Fri, Mar 19, 02:25 PM GAINESVILLE - Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Rick Green

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Funny Car at the 30th Annual Mac Tools Gatornationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Left Lane: Scott Weis Runs 5.351/278.98 Psn # 6

12:09 PM Scott Weis starts this session out with a single. This is his first pass in competition since moving up to the nitro-floppers from Federal-Mogul Funny Car. This was a good looking pass, launched hard and start as a string.

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Right Lane: Bob Gilbertson Runs 9.255/ 88.76 Psn #10

Gilbertson on a single too, he gets out about 150 feet and starts to loses traction and clicks it off.

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Left Lane: Jerry Toliver Runs 5.015/306.19 Psn # 1
Right Lane: Tim Wilkerson Runs 11.649/ 86.02 Psn #12

Wilkerson is starts to smoke the tires as soon as he hits the throttle. Rob Flynn and crew have the WWF car and Toliver ready for the main event with a great out of the box pass here.

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Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 9.927/ 83.81 Psn #11
Right Lane: Phil Burkhart Runs 14.639/ 47.82 Psn #13

Burkhart pulls the front wheels of his nice looking Firebird right off the starting line and shuts it off. Capps is the first one to overpower the track in the left lane when he loses traction at the turn of green. He clicks it off and coast on through the quarter-mile.

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Left Lane: Del Worsham Runs 9.179/ 87.52 Psn # 9
Right Lane: Gary Densham Runs 6.100/147.15 Psn # 7

Worsham makes about 200 feet down track and then starts to smoke the tires, so he lifts. Densham gets close to the centerline almost clipping the half-track cones and at that point decides to click it off.

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Left Lane: Jim Epler Runs 5.059/296.89 Psn # 5
Right Lane: Dean Skuza Runs 5.015/294.56 Psn # 2

Epler uses up all of his lane and gets over close to the wall, but keeps his foot in it all the way to move into the third position. Skuza was a little loose in the first 660 feet of his run, but stays with all the way through for the number two spot behind Toliver.

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Left Lane: Al Hofmann Runs 5.053/301.27 Psn # 4
Right Lane: Dale Creasy, Jr. Runs 5.049/285.77 Psn # 3

Hofmann is only the second driver so far this weekend to break the 300-mile mark with a pretty good looking pass. Creasy with a big puff of smoke on the top end as his speed falls off.

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Left Lane: Cory Lee Runs 5.145/280.95 Psn # 6
Right Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 6.992/123.38 Psn #10

Lee starts to lose traction on the top end while Pedregon looses traction and then an engine when the rpms go way up.

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Left Lane: Whit Bazemore Runs 5.215/231.64 Psn # 8
Right Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 6.992/123.38 Psn #12

Bazemore starts to lose traction on the top end. Pedregon loses traction and then an engine when the rpms go way up.

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Left Lane: John Force Runs 4.979/284.03 Psn # 1
Right Lane: Scotty Cannon Runs 9.190/ 90.39 Psn #13

Force said he started to spin the tires around 60 feet, but he pedaled it and drove it on through to the number one spot. Cannon overpowers the track around 300 feet and clicks it off.

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Right Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 6.186/147.58 Psn #10

Pedregon gets out of the groove around half track starts to smoke the tires and clicks it off. That is the last car of this session.




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