Fri, 30 May 2003, 06:51 PM Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Bob Orme

JOLIET, Ill. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Funny Car at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Sixth annual Lucas Oil NHRA Route 66 Nationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

---

Right Lane: Arnie Karp Runs 5.026/296.18, Now #1

5:00 PM Karp is making his first NHRA event pass in a Fuel Funny Car. He was a little loose for the first 300 feet.

---

Left Lane: John Lawson Runs 4.909/311.99, Now #1
Right Lane: Keith Jackson Runs 5.805/176.05, Now #3

Jackson was off the throttle before the 1000-foot mark. Lawson makes his first pass of this season a pretty good one.

---

Left Lane: Bob Bode Runs 5.495/190.92, Now #4
Right Lane: Jack Wyatt Runs 5.011/266.11, Now #2

Bode was mixing up the cylinders on the top half of the track while Wyatt was spitting out engine parts at the finish.

---

Left Lane: Dale Creasy Jr. Runs 15.192/70.51, Now #6
Right Lane: Scotty Cannon No Time, Now #7

Cannon banged the blower on the hit, the car rolling to a stop at about 100 feet. Creasy got sideways immediately and he hit the retaining wall pretty hard while attempting to straighten it out. He did idle down the track so the Craftsman team should be able to repair the damage.

---

Left Lane: Bob Gilbertson Runs 5.004/286.56, Now #2
Right Lane: Dean Skuza Runs 9.031/91.51, Now #7

Skuza lost traction at 300 feet, the car fishtailing as he tried to drive through it, and he finally had to lift.

---

Left Lane: Tim Wilkerson Runs 4.849/314.46, Now #1
Right Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 4.937/305.70, Now #3

Pedregon was mixing up the cylinders a little bit near the finish, but otherwise this was a good looking pass for both drivers.

---

Left Lane: Frank Pedregon Runs 6.119/148.25, Now #9
Right Lane: Gary Scelzi Runs 10.686/84.29, Now #11

Scelzi struck the tires at about 300 feet with Pedregon doing the same at half track.

---

Left Lane: John Force Runs 4.763/322.81, Now #1
Right Lane: Tommy Johnson Jr. Runs 8.968/118.27, Now #11

Johnson was up in smoke at around 200 feet. No problems for Force on this pass, this is his lowest elapsed time of this season.

---

Left Lane: Johnny Gray Runs 4.912/302.48, Now #4
Right Lane: Ron Capps Runs 5.639/172.65, Now #10

Capps was off the throttle at about 1000 feet, the reason not apparent from here. Gray's engine let go on him just before the finish line. The car was on fire as he brought it to a stop, but he was able to get out of the car without getting hurt. I can't say the same for the car's body.

---

Left Lane: Del Worsham Runs 4.910/311.34, Now #5
Right Lane: Gary Densham Runs 4.866/315.34, Now #3

Both drivers kept the candles lit and the cars in the groove, a good looking drag race.

---

Left Lane: Whit Bazemore Runs 4.839/321.96, Now #3
Right Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 4.798/320.81, Now #2

Another good looking pair to close out the round. John Force is in the top spot while Frank Pedregon is on the bump.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink