Sat, 9 Oct 1999, 06:47 PM MEMPHIS - Pro Stock Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Larry Sullivan It's a Long Round

MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Pro Stock at the 12th annual AutoZone Nationals presented by Pennzoil listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Left Lane: Jeff Wick No Time, Now #2
Right Lane: Robert Patrick Runs 7.549/150.31, Now #1

1:27 PM Wick is "the other other Dodge," a '94 Daytona. Wick stalls at the end of the burnout and is pushed back by hand, so we'll have to wait until later today for his first pass. Patrick got out to the top of fourth gear and then shut it down, the reason not apparent from here.

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Left Lane: Mike Trumble Runs 7.032/196.64, Now #2
Right Lane: Tony Gillig Runs 7.024/196.96, Now #1

A pair of good-looking runs for these two, with numbers to match.

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Left Lane: Kurt Johnson Runs 7.010/197.28, Now #1
Right Lane: Jim Yates Runs 7.103/196.02, Now #4

These two should give the rest of the teams a couple benchmarks to shoot at. Good pass by Kurt, but Yates fell way off the pace, again for reasons we could not see.

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Left Lane: Mike Edwards Runs 7.015/195.96, Now #2
Right Lane: Ron Krisher Runs 7.091/195.51, Now #5

Nice pass by the Topeka winner - he should qualify better than sixteenth here. His feat at Topeka is thought to be the first time in modern history Pro Stock has been won by the sixteenth qualifier.

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Left Lane: Larry Morgan Runs 7.085/194.97, Now #5
Right Lane: Terry Smith Runs 7.232/191.87, Now #8

Both cars were out of the groove for much of their run.

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Left Lane: Bruce Allen Runs 6.994/196.10, Now #1
Right Lane: Mike Thomas Runs 7.056/195.65, Now #6

Yup, the Reher-Morrison team has definitely found something, Allen laying down a very strong, very straight, very smooth run for our first six of the weekend.

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Left Lane: Lewis Worden Runs 7.011/195.62, Now #3
Right Lane: Tom Martino Runs 7.026/197.74, Now #6

Worden's run was down the right edge of the groove, surprisingly quick. Good run for Martino, too, not very straight.

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Left Lane: Ray Franks Runs 7.126/193.46, Now #12
Right Lane: Ed Heck Runs 7.161/193.79, Now #13

Franks' run was relatively straight, Heck's was very much not straight.

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Left Lane: V. Gaines Runs 9.728/94.12, Now #17
Right Lane: Darrell Alderman Runs 7.098/194.27, Now #11

Just as these two started to stage, starter Rick Stewart knelt down and started patting the ground with the palm of his hand, then signaled the drivers to shut their cars off, a light mist putting a light layer of water on the track surface. 1:42 PM

2:32 PM The two cars refire - after a lot of waiting and two or three false starts, we're ready to go again. Gaines' car was moving around a lot and he shut it down around half track.

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Left Lane: Hurley Blakeney Runs 7.076/194.86, Now #10
Right Lane: George Marnell Runs 7.035/196.36, Now #8

These two were trying to better Robert Patrick's bump time of 7.549 seconds. Instead, they ended up with the same routine as the previous pair of cars. Just as the cars stage, the mist gets heavier and starter Rick Stewart signals the drivers to shut their cars off. 2:36 PM

5:25 PM and we're back to racing. This time the skies are broken, with some patches of blue, and we appear to be past the danger of more rain. The Safety Safari has dried the track five time today - hopefully that's the end of that routine.

Two fairly straight passes here, so the track looks as good as it did before the latest spate of rain.

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Left Lane: Allen Johnson Runs 6.975/197.39, Now #1
Right Lane: Richie Stevens Runs 7.028/196.04, Now #8

"The Other Dodge" and "The Kid." Lots of nicknames...and AJ goes to the top of the heap - for now, anyway.

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Left Lane: Larry Nance Runs 6.980/196.99, Now #2
Right Lane: Troy Coughlin Runs 7.036/197.19, Now #12

Nice pass by Nance - two Dodges atop the ladder. How long has it been since we could say that?

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Left Lane: Steve Schmidt Runs 7.027/196.16, Now #9
Right Lane: Greg Anderson Runs 7.040/196.16, Now #14

Anderson, in the second Summit car, was off the pace a bit. Schmidt went about 1400 feet on a crooked run, the car darting back and forth.

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Left Lane: Arturo Delgado Runs 7.070/196.19, Now #16
Right Lane: Gary Wiggins Runs 8.653/111.75, Now #26

The bump for these two was Hurley Blakeney's 7.076. Delgado replaces Hurley on the bubble. Wiggins slows around half track.

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Left Lane: Randy Jones Runs 9.503/99.46, Now #28
Right Lane: Warren Johnson Runs 6.946/198.96, Now #1

Okay, now we'll see how good the air and track are...pretty good it appears. Jones slowed at mid track. WJ didn't slow anywhere, a smooth, straight, clean run.

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Left Lane: Jeg Coughlin Runs 6.994/197.77, Now #4
Right Lane: John Nobile Runs 7.005/196.47, Now #6

Two nice runs, right down the groove. The bump is now Troy Coughlin's 7.036.

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Left Lane: Mark Pawuk Runs 7.004/196.96, Now #6

Last car of the round, Pawuk is a bit soft off the starting line, a 1.044 60-foot time, but runs straight and strong the rest of the way for a good opening effort.
5:43 PM and the 4 hour, 16 minute qualifying session is finally over.



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