Sat, 11 Nov 2006, 06:07 PM Top Alcohol Dragster Round 1 Eliminations

By Dave Gerard

POMONA, Calif. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Alcohol Dragster at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 42nd annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  777 Mark Niver                              7 Ashley Force                 
E1   ****WINNER****  0.227  5.349 260.76                     0.081  6.007 237.21
 Qualified:             #8  5.374 256.06                        #9  5.382 265.22

2:20 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 69 degrees, relative humidity 52 percent, barometer 29.07 inches, adjusted altitude 1,942 feet, track temperature 84 degrees.

A weather front has blown into Pomona and the conditions have changed a bunch since earlier today. It definitely looks like winter has come to the races this afternoon.

Force has a major advantage off the line, but the engine starts to drop cylinders right away. Niver ducks a bullet after his terrible RT and keeps more cylinders lit longer to take the win. He makes his best pass of the weekend.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 5555 Jim Whiteley                            2 Steve Federlin               
E1   ****WINNER****  0.075  5.348 263.15                     0.049  5.380 264.08
 Qualified:             #7  5.373 262.28                       #10  5.383 264.29

Federlin gets off the line first and leads Whiteley until almost mid-track. Whiteley has the power to set a new personal best ET and MPH to come from behind for the close win. Jim Whiteley's incremental times: 60ft-0.911 sec., 330ft-2.354, 660ft-3.502/214.48mph, 1,000ft-4.497

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   42 Lee Callaway                         7384 Sean O'Bannon                
E1                   0.052  5.362 270.70     ****WINNER****  0.057  5.322 268.38
 Qualified:            #11  5.385 261.83                        #6  5.339 267.91

Great side by side race to show parity between the fuelers and the blown cars. Both cars improve on their qualifying times, but O'Bannon is in front by sixty feet and stays there for the win.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   71 Chris Demke                           421 Spencer Massey               
E1                   0.200  5.336 266.69     ****WINNER****  0.016  5.362 268.49
 Qualified:            #12  5.387 264.39                        #5  5.333 267.80

Demke was asleep on the line and has to watch Massey just pull away to steal the hole shot win. Odd!

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   74 Duane Shields                         611 Garrett Bateman              
E1                   0.061 12.957  92.08     ****WINNER****  0.050  5.408 260.71
 Qualified:             #4  5.315 265.01                       #13  5.395 256.65

Shields' tires spin at the hit and it is all over. Bateman runs close to his qualifying time on a clean pass.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   19 John Finke                             47 Brandon Pierce               
E1                   0.103  5.279 272.45     ****WINNER****  0.044  5.336 260.11
 Qualified:             #3  5.273 268.60                       #14  5.412 247.66

Whoa! Nice upset win for Pierce, as Finke was very late off the line and just couldn't make up the difference by the lights. Pierce finds a bunch of ET and MPH over his qualifying times to nail the win. Brandon Pierce's MOV: 0.0025 seconds (approximately 12 inches).

2:40 p.m. Looks like some more sprinkles and Rick Stewart stops the action for a while.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  613 Joey Severance                          4 Bill Reichert                
E1                   0.009  5.399 264.55     ****WINNER****  0.080  5.273 273.94
 Qualified:            #15  5.418 266.48                        #2  5.265 274.00

2:45 p.m. ...and we are back. That didn't take long.

Reichert set his only good ET in the first qualifying session and smoked the tires both attempts after that.Severance gives it his all off the line with a great .009 RT, but Reichert seems to have found his problem and freight trains on by after mid-track to get the win.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 7338 Brian Smith                           318 Dave Hirata                  
E1                   0.033 15.629  66.16     ****WINNER****  0.090  5.814 231.83
 Qualified:            #16  5.429 255.73                        #1  5.258 264.13

Smith is up in smoke at the hit and Hirata was there for the picking, as the engine starts to drop cylinders at mid-track. A win is a win, any way you get it!

2:53 p.m. The pairings for Round Two: Hirata vs. Niver; Bateman vs. Massey; Reichert vs. Whiteley; and Pierce vs. O'Bannon.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink