Sat, 05 Oct 2013, 13:06 PM Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #3

By Jim Samuel

MOHNTON, Pa. - Notes from round 3 qualifying in Funny Car at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, 29th annual Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals 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: Mike Smith Runs 6.062/110.70, Now #13; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Chad Head Runs 17.588/22.43, Now #11; Best prior run: 4.109/307.16, Was #11

12:33 p.m. - Weather conditions: air temperature 81 degrees, relative humidity 59 percent, barometer 29.49 inches, adjusted altitude 2,734 feet, track temperature 102 degrees.

Smith's best run yesterday was 7.254 seconds...not good enough to put him in the provisional field of 12. Head shook the tires hard right out of the gate and the chutes dropped out. Smith made it out about 100 feet before his rear tires went up in smoke. That was the end of his run but even with his problems, Smith's run was good enough to put him in the field for now.

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Left Lane: Del Worsham Runs 7.357/92.25, Now #10; Best prior run: 4.084/313.37, Was #10
Right Lane: Paul Lee Runs 7.032/91.79, Now #14; No Prior Run

Both cars left the starting line together, raced side-by-side for about 200 feet, shook and smoked the rear tires at the same time and shut down at the same time. Worsham stayed where he was in the order but Lee managed to put himself in the field at number 14 for now.

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Left Lane: Alexis DeJoria Runs 9.852/81.72, Now #16; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Jeff Arend Runs 8.552/76.78, Now #15; No Prior Run

Like the drivers before them, DeJoria and Arend smoked the tires for 200 feet or so, then shut down and coasted.

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Left Lane: Blake Alexander Runs 4.156/300.20, Now #13; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 7.988/87.65, Now #8; Best prior run: 4.077/311.13, Was #8

Alexander was the first driver in this session to make it all the way down the track. He had his lowest ET of the weekend so far and it put him safely in the field. Pedregon made it about 330 feet before he shook the rear tires and clicked it off.

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Left Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 4.572/211.49, Now #14; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Bob Tasca III Runs 4.504/198.67, Now #9; Best prior run: 4.081/313.00, Was #9

Pedregon and Head both had good passes going but then smoked the rear tires at 660 feet. They both drove through it, with Pedregon's engine going up in smoke as he crossed the finish line.

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Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 6.892/88.48, Now #12; Best prior run: 4.110/311.56, Was #12
Right Lane: Tim Wilkerson Runs 6.063/111.06, Now #7; Best prior run: 4.072/312.42, Was #7

This is getting repetitive. Both drivers got out to 330 feet and shut their cars off because of tire shake.

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Left Lane: Robert Hight Runs 4.089/308.43, Now #6; Best prior run: 4.072/315.86, Was #6
Right Lane: Matt Hagan Runs 4.090/311.05, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.035/319.45, Was #4

For the first time today, both drivers got their cars all the way down the track. Neither was quicker than their second session times from yesterday, but both had good, clean rides down a track that has stumped every other driver before them except for Blake Alexander.

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Left Lane: Johnny Gray Runs 4.081/313.88, Now #5; Best prior run: 4.067/313.29, Was #5
Right Lane: Jack Beckman Runs 8.354/73.79, Now #3; Best prior run: 4.034/318.99, Was #3

Gray had a nice run from start to finish. Beckman's car started going up in smoke at about 330 feet.

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Left Lane: John Force Runs 7.044/93.99, Now #1; Best prior run: 3.987/323.50, Was #1
Right Lane: Courtney Force Runs 4.069/315.05, Now #2; Best prior run: 4.025/0.00, Was #2

The scoreboard showed a 329.42 MPH speed for Courtney Force's second session pass yesterday. After qualifying ended yesterday, race officials determined that it was not a valid speed and it was disallowed. Her ET from the second session did count. This time, Courtney took her car straight down the groove but was not quick enough to move into the number one spot in the order. In the other lane, John's car started smoking the rear tires just past the 330 foot marker and he clicked it off.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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