Sun, 18 May 2003, 12:17 PM Funny Car Round 1 Eliminations |
By Jim Samuel |
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Funny Car at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 34th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Pep Boys:
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 302 Dale Creasy Jr. 3 Del Worsham E1 0.094 5.911 284.87 ****WINNER**** 0.096 5.892 249.81 Qualified: #13 4.958 290.13 #4 4.826 318.3911:49 AM - Current weather conditions: 58 degrees, 37 percent relative humidity, the barometer is 30.21 inches, with a track temperature of 78 degrees.
Worsham and Creasy have met three times before in eliminations, with Creasy taking two wins and one loss. Creasy lost to Tony Pedregon in the first round here last year and Worsham lost to Bruce Sarver in round one.
Creasy shook the tires at the start and Worsham started shaking a short time later. Both
drivers pedaled and Worsham was in the lead with Creasy closing fast. Creasy got close but just
ran out of track and Worsham held on for the win. Del Worsham's incremental margins:
60ft(0.026), 330 ft(0.140), 660ft(0.210), 1,000ft(0.132). MOV: 0.0172 seconds (approximately 7
feet).
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 206 Bob Gilbertson 503 Tommy Johnson Jr. E1 -0.060 6.681 129.44 ****WINNER**** 0.074 4.809 323.74 Qualified: #14 4.971 313.22 #3 4.817 318.69In the three times they've met prior to this race, Johnson has won two races and Gilbertson has won one. Gilbertson left too soon and lit the red light. On the track, he spun the tires at 330 and broke the blower belt. Johnson had a strong run for the win.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
1 John Force 506 Jack Wyatt
E1 ****WINNER**** 0.066 4.872 306.95 0.881 13.032 58.59
Qualified: #2 4.799 317.19 #15 5.143 275.06
Jack Wyatt has raced John Force four times and lost all four races. This is the first time
Wyatt has ever raced here at Englishtown. Force was the runner-up here in 2000 and 2001 and
last won here in 1999. This time, Force had a good light but Wyatt just sat there with a 0.881
second RT. He smoked the tires and just shut it down.Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 121 Terry Haddock 2 Tony Pedregon E1 0.101 5.208 255.15 ****WINNER**** 0.057 4.819 320.66 Qualified: #16 5.186 263.56 #1 4.760 320.89Terry Haddock and Tony Pedregon have never raced in eliminations. This is the fourth time that Haddock has qualified for eliminations and he has lost in the first round of the previous three races. He qualified at Englishtown in 2000 and lost to Cruz Pedregon in the first round. Tony Pedregon won here in 2001 when he beat John Force in the final round. He was the number one qualifier here in 1996, 1999, 2001 and 2002. Haddock has never run in the fours before this run and he did not do it this time. Pedregon had a strong run from start to finish and took an easy win.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 71 Cruz Pedregon 5 Whit Bazemore E1 0.069 4.898 313.51 ****WINNER**** 0.078 4.830 322.88 Qualified: #12 4.886 312.93 #5 4.836 313.44Bazemore and Pedregon have met 29 times in their careers, with Bazemore getting the win 13 of those times and Pedregon taking 16 wins. Last year, Bazemore made it to the third round before he lost to Gary Densham, who went on to beat Bruce Sarver in the final round for the win. This time, Pedregon had a slightly better start but by the 660 foot mark, Bazemore started to pull away for the win. At the end of the track, Bazemore's chute was late coming out and he managed to stop the car about two feet short of the sand trap. Whit Bazemore's incremental margins: 60ft(0.010), 330 ft(0.010), 660ft(0.021), 1,000ft(0.040). MOV: 0.0594 seconds (approximately 27 feet). Bazemore will have lane choice over Del Worsham in the second round.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
4 Gary Densham 347 Tim Wilkerson
E1 0.073 5.454 191.32 ****WINNER**** 0.088 4.812 312.57
Qualified: #11 4.876 312.93 #6 4.837 316.08
Densham and Wilkerson have met 10 times with Wilkerson taking the win in seven of those
races. Densham dropped some cylinders on the right side of the engine at mid track and drifted
toward the center line. He managed to keep the car in his lane but Wilkerson got by him for the
win. Wilkerson missed getting lane choice over Tommy Johnson in the next round by just three
thousandths of a second.Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 10 Johnny Gray 28 Ron Capps E1 0.064 5.000 290.69 ****WINNER**** 0.050 4.885 318.62 Qualified: #10 4.875 315.34 #7 4.844 314.17Johnny Gray and Ron Capps have raced each other seven times before this round, with Gray taking three of the seven matches. Gray lost to Gary Densham in round two here last year while Capps did not qualify for that race. Capps beat Gray at the line and after Gray lost cylinders, he had no chance of getting by Capps for the win. Capps gave up lane choice to John Force in round two.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 21 Scotty Cannon 20 Gary Scelzi E1 0.088 12.543 75.91 ****WINNER**** 0.047 4.831 326.95 Qualified: #9 4.872 304.46 #8 4.851 322.65This is the first time that Cannon and Scelzi have raced in eliminations. Scelzi did not qualify here last year and Cannon lost to Whit Bazemore in the first round. Cannon smoked the tires right off the starting line and never got back into this run. Scelzi had a strong run with the fastest run ever in a funny car but it will not be a record unless he backs it up later today. Scelzi gave up lane choice to Tony Pedgregon in the second round.
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