Sat, 18 Apr 2009, 06:36 PM Competition Eliminator Qualifying Notes, Final Session

By Darryl Jackman

FONTANA, Calif. - Notes from final, round 4 qualifying in Competition Eliminator at the NHRA, Fourth annual NHRA Pacific SPORTSnationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed this round, amount over/under index this round, position in order following run, best prior elapsed time, speed & over/under Index, and position in order prior to run:

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Left Lane: Alan Ellis Runs 6.819/197.62/-0.441, Now #9; A/AP Index: 7.26, Prior Best: 6.790/198.79/-0.470, Was #9
Right Lane: Ed Sigmon Runs 8.722/149.58/-0.398, Now #8; C/SR Index: 9.12, Prior Best: 8.634/151.83/-0.486, Was #8

3:05 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 91 degrees, relative humidity 11 percent, barometer 28.81 inches, adjusted altitude 3,559 feet, track temperature 122 degrees.

The final session for Comp will complete qualifying for the Pacific Sports Nationals. Neither driver improves from their best but they do make it down track under the toughest conditions of the weekend.

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Left Lane: Scott Hedlund Runs 7.990/152.52/-0.370, Now #7; A/SM Index: 8.36, Prior Best: 7.868/171.99/-0.492, Was #7
Right Lane: Mike DePalma Runs 8.259/145.09/-0.441, Now #5; I/A Index: 8.70, Prior Best: 8.147/164.23/-0.553, Was #5

Another pair with no improvement.

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Right Lane: Ross Wilson Runs 9.739/101.97/0.909, Now #6; C/SMA Index: 8.83, Prior Best: 8.284/165.62/-0.546, Was #6

Wilson is off the pedal early and coasts across the finish.

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Right Lane: Tom Mettler Runs 13.945/53.64/5.935, Now #4; PST Index: 8.01, Prior Best: 7.449/181.67/-0.561, Was #4

Mettler launches hard and the Dakota falls silent before 200ft. No idea if that shutoff was planned or unplanned.

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Right Lane: John Edwards Runs 8.796/98.90/0.806, Now #1; C/AA Index: 7.99, Prior Best: 7.386/182.40/-0.604, Was #1

Edwards joins the club as he both singles AND shuts off early.

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Right Lane: Dean Carter Runs 7.367/143.02/-0.183, Now #2; B/ND Index: 7.55, Prior Best: 6.956/189.60/-0.594, Was #2

Carter will remain #2 as he shuts it down early. Sound familiar?

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Right Lane: Steve Graham Runs 7.682/157.67/-0.298, Now #10; C/A Index: 7.98, Prior Best: 7.546/179.92/-0.434, Was #10

Judging from the speed Graham is the next early lifter.

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Right Lane: Justin Lamb Runs 9.084/122.76/-0.276, Now #11; G/SMA Index: 9.36, Prior Best: 9.085/122.73/-0.275, Was #11

Very consistent for Lamb as he went 9.085 in the third round. That's the end of qualifying for all the classes.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink