Fri, 14 Oct 2016, 17:30 PM Top Alcohol Dragster Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Dave Rowe

ENNIS, Texas - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Top Alcohol Dragster at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, 31st annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Left Lane: Alex Laughlin Runs 5.585/265.38, Now #1
Right Lane: Kirk Wolf Runs 5.851/245.05, Now #2

3:40 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 83 degrees, relative humidity 55 percent, barometer 29.48 inches, adjusted altitude 2,916 feet, track temperature 100 degrees.

Laughlin is making his debut in Top Alcohol Dragster. He has previously driven in Pro Stock.

This is Wolf's first national event in this class.

Wolf had a cylinder or two out all the way through the run. Laughlin's dragster stumbled off the line, then picked up a little later in the run.

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Left Lane: Christine Chambless Runs 9.576/130.07, Now #4
Right Lane: Dave Hirata Runs 5.570/265.95, Now #1

Hirata had a couple of cylinders out on the right side all the way through the run. Chambless rattled the tires at the hit and was off the throttle early.

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Left Lane: Bradley Thompson Runs 5.326/265.90, Now #1
Right Lane: Rob McKinley Runs 5.561/256.11, Now #2

Thompson goes right down the groove with a career best ET and takes the top spot for now. McKinley makes a decent pass and gets in right behind in the second spot for now.

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Left Lane: James Thompson Runs 5.421/258.96, Now #2
Right Lane: David Sheetz Runs 5.676/257.38, Now #6

Thompson makes a clean pass and gets in the show in the second spot for now. Sheetz makes a clean pass but is well off the pace.

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Left Lane: Terry Schmidt Runs 5.597/257.78, Now #6
Right Lane: Karl Brounkowski Runs 5.659/229.86, Now #7

Brounkowski was on a decent pass but looked like he lost some cylinders about 1000 feet out. Schmidt was a little sluggish out of the gate but the dragster picked up power later in the run.

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Left Lane: Darvin Martinets Runs 5.732/191.13, Now #10
Right Lane: Bill Litton Runs 5.244/279.79, Now #1

Litton goes right down the groove with a career best to move into the top spot for now. Martinets was on a good run, out in front of Litton at the 330 foot mark, then the engine started going away and he was out of power early.

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Left Lane: Buddy Domingue Runs 11.135/84.19, Now #14
Right Lane: Chase Copeland Runs 5.397/275.06, Now #3

Domingue loses traction at the hit and is off the throttle early. Copeland makes a clean pass and gets in the third spot for now.

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Left Lane: Jay Livingston Runs 5.418/263.46, Now #4
Right Lane: Monroe Guest Runs 10.793/105.26, Now #15

Guest goes up in smoke at the hit, pedals once, then backs off the throttle for good. Livingston makes a decent pass and gets in the fourth spot for now.

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Left Lane: David Brounkowski Runs 5.504/252.33, Now #7
Right Lane: Lee Callaway Runs 5.306/271.35, Now #2

Brounkowski was on a decent pass but the pipes went wet about 1000 feet out. Callaway makes a clean pass and gets in the second spot for now.

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Left Lane: Gary Cooper Runs 5.413/262.85, Now #5
Right Lane: Spencer Massey Runs 9.998/80.50, Now #18

Massey had a cylinder or two out at the hit, gets about 300 feet out and gives up on the run. Cooper makes a clean pass and gets in the fifth spot for now.

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Left Lane: Gord Gingles Runs 5.335/274.50, Now #4
Right Lane: Marty Thacker Runs 5.438/268.60, Now #9

Gingles goes right down the groove with a good pass and gets in the fourth spot for now. Thacker made a clean pass but was falling behind all the way through the run.

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Left Lane: Josh Hart Runs 6.742/215.24, Now #20
Right Lane: Garrett Bateman Runs 5.346/273.27, Now #5

Hart gets about 150 feet out and loses traction. he makes a move toward the wall, gets about 400 feet out and backs off the throttle. Bateman went right down the groove with a good pass and gets into the fifth spot for now.

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Left Lane: Chris Demke Runs 5.336/269.78, Now #6
Right Lane: Jackie Fricke Runs 5.298/272.56, Now #2

Demke is in the Seattle final round against Severance that will be run tomorrow during the third round of qualifying.

Fricke was on a good pass but the pipes went wet on the right side of the engine about 1100 feet out. She still makes a decent run and gets in the second spot for now. Demke makes a clean pass and gets in the show in the sixth spot for now.

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Left Lane: Shawn Cowie Runs 5.290/272.61, Now #2
Right Lane: Megan Meyer Runs 13.692/86.73, Now #28

Meyer goes up in smoke at the hit and backed off the throttle quickly. Cowie made a clean pass and gets in the second spot for now.

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Left Lane: Rich McPhillips Runs 5.190/274.05, Now #1
Right Lane: Joey Severance Runs 5.287/272.06, Now #3

McPhillips goes right down the groove with an impressive pass, a career best, and he moves into the top spot. Severance makes a decent pass but was falling behind all the way through the run.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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