Sun, 7 Oct 2007, 12:06 PM Funny Car Round 1 Eliminations |
By Larry Sullivan |
DINWIDDIE, Va. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Funny Car at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Second annual Torco Racing Fuels NHRA Nationals:
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 170 Jeff Arend 711 Jack Beckman E1 0.080 4.944 308.00 ****WINNER**** 0.102 4.906 310.27 Qualified: #12 4.862 309.91 #5 4.835 308.0711:29 a.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 83 degrees, relative humidity 56 percent, barometer 29.85 inches, adjusted altitude 1,986 feet, track temperature 96 degrees.
Beckman has a 34-32 career round-win record, splitting 1-1 against Arend in their previous two meetings. Arend is making his 70th career start. Beckman has a two-round cushion over Gary Scelzi, Ron Capps and Mike Ashley for the third spot in the Countdown to One.
This one was close all the way, Arend was in deep and they were only a
thousandth apart after 60 feet. Jack Beckman's incremental margins: 60ft(0.001), 330 ft(0.004), 660ft(0.009), 1,000ft(0.013). MOV:
0.0163 seconds (approximately 7 feet).
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 319 Scott Kalitta 5 Tony Pedregon E1 0.117 5.044 303.09 ****WINNER**** 0.086 4.896 309.98 Qualified: #11 4.862 315.93 #6 4.837 312.86This is Tony Pedregon's 291st career race and Kalitta's 321st start. Pedregon holds a 6-2 edge over Kalitta in prior races and has clinched a spot in the Countdown to One.
Kalitta was late and Pedregon just motored right down the track.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 28 Ron Capps 2 Robert Hight E1 ****WINNER**** 0.093 4.886 313.37 0.067 7.447 107.14 Qualified: #15 4.901 314.61 #2 4.790 307.58Hight's crew won the Full Throttle Pit Crew Championship, posting three qualifying runs between 4.790 and 4.822 seconds. 36 of Hight's 64 starts have come from one of the top two qualifying positions and he is 8-3 against Capps. Capps' back is up against the wall. He must win this round in order to have any chance of being in the Countdown to One, regardless of what happens to Scelzi and Ashley, and probably needs to go one round further than Scelzi in order to secure a spot in the Countdown final phase, unless Jack Beckman stumbles in the first or second round. This is the ninth #15 qualifier of Capps' career and could not have come at a worse time - but he has won half of the first rounds where he started from that position. Hight, on the other hand, is securely in second place in the Countdown points and should stay there.
Or maybe not. Hight got about 100 feet out and started hazing the tires,
Capps' car never faltered, making his best run of the weekend. The plot thickens...
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 10 Cruz Pedregon 33 Tommy Johnson Jr. E1 ****WINNER**** 0.110 4.913 299.33 No Time Qualified: #16 4.902 296.96 #1 4.790 312.06This is the ninth time Johnson has qualified #1 in his career. He won Englishtown from the #1 position this year, the only #1 qualifier in Funny Car to win an event this season. Pedregon holds a slim 7-6 edge against TJ in prior events. This is the ninth time he's qualified 16th in his career and seven of the other eight times led to first-round losses.
Looks like the #1-qualifier
jinx is still alive and well, Johnson's car refused to go into reverse at the end of the burnout and he could not get into forward
gear to drive it off the track, so Pedregon made a solo pass with TJ's car sitting at the 330-foot marker.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 347 Tim Wilkerson 180 Mike Ashley E1 ****WINNER**** 0.077 4.876 304.87 0.120 4.866 316.08 Qualified: #14 4.890 302.08 #3 4.797 315.19Ashley is 4-1 against Wilkerson, but only 32-24 for his career, with a roller-coaster record of strong performances and DNQ's. Ashley is the underdog in the three-driver scrap for the fourth spot in the Countdown to One, trailing Scelzi and Capps by seven points, but today it's all about round wins and he is less than one round behind the other two. He must go one round further than those two or two rounds further than Jack Beckman to get into the Countdown field. This is Wilkerson's 199th career starts and the 13th time he's qualified 14th.
The roller coaster continues, Ashley losing on Wilkerson's holeshot. Tim Wilkerson's incremental
margins: 60ft(0.035), 330 ft(0.049), 660ft(0.057), 1,000ft(0.055). MOV: 0.0335 seconds (approximately 16 feet). Ashley is out of
the Countdown and now it's between Capps and Scelzi for the fourth spot in that field. Wilkerson races Tony Pedregon next round and
will have lane choice.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 427 Tony Bartone 404 Kenny Bernstein E1 ****WINNER**** 0.138 5.276 207.02 -0.060 7.823 104.04 Qualified: #13 4.865 315.71 #4 4.818 316.23Bernstein is facing the 144th different opponent of his career, the most of any professional driver. Bartone is making his 79th start in Funny Car and Bernstein is the 23rd different driver he has faced.
Bernstein went way red, then violently smoked the
tires about 200 feet out. Bartone's car had problems on the top end and coasted across the line. He faces Beckman in round two,
Beckman has lane choice.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 729 Jerry Toliver 782 Gary Densham E1 0.111 11.637 78.33 ****WINNER**** 0.122 5.234 279.21 Qualified: #10 4.859 305.70 #7 4.838 309.13This is Densham's 324th start and his fifth top-half starting position of the year. However, Toliver holds a 5-0 career record against Densham.
Toliver lost traction right off the line, Densham further out. Densham was able to pedal it and finish the run,
Toliver never really got going.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 750 Del Worsham 7 Gary Scelzi E1 0.139 4.949 307.72 ****WINNER**** 0.105 4.944 302.48 Qualified: #9 4.858 311.20 #8 4.849 319.22This round is extremely important to Scelzi. Scelzi, Capps and Ashley came into this round in a virtual three-way tie for the fourth spot in the Countdown. Scelzi had the tie-breaker, with more round wins during the Countdown to Four than either Capps or Ashley. Ashley already lost this round, but both Scelzi and Capps must go two rounds further than Jack Beckman in order for both of them to get into the Countdown.
This is Scelzi's 227th start and he comes in with an 8-5 record against Worsham. Scelzi has one career win here, '97, in Top Fuel. Worsham is starting ninth for the 32nd time in his career, the most of any starting position. He holds a 327-301 career round-win record.
This was a nail-biter, Scelzi away first, Worsham closing on the top end. But Scelzi stays alive, losing lane choice to Cruz Pedregon in round two.
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