Mon, 1 Sep 2008, 12:54 PM Top Alcohol Dragster Round 2 Eliminations

By Michael L Jex

CLERMONT, Ind. - Results of round 2 eliminations in Top Alcohol Dragster at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 54th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    1 Bill Reichert                        4009 Kimmelyn Buff Pesz           
E2   ****WINNER****  0.090  5.228 276.24                     0.176  5.325 264.80
 Prior rounds:
E1    (R Samsel    ) 0.104  5.248 272.94      (J Whiteley  ) 0.130  5.365 262.64
 Qualified:             #2  5.287 273.39                       #10  5.361 261.83

12:38 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 85 degrees, relative humidity 34 percent, barometer 29.22 inches, adjusted altitude 3,137 feet, track temperature 118 degrees.

Both cars ran much better than they qualified, Reichert's blast was a monster. Low ET of the event and big speed. Bill Reichert's incremental times: 60ft-0.927 sec., 330ft-2.389, 660ft-3.492/227.88mph, 1,000ft-4.424

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  305 Zach Beard                              6 Marty Thacker                
E2                   0.113  6.601 249.90     ****WINNER****  0.033  6.161 254.28
 Prior rounds:
E1    (N Condo     ) 0.063  5.256 272.50      (D Hirata    ) 0.040  5.354 268.01
 Qualified:             #3  5.305 276.97                        #6  5.326 269.51

NASCAR Driver Kurt Busch is here in the media center making many positive comments about how cool "the hot rods" in NHRA are. Check out the nhra blogger sites for more information...

Pedalfest! Thacker shook hard, pedaled, and lifted, then saw clouds of tire smoke coming off Beard's tires. Zach did a good job trying to pedal his way to a win, but Thacker did a better job getting his Blown dragster hooked back up to take the stripe first. It wasn't pretty, but it was a big win, and Thacker will face Bill Reichert's Nitro digger in the semi final round.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    5 Duane Shields                         466 Diana Harker                 
E2   ****WINNER****  0.090  5.232 276.52                     0.053  5.315 267.59
 Prior rounds:
E1    (C Force     ) 0.078  5.259 275.56      (S Cowie     ) 0.070  5.304 265.64
 Qualified:             #5  5.315 272.45                       #13  5.408 252.33

Good drag race! Duane went right down the groove, Harker's run was her best of the weekend, but it wasn't quite enough. Duane Shields' incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.018), 330 ft(-0.007), 660ft(0.007), 1,000ft(0.027). MOV: 0.0468 seconds (approximately 18 feet).

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  471 Aaron Tatum                             7 Spencer Massey               
E2                   0.055  5.432 272.72     ****WINNER****  0.017  5.333 269.94
 Prior rounds:
E1    (J Bohr      ) 0.067  5.420 270.97      (T Datweiler ) 0.022  5.528 262.49
 Qualified:             #1  5.250 274.33                        #9  5.354 266.53

Upset!? Massey got a big head start, then pulled away to win by more than two car lengths. Spencer will race Duane Shields in the next round, and Shields will have lane choice. 12:50 p.m.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink