Sun, 19 Sep 2010, 12:52 PM Top Fuel Round 1 Eliminations

By Larry Sullivan

qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqDATELINE: CONCORD, N.C. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, Third annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  333 Shawn Langdon                         552 Rod Fuller                   
E1                   0.025  4.038 296.89     ****WINNER****  0.061  3.890 318.54
 Qualified:             #9  3.930 306.05                        #8  3.893 311.49

12:00 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 82 degrees, relative humidity 49 percent, barometer 29.49 inches, adjusted altitude 2,685 feet, track temperature 114 degrees.

Fuller won the only other time these two faced each other, at Denver this year, in round one.

Langdon had a great light and led briefly, but Fuller was ahead at 330 feet and pulled away on the top end, while Langdon hazed the tires. Fuller wins with his best time of the weekend.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  317 T.J. Zizzo                            475 Steve Torrence               
E1                   0.081  3.904 311.70     ****WINNER****  0.076  3.899 311.99
 Qualified:             #6  3.867 308.21                       #11  3.954 305.08

This is the first time Zizzo and Torrence have faced each other in eliminations.

This was a very good drag race, side-by-side all the way, but Torrence ran better than he did in qualifying and won by a nose. Steve Torrence's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.001), 330 ft(0.014), 660ft(0.012). MOV: 0.0105 seconds (approximately 5 feet).

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   11 Doug Herbert                            1 Tony Schumacher              
E1                   0.043  4.641 167.38     ****WINNER****  0.086  3.856 320.81
 Qualified:            #12  3.980 300.40                        #5  3.866 308.64

Schumacher is 28 - 9 against Herbert in prior events, 8-4 in round one.

Herbert had a nice holeshot, but his car was out of power half way to the finish line, slowing with a puff of smoke. As with the other two winners, Schumacher ran better than his qualifying time, with a big speed.

Tony Schumacher's incremental times: 60ft-0.856 sec., 330ft-2.180, 660ft-3.096/278.40 mph.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   44 David Grubnic                           2 Larry Dixon                  
E1                   0.103  4.043 284.56     ****WINNER****  0.070  3.840 318.17
 Qualified:            #13  3.996 264.80                        #4  3.846 315.93

Dixon is 25 - 9 against Grubnic in prior events, 12-4 in round one.

Dixon left first and ran quicker than his qualifying time. Grubnic gave it a shot, but was already trailing by over a car length when something let go in the engine with a flash of flame.

Dixon wins with low ET of the round so far and will have lane choice against Schumacher in round two - don't miss that one!

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  303 Pat Dakin                               5 Brandon Bernstein            
E1                         No Time           ****WINNER****  0.099  4.833 151.04
 Qualified:            #14  4.017 298.80                        #3  3.839 317.34

Bernstein is 3 - 0 against Dakin in prior events, 2-0 in round one. Dakin started racing in Top Fuel in 1971, Bernstein was born in 1972.

Dakin's crew was unable to get the car fired and Bernstein got a free pass to round two. That was a break for him, the car lost traction and went silent about 500 feet out. Steve Torrence will have lane choice when he faces Bernstein in round two.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   34 Morgan Lucas                            4 Cory McClenathan             
E1                   0.084  3.967 307.23     ****WINNER****  0.055  3.872 318.09
 Qualified:            #16  4.051 299.20                        #1  3.831 321.12

McClenathan is 12 - 6 against Lucas in prior events, 8-4 in round one. Cory Mac is 31-6 in round one after qualifying #1, so Lucas was facing an uphill challenge.

Cory Mac was out of the gate first and never headed, winning by a couple car lengths. He will have lane choice against Fuller in round two.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  497 Troy Buff                               3 Antron Brown                 
E1                   0.080 25.836   NS       ****WINNER****  0.066  3.914 314.17
 Qualified:            #15  4.039 298.87                        #2  3.832 315.93

Brown is 4 - 1 against Buff in prior events, all in round one matchups.

Buff lost traction early, pedaled, and popped the burst panel, the chutes automatically deploying. Brown made a clean run for the win, almost a tenth slower than his qualifying run.

Oops, looks like Buff popped more than the burst panel because the Safety Safari cleanup crew is headed for his lane.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
   12 Bob Vandergriff                        22 Doug Kalitta                 
E1                   0.114  5.523 119.74     ****WINNER****  0.085  3.905 311.92
 Qualified:            #10  3.954 311.27                        #7  3.879 316.08

12:40 p.m. Kalitta is 9 - 8 against Vandergriff in prior events, but Vandergriff is 6-4 in first-round matchups.

Vandergriff lost traction fairly early in the run, while Kalitta went right down the lane for an easy win. Kalitta was slightly slower than his qualifying effort, but still quick enough to earn lane choice against Brown in round two.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink