Sat, 28 Jun 2008, 01:10 PM Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Larry Sullivan

NORWALK, Ohio - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Second annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Left Lane: Steve Torrence Runs 7.575/109.76, Now #2
Right Lane: Luigi Novelli Runs 5.931/160.25, Now #1

12:44 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 82 degrees, relative humidity 63 percent, barometer 28.83 inches, adjusted altitude 3,719 feet, track temperature 106 degrees.

There are 16 cars here, so they are racing for pairings and points.

Novelli left after the tree was activated but before the amber lights came on, in the random interval between those two events, so he came very close to not getting a time at all. Torrenced started to leave with Novelli, stutter-stepped, still had a -0.047 light. Both cars coasted across the line, Torrence out of power well before half track, Novelli around 1,000 feet.

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Left Lane: Troy Buff Runs 4.987/224.73, Now #2
Right Lane: J.R. Todd Runs 4.771/297.94, Now #1

Both cars ran hard past half track, Buff losing power around 1,000 feet, Todd just before the line.

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Left Lane: Bob Vandergriff Runs 5.900/172.41, Now #3
Right Lane: Morgan Lucas Runs 7.513/109.95, Now #5

Both smoked the tires before the 330-foot marker. Lucas lifted and coasted, Vandergriff pedaled, lost btraction again, then coasted.

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Left Lane: David Grubnic Runs 4.841/288.09, Now #2
Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 8.598/89.58, Now #8

Two of the Team Kalitta cars came out together, with Connie Kalitta making his first public appearance since the tragedy a week ago. The crowd gave the Connie and the crews a standing ovation following these runs, all the team members wearing T-shirts memorializing Scott. Doug lost traction about 300 feet out, but Grubnic made it almost all the way under power.

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Left Lane: Doug Herbert Runs 4.888/281.36, Now #3
Right Lane: Brandon Bernstein Runs 10.212/78.73, Now #10

Bernstein also lost traction around the 330-foot mark, but Herbert made a full pass, the engine laboring on the top end.

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Left Lane: Cory McClenathan Runs 9.482/84.66, Now #10
Right Lane: Hillary Will Runs 9.853/72.43, Now #11

The Team Kalitta cars all sport decals saying "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" in memory of Scott's Caribbean-island lifestyle.

Both cars struck the tires and started coasting before going 300 feet.

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Left Lane: Rod Fuller Runs 5.794/156.68, Now #6
Right Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 5.787/153.86, Now #5

Weather conditions: air temperature 84 degrees, relative humidity 61 percent, barometer 28.81 inches, adjusted altitude 3,850 feet, track temperature 117 degrees.

Both started hazing the tires as they approached half track and both shut off, in almost perfect synchronization.

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Left Lane: Antron Brown Runs 5.425/193.90, Now #6
Right Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 4.703/300.46, Now #1

Both got off to strong starts, but Brown started smoking the tires before half track. Schumacher made the best full pass of the session, spinning the tires and dropping a couple cylinders on the top end.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink