Sun, 16 Mar 2003, 12:09 PM
Top Fuel Round 1 Eliminations
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By Larry Sullivan
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 34th annual
MAC Tools NHRA Gatornationals:
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
9 Rhonda Hartman-Smith 10 John Smith
E1 0.100 4.788 285.26 ****WINNER**** 0.083 4.613 296.34
Qualified: #8 4.644 315.01 #9 4.648 312.71
10:05 AM Current weather conditions: 59 degrees, 96 percent relative humidity, the
barometer 29.94 inches, with a track temperature of 81 degrees.It's a family affair to open
the show, and husband John puts wife Rhonda in the trailer with his third run in the sixties
this weekend, leading from wire to wire. Rhonda's engine expired in the lights with a big cloud
of smoke, but the track was dry and racing continued.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
5 Cory McClenathan 6 Darrell Russell
E1 ****WINNER**** 0.091 4.629 317.12 0.074 10.653 67.13
Qualified: #7 4.597 320.05 #10 4.651 316.67
Russell's car shook very hard, then the engine went silent, giving Cory Mac a clear run to
the win light. Russell's car never did go into full tire smoke, but the tire tracks clearly
showed chatter marks where the tires alternated between gripping and slipping.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
3 Tony Schumacher 888 Jim Head
E1 0.056 5.445 171.49 ****WINNER**** 0.064 4.650 304.98
Qualified: #6 4.578 313.04 #11 4.671 310.88
This was a close drag race to 330 feet, Schumacher leading by a couple hundredths of a
second, then the Army car grenaded an engine in a big fireball and Head drove away for a
surprisingly easy win with his best run of the weekend. We'll be down for a bit while the
Safety Safari takes care of the stuff in the left lane.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
255 Clay Millican 797 David Baca
E1 0.073 4.644 317.90 ****WINNER**** 0.089 4.591 304.77
Qualified: #5 4.559 316.34 #12 4.673 303.43
That was one of the longest cleanups we've had in a long time, the hard-working heroes of
the Safety Safari usually able to deal with an incident in a couple minutes. This one was Baca
all the way, leaving first and then running a career-best elapsed time to get his first-ever
round win in Top Fuel competition. Millican closed the gap slightly on the top end, but ran out
of race track.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
8 Andrew Cowin 2 Brandon Bernstein
E1 9.999 No Time ****WINNER**** 0.088 4.578 321.08
Qualified: #15 4.688 307.48 #2 4.537 327.27
Cowin's team shut the car off after the burnout, so Bernstein got a freebie. He made a very
nice run, strong and straight, to earn lane choice against Cory Mac in the second round. The
track crew went to work in the left lane, cleaning up a thin trail of oil from Cowin's car,
using a roll of oil cleanup blotter paper to do most of the cleanup, followed by the
scrubber.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
337 Paul Romine 7 Doug Herbert
E1 -0.001 10.911 104.76 ****WINNER**** 0.093 8.113 96.29
Qualified: #13 4.683 318.58 #4 4.556 323.50
Interesting matchup here, Romine driving for Herbert the last couple of years and now
sporting the CARQUEST colors on the John Mitchell dragster. It was ugly, Romine went red by the
smallest possible margin and then up in smoke instantly. Herbert then lost an engine with a big
flash of flame, the concussion blowing body panels off the car. Both cars rolled slowly down
the track, Herbert's win light already on. Herbert's crew will have a lot of work to do in
order to race Baca next round and Baca will have lane choice.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
345 Bruce Litton 1 Larry Dixon
E1 0.038 4.816 265.56 ****WINNER**** 0.066 4.552 326.56
Qualified: #14 4.684 303.95 #3 4.541 321.31
Though spectacular, Herbert's engine explosion was relatively dry and the cleanup was quick,
mostly picking up pieces of bodywork. Litton got a big holeshot, but Dixon wiped that out
before reaching the 330-foot marker and then drove away for the win with low ET of the round so
far. He has lane choice over Head in round two.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
390 Shirley Muldowney 4 Doug Kalitta
E1 -0.077 6.202 135.82 ****WINNER**** 0.079 4.548 323.62
Qualified: #16 4.694 295.46 #1 4.535 300.90
These two met in the first round at Indy in 2000, Kalitta qualified #1 and Muldowney #16.
In that one, Kalitta smoked the tires and Muldowney went into a big wheelstand, the front end
collapsing when it came back down. The impact knocked the right front wheel off and the wheel
went across the track, hitting Kalitta. He won anyway because her car crossed the
centerline. This one was not as dramatic, Muldowney very red and Kalitta very quick,
quickest of the round. He will have lane choice against John Smith in the second
round.
Timing data courtesy of
CompuLink
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