Sat, 14 Nov 2009, 03:16 PM Pro Stock Motorcycle Qualifying Notes, Session #3

By Larry Sullivan

POMONA, Calif. - Notes from round 3 qualifying in Pro Stock Motorcycle at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 45th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals listing lane, rider 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: Rhett Lougheed No Time, Now #24; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Dawn Matthews-Baugues Runs 7.624/177.72, Now #13; No Prior Run

11:49 a.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 68 degrees, relative humidity 45 percent, barometer 28.90 inches, adjusted altitude 2,299 feet, track temperature 86 degrees.

With "provisional qualifying" in effect, only the top twelve keep their times and we won't have a bump time until four more riders get times in this session.

Lougheed made the burnout, then pushed the bike away from the line. Dawn made a clean pass, is in the field for the time being.

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Left Lane: Steve Johnson Runs 7.024/190.06, Now #9; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Andrew Hines Runs 7.603/145.58, Now #2; Best prior run: 6.986/192.33, Was #2

Hines had a bad run yesterday, so he runs early today, even though he is second in the qualifying list.

Another busted run for Hines. Johnson made a clean run and that time should keep him in the field.

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Left Lane: Katie Sullivan Runs 7.625/177.74, Now #16; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Joe DeSantis Runs 7.202/188.52, Now #14; No Prior Run

Sullivan's bike quit shifting before top gear. DeSantis made a clean pass, but that time won't hold. Now we have a bump time...Sullivan's.

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Left Lane: Gary Moreno Runs 7.302/179.85, Now #16; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Junior Pippin Runs 7.039/189.52, Now #10; No Prior Run

Two more clean runs, Moreno replacing Sullivan on the bubble.

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Left Lane: James Surber Runs 7.224/184.04, Now #17; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Redell Harris Runs 7.206/185.28, Now #16; No Prior Run

Harris' bike stuttered and sounded ragged during the burnout. Didn't fare much better on the run, but he was quicker than Surber and his is now the time to beat.

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Left Lane: Mike Berry Runs 7.175/183.57, Now #15; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Hector Arana Runs 6.918/193.46, Now #1; Best prior run: 6.997/189.71, Was #6

Arana had a bad run yesterday, but he hit the sweet spot today and went to the head of the class, by a bunch, 0.07 seconds quicker than #2 Stoffer. Berry made a clean run, but is dangerously close to the bump spot. Joe DeSantis is now on the bump spot at 7.202.

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Left Lane: Jim Underdahl Runs 7.032/191.59, Now #11; Best prior run: 7.075/190.57, Was #14
Right Lane: David Hope Runs 6.992/186.95, Now #6; Best prior run: 7.050/187.08, Was #13

Two good runs, a career-best ET and speed for Underdahl. Hope made a very good run to get into the sixes.

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Left Lane: Bailey Whitaker Runs 7.095/183.67, Now #15; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Freddie Camarena Runs 7.095/190.51, Now #14; Best prior run: 7.050/192.03, Was #14

Identical times here. Now Mike Berry is on the bump spot at 7.175.

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Left Lane: Matt Smith Runs 6.963/192.30, Now #2; No Prior Run
Right Lane: Craig Treble Runs 7.007/190.00, Now #9; Best prior run: 7.049/188.96, Was #13

Smith was the last rider not already in the field and he solved that with a very nice run to move all the way up to second spot. Now Bailey Whitaker is on the bump spot at 7.095 and he will stay there until the final session, later today..

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Left Lane: Shawn Gann Runs 6.973/190.24, Now #4; Best prior run: 7.021/176.05, Was #11
Right Lane: Karen Stoffer Runs 6.969/192.36, Now #3; Best prior run: 6.982/191.70, Was #3

Two nice runs, both in the sixes.

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Left Lane: Eddie Krawiec Runs 7.163/192.17, Now #9; Best prior run: 6.995/193.13, Was #9
Right Lane: Michael Phillips Runs 7.001/192.99, Now #10; Best prior run: 7.021/193.54, Was #11

Krawiec probably wanted to challenge Arana for the three bonus points, but he only has one good run in three tries now. Phillips just missed the six-second zone on a nice run.

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Left Lane: Douglas Horne Runs 6.956/191.57, Now #2; Best prior run: 6.989/191.54, Was #7
Right Lane: Larry Cook Runs 6.998/187.44, Now #7; Best prior run: 6.987/188.96, Was #6

Last pair...and two more nice runs. Arana leads the field and adds three bonus points to his total. Horne gets two bonus points and Smith gets one for this session.

They will be back around 2:30 this afternoon for their final shot.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink