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Thu, 12 Nov 2009, 04:34 PM

Top Alcohol Dragster Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By David Gerard

POMONA, Calif. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Top Alcohol Dragster at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 45th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

Right Lane: Derek Flynn Runs 5.492/249.26, Now #1

12:50 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 72 degrees, relative humidity 30 percent, barometer 28.69 inches, adjusted altitude 2,712 feet, track temperature 89 degrees.

OK! Flynn cars a new career best ET to start the session. Nice clean pass to tune to.

Derek Flynn's incremental times: 60ft-0.950 sec., 330ft-2.471, 660ft-3.624/217.42 mph, 1,000ft-4.610.

Left Lane: Brian Smith Runs 5.355/267.48, Now #1
Right Lane: Brooks Brown Runs 10.473/83.72, Now #3

Smith joins the career best ET and adds the MPH on a 1500 foot run to the finish line. The car moved hard out of the groove at 60 feet and he worked hard to calm it down and get it back into the center of the lane.

Brown fires and falls back.

Brian Smith's incremental times: 60ft-0.899 sec., 330ft-2.406, 660ft-3.554/219.19 mph, 1,000ft-4.522.

Left Lane: Hillary Will Runs 5.300/271.35, Now #1
Right Lane: Art Trautman Runs 5.636/233.44, Now #4

Hillary Will makes her third start in TAD with the Conway Automotive team. She was top qualifier and took the runner up spto at Vegas last weekend.

Another career best speed ET & MPH and Will takes over the current top spot with a straight and clean pass.

Trautman's car was a little slower off the line and had to chase the car around a little off the line.

Hillary Will's incremental times: 60ft-0.941 sec., 330ft-2.421, 660ft-3.534/225.11 mph, 1,000ft-4.482.
Art Trautman's incremental times: 60ft-0.954 sec., 330ft-2.482, 660ft-3.669/209.33 mph, 1,000ft-4.703.

Left Lane: Randy Eakins Runs 5.508/252.00, Now #5
Right Lane: Monroe Guest Runs 5.281/278.46, Now #1

Great pass for Guest, right into the new top spot. Straight and clean from start to finish.

Good tune up pass for Eakins into the current top half of the field.

Randy Eakins' incremental times: 60ft-0.960 sec., 330ft-2.463, 660ft-3.624/214.18 mph, 1,000ft-4.630.
Monroe Guest's incremental times: 60ft-0.929 sec., 330ft-2.421, 660ft-3.544/225.56 mph, 1,000ft-4.480.

Left Lane: Mark Niver Runs 5.366/267.06, Now #4
Right Lane: Darryl Hitchman Runs 5.856/241.76, Now #8

Hitchman is dropping cylinders at the green and slows.

Niver keeps the candles lit and has a good pass to tune to.

Left Lane: Brittany Force Runs 5.313/267.75, Now #3
Right Lane: Doug Hegge Runs 5.428/263.72, Now #6

Force was the #2 qualifier at the Las Vegas LODRS Div. 7 event last weekend and makes a clean pass to take over the current #3 spot.

Hegge's fueler was a little lazy off the line and still runs into the #6 spot.

Brittany Force's incremental times: 60ft-0.916 sec., 330ft-2.388, 660ft-3.519/220.01 mph, 1,000ft-4.483.
Doug Hegge's incremental times: 60ft-0.956 sec., 330ft-2.483, 660ft-3.616/224.62 mph, 1,000ft-4.588.

Left Lane: Johnny Ahten Runs 8.587/98.16, Now #12
Right Lane: Courtney Force Runs 5.306/263.72, Now #3

Ahten has a good leave and then has to horse the car around the lane after the 60 foot lights. He gives up finally as a bad idea! Courtney's strong pass pushes her sister back a spot, as she make a clean pass to take over the #3 spot.

Left Lane: Joey Severance Runs 5.414/263.10, Now #8
Right Lane: Dale Carlson Runs 5.378/264.34, Now #7

A great looking side by side pass for both cars to take over the middle of the field.

Joey Severance's incremental times: 60ft-0.911 sec., 330ft-2.385, 660ft-3.557/211.23 mph, 1,000ft-4.562.
Dale Carlson's incremental times: 60ft-0.925 sec., 330ft-2.385, 660ft-3.538/214.31 mph, 1,000ft-4.531.

Left Lane: Brandon Johnson Runs 5.344/268.44, Now #5
Right Lane: Justin Davis Runs 8.812/93.96, Now #16

Fueler vs. Blower! Two Div. Six hitters come to the line.

Davis' car struggles off the line and may have banged the blower before clicking it off.

Johnson takes the long way down and runs strong. He'll move into the top half of the field in the current #5 spot.

Justin Davis is on the bump spot at 8.812.

Left Lane: Michael Manners Runs 5.361/267.11, Now #8
Right Lane: Chris Demke Runs 5.346/265.43, Now #6

Manners was the top qualifier and winner at Vegas last weekend. He is second off the line and has to watch Demke squirt away. The fueler is dropping cylinders down track and he just gets into the top half of the field.

Demke's TAD has all of the incrementals going down the track and moves ahead of Manners into the #6 spot.

Michael Manners' incremental times: 60ft-0.989 sec., 330ft-2.482, 660ft-3.584/227.00 mph, 1,000ft-4.530.
Chris Demke's incremental times: 60ft-0.904 sec., 330ft-2.355, 660ft-3.510/214.42 mph, 1,000ft-4.501.

Left Lane: Shawn Cowie Runs 5.376/267.00, Now #10
Right Lane: Duane Shields Runs 5.486/267.27, Now #14

Darryl Hitchman is on the bump spot at 5.856.

Shields's fueler is slow off the line and can't recover the needed ET. Nice MPH though.

Cowie makes a clean pass, but misses the top half of the field.

Shawn Cowie's incremental times: 60ft-0.935 sec., 330ft-2.387, 660ft-3.544/213.77 mph, 1,000ft-4.534.
Duane Shields' incremental times: 60ft-0.978 sec., 330ft-2.537, 660ft-3.688/218.80 mph, 1,000ft-4.654.

Left Lane: Jim Whiteley Runs 5.400/266.06, Now #13
Right Lane: Bill Reichert Runs 5.343/263.15, Now #5

Last pair and Randy Eakins is on the bump spot at 5.508.

Two 2010 top two Top Alcohol Dragsters run to the finish line. Whiteley's car is lazy down low and Reichert starts to drop cylinders at mid-track.

1:27 p.m. Monroe Guest is #1 at 5.281 and Duane Shields is on the bump spot at 5.486.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink