Sat, 18 Sep 2021, 14:02 PM Top Alcohol Dragster Qualifying Notes, Final Session

By Dave Rowe

CONCORD, N.C. - Notes from final, round 3 qualifying in Top Alcohol Dragster at the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, 13th annual DeWalt NHRA Carolina 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:

---

Left Lane: Dan Dietrich Runs 5.439/265.17, Now #12; Best prior run: 5.427/264.55, Was #12
Right Lane: Brad McBride Runs 5.497/245.00, Now #14; Best prior run: 6.465/156.79, Was #15

12:07 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 82 degrees, relative humidity 69 percent, barometer 30.11 inches, adjusted altitude 2,871 feet.

A good side-by-side, both right down the groove. Dietrich slows a little from his previous pass but makes a clean run. McBride makes his quickest pass of the weekend and moves up to the 14th spot for now.

---

Left Lane: Robin Samsel Runs 5.225/276.58, Now #3; Best prior run: 5.262/275.67, Was #7
Right Lane: Mick Steele Runs 5.330/275.51, Now #10; Best prior run: 5.633/250.83, Was #15

Samsel goes down the groove with his quickest pass of the weekend and he moves up to the third spot for now. Steele makes a clean pass and improves, moving up to the tenth spot.

---

Left Lane: Corey Michalek Runs 5.334/275.11, Now #7; Best prior run: 5.251/277.72, Was #7
Right Lane: Jared Dreher Runs 12.786/83.06, Now #14; Best prior run: 5.438/260.51, Was #14

Michalek makes a decent pass but doesn't improve and stays in the seventh spot. Dreher had problems and was out of power early.

---

Left Lane: Dan Mercier Runs 11.028/94.92, Now #6; Best prior run: 5.249/271.62, Was #6
Right Lane: Joey Severance Runs 5.427/265.85, Now #12; Best prior run: 5.416/268.12, Was #12

Mercier has traction problems off of the line and is off the throttle early. Severance goes down the groove with a clean pass but he doesn't improve.

---

Left Lane: Karen Stalba Runs 5.292/276.63, Now #6; Best prior run: 5.242/278.46, Was #5
Right Lane: Jasmine Salinas Runs 5.233/279.04, Now #5; Best prior run: 5.293/280.37, Was #9

Two good passes, both right down the groove. Stalba doesn't improve but makes another clean run. She drops a spot as Salinas goes around her. Salinas makes her quickest pass of the weekend and moves up to the fifth spot.

Jasmine Salinas' incremental times: 60ft-0.945 sec., 330ft-2.425, 660ft-3.517/231.20 mph, 1,000ft-4.437.

---

Left Lane: Julie Nataas Runs 5.168/274.89, Now #2; Best prior run: 5.210/277.26, Was #2
Right Lane: Rachel Meyer Runs 9.525/80.98, Now #9; Best prior run: 5.279/271.19, Was #9

Meyer leaves the line and has traction problems. She has to pedal, gets about 400 feet out and gives up on the run. Nataas goes down the groove with an impressive pass, the quickest of the round so far, but it isn't enough to take the top spot.

Julie Nataas' incremental times: 60ft-0.926 sec., 330ft-2.384, 660ft-3.459/234.49 mph, 1,000ft-4.368.

---

Left Lane: Matthew Cummings Runs 8.851/87.24, Now #1; Best prior run: 5.123/280.54, Was #1
Right Lane: Duane Shields Runs 13.937/87.97, Now #4; Best prior run: 5.231/277.54, Was #4

Shields goes up in smoke at the hit and is off of the throttle quickly. Cummings gets a little further, loses traction and clicks it off.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink

E-mail rick@fastnews.net for information about supporting these reports.

NHRA: 10 Most Recent Entries [ top ]

Feb 10- Wally Parks 75th Anniversary Appreciation Fund Part of $27 Million Overall Purse
Feb 08- NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League Releases 2026 Schedule
Feb 07- Huge List of Legends Set to Appear at Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
Feb 05- NHRA and Legends Global Extend Merchandise Partnership Ahead of 75th Anniversary Season
Feb 04- Doug Foley Announces Addition of Ron Douglas as Consultant to Foley Lewis Racing Top Fuel Team
Feb 04- Tickets Now on Sale for NHRA's Debut at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park and Rockingham Dragway
Feb 04- Reed, Zetterström to Share Driving Duties of Reed Trucking & Excavating Top Fuel Dragster
Jan 29- NHRA to Honor Iconic John Force in 2027 with "50 Years Of Force"
Jan 28- Top Fuel All-Star Callout Returns to Open NHRA's 75th Anniversary Season at Gatornationals
Jan 28- John Force Racing Announces Crew Chiefs for NHRA's 75th Anniversary Season