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Sat, 24 Mar 2012, 20:33 PM

Top Alcohol Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Final Session

By David Gerard

LAS VEGAS - Notes from round 2 qualifying in Top Alcohol Funny Car at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Pacific Division, event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 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:

Left Lane: Keeter Ray Runs 5.721/250.55, Now #4; Best prior run: 13.307/82.93, Was #15
Right Lane: Jason Rupert Runs 5.854/250.64, Now #10; Best prior run: 17.168/59.13, Was #16

4:33 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 82 degrees, relative humidity 15 percent, barometer 27.33 inches, adjusted altitude 4,613 feet, track temperature 103 degrees.

John Lombardo Jr. is on the bump spot at 5.791 with a sixteen car field trying to qualify for the top eight spots.

Much better for both cars! Ray moves first and powers away to move into the top half of the field for now on a clean pass.

Rupert gets a full pass, but with only two qualifying sessions, this run can't be improved on today.

Keeter Ray's incremental times: 60ft-0.973 sec., 330ft-2.533, 660ft-3.767/200.86 mph, 1,000ft-4.824.
Jason Rupert's incremental times: 60ft-0.996 sec., 330ft-2.630, 660ft-3.890/197.62 mph, 1,000ft-4.957.

Left Lane: Annie Whiteley Runs 5.689/253.61, Now #3; Best prior run: 9.972/85.20, Was #16
Right Lane: Nick Bastiao Runs 5.907/224.55, Now #13; Best prior run: 6.584/231.71, Was #15

Mark Woznichak is on the bump spot at 5.786.

Bastiao takes the long way down, as the he has to fight the car all the way down the track to keep the Monte Carlo off the wall. Another big improvement in his season best, but he won't get to play tomorrow.

Whiteley gets a full pass and makes the most of it to jump all the way up to the new #3 spot on a strong pass. That's her best speed of the season.

Annie Whiteley's incremental times: 60ft-0.974 sec., 330ft-2.536, 660ft-3.756/202.61 mph, 1,000ft-4.803.
Nick Bastiao's incremental times: 60ft-0.976 sec., 330ft-2.597, 660ft-3.873/195.25 mph, 1,000ft-4.955.

Left Lane: Steve Griboski Runs 9.476/78.58, Now #16; Best prior run: 6.558/164.43, Was #16

No joy for Griboski, as the engine goes silent about where the car would shift.

Sean Bellemeur is on the bump spot at 5.768.

Left Lane: Brian Smith Runs 5.856/249.95, Now #12; Best prior run: 5.882/246.26, Was #12
Right Lane: Ross Stickler Runs 16.113/44.16, Now #14; Best prior run: 6.051/236.30, Was #14

Smith leaves a little slow and makes a good pass, but gets out of the groove near mid-track. It costs him and he won't make the field today.

Stickler is up in smoke at the green. He tries to pump the throttle a couple of times to no avail. He's done too.

Brian Smith's incremental times: 60ft-1.014 sec., 330ft-2.635, 660ft-3.889/197.22 mph, 1,000ft-4.956.

Left Lane: John Lombardo Jr. Runs 6.065/217.95, Now #10; Best prior run: 5.791/242.32, Was #10
Right Lane: Mark Woznichak Runs 9.512/90.03, Now #9; Best prior run: 5.786/235.39, Was #9

These two are usually well into the field, if not in the top half, at this point.

No joy here! The Woz leaves hard and then quickly gives up, with tire chatter.

There was blue smoke out of the left headers, as Lombardo's engine went to High C for the launch. There was another puff near mid-track and then a huge wall of smoke in the lights.

4:48 p.m. There is oil on the track, so we will be down a while for clean up down track. That will set the bump for tomorrow's eliminations.

John Lombardo Jr.'s incremental times: 60ft-0.984 sec., 330ft-2.615, 660ft-3.932/186.38 mph, 1,000ft-5.074.

Left Lane: Doug Gordon Runs 5.843/247.84, Now #6; Best prior run: 5.751/251.25, Was #6
Right Lane: Sean Bellemeur Runs 7.047/140.96, Now #8; Best prior run: 5.768/251.53, Was #8

5:00 p.m. Back to racing. Just a fight for position now.

Bellemeur gets a huge starting line advantage and then slows down track.

Gordon makes a full pass, but it's not as quick as earlier. No apparent problems.

Doug Gordon's incremental times: 60ft-0.976 sec., 330ft-2.582, 660ft-3.856/194.44 mph, 1,000ft-4.934.

Left Lane: Steve Gasparrelli Runs 5.719/253.90, Now #4; Best prior run: 5.695/254.04, Was #4
Right Lane: Brian Hough Runs 5.746/252.57, Now #6; Best prior run: 5.764/250.37, Was #7

Hough leaves well and then starts to move towards the centerline going down the track. He steers it back into the lane and picks up a spot on the ladder.

Gasparrelli makes a clean pass, but can't improve to stay #4.

Steve Gasparrelli's incremental times: 60ft-0.967 sec., 330ft-2.555, 660ft-3.787/201.01 mph, 1,000ft-4.834.
Brian Hough's incremental times: 60ft-0.975 sec., 330ft-2.560, 660ft-3.800/199.61 mph, 1,000ft-4.854.

Left Lane: Tony Bartone Runs 5.620/259.61, Now #1; Best prior run: 5.592/259.21, Was #1
Right Lane: Jay Payne Runs 9.277/91.61, Now #2; Best prior run: 5.633/256.99, Was #2

Last pair. They are already 1 and 2, so the best they could do is swap spots.

Nope! There is only 0.002 difference in their sixty foot numbers, but Payne is already starting to drift towards the center line. He get very close to the 330 reflector and gives it up as a lost cause.

Good pass for Barton, but just a little slower.

Tony Bartone's incremental times: 60ft-0.974 sec., 330ft-2.526, 660ft-3.728/206.99 mph, 1,000ft-4.753.

5:10 p.m. Sean Bellemeur is on the bump spot at 5.768.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink