Sat, 4 Apr 2009, 04:18 PM Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Rick Green

LAS VEGAS - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, Tenth annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Left Lane: Rob Passey Runs 19.041/42.41, Now #3
Right Lane: Steve Faria Runs 4.837/189.39, Now #1

Weather conditions: air temperature 64 degrees, relative humidity 18 percent, barometer 27.92 inches, adjusted altitude 2,932 feet, track temperature 101 degrees.

Passey with problems right off the starting line and coast on down the drag strip. Faria is dropping cylinders right at the hit and then pushes out a head gasket on top end with a quick flash of flame.

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Left Lane: Steven Chrisman Runs 4.331/281.95, Now #1
Right Lane: Mike Strasburg Runs 5.353/118.34, Now #3

Strasburg starts to get out of the groove and then started to spin the tires. When it did that the rpms went way high and the engine let go with a big fireball. Chrisman was straight down the groove...

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Left Lane: Troy Buff Runs 8.840/99.43, Now #5
Right Lane: Terry Haddock Runs 4.301/231.28, Now #1

Buff is up in smoke as soon as he hits the throttle. Haddock started dropping cylinder and the engine let go.

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Left Lane: Urs Erbacher Runs 5.799/117.96, Now #5
Right Lane: David Baca Runs 6.893/90.44, Now #6

Baca started to smoke the tires around 330 feet and he clicked it off. Erbacher started to smoke around the same time, but pedaled it one time. He was back up in smoke.

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Left Lane: Spencer Massey Runs 4.496/176.28, Now #3
Right Lane: Joe Hartley Runs 4.764/163.57, Now #4

Hartley starts to smoke the tires around 400 feet and clicks it off. Massey made it just a little farther down track before he started to smoke the tires and clicked it off.

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Left Lane: Shawn Langdon Runs 4.229/206.67, Now #1
Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 4.444/222.18, Now #4

Kalitta starts to smoke the tires around 400 feet and clicks it off. Langdon makes it a little father down track before he starts to smoke the tires, but he still goes to the number one spot.

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Left Lane: Morgan Lucas Runs 4.574/217.77, Now #7
Right Lane: Cory McClenathan Runs 4.353/238.47, Now #4

McClenathan starts to smoke the tires and pedals it, and then is mixing up cylinders through the 1000 feet. Lucas is up smoke and pedals it, but can't get it to hook up.

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Left Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 4.393/214.14, Now #6
Right Lane: Brandon Bernstein Runs 4.027/281.13, Now #1

Bernstein goes to the number one spot...Brandon Bernstein's incremental times: 60ft-0.867 sec., 330ft-2.211, 660ft-3.171/253.04 mph. Dixon starts to smoke the tires.

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Left Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 3.933/297.81, Now #1
Right Lane: Antron Brown Runs 4.071/268.49, Now #3

Schumacher with a full pull to go to the number one spot...Tony Schumacher's incremental times: 60ft-0.864 sec., 330ft-2.192, 660ft-3.124/267.53 mph. Brown started to haze the tires around 600 feet.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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