Fri, 11 Nov 2011, 15:16 PM Top Alcohol Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #2

By Larry Sullivan

POMONA, Calif. - Notes from round 2 qualifying in Top Alcohol Funny Car at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 47th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time/top speed this round, position in order following run, best prior elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to run:

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Left Lane: Fred Tigges Runs 5.754/254.47, Now #9; Best prior run: 20.170/76.22, Was #17
Right Lane: Brian Smith Runs 5.728/255.77, Now #8; No Prior Run

10:59 a.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 69 degrees, relative humidity 31 percent, barometer 28.81 inches, adjusted altitude 2,337 feet, track temperature 76 degrees.

Jordan Pawlick is on the bump spot at 10.467.

Smith's crew did a good job of patching the left side of the body after yesterday's wall-banger, the only visible evidence being bare spots at the nose and tail.

Both cars made good runs and moved into the middle of the field, but Smith's chutes did not come out. He went into the sand very hard, turning left, ending with the car upside down and sideways against the left end of the net. Smith is fine. The sand and all the safety equipment did their jobs, but it's unlikely the car will be ready for eliminations tomorrow.

Now Sean O'Bannon is on the bump spot at 8.915.

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Left Lane: Jordan Pawlick Runs 6.035/245.40, Now #13; Best prior run: 10.467/83.16, Was #18
Right Lane: Sean O'Bannon Runs 5.898/241.80, Now #12; Best prior run: 8.915/99.85, Was #16

11:45 a.m. The overturned car was removed fairly quickly, but repairs to the catch net took quite awhile. Meanwhile, the skies overhead have steadily cleared and now there are just scattered clouds, so the weather looks good for at least the next few hours.

Pawlick's car shook, danced, and got very sideways. He did a good job of straightening it out and finishing the run to move into the field. O'Bannon made a full pass, but well off his usual pace. He no longer on the bump spot, but both drivers are near the bottom of the field.

Now Steve Gasparrelli is on the bump spot at 7.805.

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Left Lane: Jeff Ashwell Runs 5.868/245.76, Now #13; Best prior run: 8.968/99.37, Was #18
Right Lane: Bernie Harrington Runs 5.762/249.53, Now #10; Best prior run: 7.587/115.44, Was #15

Both drivers made full passes, Ashwell's the crookeder of the two.

Now Sean Bellemeur is on the bump spot at 6.170.

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Left Lane: Keeter Ray Runs 8.711/100.19, Now #18; Best prior run: 7.865/124.57, Was #18
Right Lane: Kris Hool Runs 5.783/255.24, Now #11; Best prior run: 5.829/238.93, Was #11

Ray shook, the car turned left, then the pipes went wet and he coasted through. Hool improved slightly, stayed 11th. Bellemeur stays on the bump spot.

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Left Lane: Steve Gasparrelli Runs 6.480/253.66, Now #17; Best prior run: 7.805/91.93, Was #17
Right Lane: Doug Gordon Runs 5.735/258.76, Now #7; Best prior run: 5.699/260.71, Was #7

Gasparrelli lost traction immediately, pedaled, and managed to get it hooked up to finish the run. He improved by over a second, stayed 17th. Gordon made a clean run, failed to improve.

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Left Lane: Sean Bellemeur Runs 5.960/255.24, Now #15; Best prior run: 6.170/180.14, Was #16
Right Lane: Shane Westerfield Runs 5.636/257.28, Now #5; Best prior run: 5.677/256.21, Was #6

Bellemeur chattered the tire immediately, did a quick pedal job, and completed the run. Meanwhile, Westerfield made a very nice run to move up a spot.

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Left Lane: Clint Thompson Runs 6.528/136.87, Now #12; Best prior run: 5.857/241.58, Was #12
Right Lane: John Lombardo Jr. Runs 5.654/258.71, Now #4; Best prior run: 5.628/258.76, Was #4

Thompson "blowed it up" before half track, with a BANG, followed by lots of smoke and two chutes.Lombardo made a clean run, just a but off his first-round pace.

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Left Lane: Jay Payne Runs 5.590/261.22, Now #4; Best prior run: 5.642/260.56, Was #6
Right Lane: Roger Bateman Runs 5.563/258.57, Now #3; Best prior run: 5.596/257.43, Was #3

Two very nice runs here, no problems in either lane. Both drivers improved over their earlier efforts.

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Left Lane: Tony Bartone Runs 5.546/262.28, Now #1; Best prior run: 5.559/260.56, Was #1
Right Lane: Paul Gill Runs 5.566/260.51, Now #2; Best prior run: 5.561/261.93, Was #2

Last pair. Two more very nice runs, with small improvements by both drivers and no change in the order.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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