Sun, 7 Oct 2007, 01:22 PM Funny Car Round 2 Eliminations

By Larry Sullivan

DINWIDDIE, Va. - Results of round 2 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
  427 Tony Bartone                          711 Jack Beckman                 
E2   ****WINNER****  0.088  4.929 303.30                     0.090  5.026 263.00
 Prior rounds:
E1    (K Bernstein ) 0.138  5.276 207.02      (J Arend     ) 0.102  4.906 310.27
 Qualified:            #13  4.865 315.71                        #5  4.835 308.07

1:07 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 88 degrees, relative humidity 42 percent, barometer 29.82 inches, adjusted altitude 2,296 feet, track temperature 114 degrees.

beckman came in with a 1-0 record against Bartone, but Bartone was never headed here and another Countdown driver gets knocked off by a "spoiler." That opens the door for Ron Capps and Gary Scelzi to both move into the Countdown, but those two must meet in the final round for that to happen.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  782 Gary Densham                           28 Ron Capps                    
E2                   0.094  9.835  99.80     ****WINNER****  0.082  4.954 294.11
 Prior rounds:
E1    (J Toliver   ) 0.122  5.234 279.21      (R Hight     ) 0.093  4.886 313.37
 Qualified:             #7  4.838 309.13                       #15  4.901 314.61

Capps came in with a 16-8 mark against Densham. Densham was up in smoke early and even a top-end "sneeze" from Capps' supercharger could rob him of the win.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    5 Tony Pedregon                         347 Tim Wilkerson                
E2                   0.042  4.928 314.90     ****WINNER****  0.052  4.917 309.42
 Prior rounds:
E1    (S Kalitta   ) 0.086  4.896 309.98      (M Ashley    ) 0.077  4.876 304.87
 Qualified:             #6  4.837 312.86                       #14  4.890 302.08

Tony P came in with an 18-5 record against Wilkerson, but "spoiler" Wilkerson knocked off Countdown leader Pedregon by inches in a great drag race. Tim Wilkerson's incremental margins: 60ft(0.013), 330 ft(0.006), 660ft(0.010), 1,000ft(0.011). MOV: 0.0013 seconds (approximately 7 inches).

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    7 Gary Scelzi                            10 Cruz Pedregon                
E2   ****WINNER****  0.063  4.958 308.35                     0.086  4.994 297.81
 Prior rounds:
E1    (D Worsham   ) 0.105  4.944 302.48      (T Johnson Jr) 0.110  4.913 299.33
 Qualified:             #8  4.849 319.22                       #16  4.902 296.96

Scelzi came in with a 14-6 record against Cruz. With the pressure on, Scelzi came through and the battle for the Countdown continues. If either Scelzi or Capps loses in the semifinals, the other is in the Countdown. If both lose, Scelzi is in. If both win, both are in the Countdown and Beckman is out.

Oh yeah, Scelzi does not have lane choice against Bartone in the semifinals.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink