Sun, 11 Jul 2010, 03:04 PM Funny Car Round 1 Eliminations

By David Gerard

KENT, Wash. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Funny Car at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 23rd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    2 Ashley Force Hood                     782 Gary Densham                 
E1   ****WINNER****  0.107  4.128 301.60                     0.156  6.923 105.46
 Qualified:             #5  4.225 287.23                       #12  4.285 285.11

11:24 a.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 69 degrees, relative humidity 70 percent, barometer 29.65 inches, adjusted altitude 1,696 feet, track temperature 87 degrees.

Force Hood is 5 - 1 against Densham in prior events. Densham won here in 2005.

Force Hood is first off the line and marches down the track to improve on her best qualifying time by almost a tenth. All eight firing in the lights. I believe that is our first 300 plus run of the weekend.

Densham was game, but struck the tires before the 330 lights.

Ashley Force Hood's incremental margins: 60ft(0.060), 330 ft(0.398), 660ft(1.464). MOV: 2.8442 seconds (more than 100 feet).

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    6 Tony Pedregon                          71 Cruz Pedregon                
E1                   0.072  5.078 206.54     ****WINNER****  0.077  5.053 203.52
 Qualified:            #14  4.331 254.90                        #3  4.220 292.08

Tony P. won here in 2002. He has a career win ratio of 26/12 over brother, Cruz and is 10/1 in first round match ups. Cruz P. was the runner up here twice, in 1993 and 1994.

Pedal Fest!

They leave almost together and then strike the tires almost together. There is a lot of pedal slapping after that and they go back and forth into the lead struggling down the track. Cruz gets more to the ground near the 1000 foot lights and just gets by for the narrow win. Neat!

Cruz Pedregon's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(0.005), 330 ft(-0.012), 660ft(-0.069). MOV: 0.0204 seconds (approximately 6 feet).

Tony Pedregon's incremental times: 60ft-0.939 sec., 330ft-2.495, 660ft-3.854/171.49 mph.
Cruz Pedregon's incremental times: 60ft-0.929 sec., 330ft-2.502, 660ft-3.918/180.40 mph.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    7 Del Worsham                           717 Brian Thiel                  
E1   ****WINNER****  0.096  4.133 304.12                     0.105  7.505  87.24
 Qualified:             #2  4.202 293.54                       #15  4.516 267.27

This is the first time Worsham and Thiel have faced each other in eliminations. Worsham won here in 1999.

Thiel team gets real busy under the body after the burn out, but gets it to the line on time.

It's Worsham's race from start to finish with a new top speed in Funny Car to boot. Great clean and straight run.

Any chance that Thiel had ended quickly, as the tires were up in smoke before the 330 lights.

Del Worsham's incremental margins: 60ft(0.088), 330 ft(0.404), 660ft(1.573). MOV: 3.3818 seconds (more than 100 feet).

Del Worsham's incremental times: 60ft-0.907 sec., 330ft-2.351, 660ft-3.332/261.27 mph.
Brian Thiel's incremental times: 60ft-0.986 sec., 330ft-2.746, 660ft-4.896/097.66 mph.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    1 Robert Hight                          719 Jeff Diehl                   
E1   ****WINNER****  0.047  5.013 155.69                    -0.240  9.065  76.74
 Qualified:             #1  4.194 291.57                       #16  5.120 151.20

This is Hight's thirty-eighth time to qualify #1 and the fifth time this year. He has five wins to date in 2010. Hight is 1 - 0 against Diehl in prior events.

Number one qualifier, Hight, ducks a bullet, when Diehl goes red by -0.240. The Mustang carded a strong 0.898 sixtyfoot time and then struck the tires. Hight pedaled it and struggled the car to the finish line. So much for lane choice.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   28 Ron Capps                             116 Paul Lee                     
E1   ****WINNER****  0.120  4.098 303.57                     0.084  4.236 299.40
 Qualified:             #4  4.222 286.38                       #13  4.321 277.66

Capps won his first National Event here in Top Fuel in 1995. He won Funny Car here in 1998 and has been the runner up three other times. This is the first time Capps and Lee have faced each other in eliminations.

Capps resets the best ET of the weekend on a strong pass down the track on a picture perfect pass.

Lee was game and got off the line well ahead of Capps, but was quickly passed before the sixty foot lights.

Capps will have lane choice over Force Hood in round two.

Ron Capps' incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(0.028), 330 ft(0.070), 660ft(0.090). MOV: 0.1021 seconds (approximately 45 feet).

Ron Capps' incremental times: 60ft-0.887 sec., 330ft-2.308, 660ft-3.296/260.46 mph.
Paul Lee's incremental times: 60ft-0.951 sec., 330ft-2.414, 660ft-3.422/256.50 mph.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    8 Bob Tasca III                           4 Tim Wilkerson                
E1                   0.103  4.219 293.66     ****WINNER****  0.069  4.150 302.82
 Qualified:             #6  4.257 285.29                       #11  4.277 287.23

Wilkerson is the defending 2009 Funny Car Race Champion. Wilkerson is 8 - 3 against Tasca III in prior events.

Wilkerson is the first car to get down the tough right lane and he does so with style. He gets off the line first and is never headed.

Tasca improves on his qualifying times, but is no match for "The Other Ford".

Wilkerson will have lane choice over Cruz Pedregon in the next round.

Tim Wilkerson's incremental margins: 60ft(0.030), 330 ft(0.053), 660ft(0.080). MOV: 0.1038 seconds (approximately 45 feet).

Bob Tasca III's incremental times: 60ft-0.933 sec., 330ft-2.385, 660ft-3.392/253.95 mph.
Tim Wilkerson's incremental times: 60ft-0.937 sec., 330ft-2.366, 660ft-3.346/260.91 mph.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  170 Jeff Arend                           2814 Matt Hagan                   
E1                   0.097  4.894 169.74     ****WINNER****  0.068  4.172 299.20
 Qualified:            #10  4.276 284.39                        #7  4.258 264.60

Hagan is 7 - 1 against Arend in prior events.

The right lane is dominate again, as Arend goes up in smoke about 500 feet out. Hagan was long gone by that point and finally gets the full run he wanted in qualifying

Worsham will have lane choice in round 2.

Matt Hagan's incremental margins: 60ft(0.009), 330 ft(0.048), 660ft(0.271). MOV: 0.7516 seconds (more than 100 feet).

Jeff Arend's incremental times: 60ft-0.909 sec., 330ft-2.380, 660ft-3.599/193.63 mph.
Matt Hagan's incremental times: 60ft-0.929 sec., 330ft-2.361, 660ft-3.357/258.22 mph.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    9 John Force                              5 Jack Beckman                 
E1                   0.048 No Time           ****WINNER****  0.054  7.267  82.46
 Qualified:             #8  4.269 285.35                        #9  4.275 284.03

Beckman is 11 - 6 against Force in prior events. Force is the first Funny Car to clinch a spot in the Countdown to 1. Beckman has seven career wins and won here in 2007.

After staging dual, Beckman gets off the line first and then has the slicks start to spin. He tries to pump it to no avail and then coasts on down.

Force must have thought he had it in the bag until his Mustang started to smoke and spin the tires before half track. Thinking Beckman was still chasing him down, he pumped the throttle several times with the car swerving across the track and over the center line before the 1000 foot lights.

Hight will have lane choice in the next round.

John Force's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.018), 330 ft(0.191), 660ft(0.979). MOV: 2.3137 seconds (more than 100 feet).

11:56 a.m.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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