Fri, 11 Jun 2010, 06:02 PM Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Jim Samuel

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Funny Car at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 41st annual NHRA SuperNationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Right Lane: Dale Creasy Jr. Runs 4.613/184.22, Now #1

5:33 p.m. - Weather conditions: air temperature 77 degrees, relative humidity 54 percent, barometer 30.05 inches, adjusted altitude 1,722 feet, track temperature 106 degrees.

Creasy's car started dropping cylinders soon after he came off the starting line. He started smoking the rear tires at about 660 feet.

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Left Lane: Paul Lee Runs 7.470/49.08, Now #2
Right Lane: Jim Head Runs 9.791/42.68, Now #3

Both cars shook the rear tires right off the starting line and both drivers shut down early.

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Left Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 4.171/0.00, Now #1
Right Lane: Jeff Arend Runs 7.310/0.00, Now #3

Arend shook the tires right out of the gate and clicked it off. Pedregon had a strong run but fell off at the end. Neither driver got an accurate speed reading.

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Left Lane: Del Worsham Runs 4.517/302.28, Now #2
Right Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 7.686/39.71, Now #6

Pedregon started shaking the tires and shut it down half way down the track. Worsham got to about 800 feet and then did the same thing.

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Left Lane: Tim Wilkerson Runs 4.145/0.00, Now #1
Right Lane: Bob Tasca III Runs 4.150/0.00, Now #2

Tasca's car has a new paint scheme. NASCAR's Bill Elliott is running the same paint scheme in Michigan this week for the Wood Brothers. Both drivers made nice runs down the track to move into the number one and two spots in the order for now. The speeds were not correct again.

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Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 4.155/0.00, Now #3
Right Lane: Jack Beckman Runs 5.931/0.00, Now #7

Beckman's car spun the rear tires at midtrack and he clicked it off. Capps went straight down the groove. Both drivers got incorrect speeds.

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Left Lane: Matt Hagan Runs 4.119/0.00, Now #1
Right Lane: Ashley Force Hood Runs 4.164/0.00, Now #5

Hagan took over the top spot in the order for now with a good run. Force Hood had some tire spin in the last quarter of the track.

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Left Lane: John Force Runs 4.626/0.00, Now #9
Right Lane: Robert Hight Runs 8.071/0.00, Now #14

Both drivers smoked the rear tires and pedaled. Force was able to get some speed back, Hight was not. That's it for the first session of Funny Car qualifying. Hagan is in the top spot of the order after this session.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink