Sun, 10 Feb 2008, 02:48 PM Top Fuel Round 1 Eliminations

By David Gerard

POMONA, Calif. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 48th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    3 Brandon Bernstein                     796 Cory McClenathan             
E1                   0.075  4.576 322.81     ****WINNER****  0.044  4.518 329.34
 Qualified:             #9  4.533 325.85                        #8  4.532 329.58

11:03 a.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 71 degrees, relative humidity 25 percent, barometer 28.99 inches, adjusted altitude 2,245 feet, track temperature 88 degrees.Cory Mac has a 400 to 295 win/lose ratio so far in his career. The younger Bernstein has a 17 to 2 advantage over the Fram Team and currently has an eleven in a row string going.

Time to go RACING!! McClenathan nails the Red Car at the start and begins to march steadily ahead for the decisive win. Bernstein's car had a better 60 foot time and identical 330 times, but the Fram car was long gone. Great race to start the season.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    2 Rod Fuller                             44 David Grubnic                
E1   ****WINNER****  0.055  4.494 326.24                     0.083  5.420 212.49
 Qualified:            #10  4.539 327.51                        #7  4.530 318.62

Aussie Dave is making his 198th career start in Top Fuel this weekend. Bionic Man Fuller has a nine to three win advantage over Grubnic coming into today's eliminations

Once again the quicker car picks the right lane, but the tune up is too strong for the track and the slicks are smoking hard By 100 feet. Fuller was going to be hard to beat, as he cards a low ET of the weekend in his picture perfect pass. Rod Fuller's incremental times: 60ft-0.870 sec., 330ft-2.160, 660ft-3.054/282.60mph, 1,000ft-3.819

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    6 Doug Herbert                          530 Alan Bradshaw                
E1   ****WINNER****  0.078  4.644 325.06                     0.141 11.776  80.75
 Qualified:            #11  4.545 327.98                        #6  4.524 306.40

Bradshaw starts 2008 with a new team and a Career Best #6 qualifying position. This is his twenty-ninth TF race. Herbert made his TF start here in 1991 and today will be his 311th race.

Looks like a rerun of the last pair, as Bradshaw smokes the tires right away. Herbert gets a clean and safe pass into round two. Getting the first win of the season is tough!

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    5 Bob Vandergriff                       743 Morgan Lucas                 
E1                   0.065  8.210  96.24     ****WINNER****  0.065  4.546 331.77
 Qualified:            #13  4.590 290.38                        #4  4.514 333.33

Lucas ran a Career Best 333.33 MPH pass in qualifying. He has a three to two win advantage over Vandergriff, so far. Vandergriff is making his 169th start this weekend.

Both cars leave with identical RT's and this time it's the left lane up in smoke. Vandergriff gets a little further out than the prior races and then kicks the tires. Lucas makes another strong three-thirty MPH pass and runs close to his qualifying time to take the win.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  111 Urs Erbacher                          123 Antron Brown                 
E1                   0.085  4.571 324.98     ****WINNER****  0.104  4.522 329.26
 Qualified:            #16  4.859 296.11                        #1  4.495 330.07

Brown is making his first start in Top Fuel this weekend after extensive success in Pro Stock Bikes and is the thirty-second driver to be the number one qualifier at the Winternationals and the ninety-ninth TF driver to be number one. Erbacher is making his second start in US Top Fuel racing. He was the 2007 European TF Champion. The team will be reviewing their performance after this weekend and determining whether to stay for four more races before returning to Europe to defend their #1 spot.

Erbacher leaves first and picks up almost three tenths over his best time in qualifying. The Matco Tools tuneup is strong enough though and Brown is able to get past him right after mid-track. It's still close in the lights with about a half a car advantage.

Antron Brown's incremental times: 60ft-0.868 sec., 330ft-2.179, 660ft-3.088/278.35mph, 1,000ft-3.852

McClanathan will have lane choice in round two.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  497 Troy Buff                              91 Larry Dixon                  
E1                   0.123  4.686 286.25     ****WINNER****  0.079  4.512 331.61
 Qualified:            #15  4.675 291.51                        #2  4.497 325.14

Dixon starts today's eliminations with a career 454 to 242 win/loss advantage and has qualified thirty-five times in the number two spot on the ladder. Buff is making his fifth start in Top Fuel and has one round win, so far.

Another great race , as Dixon gets out first and pulls steadily ahead all the way down the track. Buff was on a good pass until near the finish line, where smoke started to come off the engine.

Fuller will have lane choice next round.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   22 Doug Kalitta                            1 Tony Schumacher              
E1                   0.060 30.838  52.32     ****WINNER****  0.077  4.508 328.30
 Qualified:            #14  4.615 319.67                        #3  4.513 331.53

Schumacher starts the 2008 season outside of his usual #1 spot in the third qualifying position. Kalitta made his first TF start here in 1998 and is even with Schumacher with 23 wins each.

Kalitta's car doesn't move a foot before kicking the tires. The Army car runs clean and straight to the finish line and improves on his qualifying best.

Schumacher will keep lane choice against Herbert later today.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    7 J.R. Todd                              48 Hillary Will                 
E1                   0.091  7.014 175.73     ****WINNER****  0.142  5.992 168.89
 Qualified:            #12  4.570 327.74                        #5  4.521 334.65

Will ran her Career Best 334.65 MPH earlier this weekend, the fifth fastest in history. Three of her four qualifying attempts were over 330 MPH. Todd has a six to two advantage over Will in prior meetings.

Well, that was ugly! Todd's car was off the line first and looked to have the big advantage, but the slicks started to spin almost immediately. The advantage then went to Will until just after the 330 lights, where the KB Racing dragster start to smoke the tires too. Both cars tried to regain power and Will's car had the momentum and road speed to get to the line first. It took a couple of pumps on the throttle and a bunch of sawing on the steering wheel, but she got the win.

11:25 a.m. Lucas will have lane choice in round two.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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