Sat, Feb 27, 07:35 PM CHANDLER - Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Final Session

By Larry Sullivan Randy's In, Scotty's Out

CHANDLER, Ariz. - Notes from final, round 4 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:

04:45 PM The final session opens with Randy Anderson on the bubble at 5.362 seconds.

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Left Lane: Gary Densham Runs 5.215/284.81, Now #11; Best prior run: 5.102/285.83, Was #11
Right Lane: Glenn Mikres Runs 10.633/80.90, Now #19; Best prior run: 7.797/110.29, Was #19

Densham's car dropped a couple holes on the right side and tried to cross the centerline. He manhandled it back, but fell off the pace.

Mikres went about 100 feet, rattled the tires, and shut it off.

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Left Lane: Randy Anderson Runs 5.401/262.59, Now #16; Best prior run: 5.362/266.69, Was #16
Right Lane: Whit Bazemore Runs 10.717/75.50, Now #2; Best prior run: 4.908/306.12, Was #2

Same story for Anderson, a dropped cylinder on the right side letting the left-side header flames push the car to the right and almost crossing the centerline. Bazemore went out about 100 feet, struck the tires, and abandoned the run.

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Left Lane: Mitch McDowell Runs 8.685/94.14, Now #14; Best prior run: 5.296/283.67, Was #14
Right Lane: Wyatt Radke No Time, Now #21; Best prior run: 10.969/71.86, Was #21

Radke's car lost the engine on the burnout, coming to a stop about 250 feet down the strip. He got out and McDowell made a single with the dead car sitting there. McDowell's car also went to the right, the cause not immediately clear, and he shut it off.

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Left Lane: Don Sosenka Runs 5.520/270.05, Now #17; Best prior run: 5.497/272.72, Was #17
Right Lane: Frank Pedregon Runs 5.007/297.35, Now #9; Best prior run: 5.219/287.35, Was #13

Jim Dunn's tuning finally came through, moving the Penthouse Firebird up to the middle of the field. Sosenka made a game effort, but that low budget team just can't keep up with the highly-sponsored teams at this race.

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Left Lane: Al Segrini Runs 9.495/91.27, Now #20; Best prior run: 8.699/97.92, Was #20
Right Lane: Jim Epler Runs 4.973/298.93, Now #7; Best prior run: 5.086/245.94, Was #11

Segrini's car left with the front wheels in the air and tried to cross the centerline. He pedaled it once, but when he got back on the throttle, the front end came up again and he had to give it up. Meanwhile, Epler jumped right in the middle of the fight, moving past Ron Capps and into the top half of the order.

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Left Lane: Jerry Toliver Runs 5.107/304.32, Now #9; Best prior run: 5.001/295.93, Was #9
Right Lane: John Force Runs 4.912/304.60, Now #1; Best prior run: 4.853/311.20, Was #1

Toliver pedaled once, about 100 feet out, to get out of tire shake. Force didn't appear to pedal at all, the car on a rope and right down the middle of the lane.

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Left Lane: Dean Skuza Runs 7.745/115.12, Now #5; Best prior run: 4.944/303.30, Was #4
Right Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 4.888/309.84, Now #2; Best prior run: 4.964/296.18, Was #5

Skuza lost traction after 200 feet. "The Cruzer" laid down a picture-perfect pass, throwing the gauntlet down for Force and pushing Tony Pedregon over to the same side of the ladder as Force.

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Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 5.010/290.44, Now #8; Best prior run: 5.000/295.34, Was #8
Right Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 16.449/68.21, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.918/310.20, Was #4

And Tony stays on the same side of the ladder as Force, losing traction in the first 100 feet. Capps' run looked better than the numbers, the team still sorting out the five-disk clutch setup.

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Left Lane: Scotty Cannon Runs 7.074/123.40, Now #18; Best prior run: 5.612/267.96, Was #18
Right Lane: Del Worsham No Time, Now #11; Best prior run: 5.043/253.33, Was #11

Worsham made the burnout, but the crew signaled him to shut off after he backed up, dribbles of oil marking his burnout path. Cannon's car once again went to the right on the launch, Cannon pedaling once and then abandoning the run, a DNQ marked against his name for the first time in NHRA Funny Car competition.

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Right Lane: Al Hofmann Runs 4.997/299.00, Now #8; Best prior run: 5.344/264.03, Was #15

5:23 PM Hofmann closes qualifying in fine style, moving into the fours and into the top half of the field on a very loose-looking run. The front of the car was hunting back and forth all the way down the strip and Hofmann drove his heart out to keep it between the lines.




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