Sun, 8 Jun 2008, 05:36 PM Funny Car Round 2 Eliminations

By Dave Rowe

JOLIET, Ill. - Results of round 2 eliminations in Funny Car at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 11th annual Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  319 Scott Kalitta                          71 Cruz Pedregon                
E2   ****WINNER****  0.115  4.896 312.21                     0.055  5.054 282.95
 Prior rounds:
E1    (R Capps     ) 0.105  4.918 305.29      (B Tasca III ) 0.099  4.992 297.09
 Qualified:            #13  4.825 319.82                        #5  4.780 324.51

4:09 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 85 degrees, relative humidity 71 percent, barometer 29.16 inches, adjusted altitude 3,659 feet, track temperature 111 degrees.

Kalitta is a little late off the line but reels Pedregon in by the time the hit the 60-foot mark. Pedregon lost a cylinder as soon as he hit the throttle, then started skating around, finally clicking it off about 1200 feet out.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    1 Tony Pedregon                        4330 Mark Oswald                  
E2   ****WINNER****  0.069  4.882 297.61                     0.089  4.884 316.08
 Prior rounds:
E1    (J Toliver   ) 0.062  4.884 311.49      (J Beckman   ) 0.087  4.822 319.52
 Qualified:            #10  4.797 323.43                        #2  4.757 328.46

A good side-by-side here, both cars go right down the groove. Pedregon gets a small advantage off the line and starts to pull away. Oswald starts to make up ground around half-track but runs out of race-track.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   10 Ashley Force                            3 Gary Scelzi                  
E2   ****WINNER****  0.113  4.896 319.29                     0.083  5.534 202.39
 Prior rounds:
E1    (R Hight     ) 0.141  4.817 318.02      (M Neff      ) 0.125  4.897 312.21
 Qualified:             #3  4.759 329.10                        #6  4.781 319.22

Force won the only meeting between these two...and she makes it 2-0. Scelzi gets out of the gate first, holds the lead for the first 330 feet, then starts hazing the tires and finally clicking it off. Force drives around him just past the 330-foot mark and goes on through for the win.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  347 Tim Wilkerson                         782 Gary Densham                 
E2                   0.113  4.942 313.07     ****WINNER****  0.101  4.880 318.62
 Prior rounds:
E1    (J Force     ) 0.064  4.919 280.89      (M Troxel    ) 0.108  4.928 309.98
 Qualified:             #9  4.788 319.37                       #16  4.854 312.57

Another great side-by-side, both with almost perfect runs to end this session. Densham leaves the line first and starts to pull away. he continues to increase his lead all the way through the run.

in the next round it will be Densham vs. Kalitta and Pedregon vs. Force.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink