Sat, 25 Oct 2003, 08:31 PM Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Final Session

By Jonathan Adams

LAS VEGAS - Notes from final, round 4 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Third annual ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time/top speed this round, position in order following run, best prior elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to run:

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Left Lane: David Grubnic Runs 4.721/314.75, Now #14; Best prior run: 5.739/160.50, Was #23
Right Lane: David Baca Runs 4.714/250.41, Now #13; Best prior run: 5.785/153.53, Was #24

The number to shoot for if you're not in the field is Scott Palmer's 4.762. Both of these drivers get in, although Baca left a bit on the table as evidenced by his low mph. Millican and Palmer got bumped and Strasburg is on the bump at 4.729.

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Left Lane: Joe Hartley Runs 4.838/298.67, Now #22; Best prior run: 4.955/289.51, Was #24
Right Lane: Rit Pustari Runs 4.763/314.90, Now #19; Best prior run: 4.850/295.72, Was #21

Good efforts by both teams, but they will miss the show. Hartley made his quickest run of the season, and Pustari made the quickest and fastest run of his career, but it's not enough.

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Left Lane: Doug Herbert Runs 4.817/299.53, Now #22; Best prior run: 4.856/298.47, Was #23
Right Lane: KC Spurlock Runs 4.795/289.38, Now #21; Best prior run: 4.800/295.21, Was #21

Herbert suffers his fourth DNQ of 2003. Spurlock with his best run of the weekend, but it's not enough.

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Left Lane: Mike Strasburg Runs 4.760/266.69, Now #17; Best prior run: 4.729/283.19, Was #16
Right Lane: Rhonda Hartman-Smith Runs 4.671/315.71, Now #13; Best prior run: 4.781/263.62, Was #20

Tough luck for Strasburg as he gets bumped by Hartman-Smith. Strasburg was just two hundredths behind Rhonda at the 1000-foot mark, but something went away just before the finish line. Clutch performance by the Fram Filters team there.

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Left Lane: Paul Romine Runs 4.598/321.12, Now #8; Best prior run: 4.723/307.93, Was #16
Right Lane: Scott Palmer Runs 5.305/189.58, Now #19; Best prior run: 4.762/288.95, Was #19

Romine finds himself on the bump with only Palmer and Millican yet to run among those who are not in.

Romine with a terrific run to get off the bump. That was a career-best speed for him. Palmer left some stuff on the track.

5:05 p.m.

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Left Lane: Scott Weis Runs 7.340/111.92, Now #14; Best prior run: 4.659/291.76, Was #13
Right Lane: Clay Millican Runs 4.641/313.15, Now #11; Best prior run: 4.730/310.48, Was #18

5:11 p.m. Grubnic is on the bump at 4.721, and Millican is the only non-qualified driver left to run.

Millican--to steal a line from another sport--scores at the buzzer. Great effort by that team, as Grubnic gets bumped and Baca slides to number 16.

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Left Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 4.558/324.05, Now #6; Best prior run: 4.559/324.83, Was #6
Right Lane: Darrell Russell Runs 4.637/314.24, Now #9; Best prior run: 4.628/310.91, Was #9

Dixon improves by a thousandth, but stays number six. Good run by Russell, too.

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Right Lane: Jim Head Runs 4.624/327.74, Now #7; Best prior run: 4.591/322.34, Was #7

No e.t. improvement for Head, but check out the mph.

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Left Lane: Kenny Bernstein Runs 4.529/326.95, Now #2; Best prior run: 4.543/327.66, Was #3
Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 11.089/87.95, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.543/325.30, Was #4

Awesome run by the King, as he moves up a spot and misses the pole by nine thousandths. Kalitta was up in smoke by the 60-foot mark.

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Left Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 4.503/328.22, Now #1; Best prior run: 4.520/331.45, Was #1
Right Lane: Scott Kalitta Runs 11.214/85.09, Now #3; Best prior run: 4.532/329.10, Was #3

Kalitta's run was virtually identical to his cousin Doug's in the previous pair. Sarge, however, lays down a flawless run and misses the track e.t. record by four thousandths. That's his third consecutive pole, and fourth of 2003.

5:27 p.m.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink