Sun, 23 Oct 2005, 04:17 PM Top Fuel Round 2 Eliminations

By Larry Sullivan

LAS VEGAS - Results of round 2 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Fifth annual ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  743 Morgan Lucas                            5 David Grubnic                
E2                   0.079 10.404  84.87     ****WINNER****  0.081  4.555 325.30
 Prior rounds:
E1    (J Hartley   ) 0.092  5.403 300.86      (C McClenatha) 0.114  6.874 286.74
 Qualified:             #1  4.508 322.88                        #9  4.564 323.12

1:01 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 76 degrees, relative humidity 29 percent, barometer 28.32 inches, adjusted altitude 3,173 feet, track temperature 104 degrees.

Lucas came into this round with a 4-1 record against Grubnic. Both cars had problems with traction in the first round - and had a lot of company. THis time it was only Lucas with traction problems, up in smoke very early in the run while Grubnic was running free for the easy win.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 1301 Doug Foley                              8 Doug Herbert                 
E2                   0.047  4.745 298.87     ****WINNER****  0.095  4.653 314.75
 Prior rounds:
E1    (M Troxel    ) 0.055  4.714 309.27      (J Beckman   ) 0.075  6.104 276.52
 Qualified:            #14  4.653 292.65                        #6  4.528 315.12

This is the second time Foley has raced Herbert in three rounds of NHRA competition, Herbert victorious in their first meeting. Foley had lane choice and put Herbert in the less-favored right lane. This was a good drag race, Foley away first and leading to half track. Then his car appeared to drop a cylinder and Herbert went by for the win. Doug Herbert's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.020), 330 ft(-0.012), 660ft(-0.007), 1,000ft(0.013). MOV: 0.0445 seconds (approximately 20 feet).

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    3 Brandon Bernstein                       1 Tony Schumacher              
E2                   0.122  7.426 125.16     ****WINNER****  0.062  5.046 275.96
 Prior rounds:
E1    (D Kalitta   ) 0.082  4.489 327.11      (C Millican  ) 0.081  4.506 330.55
 Qualified:             #7  4.544 325.14                        #2  4.516 325.53

This is the 14th time these two have faced each other, Schumacher victorious in eight of the 13 prior races. Bernstein had lane choice and put Schumacher in the right lane. Since the winners in the first two pairs were in that lane, that did not appear to be much of a handicap. Both drivers smoked the tires, Bernstein about 200 feet out, Schumacher further down the track. Schumacher once again did thee better job of pedaling, regaining grip to win handily, but he lost lane choice to Herbert in the semifinals.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  241 John Smith                              4 Scott Kalitta                
E2                   0.071  4.869 263.05     ****WINNER****  0.090  4.633 326.40
 Prior rounds:
E1    (R Fuller    ) 0.078  4.651 319.14      (L Dixon     ) 0.075  4.591 325.61
 Qualified:            #12  4.592 320.89                       #13  4.593 321.81

Surprisingly, Smith and Scott Kalitta have only raced each other once before, Smith the winner in that one. Both cars made clean, if not spectacular, runs in the first round. This was a good drag race for almost 1,000 feet, then there was a small flash from Smith's engine and he slowed. Kalitta won easily and will face teammate Grubnic in the semifinals, so a Kalitta Team car will be in the final round. Grubnic will have lane choice.

The Safety Safari went to work on both ends of Smith's lane, at the starting line and all the way up the hill in the shutdown area. He didn't have any free oildowns coming, so this one will cost him.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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