Fri, 3 Sep 2010, 01:26 PM Top Alcohol Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Dan Bennett

CLERMONT, Ind. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Top Alcohol Funny Car at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 56th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Left Lane: John Hart Runs 6.426/216.20, Now #1
Right Lane: Don Devault Runs 7.860/121.20, Now #2

12:49 p.m. It's a beautiful day here at Indy, with fluffy clouds in a bright blue sky. There's a light breeze.

Weather conditions: air temperature 77 degrees, relative humidity 46 percent, barometer 28.95 inches, adjusted altitude 2,905 feet, track temperature 104 degrees.

Devault's Camaro moves around a bunch on the leave and it's coasting early in the pass. Hart gets some data, but perhaps not much that's usable.

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Left Lane: Rick Cortino Runs 6.042/217.56, Now #1
Right Lane: Cassie Simonton Runs 7.240/132.17, Now #3

Simonton has a great looking operation with attractive car graphics, nice uniforms, and all the rest. That doesn't help her much here as the car is a bit lazy on the hit but begins to shake and spin at about 400 feet.

Cortino lands in the top spot, at least for a few minutes.

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Left Lane: Fred Hagen Jr. Runs 6.496/148.33, Now #3
Right Lane: Wayne Butler Runs 6.590/238.09, Now #4

From watching all the other classes race, the track appears to be in exceptional condition. This is its first test with high horsepower and right now it's hard to tell if the busted runs are due to the crew chiefs underestimating the surface or there's not enough to hold these blown cars.

Hagen looked to be on a good pass but the car slowed noticeably on the top end. Butler's car did a small bounce on the leave, hesitated, and then gained rpm to finish the run.

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Left Lane: Larry Dobbs Runs 5.879/247.47, Now #2
Right Lane: John Bojec Runs 5.743/250.32, Now #1

These guys did a much better job and we finally get into the fives. Dobbs looked like he was pretty loose after hitting high gear, but got the fishtailing settled down and put the car across the finish line in the center of the lane.

Bojec went straight - and straight to the top of the class.

Larry Dobbs' incremental times: 60ft-1.018 sec., 330ft-2.647, 660ft-3.903/197.57 mph, 1,000ft-4.973.
John Bojec's incremental times: 60ft-0.981 sec., 330ft-2.557, 660ft-3.792/200.74 mph, 1,000ft-4.847.

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Left Lane: Thomas Carter No Time, Now #10
Right Lane: Alexis De Joria Runs 5.633/257.92, Now #1

Carter broke before he could stage. DeJoria's car sounded like it stayed in first gear for a long time but the numbers put her at the top by a sigificant amount.

Alexis De Joria's incremental times: 60ft-0.990 sec., 330ft-2.533, 660ft-3.736/205.47 mph, 1,000ft-4.762.

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Left Lane: Chris Foster Runs 7.401/124.13, Now #9
Right Lane: Vern Moats No Time, Now #12

Foster's Monte Carlo kept moving left towards the wall and he had to lift. Moats' car hammered the tires hard on the leave and shook a a few feet until Vern could get it shut down.

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Left Lane: Brent Henry Runs 10.454/68.75, Now #12
Right Lane: Tony Bartone Runs 5.532/258.47, Now #1

Bartone lays down a textbook pass. Straight, smooth, and quick.

Tony Bartone's incremental times: 60ft-0.933 sec., 330ft-2.455, 660ft-3.647/207.75 mph, 1,000ft-4.665.

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Left Lane: John Lombardo Jr. Runs 6.093/252.71, Now #6
Right Lane: Steve Harker Runs 14.642/56.17, Now #14

Harker's car headed straight for the wall on the hit. Lombardo's car was heading the other way towards his wall. Lombardo made it just a bit further.

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Left Lane: Jay Payne Runs 6.244/153.42, Now #7
Right Lane: Mickey Ferro No Time, Now #16

Both cars were on a strong pass, when Ferro's Monte Carlo headed towards the center line. Payne got a very good look at what was happening and lifted.

You'll notice that we didn't see Frank Manzo. We were notified of the sad news that Frank's father passed away earlier this week. Our condolences go out to the Manzo family for their loss.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink