Fri, 2 May 2008, 09:22 PM Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Session #2 |
By Dan Bennett |
MADISON, Ill. - Notes from round 2 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 12th annual O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Castrol 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:
Left Lane: Troy Buff Runs 11.787/85.33, Now #15; Best prior run: 11.801/85.55, Was #15
7:49 p.m.
The sun has already set and the temperature is starting to drop. We are told that Luigi Novelli has chosen to sit this session out.
Instant smoke for Buff as the car gets sideways off the line. He's able to gather it up without further incident.
Left Lane: David Grubnic Runs 4.519/326.32, Now #1; Best prior run: 10.249/84.79, Was #13
Right Lane: Bob Vandergriff Runs 10.579/76.30, Now #14; Best prior run: 10.894/80.99, Was #14
Doug Kalitta is on the bump spot at 10.003.
Vandergriff smokes the tires as the clutch stages start hitting and is out of the throttle by 400 feet.
But all eyes are on Grubnic as he streaks to the best performance yet. Nothing wrong with that run as the header flames were steady and high while the chassis was arched up just like the monument over on the western skyline.
Free beer at the union hall tonight! The St. Louis Carpenter Union made a good investment I'd say.
Left Lane: J.R. Todd Runs 4.626/321.65, Now #5; Best prior run: 9.277/88.24, Was #12
Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 4.680/311.27, Now #6; Best prior run: 10.003/81.95, Was #13
Todd does a Kenny Bernstein-like pat on the pedal and the car responds nicely. Kalitta is right there alongside but neither team puts up a number that they will be satisfied with.
Regardless, this pair is now our #5 and #6 slots.
Left Lane: Morgan Lucas Runs 4.622/326.00, Now #5; Best prior run: 8.651/98.33, Was #13
Right Lane: Alan Bradshaw Runs 11.434/74.45, Now #12; Best prior run: 6.808/113.91, Was #11
Bradshaw pulls to the line in the Russell tribute car. Darrell still holds the track record for Top Fuel.
Bradshaw's special driving suit and helmet will be auctioned off on eBay with all proceeds going to DRAW. Look for the auction starting tonight and bid high for the best cause in drag racing. Also, Rob Geiger's book on Darrell Russell is being sold this weekend at the Morgan Lucas trailer, again with all proceeds going to DRAW.
Bradshaw goes up in smoke early while Lucas shoots some sparklers out the exhaust early in the run.
Left Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 4.536/325.37, Now #3; Best prior run: 6.902/112.17, Was #13
Right Lane: Antron Brown Runs 4.521/328.86, Now #2; Best prior run: 5.996/144.33, Was #11
It's a battle of the titans, and both cars run strong. But not strong enough to take over the top spot.
Left Lane: Hillary Will Runs 4.549/326.95, Now #4; Best prior run: 5.599/165.07, Was #12
Right Lane: Doug Herbert Runs 12.281/78.90, Now #11; Best prior run: 4.874/288.64, Was #10
Melanie Troxel is here in the Media Center and is saying she was shocked at the numbers that came up from her pass, as she fought the car the entire length of the track.
Herbert's flames go out early as Hillary earns her keep with a snaking route to the finish line. It was a very nice job of keeping the car in the groove when it doesn't want to be there.
Left Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 4.618/285.71, Now #8; Best prior run: 5.442/171.05, Was #12
Right Lane: Cory McClenathan Runs 4.542/329.18, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.583/321.42, Was #6
The pair started out pretty good, but at about 900 feet Dixon's engine let go with a considerable impact. It appeared in the replay that the explosion kicked the car sideways. He shut the car down with no problems even though the flames continued to flicker low on the car, even after he stopped. The Safety Safari made short work of the flames but by my unofficial tally it's going to cost the team $1500 for that oil down.
Cory was over in the other lane being Cory, meaning once again laying down a strong pass and moving back up to the 4th spot.
Left Lane: Brandon Bernstein Runs 4.576/319.14, Now #7; Best prior run: 4.585/323.81, Was #7
Right Lane: Rod Fuller Runs 4.541/321.50, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.566/323.04, Was #6
8:14 p.m. and we're firing the last pair on what turned out to be a great day of racing.
Bernstein is carrying "The Great American Lager" tagline on his Budweiser car.
Great passes on both sides, but Grubnic stays on top.
We've got Pro Mods next to close the evening.
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