Sat, 6 Nov 1999, 10:49 AM Championships on the Line at Firebird International Raceway

Courtesy of NHRA Marketing

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- It all comes down to this… Firebird International Raceway hosts the 42nd and final NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event of the year with more than 30 divisional and five national championships to still be decided. More than 600 racecars from all parts of the country converge on Phoenix for that one last chance at taming the quarter-mile. Mark Woods Jr. of Kingsburg, Calif. and Roger Bateman of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, took the No. 1 qualifying positions in Federal-Mogul Dragster and Federal-Mogul Funny Car, respectively.

Some of the best Federal-Mogul Dragster drivers in the world made their way down the Firebird racetrack on Friday evening and one rose to the top, Mark Woods. Woods returning from a six-month hiatus from racing made the better of his first lap since May with a run of 5.504 seconds at 235.56 mph to claim the No. 1 qualifying position.

"The car was a little loose at the start and we lost four cylinders at the 1000 foot mark so I pedaled the car to the finish line", said a surprised Woods. "Thanks to Bob Ottow [crew chief] this car can still take the No. 1 qualifying position with only four cylinders. There are a lot of tough cars out there and its going to be tough to hold on to No. 1"

"The championship is on the line", said a confident Bateman. Bateman made the long trip from Calgary, Canada to stake his claim for the Northwest title and he has started out on the right foot. On a nearly new engine, Bateman ran an almost perfect pass in the cool desert night with a run of 5.724 seconds at 250.78 mph.

"This is the second run on this new engine, said Bateman, and it has improved since our test run yesterday." "It will be tough but I think we can get a little more out of the engine tomorrow if the track holds up."

Qualifying and time trials will continue at Firebird International Raceway on Saturday at 8 a.m. Gates open at 7:30 a.m. Federal-Mogul Dragster and Funny Car will have qualifying sessions at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.

The following are Friday's qualifying results from the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Firebird International Raceway:

FEDERAL-MOGUL DRAGSTER
1. Mark Woods, Kingsbury, Calif., 5.504 seconds, 235.56 mph
2. Rick Henkelman, San Jose, Calif., 5.510, 239.65
3. Dale Carlson, Olympia, Wash., 5.548, 254.86
4. David Wells, LeMars, Iowa, 5.620, 250.97
5. Darryl Hitchman, Hanford, Calif., 5.629, 238.64
6. Rob Wendland, Lawrence, Ks, 5.646, 252.38
7. David Baca, Brentwood, Calif., 5.704, 254.62
8. Duane Shields, Las Vegas, Calif., 5.711, 248.16

FEDERAL-MOGUL FUNNY CAR 
1. Roger Bateman, Calgary, Alb., Canada, 5.724 seconds, 250.78 mph
2. John Weaver, Hanford, Calif., 5.747, 249.76
3. Mert Littlefield, Garden Grove, Calif., 5.769, 242.67
4. Bucky Austin, Fife, Wash., 5.786, 248.84
5. Norm Hill, La Habra, Calif., 5.903, 222.36
6. Doug Gordon, Paso Robles, Calif., 5.924, 239.27
7. James Bartoli, Duarte, Calif., 5.927, 234.25
8. Steve Gasparrelli, West Covina, Calif., 5.929, 243.37

COMP ELIMINATOR
 1. Jeff Gillette, Benicia, Calif., '97 Dragster, B/ED, 7.028 seconds,
(0.572-seconds under Index)
 2. Jeff Lion, Fresno, Calif., '97 Pontiac, F/A, 8.636, (-0.554)
 3. Rick Braun, Redlands, Calif., '97 Pontiac, B/EA, 8.037, (-0.553)
 4. Fred Gross, La Crescenta, Calif., '96 Pontiac, D/A, 8.055, (-0.545)
 5. Jim Kennedy, San Jose, Calif., '97 Pontiac, F/A, 8.671 (-0.519)
 6. Tom Snyder, Longmont, Colo., '23 Chevrolet, 6.884 (-0.516)
 7. Brian Hyerstay, Eugene, Ore., '97 Dragster, G/D, 9.515, (-0.515)
 8. Craig Schuck, Hayward, Calif., '95 Dragster, C/ED, 7.544, (-0.506)
 9. Tommy Brown, Westminster, Calif., '88 Dragster, F/ED, 8.598, (-0.502)
10. Pete Carberry, Odessa, Texas, '89 Oldsmobile, B/A, 7.390, (-0.500)

SUPER STOCK
 1. John Schiess, North Hills, '91 Oldsmobile, GT/CA, 9.558 seconds
(1.292-seconds under Index)
 2. Don Studley, Orange, Calif., '99 Dodge, GT/TC, 10.488, (-1.122)
 3. Tony DeFrank, Tarzana, Calif., '98 Pontiac, GT/GA, 10.245, (-1.115)
 4. Tommy Eriksson, Bellflower, Calif., '93 Oldsmobile, GT/DA, 9.846,
(-1.104)
 5. Jimmy DeFrank, Tarzana, Calif., '89 Chevrolet, GT/HA, 10.487, (-1.023)
 6. Bob Lambeck, Northridge, Calif., '97 Oldsmobile, SS/CM, 9.028, (-1.012)
 7. Bill Bennett, Mt. View, Calif., '87 Chevrolet, GT/EA, 10.096, (-1.004)
 8. Gary McGlasson, Cuba, N.M., '69 Chevrolet, SS/HA, 10.086, (-0.964)
 9. Curt Auman, Yorba Linda, Calif., '90 Chevrolet, SS/AM, 8.725, (-0.955)
10. Ritch Ahrens, Greeley, Colo., '90 Pontiac, GT/EA, 10.176, (-0.924)

STOCK ELIMINATOR
 1. Gary Harper, San Jose Calif., '81 Dodge, FT/SA, 12.302 seconds
(1.638-seconds under Index)
 2. Darren Smith, Palmdale, Calif., '98 Dodge, DT/SA, 12.178 (-1.512)
 3. Bill Rink, Naperville, Ill., '74 Pontiac, K/SA, 11.777, (-1.353)
 4. Marty Woffard, Gore, Okla., '66 Chevrolet, 11.876, (-1.304)
 5. Craig Bloom, Gresham, Ore., '69 Chevrolet, 10.622, (-1.238)
 6. Chuck Rayburn, Castro Valley, Calif., '70 Dodge, 10.541 (-1.169)
 7. Rob Youngblood, Nampa, Id., '71 Ford, 10.838, (-1.132)
 8. Bobby DeArmond, Gallup, N.M., '69 Chevrolet, 10.341, (-1.119)
 9. Gearge Thomson, Van Nuys, Calif., '73 Ford, 11.525, (-1.105)
10. Clark Holroyd, Chino, Calif., '68 Chevrolet, 10.632, (-1.078)

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