Sat, 14 Jun 2003, 08:43 PM Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Final Session

By Larry Sullivan

HEBRON, Ohio - Notes from final, round 3 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 39th annual Pontiac Excitement Nationals presented by Summit Racing 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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Right Lane: Don Garlits Runs 9.055/83.98, Now #17; Best prior run: 6.460/135.91, Was #17

7:58 PM Current weather conditions: 73 degrees, 81 percent relative humidity, the barometer 30.05 inches, with a track temperature of 85 degrees.

Garlits left hard, but lost traction just past the 330-foot marker, the car violently turning sideways. He saved it without hitting the wall, but his weekend is over. On the PA system afterward, "Big" said he was lucky to save the car because it almost tipped over.

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Right Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 4.559/325.22, Now #2; Best prior run: 5.310/215.27, Was #15

Chris Karamesines was supposed to run beside Schumacher, but pulled out of line when he saw that Garlits wasn't going to qualify. Then Schumacher's team fired the engine, but immediately shut it down when traces of fuel from Garlits' car were found in the right lane. A couple passes with the tractor, a little last-second fuel top off by Schumacher's crew, and they tried again. Nice try, a great run, moving from near the bottom of the field to the second spot on a flawless-looking run, despite some green-tinged flames on the top end and losing the blower belt right at the finish line.

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Left Lane: David Baca Runs 4.785/297.42, Now #10; Best prior run: 4.688/314.24, Was #10
Right Lane: Paul Romine Runs 9.247/96.15, Now #15; Best prior run: 4.916/263.67, Was #15

Romine launched, chattered the tires, and shut it down. Baca made a good-looking run, losing a tenth of a second along the way on his slowest run of the weekend.

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Left Lane: Doug Herbert Runs 4.736/315.78, Now #8; Best prior run: 4.668/314.46, Was #8
Right Lane: Rhonda Hartman-Smith Runs 4.750/293.22, Now #11; Best prior run: 4.794/302.21, Was #13

Rhonda had a good run going, but the engine trailed a lot of white smoke on the top end and she slowed. Herbert was slower all the way to the 1,000-foot marker, but was closing fast at the finish line.

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Left Lane: Kenny Bernstein Runs 9.344/81.61, Now #6; Best prior run: 4.615/322.73, Was #6
Right Lane: Josh Starcher Runs 10.268/86.55, Now #13; Best prior run: 4.768/300.60, Was #13

Bernstein's car had an electrical problem in the second round and would not fire, so he missed one qualifying run. Both cars smoked the tires before going 200 feet.

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Right Lane: John Smith Runs 4.628/311.70, Now #7; Best prior run: 4.767/301.81, Was #12

"Momma ain't happy," but Daddy made a nice final qualifying pass, the car smoothly down the groove with no signs of any problems, moving him into the top half of the field.

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Left Lane: Jim Head Runs 11.590/72.80, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.579/317.42, Was #4
Right Lane: Darrell Russell Runs 4.589/319.29, Now #5; Best prior run: 4.653/317.87, Was #8

Russell's car still sports the new one-piece body, the first time they have run it three runs in a row in competition. Head got the wheels way up, then the wheelie bar unloaded the rear tires and he lost traction. Nice un by Russell, right down the groove with very few wasted motions.

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Left Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 4.508/325.30, Now #1; Best prior run: 4.533/325.69, Was #1
Right Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 4.650/309.27, Now #3; Best prior run: 4.565/321.35, Was #3

Kalitta's car hiked the front wheels about a foot in the air and it plain scooted down the track. It was a pretty run, the car firmly planted all the way to the finish line. Dixon lost a tenth of a second to Kalitta in the first half of the track, but the reason he fell off a tenth from his previous run was not evident. Doug Kalitta's incremental times: 60ft-0.848 sec., 330ft-2.129, 660ft-3.044/272.94mph, 1,000ft-3.828. Oh yeah, that's now the National Trail Raceway elapsed time record, Joe Amato's five-year-old record thoroughly demolished today.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink