Fri, 16 May 2003, 02:29 PM Top Alcohol Dragster Qualifying Notes, Session #2

By Jim Samuel

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. - Notes from round 2 qualifying in Top Alcohol Dragster at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 34th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Pep Boys listing lane, driver name, elapsed time/top speed this round, position in order following run, best prior elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to run:

---

Left Lane: Mike Kosky Runs 5.493/251.30, Now #2; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Steve Lamplough Runs 11.568/69.81, Now #14; No Prior Run

1:57 PM - At the start of the second round of qualifying, the air temperature was 51 degrees, the absolute barometric pressure was 29.97 and steady and the humidity was 78 percent. Kosky got the front wheels off the ground at the start and drifted right toward the center line but stayed on his side of the track for a good run. Lamplough shook the tires hard and shut it down.

---

Left Lane: Karen Benkovich Runs 6.651/143.64, Now #9; Best prior run: 6.261/173.72, Was #9
Right Lane: Tom Pickett No Time, Now #19; No Prior Run

Pickett rolled through the beams as he tried to stage and did not get a time. Benkovich had a smooth run with just a little bit of tire shake.

---

Left Lane: Ken Winward Runs 5.648/251.11, Now #6; Best prior run: 5.799/251.06, Was #8
Right Lane: Bruce Insinger No Time, Now #11; Best prior run: 7.129/136.94, Was #11

Insinger made his burnout and his car started leaking so he had to shut down. Winward was close to the wall but stayed in the lane for a good run.

---

Left Lane: Richard Bourke Runs 5.455/266.69, Now #1; Best prior run: 5.464/270.70, Was #1

Bourke was the number one qualifier in round one and he picked up nearly one-hundredth of a second with a strong, smooth run.

---

Left Lane: Arthur Gallant Runs 11.250/68.48, Now #8; Best prior run: 5.759/255.92, Was #8
Right Lane: Rich McPhillips Runs 5.693/252.95, Now #5; Best prior run: 5.644/254.52, Was #5

McPhillips tried to do a burnout but when he hit the throttle, nothing happened. He backed up and tried again. The second time, the car sounded as if it was going to die before McPhillips was able to complete a burnout. Gallant shook the tires at the start and dropped a few cylinders. In the right lane, McPhillips had a clean run but did not improve on his first round time.

---

Left Lane: Robert Leverich Runs 6.851/210.28, Now #11; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Steven Cantrell No Time, Now #16; Best prior run: 28.000/0.00, Was #15

Leverich did not get a time in the first because he could not back up after his burnout. Cantrell broke a blower belt and did not get a time. This time, Cantrell was not able to start his car and had to be pushed out of the staging area. Leverich shook the tires and his car started to smoke at about 1,000 feet.

---

Right Lane: Tony Bartone Runs 9.163/100.52, Now #13; Best prior run: 9.607/81.57, Was #13

Bartone launched and shut it down by the 100 foot mark.

---

Right Lane: Douglas Foley No Time, Now #3; Best prior run: 5.608/242.41, Was #3

Foley fired the engine and immediately shut it down, so something must have been wrong.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



NHRA: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]

Nov 06- LAS VEGAS - Top Alcohol Funny Car Final, Round 4 Eliminations
Nov 06- LAS VEGAS - Competition Eliminator Final, Round 5 Eliminations
Nov 06- LAS VEGAS - Top Dragster Final, Round 5 Eliminations
Nov 05- POMONA 2 - Event Preview
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Top Alcohol Funny Car
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Top Alcohol Dragster
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Competition Eliminator
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Super Stock
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Stock Eliminator
Nov 02- LAS VEGAS - Summary of Eliminations in Super Gas