Thu, 11 Nov 2004, 05:17 PM Top Alcohol Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Larry Sullivan

POMONA, Calif. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Top Alcohol Funny Car at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 40th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Left Lane: Jeff Carroll Runs 6.076/240.85, Now #1
Right Lane: Bil Gallio Runs 7.964/178.31, Now #2

1:20 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 63 degrees, relative humidity 69 percent, barometer 29.08 inches, adjusted altitude 1,470 feet, track temperature 82 degrees.

Lots of hard shake in both lanes, Carroll pedaling and continuing, Gallio throwing in the towel.

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Left Lane: Hannes Wernhart Runs 6.186/232.27, Now #2
Right Lane: Brian Hough No Time, Now #4

Hough left before the tree was activated, then both cars shook and Wernhart was busy dodgig pieces that shook off Hough's car. Both tried to complete their run, Hough getting very close to the wall on the top end.

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Left Lane: Tate Branch Runs 7.485/118.82, Now #4
Right Lane: Hank Coolidge No Time, Now #1

Branch shook and pedaled early in his run, then Coolidge's car got very tail-happy, fishtailing so hard that it threw the half-track timing reflectors into Branch's lane, the foam blocks hitting Branch's car. Then Coolidge's car appeared to graze the right wall and went a long way down the shutdown area before the chutes came out.

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Left Lane: Kris Hool Runs 5.981/248.02, Now #3
Right Lane: Bernie Harrington Runs 5.933/244.34, Now #1

After all the excitement in the previous pairs, this one was rather tame, two clean runs, right down the groove.

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Left Lane: John Weaver Runs 6.099/238.64, Now #6
Right Lane: Clint Thompson Runs 5.840/249.67, Now #1

Thompson's car gave off a couple of weak backfires the first time they tried to fire it, so they backed it down and tried again. Looks like it wasn't anything serious, his car made a nice run. Weaver shook on the launch and pedaled out of it.

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Left Lane: Mert Littlefield Runs 5.726/250.69, Now #1
Right Lane: Doug Gordon Runs 13.675/71.72, Now #11

2004 Division 7 champion Gordon shook very hard on the launch and shut it off. Littlefield shook slightly, but drove through it to take the top spot.

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Left Lane: Ron August Jr Runs 5.663/257.04, Now #1
Right Lane: John Patton Runs 5.777/248.43, Now #3

Finally a pair of nice runs, both cars smoothly down the groove.

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Left Lane: Dennis Taylor Runs 5.683/249.39, Now #2
Right Lane: Bret Williamson Runs 5.872/247.16, Now #6

Taylor joined August in the sixties and Williamson made a clean pass, no wasted motion.

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Left Lane: Danny Townsend Runs 5.716/246.39, Now #4
Right Lane: Mark Woznichak Runs 5.690/254.57, Now #3

Looks like the cars further back in the lanes were able to adjust a bit after seeing the first few pairs of cars struggle a bit, Woznichak with the third sixty of the day and Townsend just a few ticks behind him.

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Left Lane: Vern Moats Runs 5.758/246.26, Now #6
Right Lane: Marc White Runs 6.008/173.74, Now #13

Moats' car was all over the lane, first left of the groove and then near the centerline. White was on a nice pass, 0.07 seconds and 6 mph ahead of Moats at half track, but the pressure relief hatch in the hood went sailing high in the air just before the 1,000-foot marker.

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Left Lane: Jon Capps Runs 10.807/76.18, Now #19
Right Lane: Steve Gasparrelli No Time, Now #22

Capps shook and slowed. Gasparrelli had the wheels up and headed right for the half-track timing reflectors, sending them flying across the track.

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Left Lane: Roger Bateman Runs 11.100/71.05, Now #21
Right Lane: Bucky Austin Runs 5.712/251.58, Now #4

Bateman's car shook and fishtailed, the rear of the car first out to the right, then to the left, but he lifted before the half-track blocks came into play. Austin's car went right down the groove, but he was unable to get it into the sixties.

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Left Lane: Jay Payne Runs 5.636/258.12, Now #1

Payne closes out the round by running the quickest and fastest run of the session, the car on a rope, right down the groove.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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