Fri, 25 Jun 2010, 12:34 PM Competition Eliminator Qualifying Notes, Session #2

By David Gerard

NORWALK, Ohio - Notes from round 2 qualifying in Competition Eliminator at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, Fourth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed this round, amount over/under index this round, position in order following run, best prior elapsed time, speed & over/under Index, and position in order prior to run:

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Left Lane: Santo Volpe Runs 8.935/142.43/-0.615, Now #1; L/AA Index: 9.55, Prior Best: 8.954/146.50/-0.596, Was #2
Right Lane: Nick Panagiotaros Runs 7.164/194.24/-0.456, Now #17; B/AA Index: 7.62, No Prior Run

11:51 a.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 76 degrees, relative humidity 59 percent, barometer 29.17 inches, adjusted altitude 2,686 feet, track temperature 106 degrees.

No bump spot yet.

Volpe turns up the wick and moves into the new number one spot with a strong pass.

Panagiotaros makes his first run of the weekend into the #17 spot for now.

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Left Lane: John Frech Runs 9.088/111.39/0.488, Now #19; F/D Index: 8.60, Prior Best: 8.165/160.23/-0.435, Was #19
Right Lane: Fred Allen Runs 18.322/37.21/9.232, Now #14; C/SR Index: 9.09, Prior Best: 8.610/150.50/-0.480, Was #14

No improvements for either car.

Allen's roadster leaves hard and then has the engine go BANG near the 330 lights. He coasts on down and the NHRA guys go over the wall to check his lane.

11:54 a.m. There is a big convention of Safety Safari near the turn out at the end of the track, where Allen's car is stopped on the track. Looks like a bunch of dusting and cleaning.

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Left Lane: John Coughlin Runs 8.246/163.26/-0.544, Now #4; C/SM Index: 8.79, Prior Best: 8.302/161.81/-0.488, Was #11
Right Lane: Anthony Bertozzi Runs 7.379/178.31/-0.561, Now #3; D/ED Index: 7.94, Prior Best: 14.571/50.26/6.631, Was #30

11:58 a.m. and we are back.

That run will make both teams happy. Both cars get from start to finish in style, with Bertozzi getting a full pull into the current #3 spot and Coughlin picking up seven spots to the new #4 spot.

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Left Lane: Pat Ross Runs 8.036/168.28/-0.584, Now #3; F/A Index: 8.62, Prior Best: 8.090/167.34/-0.530, Was #8
Right Lane: Greg Kamplain Runs 7.039/188.75/-0.521, Now #9; C/DA Index: 7.56, Prior Best: 7.099/186.15/-0.461, Was #17

...and again.

Ross is the new #3 and Kamplain the number 9 as both cars get the power to the ground.

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Left Lane: Bert Dawson Runs 7.984/167.70/-0.356, Now #23; B/EA Index: 8.34, Prior Best: 14.220/61.79/5.880, Was #30
Right Lane: Frank Affronti Runs 7.732/175.64/-0.528, Now #9; D/A Index: 8.26, Prior Best: 7.755/174.68/-0.505, Was #11

Dawson's car moves towards the guard rail, but he is able to drive through it today and move up seven spots on the ladder.

Affronti gets to the finish line without drama and picks up two spots.

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Left Lane: Rick Brown Runs 8.108/164.59/-0.382, Now #24; B/TA Index: 8.49, Prior Best: 8.140/164.87/-0.350, Was #24
Right Lane: Steve Ambrose Runs 7.762/167.59/-0.628, Now #1; J/AA Index: 8.39, Prior Best: 9.731/97.88/1.341, Was #29

Ambrose did his home work and powers on down the track into the new #1 position on a clean and straight pass.

Brown picks up a little, but stays #24.

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Left Lane: David Allen Runs 7.088/197.88/-0.312, Now #26; BB/AM Index: 7.40, No Prior Run
Right Lane: Arnie Martel Runs 7.678/175.37/-0.502, Now #14; D/AA Index: 8.18, Prior Best: 7.690/174.68/-0.490, Was #14

Martel finds just a little ET, but stays #14.

Allen gets to the finish line and establishes a bump spot.

Buddy Perkinson is on the bump spot at 15.872.

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Left Lane: Al Ackerman Runs 8.051/149.08/-0.549, Now #6; F/D Index: 8.60, Prior Best: 8.059/164.61/-0.541, Was #7
Right Lane: Jim Greenheck Runs 7.550/180.38/-0.410, Now #24; C/AA Index: 7.96, Prior Best: 7.827/178.33/-0.133, Was #28

Two more improvements on clean passes.

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Left Lane: Robert Bailey Runs 6.584/204.91/-0.606, Now #4; A/ED Index: 7.19, Prior Best: 6.653/192.82/-0.537, Was #9
Right Lane: Steve Szupka Runs 9.400/86.11/0.580, Now #30; G/EA Index: 8.82, Prior Best: 9.348/93.45/0.528, Was #30

Big engined long car and small engine short car.

Great 1.009 sixty foot time for Bailey and a five spot move up the ladder, as he runs under the National Record to the #4 spot.

Szupka leaves well and then slows down track.

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Left Lane: Nick Morgan Runs 12.182/74.40/4.622, Now #31; B/A Index: 7.56, Prior Best: 9.426/104.27/1.866, Was #31
Right Lane: Glenn Butcher Runs 6.690/206.73/-0.360, Now #23; A/PM Index: 7.05, Prior Best: 6.638/210.77/-0.412, Was #23

Morgans car shutters off the line and he clicks it way early. No improvement for Butcher either.

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Left Lane: Larry Pritchett Runs 8.370/142.22/-0.310, Now #22; B/SM Index: 8.68, Prior Best: 8.256/164.07/-0.424, Was #22
Right Lane: Frank Cervelli Runs 7.030/191.05/-0.360, Now #20; C/DA Index: 7.39, Prior Best: 6.954/189.63/-0.436, Was #20

Both cars are off their prior best and won't improve.

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Left Lane: Brian Darcy Runs 7.234/178.76/-0.186, Now #12; A/ND Index: 7.42, Prior Best: 6.902/189.26/-0.518, Was #12
Right Lane: Lonnie Johnson Runs 16.214/69.08/8.594, Now #29; B/AA Index: 7.62, Prior Best: 7.966/178.78/0.346, Was #29

Johnson gets the wheels up and then stumbles. He clicks it off.

Darcy slows down track.

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Left Lane: David Rampy Runs 7.226/179.04/-0.614, Now #4; A/EA Index: 7.84, Prior Best: 7.303/169.44/-0.537, Was #9
Right Lane: Buddy Perkinson Runs 7.454/189.02/-0.166, Now #29; B/AA Index: 7.62, Prior Best: 23.492/24.39/15.872, Was #32

Perkinson is looking to get off the bump spot. He gets the car off the line this time and though moving around a lot, moves up to the new #29 spot.

Rampy "tunes 'er up" too and powers to the current number four spot.

Nick Morgan is on the bump spot at 1.866.

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Left Lane: Ray Vierheller Runs 7.442/176.88/-0.498, Now #15; D/ED Index: 7.94, Prior Best: 7.456/176.40/-0.484, Was #16
Right Lane: Stu Sandhaus Runs 7.067/187.63/-0.353, Now #27; A/ND Index: 7.42, Prior Best: 7.140/185.46/-0.280, Was #28

Both cars find a little tune up and move one spot up the ladder.

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Left Lane: Vinny Barone Runs 7.740/171.03/-0.660, Now #1; A/SR Index: 8.40, Prior Best: 7.786/169.85/-0.614, Was #3
Right Lane: Sal Biondo Runs 8.221/162.39/-0.539, Now #10; I/AA Index: 8.76, Prior Best: 8.272/161.34/-0.488, Was #16

Big wheels up leave for Biondo and a strong move up six spots on the ladder.

Barone is taking no prisoners and thunders on down the track to retake the number one position again.

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Left Lane: Frank Aragona Jr. Runs 8.208/148.35/-0.582, Now #7; F/ED Index: 8.79, Prior Best: 8.313/139.73/-0.477, Was #18
Right Lane: Brian Browell Runs 7.236/181.01/-0.554, Now #9; D/D Index: 7.79, Prior Best: 7.285/179.97/-0.505, Was #14

Four cylinders and six cylinders to the line and they both find some good power to end the round.

Aragona gets the best of it with a nine spot improvement into the top half of the field.

Browell has a strong pass too and moves into the #9 spot

12:22 p.m. Vinnie Baron is number one with a -0.660 under his index and Nick Morgan is on the bump spot at 1.866 over.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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