Sun, 12 Nov 2006, 02:39 PM Top Fuel Round 1 Eliminations |
By Dave Gerard |
POMONA, Calif. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Fuel 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 763 Hillary Will 373 J.R. Todd E1 0.087 4.553 325.69 ****WINNER**** 0.060 4.534 325.53 Qualified: #9 4.535 324.36 #8 4.515 324.2811:01 a.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 74 degrees, relative humidity 42 percent, barometer 29.20 inches, adjusted altitude 2,049 feet, track temperature 91 degrees. This morning brings higher temperatures and a few high clouds.
Todd has been in the top half of the field in twelve of the eighteen times he has qualified this year. Will is his favorite opponent, having beaten her more times than any other driver. He has won four of the five times that they have met in eliminations. Will has qualified at all twenty three races in her rookie year and is currently in the last slot in the annual Top Ten points chase by just one point.
Great side by side drag
race to start eliminations. Todd gets the advantage off the line and is able to hold off a quicker
Will at the lights for a very narrow win.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
6 Doug Herbert 10 Rod Fuller
E1 0.075 10.318 97.42 ****WINNER**** 0.072 4.544 327.35
Qualified: #10 4.535 318.24 #7 4.509 323.89
Fuller has a 4-2 advantage over Herbert in eliminations and has lane choice this morning.
Herbert is making his 254th professional start and this will be the nineteenth time from the tenth
position. Herbert's weekend is over before 100 feet as the tires are up in smoke. Fuller makes a
full pull and runs close to his qualifying times to take the easy win.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
9 Cory McClenathan 91 Larry Dixon
E1 0.066 4.543 331.28 ****WINNER**** 0.028 4.535 323.04
Qualified: #11 4.559 330.88 #6 4.508 331.12
Dixon has faced Cory Mac more times in eliminations than any other driver. To date he has
maintained a 29-16 win advantage. Fortunately, McClenathan has a better record against the rest of
the competition. He is making his 301st start and won here in 1992 and 2002. He needs to go some
rounds to improve on his current #9 spot in points for the year.Another great race and Dixon
ensures that the last race for Miller Lite will be a good one. He is away first and stays there
from start to finish. McClenathan makes another strong pass, but just can't catch Dixon.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
5 Morgan Lucas 4 David Grubnic
E1 ****WINNER**** 0.083 4.685 272.67 0.058 7.625 115.95
Qualified: #12 4.567 324.75 #5 4.488 326.00
This will be the three hundredth round in competition for Grubnic and he has a 5 to 4 win
advantage over Lucas on race day. Lucas comes into eliminations in eleventh place, just one round
behind Will. He will be looking for some round wins to vault him into the valued Top Ten for the
year.Grubnic is up in smoke by 100 feet and tries desperately to gather it back with lots of
throttle pumping. It too little, too late, as Lucas is long gone. He starts to mix up the cylinders
at mid-track and has some fire in the lights. It's another expensive pass and the Safety Safari
rolls down the track to start the clean up. The round win points may not count against the
potential oil down penality. 11:14 a.m.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 475 Steve Torrence 507 Melanie Troxel E1 0.103 4.622 294.88 ****WINNER**** 0.074 4.553 323.66 Qualified: #13 4.577 319.14 #4 4.485 329.8311:17 a.m. Torrence will be the thirty-forth different driver that Troxel has met in eliminations. She was the runner up here in 2005. Torrance is a late in the year starter in Top Fuel, but was runner up in Top Alcohol Dragster here in 2005.
Troxel is ready for Torrance and
leads him off the line and down the track to the win. Torrance's engine needed a longer fuze, as
the engine expires before the lights. No oil on the track, so we keep on running. Troxel will have
lane choice over Lucas in round two.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 72 Mike Strasburg 7 Brandon Bernstein E1 -0.007 7.645 115.53 ****WINNER**** 0.078 4.508 330.15 Qualified: #14 4.578 324.44 #3 4.473 330.15In his short professional career, Bernstein is qualifying for the seventy-seventh straight time. Strasburg ran a careen best time of 4.578 to qualify this weekend.
Strasburg goes for the
lights and just misses by -0.007. He is up in smoke after that to add insult to injury. Bernstein
makes a picture perfect pass and will have lane choice over Dixon next round.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 530 Alan Bradshaw 3 Doug Kalitta E1 0.057 9.095 81.40 ****WINNER**** 0.047 4.482 331.77 Qualified: #16 4.585 308.21 #1 4.452 328.22Kalitta has been the number one qualifier twenty eight times in his career and this event will be his second time for 2006. He was the runner up here in 1999. This will be Bradshaw's eleventh start as a TF driver.
I would have thought that Kalitta would have forced Schumacher to run
before him, but there is no serious challenge, when Bradshaw strikes the tires off the line.
Kalitta shows the power and makes the quickest run of eliminations to make his point. He will have
lane choice over Todd.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 13 David Baca 1 Tony Schumacher E1 0.118 9.882 95.22 ****WINNER**** 0.067 4.489 328.38 Qualified: #15 4.583 310.98 #2 4.458 328.46Schumacher is chasing Kalitta for the National Championship and has a statistical advantage, having won her in 2004 and 2005. A "Three-peat" would get him closer to his goal. He has a career 6-1 advantage over Baca in eliminations. Baca started the year well with a runner up spot at the Winternationals. He is making his seventy-fifth start as a professional.
As a result of last night's starting line incident, NHRA has announced a $20,000 fine to Team Schumacher for "failing to follow the commands of NHRA Chief Starter Rick Stewart".
The pressure is really on now, but you would never know it. Schumacher thunders right down the track to card a great number. Baca smokes the tires in the left lane. In round two, Schumacher will have lane choice over Fuller
11:28 a.m. Great first round!
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