Fri, 28 Sep 2001, 09:49 PM CHICAGO-2 - Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Dave Rowe

JOLIET, Ill. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Funny Car at the Inaugural NHRA Nationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Right Lane: Bob Bode Runs 5.186/273.72, Now #1

3:58 PM Bode makes a full pass but smoke started coming from the engine heavily as he went through the lights.

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Left Lane: Dale Creasy Jr. Runs 12.804/81.10, Now #3
Right Lane: John Lawson Runs 5.786/169.66, Now #2

Creasy gets about 100 feet out, breaks the tires loose and gives up on the run. Lawson had problems about 1000 feet out and shut down.

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Left Lane: Tim Wilkerson Runs 4.827/307.23, Now #1
Right Lane: Al Hofmann Runs 10.501/83.92, Now #4

Grat run for Wilkerson, a career best. Hofmann had a good sixty foot time, .883, but went up in smoke soon after and had to shut down.

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Left Lane: Jerry Toliver Runs 11.562/71.70, Now #6
Right Lane: Chuck Etchells Runs 7.859/122.89, Now #4

Toliver went up in smoke about 200 feet out and shut down. Etchells had an .891 sixty foot time, then goes up in smoke. He got back on the throttle a little past half-track and drove it through.

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Left Lane: Johnny Gray Runs 8.468/108.68, Now #5
Right Lane: Bob Gilbertson Runs 10.147/85.09, Now #6

Both drivers go up in smoke, Gilbertson about 100 feet out, Gray soon after.

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Left Lane: Scotty Cannon Runs 10.738/80.94, Now #9
Right Lane: Jim Epler Runs 5.026/273.44, Now #2

Cannon breaks the tires loose about 100 feet out and shut down. Epler lost traction at about the same point, pedaled and drove on through for a decent run.

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Left Lane: Dean Skuza Runs 7.275/118.65, Now #6
Right Lane: Gary Densham Runs 5.179/218.09, Now #3

Densham started mixing up cylinders right off the line and goes through the lights with smoke pouring out the headers. Skuza has the same problem but shuts down about 300 feet out.

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Left Lane: Tommy Johnson Jr. Runs 12.808/82.90, Now #15
Right Lane: Frank Pedregon Runs 11.501/74.09, Now #12

More of the same, both cars go up in smoke about 200 feet out and shut down.

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Left Lane: Bruce Sarver Runs 5.272/297.94, Now #6
Right Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 4.828/310.70, Now #2

We finally have two cars get down the track, Pedregon making a great run to get in the second spot behind Wilkerson. Sarver doesn't make a great pass, but he does well enough to get in the sixth spot for now.

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Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 15.228/74.80, Now #19
Right Lane: Del Worsham Runs 10.126/80.89, Now #11

Capps hits the throttle and goes up in smoke. Worsham gets a little further out and suffers the same fate.

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Left Lane: Whit Bazemore Runs 4.801/316.82, Now #1
Right Lane: John Force Runs 4.848/308.85, Now #4

No traction problems for these two, Bazemore had an .899 sixty foot time to Force's .874, but he came on about the 1000 foot mark and drove around for the top spot for now.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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