Fri, 29 Oct 1999, 04:23 PM HOUSTON - Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Bob Orme A tricky track

BAYTOWN, Texas - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Funny Car at the 3rd annual Matco Tools SuperNationals presented by Racing Champions listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Left Lane: Scott Weis Runs 5.178/280.60, Now #1
Right Lane: Kenny Sayers Runs 10.141/72.57, Now #2

2:40 PM We begin the 1st round of Funny Car qualifying with Sayers striking the tires at 400', and Weis with a problem-free pass.

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Left Lane: Dale Creasy Jr. Runs 13.604/88.17, Now #3
Right Lane: Tim Wilkerson No Time, Now #4

Creasy was up in smoke immediately and he clicked it off. Wilkerson lost traction at 330', and in the process of pedaling it, got out of shape and took out a 660' cone while crossing the centerline, disqualifying his time on this pass.

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Left Lane: Gary Densham Runs 7.766/111.60, Now #2
Right Lane: Al Hofmann Runs 10.594/78.38, Now #4

Both cars are up in smoke at about 200', Densham pedaling the car a couple times, and Hofmann off the throttle.

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Left Lane: Jerry Toliver Runs 5.505/193.65, Now #2
Right Lane: Scotty Cannon Runs 7.001/123.45, Now #3

Cannon was loose by 60', the rearend of the car moving around until he finally lost all traction at half track. Toliver was on a good pass until about 800' when smoke started coming from the rear of the car.

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Left Lane: Cory Lee Runs 5.425/226.39, Now #2
Right Lane: Tommy Johnson Jr. Runs 7.419/116.14, Now #5

Johnson smokes 'em at 330' and gets off the throttle. Lee does the same, but not until around 800' out. Cory Lee will not be driving Helen Hofmann's car next season, as some thought he would.

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Left Lane: Jim Epler Runs 9.268/96.09, Now #8
Right Lane: Ron Capps Runs 9.209/91.04, Now #7

Syncronized tire smoke at 300', with both drivers getting off the throttle.

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Left Lane: Del Worsham Runs 7.102/120.87, Now #6
Right Lane: Dean Skuza Runs 5.148/279.27, Now #1

The body on Skuza's car is painted with a special formula of paint that changes color as the car moves by. Worsham lost traction at around half track. Skuza was a little loose on the top end of the track, but the pass was quick enough to put him at the top of the ladder for now.

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Left Lane: Frank Pedregon Runs 9.613/95.60, Now #12
Right Lane: Whit Bazemore Runs 5.200/264.55, Now #3

Pedregon lost traction at 330'. Bazemore smoked the tires at about 900', the top end of the track proving to be a puzzle for these cars this afternoon.

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Left Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 6.199/150.83, Now #7
Right Lane: John Force Runs 5.257/215.41, Now #4

Pedregon lost traction at half track and Force had the same problem as a lot of drivers today, tire smoke from about 800', on through the traps. After one round of qualifying, Dean Skuza is on the pole with a 5.148 ET and Al Hofmann is in sixteenth position with a 10.594 ET.




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