Sat, 24 Feb 2007, 03:20 PM Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Session #3

By Rick Green

CHANDLER, Ariz. - Notes from round 3 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 23rd annual Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals presented by Castrol 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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Right Lane: Rod Fuller Runs 12.013/75.94, Now #2; Best prior run: 4.471/331.61, Was #2

Weather conditions: air temperature 70 degrees, relative humidity 17 percent, barometer 29.10 inches, adjusted altitude 1,815 feet, track temperature 84 degrees.

Fuller is up in smoke as soon as he hit the throttle.

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Left Lane: Cory McClenathan Runs 5.581/166.17, Now #15; Best prior run: 9.924/80.70, Was #17
Right Lane: Mike Strasburg Runs 9.073/93.00, Now #16; Best prior run: 8.716/96.51, Was #15

McClenathan starts to shake right off the starting line and pedals it and then drops cylinders and loses traction again before he clicked it off just past half track. Strasburg lost traction right off the starting line.

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Left Lane: Brandon Bernstein Runs 10.336/74.61, Now #5; Best prior run: 4.512/328.30, Was #5
Right Lane: Doug Foley Runs 12.744/79.94, Now #9; Best prior run: 4.560/326.16, Was #9

Foley is up in smoke as soon as he hits the throttle. Bernstein starts to shake the tires right off the starting line and clicks it off.

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Left Lane: Alan Bradshaw Runs 4.608/299.26, Now #14; Best prior run: 9.883/76.95, Was #17
Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 6.552/138.23, Now #15; Best prior run: 4.995/201.97, Was #14

Kalitta loses traction early and attempts to drive through it and finally he lifts when engine went silent. Bradshaw with a nice pass until right before the finish line when it started to haze the Goodyears. He gets into the show and bumps out Strasburg. Cory McClenathan is on the bump spot at 5.581.

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Left Lane: Whit Bazemore Runs 4.507/327.19, Now #4; Best prior run: 10.217/73.51, Was #18
Right Lane: Clay Millican Runs 4.729/257.83, Now #13; Best prior run: 4.603/317.05, Was #12

Bazemore launched hard and keep the Goodyears hooked up all the way down the 1320. This pass ties his career best speed mark. Whit Bazemore's incremental times: 60ft-0.851 sec., 330ft-2.163, 660ft-3.067/279.85mph, 1,000ft-3.832 At the end of the run it took a long time for his chute to deploy and when it did only one chute did come out. Bazemore was able to get the car stopped on this long shut down area. Millican lost a cylinder early in the run and then was mixing up a bunch of cylinders from half track on.

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Left Lane: David Grubnic Runs 4.589/322.42, Now #12; Best prior run: 10.520/80.56, Was #19
Right Lane: Doug Herbert Runs 7.920/90.18, Now #13; Best prior run: 4.594/309.06, Was #12

Herbert started to smoke the tires around 150 feet. Grubnic with a real nice pass to get into the show and bump out his teammate Doug Kalitta. Kalitta is riding a 161 race qualifying streak with one more pass to get into the show.

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Left Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 4.511/323.19, Now #6; Best prior run: 4.583/314.53, Was #11
Right Lane: Bob Vandergriff Runs 9.694/75.40, Now #8; Best prior run: 4.523/329.58, Was #7

Vandergriff started to shake the tires and then smokes them before he clicks it off. Dixon with a good clean pass to get into the top half of the show.

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Left Lane: Joe Hartley Runs 4.643/295.27, Now #15; Best prior run: 4.605/330.88, Was #15
Right Lane: J.R. Todd Runs 4.541/312.06, Now #5; Best prior run: 4.510/323.43, Was #5

It appeared Hartley pushed a head gasket around 330 feet and he still drives through the 1320. Todd with a good clean pass, but doesn't improve.

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Left Lane: Morgan Lucas Runs 4.539/326.32, Now #9; Best prior run: 4.555/325.92, Was #10
Right Lane: Melanie Troxel Runs 10.487/76.82, Now #3; Best prior run: 4.495/331.12, Was #3

Troxel is up in smoke right off the starting line. Lucas with another good clean pass.

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Left Lane: Hillary Will Runs 4.691/312.42, Now #10; Best prior run: 4.546/323.89, Was #10
Right Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 7.260/108.19, Now #1; Best prior run: 4.430/328.22, Was #1

Schumacher smokes the tires by 200 feet and clicks it off. Will had a hole out right at the hit and then drifted over close to the wall on the top end.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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