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CHANDLER, Ariz. - Notes from round 3 qualifying in Top Fuel at the 15th annual NHRA Checker Shuck'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 i n order prior to run:
Left Lane: Cory McClenathan Runs 5.479/272.01, Now #17; Best prior run: 5.427/241.02, Was #17 Right Lane: David Grubnic Runs 4.697/302.48, Now #7; Best prior run: 4.679/294.37, Was #7 12:05 PM Traction at the starting line proved tricky to the Pro Stock drivers earlier, it may prove to be a factor with the Kings of the Sport as well. Corymac would like to get solidly into the program but repeated his pedaling, shaking, skating and frustrating efforts of last night, this time it proved to be two thousandths slower than yesterday. Grubnic's run was consistent, a good pass considering the conditions. We are down for a second to make sure all the smoke in the left lane was due to tire smoke. Left Lane: Randy Parks Runs 6.426/122.14, Now #15; Best prior run: 4.833/298.21, Was #14 Right Lane: Mike Dunn Runs 4.547/316.38, Now #1; Best prior run: 8.719/82.85, Was #20 Randy's crew was up all night getting his 1997 car ready after yesterdays spectacular blowover. Randy's comment about the blowover was simple: "I was amazed how gentle it was. The scary part is there was nothing scary about it." There was nothing gentle about Parks run, he grenaded the motor at the 800 foot mark in a huge ball of flame and smoke. Dunn's run was awesome, the chassis flex a sure sign he was on a great run from the start. He resets Tony Schumacher's ET record from yesterday, making this run the fourth "four point fiver" of the weekend. We are down for a oil and parts cleanup. 12:17 PM Left Lane: Doug Herbert Runs 4.695/293.47, Now #6; Best prior run: 4.656/301.87, Was #6 Right Lane: Connie Kalitta Runs 4.953/216.69, Now #12; Best prior run: 4.723/292.14, Was #12 Herbert got near the centerline, but kept his Snap On Tools dragster in his lane. Kalitta was right with Doug till halftrack, then dumped a bunch of that slippery stuff down on the race track. The safety safari rolls again, this time in the right lane. 12:24 PM Left Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 11.008/72.70, Now #2; Best prior run: 4.580/323.74, Was #2 Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 12.140/80.78, Now #3; Best prior run: 4.581/313.00, Was #3 12:29 PM Both lanes were given a good cleanup by the Safety Safari, and we're ready to go. The track temp is 102 degrees, just about perfect for these high powered dragsters. Schumacher gets a big power wheelie right off the starting line, and wisely aborts the run, the front wheels came down pretty hard, but it doesn't appear that anything was damaged. Kalitta smoked the tires instantly, something wasn't right t in the clutch department. Left Lane: Gina Ferraro Runs 4.935/237.21, Now #16; Best prior run: 5.124/262.44, Was #16 Right Lane: Gary Scelzi Runs 4.677/302.35, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.589/309.70, Was #4 18 year old Gina used up another bullet on this run, a flash of flame showed the end at the 800 foot mark. Scelzi's run looked better than it turned out to be, the dragster was a little lazy off the starting line. Left Lane: Eddie Hill Runs 8.478/88.20, Now #5; Best prior run: 4.639/304.53, Was #5 Right Lane: Robert Reehl Runs 11.322/81.50, Now #14; Best prior run: 4.743/297.55, Was #14 Reehl get's the front end too far up in the air, banging the car back down to earth just past the 330-foot mark. Hill was too aggressive at the start, the tire smoke began before the end of the concrete pad. Left Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 4.634/312.06, Now #5; Best prior run: 5.239/183.67, Was #17 Right Lane: Paul Romine Runs 8.624/91.83, Now #14; Best prior run: 4.738/290.44, Was #13 Dixon recorded an awesome .820 60 foot time, then ran near the centerline to the finishline. Great run for the Miller Dragster. Romine smoked the tires right at the start. Left Lane: Andrew Cowin Runs 10.721/75.50, Now #12; Best prior run: 4.717/303.64, Was #12 Right Lane: Bob Vandergriff Runs 7.457/102.44, Now #19; Best prior run: 6.635/126.76, Was #19 Vandergriff also recorded a .820 60 foot time, but couldn't hold the traction, tire smoke started pouring off the tires just past the 100-foot mark. Cowin's K&N sponsored entry smoked the tires too. He tried to pedal, but broke something. The safety safari gets the call one more time to clean the left lane. Left Lane: Joe Amato Runs 4.619/310.91, Now #5; Best prior run: 8.336/99.41, Was #20 Right Lane: Bruce Sarver Runs 4.639/276.52, Now #8; Best prior run: 4.677/305.84, Was #8 Amato's crew was up late last night, going over every inch of this car in preparation for this mornings session. All the effort paid off, Amato moves into the top half of the field. Sarver started having trouble at half track , and lost the motor before the finish line. The safety safari gets the call again - this time in the left lane. 12:50 PM Left Lane: Kenny Bernstein Runs 4.619/317.42, Now #5; Best prior run: 4.697/317.42, Was #11 Right Lane: Jim Head Runs 4.703/285.05, Now #12; Best prior run: 4.715/299.13, Was #12 12:57 PM The safety safari does their usual quick and effective job, and we are back underway. Kenny made it look easy on that run, straight as a string down the left lane.   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