; Best prior run: 5.362/266.69, Was #16

Anderson got about 200 feet out, then struck the tires and abandoned the run. Bazemore made a nice run to split the two Mustangs at the top of the field.

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Left Lane: Wyatt Radke Runs 10.969/71.86, Now #19; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Mitch McDowell Runs 5.296/283.67, Now #14; Best prior run: 5.313/262.03, Was #14

Radke got out about 100 feet and then started leaving dotted tire tracks, a dropped cylinder contributing to the problem. Clean pass for McDowell.

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Left Lane: Frank Pedregon Runs 6.112/155.49, Now #13; Best prior run: 5.219/287.35, Was #13
Right Lane: Don Sosenka Runs 5.497/272.72, Now #17; No Prior Run

Sosenka had problems staging the car, the front of the car too low and triggering the staging beams. Pedregon launched, pedaled, and then called it off around the 330-foot mark when the car started chattering the tires again. No obvious problems for Sosenka, but he was well off the pace.

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Left Lane: Jim Epler Runs 5.086/245.94, Now #10; Best prior run: 5.092/295.21, Was #10
Right Lane: Al Segrini Runs 8.699/97.92, Now #20; Best prior run: 15.561/74.63, Was #21

Segrini's car was shaking the tires - no, it was POUNDING the tires - the rear of the car visibly bouncing up and down, so he called it off. Epler was on a good pass until half track and then there was a puff of smoke, possibly tire smoke, and it shut off around the 1,000-foot marker.

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Left Lane: John Force Runs 13.638/80.99, Now #1; Best prior run: 4.853/311.20, Was #1
Right Lane: Jerry Toliver Runs 9.651/85.69, Now #8; Best prior run: 5.001/295.93, Was #8

Force went about 50 feet, then boiled the tires. Toliver's car headed for the centerline and he called it off.

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Left Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 5.120/247.25, Now #5; Best prior run: 4.964/296.18, Was #5
Right Lane: Dean Skuza Runs 8.986/98.98, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.944/303.30, Was #4

Skuza went about 200 feet, then imitated John Force, up in smoke. Cruz's Interstate Firebird was showing strange flames through most of the run, the engine expiring in a cloud of white smoke as he neared the finish line.

1:40 PM and that's it until Pro Stock returns at 3:30 PM.




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