Sat, 15 Nov 2008, 04:38 PM Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Session #3

By David Gerard

POMONA, Calif. - Notes from round 3 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 44th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals 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:

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Left Lane: Mike Strasburg Runs 6.691/101.66, Now #13; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Arley Langlo Runs 17.610/28.59, Now #14; No Prior Run

12:45 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 82 degrees, relative humidity 19 percent, barometer 28.90 inches, adjusted altitude 2,987 feet, track temperature 108 degrees.

Nope! Langlo strikes the tires first and Strasburg follows shortly after that.

12:46 p.m. Looks like some stuff in Langlo's lane, as the Safety Safari starts the dusting and cleaning.

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Left Lane: David Grubnic Runs 4.008/297.75, Now #13; No Prior Run
Right Lane: J.R. Todd Runs 5.661/120.77, Now #1; Best prior run: 3.851/308.14, Was #1

12:59 p.m. ...and we are back.

Todd is up in smoke before the three-thirty lights. Grubby gets a full pull in the Big Banana DHL dragster to slot into the current #13 spot. Nice run for the conditions.

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Left Lane: Morgan Lucas Runs 4.377/187.03, Now #2; Best prior run: 3.855/306.46, Was #2
Right Lane: Steven Chrisman Runs 5.030/176.67, Now #14; No Prior Run

No joy. The right lane bites it's second victim, as Chrisman strikes the tires well before the 330 lights. Lucas' car is only running 220MPH at the 660-ft. mark and keeps slowing after that.

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Left Lane: Troy Buff Runs 4.132/234.98, Now #12; Best prior run: 3.904/302.96, Was #11
Right Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 3.883/311.63, Now #8; No Prior Run

After two rounds, Schumacher ends up in the right lane still unqualified. More Johnson "Magic" and the car thunders on down the track and into the current top half of the field. Buff can't match the Sargent-Major's pace and takes over the current #12 spot. He could still get bumped.

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Left Lane: Rod Fuller Runs 3.939/281.01, Now #14; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Antron Brown Runs 4.056/256.26, Now #16; No Prior Run

Brown's car is ahead to after mid-track and then starts black tracking. He be the official bump spot for now. Fuller has more holes firing on the top end and is in the new #14 spot. No obvious problems for either car.

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Left Lane: Clay Millican Runs 5.992/105.17, Now #19; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Bob Vandergriff Runs 4.534/246.48, Now #17; No Prior Run

Both cars have similar sixty-foot times and then smoke the tires together. Vandergriff tries to save the run, but a bunch of throttle pumps are to no avail.

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Left Lane: Urs Erbacher Runs 9.530/75.42, Now #11; Best prior run: 3.904/309.20, Was #11
Right Lane: Tim Boychuk No Time, Now #13; Best prior run: 3.925/304.60, Was #13

Boychuk pulls out of line and goes back to the pits, as he can't get bumped this session. Erbacher is just too agressive down low and strikes the tires early in the run.

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Left Lane: Doug Herbert Runs 3.921/300.60, Now #6; Best prior run: 3.877/307.58, Was #6
Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 3.907/308.14, Now #9; Best prior run: 3.884/307.72, Was #9

Finally, a pair make a full pass. No improvements, with dropped cylinders down track, but a good test for tomorrow's eliminations.

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Left Lane: Cory McClenathan Runs 3.903/311.20, Now #10; Best prior run: 3.895/306.40, Was #10
Right Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 3.882/307.72, Now #7; Best prior run: 3.880/308.43, Was #7

McClenathan's car moves around a bunch down low and slows 0.008 from his best. Dixon has the tune up as he is just 0.002 slower than yesterday.

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Left Lane: Hillary Will Runs 3.912/305.63, Now #3; Best prior run: 3.860/313.07, Was #3
Right Lane: Brandon Bernstein Runs 3.865/310.91, Now #4; Best prior run: 3.863/310.77, Was #4

Will has a wild ride after mid-track with the dragster snaking back and forth to the lights. Bernstein has a great pass, straight down the track to basically repeat his prior performance.

1:29 p.m. J.R. Todd stays #1 at 3.851 and Antron Brown is on the bump spot at 4.056.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink