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Sat, 14 Nov 2009, 09:48 PM

Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Final Session

By David Gerard

POMONA, Calif. - Notes from final, round 4 qualifying in Top Fuel 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 this round, position in order following run, best prior elapsed time/speed, and position in order prior to run:

Left Lane: Thomas Nataas No Time, Now #24; Best prior run: 10.381/70.79, Was #23
Right Lane: Mike Strasburg Runs 3.995/300.66, Now #15; No Prior Run

4:53 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 69 degrees, relative humidity 45 percent, barometer 28.87 inches, adjusted altitude 2,410 feet, track temperature 76 degrees.

Stig Neergaard is on the bump spot at 4.087. Last qualifying session of 2009!

Strasburg pulls a rabbit out of his tuners hat and makes a terrific pass in the evening gloom to go from #24 to #15. Well done!

Nataas' weekend ends on a sour note with the blower banging right off the line. Both chutes deploy and the car stops on the track.

Left Lane: Lex Joon Runs 7.378/76.81, Now #23; Best prior run: 6.587/90.67, Was #23
Right Lane: Troy Buff Runs 3.995/274.50, Now #16; Best prior run: 5.892/109.03, Was #22

4:56 p.m. We have a delay to honor Robert Hight's 2009 Funny Car Championship.

Tim Cullinan is on the bump spot at 4.040.

5:06 p.m. It's worth the wait for Buff, as they finally get an almost full pull to bump into the field for now. There are still six dragsters that could bump him. Tough to wait it out...

Joon is spectacular, with huge flames from the engine, wrapping around into the drivers compartment, just before the 330 lights and on down the track. He left first and had better sixty foot numbers until it went BOOM! Big Time!

...another time out for dusting and cleaning.

Troy Buff's incremental times: 60ft-0.864 sec., 330ft-2.199, 660ft-3.153/261.52 mph.

Left Lane: Urs Erbacher Runs 3.928/294.88, Now #13; Best prior run: 5.692/106.71, Was #22
Right Lane: Shawn Langdon Runs 4.016/293.54, Now #18; Best prior run: 5.231/163.12, Was #21

5:31 p.m. ...and we are finally back to qualifying.

Both of these two cars have the potential to move into the field on a full pass.

Erbacher gets his full pull and moves well up the ladder into the current#13 spot to bump Buff out.

More carnage, this time in the right lane, as Langdon misses the bump as the engine lights up on the top end, slowing the car. His incremental weren't good enough from the hit, so it just ended up as a very expensive pass into the #18 position.

Urs Erbacher's incremental times: 60ft-0.862 sec., 330ft-2.191, 660ft-3.122/268.38 mph.

The trucks are rolling again to clean up the track past the 1000ft lights.

Left Lane: Steven Chrisman Runs 8.428/76.36, Now #21; Best prior run: 4.753/171.49, Was #21
Right Lane: Ron August Runs 4.917/154.79, Now #22; Best prior run: 4.980/148.15, Was #22

5:43 p.m. Once again, the call goes out for the teams to start their engines.

Mike Strasburg is on the bump spot at 3.995.

Not so good. Christman gets a good start and then strikes the tires. August was pumping early and then had the front end go way up at about the 75 foot mark. Looks like the wheelie bar unloaded the slicks and banged the front end back down. No oil though!!

Left Lane: Del Cox Jr Runs 8.704/67.44, Now #15; Best prior run: 3.984/300.60, Was #15
Right Lane: Stig Neergaard Runs 6.252/118.25, Now #20; Best prior run: 4.087/284.09, Was #20

Nope! Two more broken runs. Cox strikes the tires first and lifts.

Neergaard tries to catch it back up after he smokes the tires and is in and out of the throttle going down the track. He finally gives it up as a lost cause near the 660 lights.

Guess what? More oil on the track...

Left Lane: Morgan Lucas Runs 3.844/310.48, Now #7; Best prior run: 3.909/303.84, Was #11
Right Lane: Tim Cullinan Runs 4.552/218.76, Now #19; Best prior run: 4.040/290.76, Was #19

6:15 p.m. Let's try this again...

Palmer is already the #14 qualifier and can't be bumped. He determines that the cost/benefit for making another pass just isn't worth it and pulls off the starting and goes back to the pits. Lucas pulls into his spot.

Cullinan is the last car left that can bump into the field, but its not going to happen The fueler is lazy off the line and then clicks off early.

Lucas needed a good runs and got one with a straight and true pass right down the groove and into the top half of the field in the current #7 spot

Morgan Lucas' incremental times: 60ft-0.856 sec., 330ft-2.160, 660ft-3.068/277.03 mph.

...and No Oil!

Left Lane: Bob Vandergriff No Time, Now #10; Best prior run: 3.881/308.99, Was #9
Right Lane: David Grubnic Runs 3.852/307.44, Now #8; Best prior run: 3.914/317.42, Was #12

The field is set and the rest of the cars will be looking to move up the ladder for tomorrow's pairings.

Vandergriff's day is done. At first the car wouldn't back up and then the parachutes come out. The team gathers them up pushes the silent car back behind the line.

A thing of beauty. Grubnic has a terrific looking pass from start to finish and into the current top half of the field.

David Grubnic's incremental times: 60ft-0.847 sec., 330ft-2.172, 660ft-3.076/278.52 mph.

...and No Oil!

Left Lane: Cory McClenathan Runs 9.257/77.01, Now #6; Best prior run: 3.838/316.38, Was #6
Right Lane: Steve Torrence Runs 3.965/303.09, Now #11; Best prior run: 3.891/306.53, Was #11

The track is now down to a chilly 68 degrees. Right on the edge of too cool!

Cory Mac tries to turn the earth and ends up with major tire smoke instead.

Torrance has a nice 0.846 sixty foot time, but keep the pace down track. There was a flash from the engine near the lights and he doesn't improve.

Steve Torrence's incremental times: 60ft-0.846 sec., 330ft-2.226, 660ft-3.172/269.56 mph.

...and !!!

Left Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 6.987/93.34, Now #6; Best prior run: 3.836/316.82, Was #5
Right Lane: Antron Brown Runs 3.813/316.15, Now #3; Best prior run: 3.853/313.88, Was #9

The left lane is not up to the task and Kalitta smokes the slicks at the green.

Brown finds his missing tune up and makes a terrific looking pass right up to the new #3 spot on the ladder.

Antron Brown's incremental times: 60ft-0.842 sec., 330ft-2.150, 660ft-3.049/279.67 mph.

Left Lane: Brandon Bernstein Runs 3.996/245.67, Now #5; Best prior run: 3.832/312.28, Was #5
Right Lane: Spencer Massey Runs 3.819/313.51, Now #2; Best prior run: 3.809/317.94, Was #2

Last qualifying pass ever for Team Budweiser!

Two good leaves and Bernstein engine goes sour at the 660 foot reflectors to slow.

Massey has good numbers down low, but can't make a strong top end charge to improve. nice looking pass though.

Spencer Massey's incremental times: 60ft-0.838 sec., 330ft-2.137, 660ft-3.048/277.66 mph.

Left Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 3.772/320.58, Now #1; Best prior run: 3.822/318.24, Was #4
Right Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 8.291/75.80, Now #2; Best prior run: 3.801/318.99, Was #1

Last qualifying runs of 2009 and the two Championship contenders are in the staging lights.

They both have great low numbers and Dixon's tires are up in smoke.

Schumacher throws down the gauntlet and sends a message to all of the other fifteen qualifiers. He runs right down broadway to card the second quickest 1000 foot pass ever.

Larry Dixon's incremental times: 60ft-0.845 sec., 330ft-2.654, 660ft-5.251/079.54 mph.

That should give he a two point lead going into tomorrow's eliminations.

6:38 p.m. Mike Strasburg is on the bump spot at 3.995.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink