Sat, 19 Jun 2010, 04:08 PM Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Final Session

By Rick Green

BRISTOL, Tenn. - Notes from final, round 4 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 10th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals 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:

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Left Lane: Pat Dakin Runs 4.086/289.51, Now #13; Best prior run: 12.475/60.06, Was #17

Weather conditions: air temperature 88 degrees, relative humidity 45 percent, barometer 28.49 inches, adjusted altitude 4,357 feet, track temperature 137 degrees.

Dakin with a nice clean pass until he drops a cylinder on the top end. This is good enough to get him in the show and that bumps out Haddock. Pat Dakin's incremental times: 60ft-0.889 sec., 330ft-2.275, 660ft-3.256/257.92 mph.

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Left Lane: Morgan Lucas Runs 4.090/286.07, Now #14; Best prior run: 4.357/255.24, Was #15
Right Lane: Terry Haddock Runs 5.247/143.84, Now #17; Best prior run: 5.397/130.67, Was #17

Haddock starts to lose traction and pedals it, but is back up in smoke and finally clicks it off. He will not get back into the show. Lucas started mixing up cylinders on the top end. Morgan Lucas' incremental times: 60ft-0.877 sec., 330ft-2.256, 660ft-3.254/253.90 mph.

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Left Lane: Scott Palmer Runs 5.088/146.42, Now #15; Best prior run: 4.139/288.39, Was #15
Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 5.258/136.26, Now #16; Best prior run: 4.379/277.15, Was #16

Kalitta starts to lose traction around 300 feet and Palmer shortly after that.

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Left Lane: David Grubnic Runs 5.646/115.01, Now #7; Best prior run: 3.941/306.19, Was #7
Right Lane: Troy Buff Runs 4.160/265.90, Now #12; Best prior run: 4.071/290.13, Was #12

Buff dropped a cylinder early and drifted over by the centerline, but still made a nice clean pass. Buff with the third quickest pass of the session. Grubnic started to haze the tires and clicked it off.

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Left Lane: Bob Vandergriff Runs 5.241/133.46, Now #5; Best prior run: 3.912/310.91, Was #5
Right Lane: Shawn Langdon Runs 4.273/204.29, Now #9; Best prior run: 3.964/298.34, Was #9

Vandergriff started to smoke the tires and clicked it off. Langdon was on a good pass until he started hazing the tires on the top end and clicked it off

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Left Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 4.049/254.95, Now #3; Best prior run: 3.882/311.77, Was #3
Right Lane: Terry McMillen Runs 5.094/143.28, Now #8; Best prior run: 3.964/299.13, Was #8

McMillen is up smoke and clicked it off. Dixon was a real good pass until around 800 feet when it started to haze the tires.

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Left Lane: Cory McClenathan Runs 4.035/289.63, Now #2; Best prior run: 3.879/313.51, Was #2
Right Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 4.068/269.13, Now #6; Best prior run: 3.939/311.77, Was #6

The best side-by-side drag race of the round here with McClenathan running the quickest pass of the round and Schumacher running the third quickest pass of the round. Cory McClenathan's incremental times: 60ft-0.861 sec., 330ft-2.234, 660ft-3.208/258.67 mph.
Tony Schumacher's incremental times: 60ft-0.858 sec., 330ft-2.218, 660ft-3.195/252.14 mph.

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Left Lane: Antron Brown Runs 4.006/291.89, Now #1; Best prior run: 3.856/314.24, Was #1
Right Lane: Brandon Bernstein Runs 4.010/295.72, Now #4; Best prior run: 3.901/308.64, Was #4

No this is the best side-by-side drag race of the round with the two quickest runs of the round. Brown had a cylinder out early but got it to stick all the way down the track. Bernstein was right there with him. Antron Brown's incremental times: 60ft-0.864 sec., 330ft-2.210, 660ft-3.184/259.26 mph.
Brandon Bernstein's incremental times: 60ft-0.869 sec., 330ft-2.227, 660ft-3.194/262.44 mph.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink