Sun, 22 Oct 2006, 02:13 PM Top Alcohol Dragster Round 1 Eliminations

By Dave Rowe

REYNOLDS, Ga. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Alcohol Dragster at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Southeast Division, event at Silver Dollar Raceway:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    5 Marty Thacker                          45 Aaron Olivarez               
E1                   0.039  8.996  90.83     ****WINNER****  0.055  5.489 261.67
 Qualified:             #5  5.537 259.66                        #4  5.498 259.86

1:53 p.m. Olivarez has a slim nine point lead over Ashley Force in the division two points chase. Force will have to go one round further to take the lead. Thacker gets off the line first, hangs on to the lead until just past the sixty foot mark, then his engien goes silent about 300 feet out, not sure why. Olivarez went right down the groove with his quickest pass of the weekend to move on to the next round.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    7 Ashley Force                           22 Artie Allen                  
E1   ****WINNER****  0.080  5.516 264.18                           No Time      
 Qualified:             #3  5.485 261.37                        #6  5.667 249.44

Allen cannot make the call to the line, giving Force the free pass to the second round. She makes a decent pass, having to pedal once about 200 feet out, then going on through with a decent time.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   52 Richard Putz                          237 Ron Griffis                  
E1                   0.060 10.467  83.92     ****WINNER****  0.122  6.372 209.98
 Qualified:             #1  5.406 260.11                        #8  6.662 150.15

Putz won this event last year and seems to have the advantage here.....but this is why they make them go down the track. Putz rattles the tires off the line, gets out of the groove, makes a move to the right, then a wild move back to the left, and he has to abort the run. Griffis had a hole out from the start but was able to make it down the track in a straight line to take the win.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   15 Dan Mercier                            24 Dick Garlets                 
E1   ****WINNER****  0.056  5.527 266.21                     0.073  5.550 241.97
 Qualified:             #2  5.482 264.29                        #7  5.880 234.00

This was a pretty good race here, both dragsters go right down the groove. Garlets was out in front at the 1000-foot mark, then the dragster nosed over allowing Mercier to drive around and take the win. In the next round Olivarez will have lane choice over Griffis and Force will have lane choice over Mercier.

Dan Mercier's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.014), 330 ft(-0.064), 660ft(-0.066), 1,000ft(-0.021). MOV: 0.0404 seconds (approximately 14 feet).

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink