Sat, 15 Mar 2003, 01:23 PM Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Session #3

By Larry Sullivan

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Notes from round 3 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 34th annual MAC Tools NHRA Gatornationals 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:

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Left Lane: Rit Pustari Runs 4.843/286.35, Now #16; Best prior run: 4.779/300.40, Was #16
Right Lane: Grant Flowers Runs 12.271/87.19, Now #23; No Prior Run

12:31 PM Flowers was up in smoke immediately, but Pustari made a good run to 1,000 feet, then started mixing the cylinders up. There "stuff" on the track in the shutdown area, so he hurt it a bit.

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Left Lane: David Baca Runs 4.673/303.43, Now #11; Best prior run: 6.156/148.07, Was #21
Right Lane: Jim Head Runs 4.671/310.88, Now #10; Best prior run: 4.721/300.70, Was #13

Two nice runs, tightening the field up a whole lot. That bumped Pustari, putting Don Garlits on the bubble at 4.761.

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Left Lane: Chris Karamesines Runs 4.946/239.68, Now #20; Best prior run: 6.151/143.70, Was #21
Right Lane: Bruce Litton Runs 4.706/308.00, Now #12; Best prior run: 4.684/303.95, Was #12

Karamesines' car kept trying to go to the left. He drove it like a sprint car, sideways, to half track, then the car went to the left and he had to lift to avoid the wall. Litton failed to improve, but he's consistent.

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Left Lane: Josh Starcher Runs 4.753/301.91, Now #16; Best prior run: 4.793/269.78, Was #19
Right Lane: Scott Weis Runs 4.726/289.48, Now #15; Best prior run: 10.555/79.30, Was #22

The youngest driver in the field just helped bump the second-oldest, Starcher making a career-best run to bump Garlits. Actually, since Weis was the quicker of the two, he bumped Garlits and Starcher bumped Mike Smith. Now Starcher is on the bump spot.

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Left Lane: Cory McClenathan Runs 4.597/320.05, Now #7; Best prior run: 4.638/316.90, Was #7
Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 4.563/326.08, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.585/321.42, Was #6

Two nice runs, Cory Mac with no fireworks and Kalitta with a big speed.

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Left Lane: Rhonda Hartman-Smith Runs 4.644/315.01, Now #8; Best prior run: 4.693/319.37, Was #14
Right Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 4.578/313.04, Now #6; Best prior run: 4.581/315.01, Was #6

Nice runs, two more of them. Give these crew chiefs enough shots at a good track and they will all come up with good combinations!

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Left Lane: Andrew Cowin Runs 11.153/80.78, Now #14; Best prior run: 4.688/307.48, Was #14
Right Lane: Paul Romine Runs 10.954/88.88, Now #22; Best prior run: 4.947/216.03, Was #22

Synchronized tire smoke, in both lanes.

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Left Lane: John Smith Runs 12.319/82.99, Now #9; Best prior run: 4.648/312.71, Was #9
Right Lane: Shirley Muldowney Runs 4.694/295.46, Now #15; Best prior run: 4.792/303.54, Was #20

Smith was up in smoke early in the run. Muldowney wrestled with the car all the way down the track, showing her years of driving experience, and got in the field, bumping Starcher. That put Scott Weis on the bubble at 4.726.

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Left Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 4.541/321.31, Now #1; Best prior run: 4.569/322.46, Was #5
Right Lane: Don Garlits Runs 4.809/290.79, Now #19; Best prior run: 4.761/323.04, Was #19

Swamp Rat 34 was a very squirrely beast on this run, garlits wrestling the car and unable to keep it from taking out the timing reflectors at the finish line. Fortunately for Dixon, he got there first, so his run stands and Garlits' does not count. Since he failed to improve, the loss of the run doesn't matter, but now he's down to one shot to qualify in the field. meanwhile, Dixon moved up to the top spot, but there are still a couple of quick cars left in the lanes to try to knock him off the top of the ladder. Actually, there are four quick cars left, all with the capability of beating a 4.54.

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Left Lane: Clay Millican Runs 4.596/320.05, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.559/316.34, Was #4
Right Lane: Darrell Russell Runs 6.859/117.26, Now #10; Best prior run: 4.651/316.67, Was #10

Russell would have to run a career-best to beat Dixon, but he's been as quick as 4.544, Millican's best a 4.522. But both came up short, Russell losing traction about 200 feet out, Millican losing five hundredths to Dixon by half track.

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Left Lane: Doug Herbert Runs 5.365/175.78, Now #3; Best prior run: 4.556/323.50, Was #3
Right Lane: Brandon Bernstein Runs 4.577/322.69, Now #2; Best prior run: 4.547/324.67, Was #2

Both these drivers have 4.51 career-best runs, but Herbert was right with Bernstein to 330 feet, then began falling back, giving up on the run before 1,000 feet. Bernstein was only a couple hundredths back of Dixon at half track, but could not make up the deficit on the top end.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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