Fri, 3 Sep 2010, 02:18 PM Top Alcohol Dragster Qualifying Notes, Session #1 |
By Larry Sullivan |
CLERMONT, Ind. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Top Alcohol Dragster 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:
Left Lane: Tony Quinn No Time, Now #2
Right Lane: Brandon Pierce Runs 6.230/170.15, Now #1
1:22 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 77 degrees, relative humidity 46 percent, barometer 28.95 inches, adjusted altitude 2,905 feet, track temperature 112 degrees.
Quinn's car shook and there was a flash of flame from his engine. The
automatic shutoff system deployed the chutes and shut the engine off. Pierce also shook and he pedaled at least once to get through
it, but he abandoned the run past half track. Quinn's car stopped before the 1,000-foot marker and was towed off the track. The
scrubber made a quick cleanup where he stopped over next to the wall, but it looks like the rest of his lane is okay. "Wait, there's
an invisible monkey..." After the scrubber left the scene, the big tractor made several passes with the broom and tire drag, again
just in the area where Quinn's car sat for awahile.
Left Lane: Dave Heitzman Runs 5.573/254.66, Now #1
Right Lane: Jerry Powell Runs 5.673/247.75, Now #2
Two clean runs with no visible problems in either lane.
Left Lane: Brandon Greco Runs 5.658/251.20, Now #3
Right Lane: Brian Mans Runs 5.570/256.75, Now #1
Two more clean runs, it's getting crowded in the mid-fifties to mid-sixties.
Left Lane: Buddy Domingue Runs 5.505/248.93, Now #2
Right Lane: Robin Samsel Runs 5.487/257.68, Now #1
These two pick the pace up a bit with good opening runs, Samsel quickest of the round so far and first in the forties.
Left Lane: Dave Hirata Runs 5.537/260.61, Now #4
Right Lane: Mark Taliaferro Runs 5.514/259.41, Now #3
Hirata got to the stripe first, but that was because he ahd a good light and Taliaferro left when he was ready. Both made clean, straight runs and should be able to tune from there.
Left Lane: Jared Dreher Runs 5.666/248.39, Now #9
Right Lane: Chase Copeland Runs 5.437/267.00, Now #1
Two more clean runs and Copeland moves to the head of the class.
Left Lane: Brandon Booher Runs 6.622/140.88, Now #13
Right Lane: Mike Kosky Runs 5.995/177.65, Now #11
Both drivers shut off after about 1,000 feet. Booher had visible early shake. Couldn't see what was wrong with Kosky's run, but he was also off-pace at half track.
Left Lane: Ken Perry Runs 5.395/262.28, Now #1
Right Lane: Randy Meyer Runs 5.402/260.51, Now #2
That's more like it, two solid opening runs and our first "thirty" of the round.
Left Lane: Michael Manners Runs 5.369/269.51, Now #1
Right Lane: Marty Thacker Runs 5.396/264.60, Now #3
Side-by-side thirties here and a new #1 qualifier.
Left Lane: Darren Nicholson Runs 5.451/260.46, Now #7
Right Lane: Duane Shields Runs 5.379/262.54, Now #2
Nicholson was quicker than Shields over the first 330 feet of the track, but his car started wagging its tail a bit and that scrubbed off some ET.
Left Lane: Jim Whiteley Runs 5.366/263.82, Now #1
Right Lane: Shawn Cowie Runs 5.419/236.30, Now #7
Couldn't see anything wrong with either of these runs and Cowie was right with Whitely through 1,000 feet, but his car fall off the pace a bit in the final timing increment and he was almost 30 mph slower in the speed trap.
Left Lane: Chris Demke Runs 7.531/115.44, Now #23
Right Lane: Bill Reichert Runs 5.399/261.47, Now #6
Last pair. Reichert cemented another #1 in Division 3 at last weekend's race at Bowling Green, and Demke and Reichert are the two top contenders for the national title this year.
Demke shook, pedaled, and slowed. Reichert made a nice run, but it was only sixth quickest after one round.
After one qualifying round, it's Jim Whiteley atop the list at 5.366 and Dave Heitzman
is on the bump spot at 5.573.
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