COLUMBUS - Pro Stock Round 1 Eliminations

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Sun, 15 Jun 2003, 01:51 PM

Pro Stock Round 1 Eliminations

By Larry Sullivan

HEBRON, Ohio - Results of round 1 eliminations in Pro Stock at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 39th annual Pontiac Excitement Nationals presented by Summit Racing:


 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  398 Darrell Alderman                        6 Kurt Johnson
E1                   0.040  7.278 154.35     ****WINNER****  0.024  6.908 199.58
 Qualified:             #8  6.899 199.40                        #9  6.901 200.14

12:23 PM Current weather conditions: 74 degrees, 65 percent relative humidity, the barometer 30.15 inches, with a track temperature of 97 degrees.

The right lane is usually the preferred lane for Pro Stock, but Alderman took the left and it may have bit him, his car out of the groove and he had to lift on the top end.


 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  402 Taylor Lastor                           5 Ron Krisher
E1                   0.029  7.180 140.85     ****WINNER****  0.079  6.903 198.67
 Qualified:            #10  6.901 199.52                        #7  6.898 199.11

This is the first time Lastor and Krisher have faced each other in Pro Stock, one of three "first-time" pairings in this round. Lastor treed Krisher and appeared to have Krisher covered, leading all the way past the 1,000-foot mark. But then things turned nasty, Lastor's car drifted out of the groove at almost the same spot Alderman got out of shape, making a hard right turn just past half track, toward the centerline, then turned sideways when he tried to bring it back, rolled over once, then slid a long way down the track before coming to a stop. Ron Krisher's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.048), 330 ft(-0.054), 660ft(-0.057), 1,000ft(-0.037). MOV: 0.2277 seconds (approximately 47 feet).


 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  295 Barry Grant                           335 Dave Connolly
E1                   0.133  6.999 177.65     ****WINNER****  0.061  6.905 199.40
 Qualified:            #11  6.902 199.20                        #6  6.894 199.91

This is the first time Grant and Connolly have faced each other, which comes as no surprise since it's just Connolly's second-ever race in Pro Stock. It's also the first time Grant has qualified at the Columbus race. Two weeks ago Connolly qualified for his first race and here he got his first round win, away first and pulling away.


 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    1 Jeg Coughlin                            4 Warren Johnson
E1   ****WINNER****  0.023  6.893 196.76                     0.037  6.897 198.79
 Qualified:            #13  6.906 199.35                        #4  6.890 199.70

Jeg came into this race with a 21-17 record against WJ. That's the most wins he's had against any opponent, but also the most losses. He added one more to the win column here in a good drag race, but it got scary at the finish line, his car making a hard right turn in the last hundred feet or so. He saved it, but the head-on cameras shot should be part of tonight's highlights. Jeg Coughlin's incremental margins: 60ft(0.023), 330 ft(0.027), 660ft(0.027), 1,000ft(0.025). MOV: 0.0182 seconds (approximately 5 feet).


 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 2455 Jason Line                            219 Terry Adams
E1                   0.042 No Time           ****WINNER****  0.103  6.953 194.04
 Qualified:            #14  6.911 199.58                        #3  6.886 199.55

The left lane bit another time in this pair, Line well ahead, then suddenly going out of control at almost the same spot as Lastor, the car going to the right, crossing the centerline, then rolling over as he brought in back. Unlike Lastor, Line hit the wall hard enough to break something under the hood, causing a brief fire as the car slid down the track, upside down. The fire went out quickly and Line got out under his own power, but the new car is a mess. Terry Adams' incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.057), 330 ft(-0.044), 660ft(-0.041), 1,000ft(0.103). MOV: 0.7872 seconds (more than 100 feet). Obviously, something in the left lane is causing the cars to go to the right, but the Safety Safari and track officials have taken a long look at the racing surface after each incident and found nothing that should cause a problem. This time they are using the small "scrubber," an industrial spill cleanup vehicle that looks like a miniature Zamboni, to scrub the lane clean, then regrooming the track surface with rubber and traction compound.


 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   30 Steve Schmidt                          11 Scott Geoffrion
E1                   0.049 10.078  86.26     ****WINNER****  0.063  6.954 198.41
 Qualified:            #15  6.919 199.17                        #2  6.883 200.29

1:36 PM Okay, the top half of the track has been scrubbed, glued, and rubbered, both lanes. This is the first time Schmidt and Geoffrion have faced each other since Brainerd in 1997, both drivers taking time off in the intervening years. Geoffrion held a 3-2 edge in their five prior meetings. Schmidt's car fishtailed on the launch and he shut it down, so the top end didn't get much of a test. Geoffrion won easily, but lost lane choice to Krisher in round two.


 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   55 V. Gaines                               3 Greg Anderson
E1                   0.066  6.968 197.42     ****WINNER****  0.029  6.922 199.17
 Qualified:            #16  6.923 198.73                        #1  6.875 200.53

This is the sixth race in a row that Greg Anderson has qualified #1 and he held a 5-1 record against Gaines in eliminations during their careers. Anderson took the points lead over Kurt Johnson by four points by qualifying #1 here, and he will face KJ next round, Johnson with lane choice, so the points lead will be on the line.


 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    2 Jim Yates                               8 Allen Johnson
E1                   0.036  6.925 198.76     ****WINNER****  0.039  6.900 198.96
 Qualified:            #12  6.905 198.76                        #5  6.893 199.20

Yates came in with a 5-2 advantage against AJ, but Johnson out performed Yates through three qualifying sessions at this race. Good drag race, almost even off the line, then Johnson slowly pulling away for the win. Allen Johnson's incremental margins: 60ft(0.016), 330 ft(0.018), 660ft(0.020), 1,000ft(0.020). MOV: 0.0221 seconds (approximately 6 feet). AJ faces Jeg Coughlin next round, Jeg with lane choice. Yates went right down the left lane, no problems, as did Gaines, so it looks like the super-cleanup did its job.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink