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Sat, 7 Jun 2008, 09:42 PM

Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Final Session

By Dave Rowe

JOLIET, Ill. - Notes from final, round 4 qualifying in Funny Car at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 11th annual Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 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:

Left Lane: Tony Bartone Runs 9.339/81.02, Now #20; No Prior Run

7:41 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 83 degrees, relative humidity 79 percent, barometer 29.13 inches, adjusted altitude 3,668 feet, track temperature 92 degrees.
Bartone had an oil leak on his last attempt and had to shut down before he could stage. He crossed the centerline and hit the wall in his other attempt.

He hits the throttle, rattles the tires, starts drifting to the right, then aborts the run.

Left Lane: Scott Kalitta Runs 4.825/319.82, Now #10; Best prior run: 6.058/155.51, Was #19
Right Lane: Bob Bode Runs 4.870/312.13, Now #16; Best prior run: 10.986/84.54, Was #21

A couple of good runs, both drifted a little to the left past half-track, but both get in the show. Bode is on the bump with a few more cars not qualified yet to run.

Left Lane: Mike Neff Runs 4.815/322.11, Now #9; Best prior run: 5.190/223.32, Was #19
Right Lane: Tommy Johnson Jr. Runs 4.949/313.00, Now #19; Best prior run: 5.828/194.58, Was #20

A great run for Neff, right down the groove, and he gets in the show in the ninth spot. Johnson was mixing up cylinders early in the run and will not make the field.

Left Lane: Jack Beckman Runs 4.849/316.90, Now #14; Best prior run: 4.851/315.19, Was #15
Right Lane: Del Worsham Runs 4.869/297.48, Now #17; Best prior run: 4.961/304.94, Was #20

Worsham on a decent pass, then the candles went out just before the finish-line. Beckman makes a nice, clean run and gets in the show.

Left Lane: Robert Hight Runs 4.847/290.51, Now #14; Best prior run: 4.850/293.54, Was #15
Right Lane: Jim Head Runs 4.975/278.63, Now #19; Best prior run: 4.926/279.27, Was #19

Hight was on a good pass, then drifts to the left past half-track, then goes up in a ball of flames about 1200 feet down. He still manages to improve on his earlier run and moves up a notch to the 14th spot. Head loses cylinders late in the run and loses power about 1200 feet out.

Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 4.777/322.11, Now #2; Best prior run: 4.844/316.82, Was #11

Densham was supposed to be in the right lane but elected not to make a run. Capps makes a great pass here, right down the groove, candles lit all the way through, and he moves into the second spot.

Left Lane: Tim Wilkerson Runs 4.788/319.37, Now #7; Best prior run: 4.843/314.02, Was #13
Right Lane: Bob Tasca III Runs 10.153/90.18, Now #12; Best prior run: 4.820/320.05, Was #11

Tasca rattles the tires about 200 feet out and shuts down. Wilkerson goes right down the groove with his quickest pass of the weekend to move into the top half of the field.

Left Lane: Melanie Troxel Runs 4.752/327.27, Now #1; Best prior run: 4.814/324.90, Was #10
Right Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 4.894/261.32, Now #9; Best prior run: 4.797/323.43, Was #8

Pedregon has a scary one here. He starts to get out of the groove about 800 feet out, spins the tires, then the engine explodes. The fire engulfs the body of the car, he gets up against the wall, hits a couple of cones, then the body comes off the frame. The car finally comes to a stop with the body of the car burning about 100 feet behind. Pedregon gets out of the car, dejected, but apparently unharmed.

Lost in all the excitement, Troxel makes a great pass and takes the top spot.

Left Lane: Gary Scelzi Runs 4.781/319.22, Now #5; Best prior run: 4.799/320.89, Was #10
Right Lane: Jerry Toliver Runs 6.492/136.41, Now #6; Best prior run: 4.783/325.77, Was #5

Toliver gets about 400 feet out, pulls the wheels, then has to back off the throttle. Scelzi goes right down the groove and moves up five spots to the fifth position.

Left Lane: John Force Runs 4.794/322.58, Now #8; Best prior run: 4.783/319.22, Was #8
Right Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 5.488/191.73, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.780/324.51, Was #4

Force was moving around through the middle of the run but hung on for a decent pass. Pedregon gets a little past half-track and the candles go out, not sure why.

Left Lane: Mark Oswald Runs 4.757/328.46, Now #2; Best prior run: 4.783/324.67, Was #7
Right Lane: Ashley Force Runs 4.788/298.27, Now #3; Best prior run: 4.759/329.10, Was #2

Unless Oswald makes a great pass here, we will have the first female to qualify number one in Funny Car.....and he almost does it. Oswald goes right down the groove with a career best run and drives around Force to take the second spot. Force was on a pretty good run, ahead of Oswald to the 1000-foot mark, but the header flames go away about 1200 feet out allowing Oswald to go around.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink