Fri, 17 Jun 2011, 06:50 PM Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Rick Green

BRISTOL, Tenn. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Funny Car at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 11th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Right Lane: Daniel Wilkerson Runs 4.324/285.53, Now #1

Weather conditions: air temperature 83 degrees, relative humidity 44 percent, barometer 28.38 inches, adjusted altitude 4,055 feet, track temperature 112 degrees.

Wilkerson is making his Funny Car pass this season...Wilkerson dropped a cylinder on the right side early in the run, but still made a real nice pass.

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Left Lane: Brian Thiel No Time, Now #3
Right Lane: Melanie Troxel Runs 5.144/148.61, Now #2

Troxel starts to smoke the tires early and clicks it off. Thiel was on a good pass until right before the finish line and the engine let go with a huge fireball. Thiel's run won't count because of the oil down penalty

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Left Lane: Paul Lee Runs 4.297/287.23, Now #1
Right Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 5.893/117.25, Now #5

Pedregon started to strike the tires and clicked it off..Lee was straight down the groove with a good clean pass. Paul Lee's incremental times: 60ft-0.925 sec., 330ft-2.412, 660ft-3.455/249.12 mph.

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Left Lane: Jim Head Runs 4.684/187.65, Now #5
Right Lane: Tim Wilkerson Runs 4.405/251.11, Now #3

Wilkerson was dropping cylinders on the left side around half track and stayed with it. Tim Wilkerson's incremental times: 60ft-0.944 sec., 330ft-2.458, 660ft-3.510/246.84 mph. Head banged the blower around 660 feet... Jim Head's incremental times: 60ft-0.931 sec., 330ft-2.428, 660ft-3.530/219.36 mph.

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Left Lane: Johnny Gray Runs 5.204/142.84, Now #7
Right Lane: Bob Tasca III Runs 5.507/130.78, Now #8

Gray is up in smoke before the 330-foot mark and Tasca starts to smoke the tires just past the 330-foot mark.

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Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 4.182/292.39, Now #1
Right Lane: Jeff Arend Runs 4.226/298.87, Now #2

This was a good drag race with Capps running the quickest pass of the session and Arend with the fastest pass of the round. Capps goes to the number one one spot...Ron Capps' incremental times: 60ft-0.903 sec., 330ft-2.356, 660ft-3.361/257.14 mph. Arend goes to the number two spot. Jeff Arend's incremental times: 60ft-0.919 sec., 330ft-2.395, 660ft-3.405/255.43 mph.

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Left Lane: John Force Runs 5.840/117.59, Now #12
Right Lane: Matt Hagan Runs 4.165/298.87, Now #1

force starts to lose traction and clicks it off. Hagan launched hard and keep it hooked up to go to the number one spot. Matt Hagan's incremental times: 60ft-0.905 sec., 330ft-2.351, 660ft-3.349/258.07 mph.

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Left Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 4.191/294.69, Now #4
Right Lane: Robert Hight Runs 4.174/304.53, Now #2

This was a good side-by-side drag race...Hight goes to number two spot. Robert Hight's incremental times: 60ft-0.906 sec., 330ft-2.356, 660ft-3.367/257.09 mph. Pedregon was out of the groove over by the centerline, but reeled it in to go to the number four spot. Cruz Pedregon's incremental times: 60ft-0.916 sec., 330ft-2.354, 660ft-3.363/252.95 mph.

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Left Lane: Jack Beckman Runs 4.179/297.02, Now #3
Right Lane: Mike Neff Runs 4.330/226.66, Now #9

Beckman with a great pass to go to the number three spot. Jack Beckman's incremental times: 60ft-0.905 sec., 330ft-2.350, 660ft-3.357/255.10 mph. Neff was on a good pass until he started to lose traction and clicked it off.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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