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Sat, 11 Nov 2006, 04:23 PM

Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #3

By Darryl Jackman

POMONA, Calif. - Notes from round 3 qualifying in Funny Car at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 42nd annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time/top speed this round, position in order following run, best prior elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to run:

Left Lane: Phil Burkart Runs 4.774/325.30, Now #9; Best prior run: 4.881/315.12, Was #15
Right Lane: Gary Densham Runs 4.805/322.88, Now #11; Best prior run: 4.845/320.43, Was #13

Weather conditions: air temperature 73 degrees, relative humidity 45 percent, 12:43 p.m. barometer 29.12 inches, adjusted altitude 2,080 feet, track temperature 89 degrees.

The first session of the day opens with Burkart and Densham. Both are currently qualified but but look to improve with pretty good conditions. They didn't make a lier out of me anyway. Both get a hold on the Pomona concrete and black top and both improve.

Left Lane: Grant Downing Runs 4.933/305.49, Now #17; Best prior run: 13.150/79.98, Was #23
Right Lane: Mike Ashley Runs 4.730/331.85, Now #3; Best prior run: 4.762/328.38, Was #7

Ok. Conditions are GOOD! Downing just misses the field but runs his career best ET. Ashley moves up four spots and runs a big MPH. Bartone is on the bump. Ashley's 331.85 is top speed for the class. He just misses Cory Mac's 331.88 mark for top speed of the meet.

Left Lane: Jim Head Runs 4.831/322.34, Now #13; Best prior run: 10.323/78.78, Was #22
Right Lane: John Force Runs 4.741/326.32, Now #5; Best prior run: 4.731/323.74, Was #5

Force is about the first car that fails to improve. He did say on Wednesday that he was looking to be consistent, not rotate the earth. Head moves way up and in.

Left Lane: Terry Haddock Runs 9.342/92.56, Now #23; Best prior run: 10.695/67.53, Was #23
Right Lane: Bob Bode Runs 4.886/305.98, Now #17; Best prior run: 4.973/289.32, Was #21

Bode made his run and went about 1400 feet by the time he reached the stripe. he just misses the bump and gets his last shot later on today. Haddock made a hard right hand turn and just about crossed at about 60 feet.

Left Lane: Eric Medlen Runs 4.723/323.58, Now #2; Best prior run: 4.730/318.69, Was #4
Right Lane: Frank Pedregon Runs 8.650/89.04, Now #20; Best prior run: 4.939/285.95, Was #20

Let's hope the Pedregon kids can keep the oil and parts inside the engine this session. Frank Pedregon is first out and rattles the tires loose at about 200 feet. Medlen had no such problem as he was down the middle of Parker Avenue and puts the Syntec Mustang into #2 behind Worsham. He moves teammate Hight down to #3.

Left Lane: Scott Kalitta Runs 10.108/93.64, Now #15; Best prior run: 4.843/319.37, Was #15
Right Lane: Tim Wilkerson Runs 4.888/317.27, Now #18; Best prior run: 4.961/295.46, Was #21

Kalitta blows the tires off before 200 feet and winds up coasting. Wilkerson left pretty well at a .902 60 foot number but was really falling off from half track to the stripe compared to the numbers for Medlen.

Left Lane: Tony Bartone Runs 4.886/293.47, Now #18; Best prior run: 4.895/291.51, Was #19
Right Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 7.741/111.29, Now #16; Best prior run: 4.860/287.84, Was #16

Bartone picks it up a taste but just falls short of this really tough field. Pedregon didn't burn anything this time but the engine was silent by 330. Couldn't see why.

Left Lane: Del Worsham Runs 5.048/219.54, Now #1; Best prior run: 4.712/309.56, Was #1
Right Lane: Bob Gilbertson Runs 5.838/167.86, Now #14; Best prior run: 4.838/318.54, Was #14

I watched Gilbertson's crew remove the center section of the rear spoiler to take away some down force. Worsham is in a new backup car and seated on a whoopee cushion to help with his fractured tailbone. Nothing made much difference though as Worsham proceeds to run numbers within .02 of Medlen's. He clicked it early as planned, just not as early as he said he would. He was certainly on a pass to that point. Gilbertson shook the tires loose and called it done early.

Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 4.725/328.86, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.769/324.36, Was #8
Right Lane: Gary Scelzi Runs 4.798/328.70, Now #11; Best prior run: 4.824/322.58, Was #12

This time it's Capps that serves notice that he's not given up on the weekend either. He moves well up in the show. Scelzi was running well but only picks off one spot. Good mph for the Dodge though.

Left Lane: Tommy Johnson Jr. Runs 9.253/90.12, Now #10; Best prior run: 4.774/325.14, Was #10
Right Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 5.551/176.77, Now #7; Best prior run: 4.745/323.35, Was #7

Pedregon just about bought a piece of wall as the car made an abrupt move towards the wall at 330 feet. Johnson has something go away in the engine and he's out of the power early.

Left Lane: Jack Beckman Runs 4.705/328.78, Now #1; Best prior run: 4.755/326.32, Was #8
Right Lane: Robert Hight Runs 5.608/170.67, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.724/328.54, Was #3

Beckman continues to impress and say all the right things. He thanked Todd Okahara and the other members of his crew for giving him the kind of a racecar that can qualify #1. That's just what Beckman did on that run. Hight shook the tires loose and wound up coasting. I think Prock overloaded on that on e just a might.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink