Sun, 28 Oct 2012, 15:37 PM Funny Car Round 1 Eliminations

By Dave Rowe

LAS VEGAS - Results of round 1 eliminations in Funny Car at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 12th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  746 Courtney Force                        388 Jim Head                     
E1   ****WINNER****  0.091  4.139 309.42                     0.104  4.576 237.13
 Qualified:             #6  4.091 313.51                       #11  4.108 308.28

12:07 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 77 degrees, relative humidity 22 percent, barometer 27.92 inches, adjusted altitude 3,829 feet, track temperature 99 degrees.

This is the first time Force and Head have faced each other in eliminations.

Force gets off the line first, drifts to the left early, but gets the car straightened out. Head was right with Force to the 330 foot mark, then he strikes the tires and has to back off the throttle.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    1 Matt Hagan                            702 Jon Capps                    
E1   ****WINNER****  0.071  4.213 298.80                     0.091 10.637  76.37
 Qualified:             #4  4.077 310.98                       #13  4.114 290.51

Hagan is 1 - 0 against Capps in prior events.

Capps goes up in smoke at the hit and has to give up on the run. Hagan gets about 300 feet out, starts to shake, pedals once, then goes on through with a decent pass.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    4 Robert Hight                          116 Paul Lee                     
E1                   0.100  5.205 151.61     ****WINNER****  0.090  4.180 299.13
 Qualified:             #3  4.074 317.27                       #14  4.125 301.40

Hight and Lee have each won 1 times against the other in prior events.

Hight was right with lee for the first 200 feet or so, then he strikes the tires and has to back off the throttle. Lee goes right down the groove and pulls away for the upset win.

Paul Lee's incremental margins: 60ft(0.009), 330 ft(0.071), 660ft(0.397). MOV: 1.0356 seconds (more than 100 feet).

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    3 Cruz Pedregon                           7 Bob Tasca III                
E1   ****WINNER****  0.093  4.064 299.66                     0.060  4.157 307.86
 Qualified:             #1  4.066 312.50                       #16  4.136 305.15

Pedregon is 10 - 4 against Tasca III in prior events.

Pedregon continues to run well, right down the groove with the quickest pass of the weekend so far. Tasca made a decent pass but was falling behind at every marker.

Cruz Pedregon's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.008), 330 ft(0.025), 660ft(0.054). MOV: 0.0604 seconds (approximately 27 feet).

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    5 Mike Neff                               8 Jeff Arend                   
E1   ****WINNER****  0.101  4.118 313.44                     0.089  4.208 304.19
 Qualified:             #2  4.070 313.73                       #15  4.136 308.99

Neff is 9 - 2 against Arend in prior events.

Neff is third in the points and really needs this win to keep his championship hopes alive.

Arend gets off the line first and stays in front for the first sixty feet. Neff powers by at that point, starts pulling away, then goes on through to take the win.

Mike Neff's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.006), 330 ft(0.011), 660ft(0.054). MOV: 0.0780 seconds (approximately 35 feet).

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   31 Johnny Gray                            10 Tim Wilkerson                
E1   ****WINNER****  0.078  4.110 304.74                     0.090  5.742 122.99
 Qualified:             #5  4.089 313.22                       #12  4.108 299.20

Wilkerson is 7 - 2 against Gray in prior events.

Gray gets off the line first but Wilkerson reels him in quickly, Wilkerson gets about 300 feet out, strikes the tires and has to back off the throttle. Gray goes right down the groove and pulls away for the win.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    2 Jack Beckman                            9 John Force                   
E1   ****WINNER****  0.090  4.115 308.21                     0.076  4.152 309.13
 Qualified:             #7  4.091 309.06                       #10  4.108 310.27

Beckman is 18 - 7 against Force in prior events.

Beckman is number one in the points battle and the winner of this race will take on Neff who has already won this round. Force needs this win to give his teammate Neff a chance to make up ground.

Force gets out of the gate first but Beckman had made up the difference before they reached the sixty foot mark. Beckman extends his lead through the 660foot mark, Force makes up a little ground but runs out of race track.

Jack Beckman's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(0.015), 330 ft(0.025), 660ft(0.026). MOV: 0.0232 seconds (approximately 11 feet).

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   28 Ron Capps                              72 Tony Pedregon                
E1   ****WINNER****  0.083  4.105 310.77                     0.071  4.625 187.68
 Qualified:             #8  4.098 308.78                        #9  4.099 305.70

Pedregon is 27 - 22 against Capps in prior events.

Capps is number two in the points and needs this win to keep pace with Beckman and keep his lead over Neff.

Pedregon was on a decent pass, then strikes the tires about 700 feet out and has to give up on the run. Capps went right down the groove and pulled away for the win.

In the next round it will be Cruz Pedregon with lane choice over Capps, Gray vs. Hagan, Courtney Force vs. Lee, and Beckman with lane choice over Neff.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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