Sat, 9 Oct 2004, 03:45 PM Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Final Session

By Rick Green

MOHNTON, Pa. - Notes from final, round 4 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 20th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals 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: Cory McClenathan Runs 4.573/310.27, Now #7; Best prior run: 4.698/322.50, Was #13
Right Lane: Doug Herbert Runs 4.652/305.01, Now #11; Best prior run: 4.661/304.74, Was #11

3:19 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 71 degrees, relative humidity 64 percent, barometer 29.50 inches, adjusted altitude 1,578 feet, track temperature 80 degrees.

Cory Mac with a great looking pass although it looks like he might of used up an engine right in the lights with a big puff of smoke. Herbert with his best pass of the weekend, but he will stay 11th on the ladder.

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Left Lane: John Smith Runs 8.777/104.36, Now #12; Best prior run: 4.659/311.56, Was #12
Right Lane: Rhonda Hartman-Smith Runs 4.610/317.34, Now #9; Best prior run: 4.650/311.77, Was #10

Smith gets to about 150 feet and then blisters the hides and shuts it off. Hartman-Smith with her best pass of the weekend to move up the ladder one spot, moving Vandergriff back one spot.

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Left Lane: Morgan Lucas Runs 4.619/314.75, Now #6; Best prior run: 4.559/322.81, Was #6
Right Lane: Bob Vandergriff Runs 4.643/310.98, Now #10; Best prior run: 4.640/299.46, Was #10

This was a pretty good side-by-side drag race, but neither will improve on their earlier times and will stay numbers five and ten.

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Left Lane: Brandon Bernstein Runs 4.545/326.48, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.549/327.03, Was #5
Right Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 4.589/319.90, Now #8; Best prior run: 4.581/318.47, Was #8

Both cars launch hard and Bernstein with his best pass of the weekend to move up one spot. Dixon with another good looking pass, but will not move up the ladder. He will end up eighth in points for the Budweiser Shootout in Las Vegas, so he be in the drawing for the last position with drivers nine through 15.

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Left Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 4.548/324.12, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.516/319.60, Was #3
Right Lane: Scott Kalitta Runs 4.495/321.27, Now #3; Best prior run: 4.545/316.45, Was #5

Kalitta with a great looking pass as he launched hard and just rocketed through the 1320. There are now three cars in the 4.40 zone and they are all Team Kalitta cars. Schumacher with another good pass and will have to go one round further than Doug Kalitta tomorrow to clinch the Top Fuel championship.

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Left Lane: David Grubnic Runs 10.754/79.01, Now #2; Best prior run: 4.481/326.16, Was #2
Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 4.468/330.23, Now #1; Best prior run: 4.460/330.88, Was #1

Grubnic made to about 100 feet and then smoked the tires. Kalitta with another great pass, he now has the two quickest and fastest passes of the weekend.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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