Sat, 4 Apr 2009, 02:46 PM Top Alcohol Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #1 |
By Bob Orme |
LAS VEGAS - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Top Alcohol Funny Car at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, Tenth annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:
Left Lane: John Patton Runs 5.838/229.24, Now #1
Right Lane: Paul Crifasi Runs 7.074/210.93, Now #2
10:44 a.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 58 degrees, relative humidity 19 percent, barometer 27.92 inches, adjusted altitude 2,546 feet, track temperature 77 degrees.
Crifasi was very loose on the launch with his car bouncing around quite a bit. Patton was a little to the right of the groove on the top half of the track.
John Patton's incremental
times: 60ft-1.043 sec., 330ft-2.614, 660ft-3.852/199.88 mph, 1,000ft-4.909.
Left Lane: Daniel Oliver Runs 5.742/250.27, Now #1
Right Lane: Charles McLaws Runs 6.487/215.44, Now #3
McLaws had early traction troubles; he had to pedal it at about 200 feet. Oliver was skating around some on the top half of the track.
Daniel Oliver's incremental times: 60ft-0.963
sec., 330ft-2.557, 660ft-3.793/200.05 mph, 1,000ft-4.846.
Left Lane: Mike Drake Runs 6.535/217.11, Now #4
Right Lane: Brian Hough Runs 6.552/180.72, Now #5
Both drivers were out of shape early and both were nearly sideways at 330 feet.
Left Lane: Keeter Ray Runs 6.036/224.02, Now #4
Right Lane: Jason Rupert Runs 5.998/200.47, Now #3
Ray moved to the left of the groove almost immediately and he stayed there. He began trailing smoke at half track. Rupert started trailing smoke at about 1000 feet.
Jason Rupert's
incremental times: 60ft-0.960 sec., 330ft-2.573, 660ft-3.840/194.41 mph, 1,000ft-4.952.
Left Lane: Brian Smith Runs 5.763/245.05, Now #2
Right Lane: Ron August Jr No Time, Now #10
August was pushed back before staging. A trouble-free pass for Smith.
Brian Smith's
incremental times: 60ft-0.992 sec., 330ft-2.556, 660ft-3.794/199.58 mph, 1,000ft-4.854.
Left Lane: Dennis Taylor Runs 5.759/249.90, Now #3
Right Lane: Roger Bateman Runs 5.640/253.99, Now #1
Taylor moved to the right of the groove just past the tree. He was able to put it in the groove by the 330-foot mark. A good looking pass for Bateman moves him to the top of the ladder for now.
Dennis Taylor's incremental times: 60ft-0.982 sec., 330ft-2.573, 660ft-3.809/200.77 mph,
1,000ft-4.863.
Roger Bateman's incremental times: 60ft-0.971 sec., 330ft-2.508,
660ft-3.719/204.01 mph, 1,000ft-4.757.
Left Lane: Brian Thiel Runs 5.759/222.03, Now #4
Right Lane: Mark Woznichak Runs 5.764/250.09, Now #6
Both drivers were shut off after the burnout, then they both were re-started after about 2 minutes. Thiel was skating around early but he stayed on the throttle. There were no visible problems for "The Woz".
Brian Thiel's incremental times: 60ft-0.962 sec., 330ft-2.524,
660ft-3.753/201.31 mph, 1,000ft-4.809.
Mark Woznichak's incremental times: 60ft-0.988 sec.,
330ft-2.564, 660ft-3.803/198.88 mph, 1,000ft-4.866.
Left Lane: Clint Thompson Runs 5.728/251.86, Now #2
Right Lane: Leif Andreasson Runs 5.791/243.85, Now #8
Thompson moved to the right at about 100 feet. Andreasson was skating around some, but he managed to run his best ET of this season.
Clint Thompson's incremental times: 60ft-0.968
sec., 330ft-2.552, 660ft-3.791/201.01 mph, 1,000ft-4.838.
Leif Andreasson's incremental times:
60ft-0.992 sec., 330ft-2.565, 660ft-3.809/198.88 mph, 1,000ft-4.878.
Left Lane: Steve Gasparrelli Runs 5.691/253.14, Now #2
Right Lane: Ken Webster Runs 9.242/66.56, Now #17
Webster's engine let go with a big bang at half track. The explosion blew the body off the car, splitting it into two pieces in the process. Webster brought the car to a stop about 400 feet into the shutdown area. He appears to be okay.
A smooth pass for Gasparrelli moves him into the number two spot for now.
Steve Gasparrelli's incremental times: 60ft-0.983 sec., 330ft-2.542,
660ft-3.763/202.45 mph, 1,000ft-4.805.
Left Lane: Sean O'Bannon Runs 5.626/256.99, Now #1
Right Lane: Doug Gordon Runs 8.758/107.72, Now #18
Gordon started fishtailing right after the launch. He couldn't get the car to hook up and he was off the throttle before half track. A smooth pass for O'Bannon moves him to the top of the ladder for now.
Sean O'Bannon's incremental times: 60ft-0.963 sec., 330ft-2.520,
660ft-3.724/205.88 mph, 1,000ft-4.752.
Left Lane: Tony Bartone Runs 5.586/255.15, Now #1
Right Lane: Jay Payne Runs 5.671/256.16, Now #4
Payne was skating around in the middle section of the track, but he stayed on the throttle. A flawless pass by Bartone puts him at the top of the ladder.
Tony Bartone's
incremental times: 60ft-0.950 sec., 330ft-2.473, 660ft-3.675/205.07 mph, 1,000ft-4.706.
Jay
Payne's incremental times: 60ft-0.975 sec., 330ft-2.533, 660ft-3.757/202.55 mph,
1,000ft-4.794.
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