Sun, 26 Oct 2003, 05:09 PM Top Fuel Round 2 Eliminations

By Jonathan Adams

LAS VEGAS - Results of round 2 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Third annual ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    3 Tony Schumacher                         6 Darrell Russell
E2   ****WINNER****  0.080  4.525 330.72                     0.044  4.789 283.79
 Prior rounds:
E1    (D Baca      ) 0.076  4.628 316.15      (P Romine    ) 0.062  6.974 112.65
 Qualified:             #1  4.503 328.22                        #9  4.628 310.91

1:29 p.m. Prior to this round of Top Fuel, the NHRA crew had a "scraping party" on the starting line, eliminating the excess rubber.

Russell with the holeshot, but that's the last thing that went right for him, as Schumacher lays down low e.t. of eliminations. We're down for a clean-up in the right lane.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    2 Kenny Bernstein                        10 John Smith
E2   ****WINNER****  0.068  4.906 279.90                     0.045  5.111 274.94
 Prior rounds:
E1    (R Hartman-Sm) 0.087  4.599 324.36      (J Head      ) 0.050  5.529 190.57
 Qualified:             #2  4.529 326.95                       #10  4.630 293.35

1:54 p.m. Smith will be looking for a measure of revenge here, as Bernstein upended his wife in round one. He'll have to get down the right lane that just went through an extensive clean-up.

Both drivers smoke the tires, first Smith then Bernstein, but it's Bernstein who recovers to get the win. He has now won 13 in-a-row over Smith.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  319 Scott Kalitta                         104 Clay Millican
E2   ****WINNER****  0.089  4.591 325.45                     0.031  5.418 180.26
 Prior rounds:
E1    (S Weis      ) 0.077  4.577 322.65      (L Dixon Jr  ) 0.055  4.625 308.99
 Qualified:             #3  4.532 329.10                       #11  4.641 313.15

With Jesse James of Monster Garage fame looking on, Kalitta overcomes the big holeshot to march into the semi's. Millican smoked the tires before half-track, but he was leading by more than five hundredths at the 330-foot mark.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    4 Doug Kalitta                            5 Cory McClenathan
E2   ****WINNER****  0.107  4.559 312.21                     0.027  5.096 212.63
 Prior rounds:
E1    (B Ancona Jr ) 0.077  4.580 320.97      (S Muldowney ) 0.081  4.619 319.14
 Qualified:             #4  4.543 325.30                        #5  4.545 323.97

Cory Mac drills the Tree, but starts hazing the slicks just before half-track, and then it blew up and it was all Kalitta after that. Kalitta loses lane choice to Schumacher in the semi's.

2:02 p.m.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink