Sun, 1 Nov 2009, 02:42 PM Top Fuel Round 1 Eliminations

By Rick Green

LAS VEGAS - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, Ninth annual NHRA Las Vegas Nationals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  800 Thomas Nataas                          50 Doug Kalitta                 
E1                   0.100 No Time           ****WINNER****  0.081  3.889 309.56
 Qualified:             #8  3.859 307.65                        #9  3.863 311.34

Kalitta is out of the gate first and is straight down the groove for the easy win when Nataas smoked the tires and then the engine let go right off the starting line. When the engine let go the chute automatically deployed.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  421 Spencer Massey                        333 Shawn Langdon                
E1   ****WINNER****  0.040  3.836 316.38                     0.055  3.932 298.73
 Qualified:            #10  3.864 313.66                        #7  3.855 313.29

Massey is 2 - 0 against Langdon in prior events. Here is the battle between two Rookie of the Year candidates. A couple good lights with Massey getting a slight starting line advantage. Langdon had a hole or two hole early and never got them to pick back up. Massey with his quickest pass of the event for the win.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   12 Bob Vandergriff                         7 Brandon Bernstein            
E1                   0.088  6.710 102.81     ****WINNER****  0.073  3.890 310.98
 Qualified:            #11  3.881 304.60                        #6  3.853 317.27

Bernstein who is suffering from the flu this weekend, but still gets the slight starting line advantage and never trails as Vandergriff is up in smoke as soon as he hits the throttle.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   44 David Grubnic                           3 Cory McClenathan             
E1                   0.093  4.855 186.02     ****WINNER****  0.080  3.865 316.75
 Qualified:            #12  3.912 309.84                        #5  3.841 315.42

McClenathan is 15 - 11 against Grubnic in prior events. McClenathan is out of the gate first and is straight down the groove for the win. Grubnic starts to shake the tires right off the starting line and is then up in smoke.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   34 Morgan Lucas                            2 Larry Dixon                  
E1                   0.032  5.188 134.63     ****WINNER****  0.049  3.834 318.24
 Qualified:            #16  3.978 298.01                        #1  3.805 318.24

Dixon is 10 - 5 against Lucas in prior events. Lucas is out of the gate first but then starts to haze the tires around 250 feet and then it pitches the blower belt off. Dixon launches hard and keeps it hooked up all the way down the 1000 feet and runs the quickest pass of the round for the win. Larry Dixon's incremental times: 60ft-0.853 sec., 330ft-2.166, 660ft-3.074/279.27 mph. Dixon will have lane choice over Kalitta in the next round

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 3516 Terry McMillen                        475 Steve Torrence               
E1                   0.078  5.977 105.80     ****WINNER****  0.090  3.900 305.36
 Qualified:            #15  3.968 304.87                        #2  3.831 314.17

McMillen with a slight starting line advantage, but then started to haze the tires. Torrence with a good clean pass to move in to round two, but will give up lane choice to Massey.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  801 Stig Neergaard                          5 Antron Brown                 
E1                   0.128  6.954  86.18     ****WINNER****  0.076  4.012 247.66
 Qualified:            #14  3.963 299.40                        #3  3.834 317.42

Neergaard was dropping a bunch of cylinders right at the hit and clicked it off. Brown with a nice pass until right before the finish line when the engine went away with a big fireball. Brown will give up lane choice to Bernstein in round two.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  111 Urs Erbacher                            1 Tony Schumacher              
E1                   0.077  4.028 289.45     ****WINNER****  0.073  3.844 319.07
 Qualified:            #13  3.927 295.59                        #4  3.839 313.07

Schumacher with a slight starting line advantage and blast on through for the win. Schumacher with big top end speed, the sixth fastest in the 1000-foot era. Tony Schumacher's incremental times: 60ft-0.855 sec., 330ft-2.169, 660ft-3.081/277.09 mph. Erbacher is able to get down the left lane, but just not quick enough.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink