Sat, 3 Nov 2001, 08:52 PM
FMDRS 7-6 - Federal-Mogul Dragster Round 1 Eliminations
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By Larry Sullivan
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LAS VEGAS -
Results of round 1 eliminations in Federal-Mogul Dragster at the Division Seven
FMDRS Final:
Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
18 Ed Vickroy 6.544 170.99 Q Bye
0.000 No Data E1
12:38 PM Vickroy didn't make a run yesterday, so this is his
Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
8 Mike Strasburg 5.608 253.33 Q 9 Brandon Henkelman 5.609 256.16
*****WINNER***** 0.424 5.521 256.94 E1 0.484 5.737 251.39
5:08 PM With over 850 cars on the grounds for this event, things are running a
bit behind schedule, but we have been steadily sending cars home since about 1:00
p.m. today. Now it's time to cut the sixteen-car fields for Federal-Mogul cars in
half.
This first pair qualified in the middle of the field, but at most
divisional races you would expect them to meet in a much later round, a very tough
field showing up here this weekend. This time it was all Strasburg, sawing the
tree down and then bettering his qualifying effort by almost a tenth of a second.
Henkelman had problems from the start, his car sluggish off the line and never
really picking the pace up until past half track. Strasburg needs to win this race
to win the Division 7 title, so he's three rounds away from his goal now.
Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
11 Karl Brounkowski 5.692 255.92 Q 6 Paul Jones 5.606 255.53
*****WINNER***** 0.480 5.671 257.04 E1 0.434 6.148 254.62
Jones chose the right lane, not the usual pattern here. That may have been a
mistake, his excellent reaction time more than offset by severe tire spin, the car
shaking so hard he had to get completely out of the throttle. By then, Brounkowski
was long gone, running a couple hundredths of a second quicker than his qualifying
pace.
Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
1 Duane Shields 5.429 262.49 Q 16 Gary Anderson 5.910 245.27
*****WINNER***** 1.094 7.689 114.92 E1 0.087 7.199 118.73
Shields made the conventional choice, taking the left lane. Shields showed his
driving "smarts" here, Anderson leaving way early and Shields waiting to settle
down before launching his car. Then Shields' car began shaking and skating around,
getting very close to the centerline, and Shields wisely lifted to avoid crossing
the centerline, which would have given the win back to Anderson. He lost lane
choice to Strasburg, setting up a very important matchup for the second
round.
Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
2 Brian Hough 5.532 257.87 Q 15 Larry Miersch 5.809 239.61
*****WINNER***** 0.483 5.470 260.76 E1 0.448 5.787 238.89
Miersch left first, but Hough made that up in the first 60 feet,a nd then made
an almost flawless run while Miersch's car was dropping cylinders a nd picking them
back up again, the header flames very ragged. The track crew checked the right
lane, but it was all clear.
Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
7 Don Hudson 5.608 253.95 Q 10 Steve Federlin 5.624 254.76
*****WINNER***** 0.425 No Time E1 0.394 7.117 124.37
"First or worst." Federlin lit the red bulb, but Hudson got out of the groove,
near the wall, and when he tried to correct it the car dove across the groove and
straddled the centerline, taking out the half-track timing reflectors. That gave
the win to Federlin, who loses lane choice to Hough next round.
Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
3 Darren Nicholson 5.583 253.47 Q 14 Tony Bartone 5.737 240.68
*****WINNER***** 0.513 5.615 251.91 E1 0.433 5.760 248.25
Bartone did his job with a great light, but didn't have the ponies this weekend
and Nicholson ran him down on the top end for a car length win. Margin of victory
= 0.065 seconds (approximately 24 feet). Nicholson's car was trailing a cloud of
spray or smoke on the top end, but the track check came up clear. He has lane
choice against Brounkowski next round.
Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
4 Brandon Bernstein 5.592 244.87 Q 13 Darryl Hitchman 5.732 228.85
*****WINNER***** 0.421 5.506 243.19 E1 0.476 5.770 227.08
Bernstein didn't leave much on the table, sawing the tree down and then pulling
away for a surprisingly easy win. The gap was about a tenth of a second at half
track, more than three tenths at the finish line. Bernstein picked up almost a
tenth over his qualifying run, the car finally running close to its
potential.
Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
5 Dave Hirata 5.601 253.14 Q 12 Kent Nuckols 5.704 249.12
0.540 6.011 218.65 E1 *****WINNER***** 0.428 5.665 250.60
Last pair. Hirata was late and then pedaled it, the car appearing to push out
a head gasket when he did so. The header flames were very erratic and there were
several flashes of flame from the left side of the engine the rest of the way down
the track. Meanwhile, Nuckols made a very nice run, starting with a grat light and
then driving down the middle of the groove for a surprisingly easy win over a
usually tough opponent. Nuckols loses lane choice to Bernstein in round
two.
Timing data
courtesy of CompuLink
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