Sun, 18 Sep 2005, 11:43 AM Top Fuel Round 1 Eliminations

By Rick Green

MOHNTON, Pa. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 21st annual Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    5 David Grubnic                          13 David Baca                   
E1   ****WINNER****  0.080  4.566 320.97                     0.119  4.702 295.66
 Qualified:             #8  4.560 325.30                        #9  4.568 324.44

Weather conditions: air temperature 71 degrees, relative humidity 51 percent, barometer 29.93 inches, adjusted altitude 980 feet, track temperature 94 degrees.

No chance of rain but a lot of cloud cover. Grubnic as a two to zero lead in head to head match ups. Grubnic with a great looking pass to duplicate qualifying time to take the win. Baca with a lot of tire smoke from about 1100 feet on.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    7 Cory McClenathan                        4 Scott Kalitta                
E1   ****WINNER****  0.092  4.575 322.65                     0.081  5.176 226.85
 Qualified:             #6  4.553 319.14                       #11  4.585 326.16

Cory Mac holds an 18 to 10 advantage in head to head match ups. Kalitta with the starting line advantage, but dropped a cylinder right off the starting line and then really started mixing up cylinders and the engine was eating itself up. Cory Mac straight down Broadway for the win light.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  507 Melanie Troxel                        104 Clay Millican                
E1   ****WINNER****  0.099  4.509 322.65                     0.087  5.865 152.66
 Qualified:             #5  4.550 320.20                       #12  4.595 319.52

Millican is out of the gate first, but then drops cylinders and then clicks it off by half track. Melanie with a GREAT looking pass for the win. This is a career best ET for Melanie and the quickest run by a female in NHRA history. This is also the second quickest pass of the weekend only being Schumacher's number one pass.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  743 Morgan Lucas                          241 John Smith                   
E1   ****WINNER****  0.073  4.540 321.73                     0.068  7.517 124.38
 Qualified:             #4  4.542 325.06                       #13  4.616 319.45

Smith started to chatter the tires and then smoked them around 400 feet and clicked it off. Smith has been driving Rhonda's old dragster this weekend. Lucas with a good run until right before the finish line when he had a big puff of smoke. Lucas will give up lane choice to Melanie.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    1 Tony Schumacher                        10 Scott Weis                   
E1   ****WINNER****  0.093  4.479 323.12                     0.113  8.977  98.03
 Qualified:             #1  4.477 323.35                       #16  4.838 275.90

Schumacher has won here the last two years. Weis starts to lose traction right off the starting line and then clicks it off by 330 feet. Schumacher with a picture perfect pass here. This is the quickest pass of the day and he will have lane choice over Grubnic in the next round.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    8 Doug Herbert                         1301 Doug Foley                   
E1   ****WINNER****  0.107  4.536 318.39                     0.069  4.581 320.74
 Qualified:             #3  4.541 318.92                       #14  4.632 318.69

Foley coming off his win last weekend in Epping and making his first start in NHRA Top Fuel. He is out of the gate first and has the lead until just before half track. Herbert drove by and took the win by about four feet. Herbert will have lane choice over McClenathan.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    2 Doug Kalitta                            3 Brandon Bernstein            
E1   ****WINNER****  0.082  4.520 327.03                     0.092  6.321 131.24
 Qualified:             #7  4.554 323.58                       #10  4.575 317.87

Kalitta and Bernstein have raced eight times with each of then winning four a piece. Kalitta lead this one wire to wire with a great looking pass straight down the groove. Bernstein bang the blower around half track to bring his weekend to an end.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   91 Larry Dixon                           317 T.J. Zizzo                   
E1   ****WINNER****  0.055  4.521 330.23                     0.113 11.436  78.99
 Qualified:             #2  4.538 323.43                       #15  4.688 282.24

Dixon with a great light and blast on through the 1320 with the fastest pass of the weekend, but he will give up lane choice by 0.001 second to Doug Kalitta in the next round. Zizzo was up in smoke as soon as he hit the throttle. That was one of the best first round of Top Fuel ever with the winning times ranging from Schumacher's 4.479-second pass to Cory Mac's 4.575-second pass.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink