Sat, 13 Feb 2010, 07:08 PM Top Alcohol Dragster Round 1 Eliminations

By David Gerard

POMONA, Calif. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Alcohol Dragster at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  777 Mark Niver                            613 Joey Severance               
E1                         No Time           ****WINNER****  0.151  5.371 267.59
 Qualified:            #11  5.437 268.92                        #6  5.347 265.06

3:34 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 78 degrees, relative humidity 26 percent, barometer 28.88 inches, adjusted altitude 2,833 feet, track temperature 94 degrees.

Lots of good passes in the right lane for the TAFC's. The left lane? Not so much!

Fueler vs. Blower!

It's over before the green, as Niver bumps the throttle twice and pulls the dragster through the staging lights. No time for him.

Severance kept his cool and laid down a clean and straight pass for the easy win.

Joey Severance's incremental times: 60ft-0.935 sec., 330ft-2.392, 660ft-3.541/215.10 mph, 1,000ft-4.530.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    4 Shawn Cowie                            64 Dale Carlson                 
E1   ****WINNER****  0.072  5.358 266.48                     0.060  5.384 262.69
 Qualified:             #9  5.393 262.08                        #8  5.391 265.12

Two blown cars this time and Cowie comes from behind to take the very close win. Great race for both cars!

Shawn Cowie's MOV: 0.0148 seconds (approximately 6 feet).

Shawn Cowie's incremental times: 60ft-0.943 sec., 330ft-2.375, 660ft-3.527/213.87 mph, 1,000ft-4.516.
Dale Carlson's incremental times: 60ft-0.924 sec., 330ft-2.383, 660ft-3.535/213.47 mph, 1,000ft-4.530.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 7303 Brooks Brown                          745 Brittany Force               
E1                   0.110  9.623  90.95     ****WINNER****  0.154  5.547 258.37
 Qualified:            #16  9.042 119.13                        #1  5.293 268.28

This is the third time that two women have qualified one and two in Top Alcohol Dragster history and the Team Force ladies have owned the top of the ladder all three times. The team's tuning wizard, Jerry Darien, was the first winner in TAD in 1981, here at Pomona.

Two fueler and #1 vs. #16. The last time the #16 car won first round was in 1995.

Lots of dropped cylinder in both cars. Brown first and Force near the 1000 foot lights. Brown was away first, but Force was by before 60 feet.

Brittany Force's incremental times: 60ft-0.992 sec., 330ft-2.553, 660ft-3.712/216.51 mph, 1,000ft-4.691.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   69 Mike Austin                           734 Johnny Ahten                 
E1                   0.061  5.420 259.21     ****WINNER****  0.019  5.455 249.30
 Qualified:            #14  5.580 254.57                        #3  5.310 253.99

Blown vs. fuel

Ahten has a hole out at the hit, but uses a big starting line advantage to seal the win. Great race.

Johnny Ahten's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(0.031), 330 ft(-0.002), 660ft(0.009), 1,000ft(0.029). MOV: 0.0077 seconds (approximately 3 feet).

Mike Austin's incremental times: 60ft-0.907 sec., 330ft-2.366, 660ft-3.543/208.84 mph, 1,000ft-4.558.
Johnny Ahten's incremental times: 60ft-0.918 sec., 330ft-2.410, 660ft-3.576/214.52 mph, 1,000ft-4.571.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 6610 Brandon Johnson                       712 Larry Miersch                
E1   ****WINNER****  0.045  5.366 264.39                     0.035  5.547 247.79
 Qualified:            #10  5.426 260.76                        #7  5.379 255.43

Fuel only for these two.

Any chance that Miersch had was gone by 330 feet, as several holes on the right side of the engine went cold. Johnson's tune up kept the candles lit until right at the finish line.

Brandon Johnson's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.037), 330 ft(-0.011), 660ft(0.055), 1,000ft(0.115). MOV: 0.1719 seconds (approximately 62 feet).

Brandon Johnson's incremental times: 60ft-0.960 sec., 330ft-2.459, 660ft-3.581/223.50 mph, 1,000ft-4.534.
Larry Miersch's incremental times: 60ft-0.933 sec., 330ft-2.458, 660ft-3.646/209.56 mph, 1,000ft-4.659.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 6121 Ashley Bart                             7 Chris Demke                  
E1                         No Time           ****WINNER****  0.013  5.405 268.44
 Qualified:            #12  5.537 228.89                        #5  5.327 267.00

Bart is out of the car at the 330 lights, as the car won't back up and Demke gets a single.

Nice clean pass, but not as good as he qualified. "A win is a win"

Chris Demke's incremental times: 60ft-0.997 sec., 330ft-2.443, 660ft-3.587/216.97 mph, 1,000ft-4.569.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 7388 Art Trautman                          744 Courtney Force               
E1   ****WINNER****  0.135  5.971 231.64                     0.078 No Time      
 Qualified:            #15  5.725 231.12                        #2  5.306 251.39

Courtney was the number one qualifier until the beginning of the last session. Nothing wrong with #2 through!

Whoa! Force gets away first and then has the fueler make a hard move across the track and into the 330 reflector. She lifts and jerks the wheel to get the car back into her lane.

Trautman gets his first TAD round win and will get to race tomorrow! Lots of dropped cylinders down track, but it doesn't matter.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 7444 Del Cox Jr.                             2 Jim Whiteley                 
E1                   0.025  5.940 207.59     ****WINNER****  0.052  5.311 271.02
 Qualified:            #13  5.570 256.21                        #4  5.311 268.65

...and we save the best for last! Whitely crushes the field with a stellar ET and a new top speed of the meet. Clean and straight into the winner's circle.

Cox's engine was in trouble at the hit with dropped cylinders on the right back all the way down the track.

Jim Whiteley's incremental times: 60ft-0.941 sec., 330ft-2.382, 660ft-3.511/219.29 mph, 1,000ft-4.482.

4:04 p.m. In round two: Force vs. Cowie; Whiteley vs. Demke; Trautman vs. Johnson; and Ahten vs. Severance.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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