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Thu, 11 Feb 2010, 09:48 PM

Competition Eliminator Qualifying Notes, Session #2

By David Gerard

POMONA, Calif. - Notes from round 2 qualifying in Competition Eliminator at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline 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:

Left Lane: Gary Tackett Runs 8.733/122.47/0.043, Now #22; B/SMA Index: 8.69, Prior Best: 8.377/161.07/-0.313, Was #22
Right Lane: J.D. Zink Runs 7.174/156.86/-0.246, Now #20; A/ND Index: 7.42, Prior Best: 7.039/187.57/-0.381, Was #20

5:52 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 62 degrees, relative humidity 58 percent, barometer 29.03 inches, adjusted altitude 1,793 feet, track temperature 72 degrees.It's cold and dark, as we start the second session of Comp.

No joy for either team, as they both slow from their prior best. Tackett was first and Zink a lot further down track.

Left Lane: Randy Jones Runs 8.088/166.44/-0.472, Now #20; A/SMA Index: 8.56, Prior Best: 8.512/158.58/-0.048, Was #26
Right Lane: Brian Fitzpatrick Runs 7.463/134.39/0.463, Now #1; H/D Index: 7.00, Prior Best: 6.223/226.28/-0.777, Was #1

Jones car makes a move towards the center line at the hit and he pulled it back into the center of the lane. It's good enough to move the Cavalier six spots up the ladder.

Fitzpatrick is quick and fast until just after mid-track, where there is a BANG and smoke from the engine.

5:54 p.m. Looks like we may have "Stuff" in the right lane.

Left Lane: Scott McClay Runs 7.317/178.45/-0.553, Now #13; C/ED Index: 7.87, Prior Best: 7.309/179.23/-0.561, Was #13
Right Lane: Tyler Hogan Runs 8.010/179.42/0.440, Now #27; C/DA Index: 7.57, Prior Best: 7.825/125.13/0.255, Was #27

Big wheel stand and a move towards the center line for Hogan.

McClay slows just a little from earlier.

Left Lane: Peter Adams No Time, Now #17; C/A Index: 7.97, Prior Best: 7.476/182.80/-0.494, Was #17
Right Lane: Ron Weems No Time, Now #22; A/AA Index: 7.15, Prior Best: 6.795/206.04/-0.355, Was #22

That was BAD!

Weems had a great looking run going until right near the lights, where the car lunged abruptly across the track. The car took out the finish line ET lights and looked to have hit the left guard rail before traveling back across the track into the right wall. As it's way dark down there, I couldn't see the car after that. The Safety Safari is out on the track quickly and has Weems out and tells us he is OK.

Adams had clicked it early, but gets "No Time", as Weems car took out the finish line lights first.

Ron Weems' incremental times: 60ft-1.023 sec., 330ft-2.876, 660ft-4.394/162.04 mph, 1,000ft-5.718.

6:00 p.m. This will take a while.

Left Lane: Clint Neff Runs 12.265/67.45/3.775, Now #3; K/A Index: 8.49, Prior Best: 7.840/166.35/-0.650, Was #3
Right Lane: Ross Wilson Runs 8.890/122.95/0.130, Now #8; C/SMA Index: 8.76, Prior Best: 8.179/164.01/-0.581, Was #8

6:20 p.m. And we are back.

Neff' car hopes off the line and he clicks it early. Wilson gets a little further and clicks it off too.

Left Lane: Craig Johnson No Time, Now #28; AA/AM Index: 7.07, Prior Best: 8.125/172.04/1.055, Was #28
Right Lane: Scott Hedlund Runs 8.206/128.43/-0.154, Now #9; A/SM Index: 8.36, Prior Best: 7.779/173.58/-0.581, Was #9

Johnson leaves hard this time, but didn't wait for the tree. No Time for him.

Hedlund joins the broken run club.

Left Lane: Steve Graham Runs 21.303/39.49/13.333, Now #30; C/A Index: 7.97, Prior Best: 17.544/49.21/9.574, Was #29
Right Lane: Tom Brown Runs 11.081/72.53/2.291, Now #29; F/ED Index: 8.79, No Prior Run

Graham spins hard at the green and dumps. Maybe liquid on the line, as the mops are out in force in the left lane.

Brown gets a time, but at the bottom of the ladder, when he lifts early too.

6:25 p.m. We have another delay, as the Asphalt Zamboni is called out to drag the lanes.

Left Lane: Tom Mettler Runs 7.396/182.90/-0.574, Now #10; PST Index: 7.97, Prior Best: 7.393/183.00/-0.577, Was #10
Right Lane: Dean Carter Runs 8.899/125.95/1.369, Now #18; B/ND Index: 7.53, Prior Best: 7.049/186.36/-0.481, Was #18

6:31 p.m. Time to try this again.

Carter had to pedal early and slows.

Mettler gets another full pull, but slows just 0.003 from his first pass to stay #10.

Left Lane: Randy Goff Runs 10.748/71.23/2.788, Now #30; E/A Index: 7.96, No Prior Run
Right Lane: Doug Lambeck Runs 8.730/131.14/-0.240, Now #24; D/SMA Index: 8.97, Prior Best: 8.724/128.52/-0.246, Was #24

Golf gets a time, but joins the bottom of the ladder, after lifting early.

Lambeck picks up a little MPH, but is just a little off on his ET.

Left Lane: Mike DePalma Runs 19.015/44.29/10.195, Now #16; C/T Index: 8.82, Prior Best: 8.280/148.51/-0.540, Was #16
Right Lane: Alan Ellis Runs 9.995/89.47/2.775, Now #14; A/AP Index: 7.22, Prior Best: 6.659/202.18/-0.561, Was #14

DePalma' pickup makes a HARD move towards the wall at the green and he mast to lift to settle it back down.

Ellis has a 1.003 sixty foot time and then can't shift the altered. Another broken pair.

Left Lane: Adam Bowdish Runs 9.011/149.75/-0.529, Now #17; H/SM Index: 9.54, Prior Best: 9.067/142.28/-0.473, Was #19
Right Lane: Dan Fletcher Runs 7.800/156.10/-0.540, Now #11; B/EA Index: 8.34, Prior Best: 7.763/0.00/-0.577, Was #11

We finally get two cars to the finish line under power.

Fletcher slows a little on a strong pass and Bowdish is one of the few cars to improve his position. From 19 to 17.

Left Lane: Justin Lamb Runs 8.693/153.06/-0.637, Now #4; G/SMA Index: 9.33, Prior Best: 8.708/154.07/-0.622, Was #6

Last car and no bump spot for tonight.

Lamb gets the track figured out and makes a straight and clean pass right into the new #4 spot. Great run for the conditions.

6:39 p.m. Fitzpatrick is still #1 at -0.777

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink