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POMONA, Calif. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Funny Car at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, 51st annual Auto Club NHRA Finals:
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
5 Robert Hight 9 Tim Wilkerson
E1 ****WINNER**** 0.059 5.744 220.94 0.076 5.787 270.59
Qualified: #6 3.945 324.20 #11 4.011 316.38
11:25 a.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 67 degrees, relative humidity 54 percent, barometer 28.78 inches, adjusted
altitude 2,406 feet, track temperature 86 degrees.PEDALFEST!! Hight gets a small starting line advantage and then they both are smoking the tires hard. They are slapping the pedals repeatedly and Hight just starts to pull ahead for the win. CRAZY! Robert Hight's incremental times: 60ft-0.930 sec., 330ft-3.176,
660ft-4.615/179.54 mph.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
1 Matt Hagan 116 Paul Lee
E1 ****WINNER**** 0.067 3.902 331.45 0.112 4.052 316.38
Qualified: #4 3.910 330.15 #13 4.054 313.95
Matt Hagan has three wins here and he is the defending event champion..Paul Lee is the #13 qualifier and that may not be unlucky
since the 13th qualifier has pulled a first round upset in three of the last six years at this event. Hagan has won all four of the
first round races with Lee and over 68% of all first round matchups. Hagan is 5 - 0 against Lee in prior events. Two great passes and Hagan put a National Record speed up on the boards. That's the fastest pass ever! He gets a big starting line advantage and pulls steadily ahead to take the decisive win. Lee made a valiant effort and makes his best run of the weekend to nos avail. Matt Hagan's incremental times: 60ft-0.864 sec., 330ft-2.242, 660ft-3.164/281.66 mph. Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 28 Ron Capps 170 Jeff Arend E1 ****WINNER**** 0.086 3.944 321.50 0.108 4.368 255.97 Qualified: #1 3.886 326.87 #16 4.429 241.24This is the 17th time that Ron Capps has qualified #1. He has three event wins when starting from the top spot in the field. He was runner-up here in 2008..The #16 qualifier in Funny Car hasn't won a round-one match at this event since 1998. Capps has won fourteen of their prior seventeen first round races and has an overall60% first round win advantage. . He will need a 3.925 today to back up his potential National Record. Capps is 17 - 5 against Arend in prior events. Capps leaves first and runs hard to the finish line without drama for the win. Arend makes his best run of the weekend in the loss. Ron Capps' incremental times:
60ft-0.865 sec., 330ft-2.237, 660ft-3.183/273.66 mph. Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 711 Jack Beckman 3111 Chad Head E1 ****WINNER**** 0.067 3.897 328.38 0.097 4.115 248.66 Qualified: #2 3.890 327.90 #15 4.408 230.06Beckman has won all five of their prior first round encounters and has won over 66% of all first round races. His 3.890 in qualifying will take a 3.929 to back up for his National Record. Head has only a 30% first round win record. Beckman is 7 - 0 against Head in prior events. Beckman resets the National ET Record and may have twenty extra points to help towards the Championship. He leaves first and steadily pulls ahead going down the track. Head's engine gets unhappy late in the run and he slows. Jack Beckman's incremental times: 60ft-0.872 sec., 330ft-2.234, 660ft-3.156/281.48 mph. Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 750 Del Worsham 72 Tony Pedregon E1 ****WINNER**** 0.080 4.039 300.93 0.112 4.432 227.61 Qualified: #3 3.896 326.32 #14 4.073 300.73Del Worsham has won this race in both Top Fuel and Funny Car..Tony Pedregon won this event twice, in 1997 & 2005. His final pass in qualifying was better than the Nation Record and will take a 3.935 to back up. Worsham has a 60% win record in first round pairings, but Pedregon has a 17/16 win advantage. He has won over 56% of his first round. races. Pedregon is 39 - 26 against Worsham in prior events. Beckman's pass gives even more pressure on Worsham to win. Not a record breaking pass, but certainly strong enough to ensure a win. He has a big head start at the green and is well ahead before the 330 lights. Pedregon's engine goes South about then and begins to use itself up. Worsham's win eliminates Tommy Johnson Jr. chance to win the Championship. Del
Worsham's incremental times: 60ft-0.872 sec., 330ft-2.267, 660ft-3.237/264.13 mph.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
3 Tommy Johnson Jr. 782 Gary Densham
E1 ****WINNER**** 0.058 4.010 310.84 0.114 4.238 228.11
Qualified: #5 3.917 324.67 #12 4.052 308.57
Johnson has a fourteen to nine win/loss ratio against Densham in first round matchups. Johnson has won over 48% of all first
round races and Densham has won over 37%. Johnson Jr. is 14 - 9 against Densham in prior events. TJ gets away first and slowly starts to open the gap, driving down the course. Densham's Charger start to to pull towards the wall down track and he finally has to lift. Tommy Johnson Jr.'s incremental times: 60ft-0.888 sec., 330ft-2.275, 660ft-3.229/268.38 mph. Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 71 Cruz Pedregon 2 John Force E1 ****WINNER**** 0.057 6.604 113.66 0.045 No Time Qualified: #7 3.953 316.23 #10 3.990 321.73John Force has eight wins here and that is the second most for any professional driver behind only Bob Glidden who won it eleven times. This is John's 34th time competing at this event and his first was in 1978.. Cruz Pedregon won here in 2008 & 2012. This is Cruz's 24th trip to the "Finals." This will be the 100th meeting between these two drivers and that is the most head-to-head matches between any two pro drivers in NHRA history. Force has won in first round over 75% of the time and has a 15/9 advantage over Pedregon. Cruz has won almost 61% of his first round races. Force is 67 - 32 against Pedregon in prior events. Another whacky
race. Pedregon drops a cylinder right off the line and the Camry drives hard towards the centerline. He pumps the pedal to recover.
Force gets sideways right after that and drives across the center line to give the easy win to a trailing Pedregon. Force's better
5.476 @ 145.58 is DQ'ed. Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 771 Alexis DeJoria 4 Courtney Force E1 ****WINNER**** 0.049 3.978 323.66 0.058 3.986 325.14 Qualified: #8 3.987 318.02 #9 3.988 323.12These two have each won five of their prior first round matchups. Force has a fifty-two percent to forty percent overall win advantage over DeJoria in all first round races. Force is 7 - 6 against DeJoria in prior events. A great side by side race with the two cars leaving close together. DeJoria has a small advantage off the line and just stays in front, as Force's Camaro starts to pull steadily back up. Force runs out of track and DeJoria gets the win. Alexis DeJoria's incremental margins: 60ft(0.023), 330 ft(0.010), 660ft(0.015). MOV: 0.0171 seconds (approximately 8 feet). Alexis DeJoria's incremental times: 60ft-0.887 sec.,
330ft-2.290, 660ft-3.226/277.26 mph. 11:57 a.m. In round two: with lane choice: Capps vs. DeJoria; Hagan vs.Johnson; Beckman vs. Cruz Pedregon; Worsham vs.
Hight.
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