Sun, 16 Nov 2008, 02:38 PM
Top Fuel Round 1 Eliminations
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By David Gerard
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POMONA, Calif. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 44th annual
Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals:
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
475 Steve Torrence 2 Rod Fuller
E1 0.043 3.937 254.86 ****WINNER**** 0.056 3.838 314.83
Qualified: #9 3.862 291.32 #8 3.862 310.34
11:00 a.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 77 degrees, relative humidity 28 percent,
barometer 28.96 inches, adjusted altitude 2,748 feet, track temperature 94 degrees. The first pair
in the last race of the 2008 season.Fuller is 1 - 0 against Torrence in prior events. They
qualified with identical ET's, Fuller getting lane choice by MPH.
Torrance gets the advantage
off the line and stays in front until after the 330-ft. lights. The engine starts to drop cylinders
and The Cat dragster goes into the lead for the rest of the run. Rod Fuller's incremental times:
60ft-0.855 sec., 330ft-2.155, 660ft-3.069/276.41 mph.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
743 Morgan Lucas 6 Doug Herbert
E1 0.034 3.986 280.08 ****WINNER**** 0.035 3.928 298.93
Qualified: #7 3.855 306.46 #10 3.877 307.58
Herbert goes in deep and gets a small RT advantage at the green. Lucas quickly pulled ahead and
stayed there until after the 660-ft. lights. Herbert's Snap-On dragster was seventeen MPH faster at
that point and continued to pull ahead for the car length win.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
796 Cory McClenathan 22 Doug Kalitta
E1 ****WINNER**** 0.043 3.878 313.00 0.047 4.314 230.06
Qualified: #6 3.855 314.31 #11 3.884 307.72
Kalitta is 19 - 12 against McClenathan in prior events. Close RT's at the green and McClenathan
gets out in front and stays there. Kalitta's season was over before the 330-ft. lights, when the
slicks begin to spin and smoke.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
7 J.R. Todd 111 Urs Erbacher
E1 0.064 4.041 309.77 ****WINNER**** 0.083 3.887 316.67
Qualified: #4 3.848 301.87 #13 3.904 309.20
This is the first time Todd and Erbacher have faced each other in eliminations. Todd is away
first and pulling until he has to pump it about 100 feet out. Erbacher has a great run with a
career best ET and top speed of the meet to stay in front the rest of the way down. Big 277.15 MPH
at the 660 lights.Urs Erbacher's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.060), 330
ft(0.053), 660ft(0.111). MOV: 0.1358 seconds (approximately 62 feet).
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
666 Tim Boychuk 1 Tony Schumacher
E1 0.044 3.890 300.53 ****WINNER**** 0.101 3.821 317.42
Qualified: #16 3.925 304.60 #1 3.827 315.93
This is the first time Boychuk and Schumacher have faced each other in eliminations. Boychuk
gives the Army Team a scare, as he is out of the gate first and stays there until near the finish
line, where the engine expires. Schumacher pulls hard on the top end to reset the quickest ET of
the event, and nearly the MPH, to take the close win. Tony Schumacher's MOV: 0.0125 seconds
(approximately 6 feet). Tony Schumacher's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.046),
330 ft(-0.043), 660ft(-0.017). MOV: 0.0125 seconds (approximately 6 feet).11:16 a.m. Looks
like oil in Boychuk's lane.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
497 Troy Buff 48 Hillary Will
E1 ****WINNER**** 0.074 3.840 309.27 0.088 3.887 313.44
Qualified: #14 3.904 302.96 #3 3.835 314.31
Will is 1 - 0 against Buff in prior events. WOW! Our #2 points leader is out in round one. Buff
is off the line first and is never headed in taking the car length win. He sets a career best ET
and MPH in the effort. Lots of smoke off the engine in the lights, but a win none the less. No
visible problems for Will, but she couldn't match the Bill Miller BME power.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
91 Larry Dixon 255 Clay Millican
E1 ****WINNER**** 0.061 3.866 312.57 0.074 3.904 314.46
Qualified: #2 3.831 309.70 #15 3.907 309.42
Dixon is 8 - 5 against Millican in prior events. Another great race and Dixon takes the car
lenth win. He is off the line first and never passed, but Millican was catching him fast on the top
end, running a better MPH than Dixon.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
44 David Grubnic 3 Brandon Bernstein
E1 0.101 5.273 128.59 ****WINNER**** 0.028 4.026 276.80
Qualified: #12 3.897 310.20 #5 3.849 311.05
Last pair of round one and Bernstein is 11 - 6 against Grubnic in prior events. Lots of smoke
in both lanes and Bernstein goes further before having to pump the throttle. Grubnic's DHL dragster
kicked the tires just before the 330-ft. lights. He recovers well, but doesn't have the momentum to
catch the Budweiser car.11:29 a.m. After several upsets, we have some surprising lane choices
going into round two: Schumacher over Fuller; Erbacher over Bernstein; Dixon over Herbert; and
Buff over McClenathan.
Timing data courtesy of
CompuLink
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