Fri, 26 Oct 2012, 18:54 PM Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Rick Green

LAS VEGAS - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Top Fuel at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, 12th annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Left Lane: Mike Salinas Runs 7.124/80.59, Now #1
Right Lane: Steven Chrisman Runs 20.073/174.19, Now #2

Weather conditions: air temperature 77 degrees, relative humidity 16 percent, barometer 28.01 inches, adjusted altitude 3,733 feet, track temperature 93 degrees.

Chrisman with problems right at the hit and he put a bunch of oil on the track. Salinas is real loose and the car was completely side ways before he lifted.

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Left Lane: Troy Buff Runs 9.091/73.79, Now #3
Right Lane: Chris Karamesines Runs 4.709/164.63, Now #1

Buff with tire shake right at the hit and clicked it off. Karamesines launched hard and appeared to be on a good pass until the engine went silent around half track.

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Left Lane: J.R. Todd Runs 4.356/183.39, Now #2
Right Lane: T.J. Zizzo Runs 3.941/299.33, Now #1

Zizzo launched hard and was straight down the groove...T.J. Zizzo's incremental times: 60ft-0.853 sec., 330ft-2.176, 660ft-3.133/263.41 mph. Todd was on a good pass until just past half track when it started to haze the tires .

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Left Lane: Cory McClenathan Runs 7.853/81.42, Now #6
Right Lane: Terry McMillen Runs 5.408/122.58, Now #4

McClenathan with a lot of tire shake right at the hit and clicked it off. McMillen was up in smoke by 330 feet and clicked it off.

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Left Lane: Clay Millican Runs 3.860/315.71, Now #1
Right Lane: Khalid alBalooshi Runs 3.897/295.79, Now #2

This was a good side-by-side drag race...Millican launched hard and keep it hooked up to go to the number one spot. Clay Millican's incremental times: 60ft-0.854 sec., 330ft-2.169, 660ft-3.091/274.61 mph. alBalooshi started dropping cylinders on the left side and then a lot of engine smoke. The word from the top end is there is oil on the track.

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Left Lane: Bob Vandergriff Runs 3.844/324.28, Now #1
Right Lane: David Grubnic Runs 6.725/84.85, Now #8

Grubnic is up in smoke early and clicked it off. Vandergriff launched hard and was straight down the groove to go to the number one spot. Bob Vandergriff's incremental times: 60ft-0.853 sec., 330ft-2.181, 660ft-3.094/280.95 mph.

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Left Lane: Steve Torrence Runs 8.527/68.39, Now #12
Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 5.092/137.62, Now #7

Torrence is up in smoke right off the starting line and Kalitta is up in smoke by 300 feet.

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Left Lane: Morgan Lucas Runs 4.821/151.00, Now #7
Right Lane: Brandon Bernstein Runs 5.267/127.25, Now #9

Lucas is up in smoke and clicks it off...Bernstein is up in smoke early.

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Left Lane: Shawn Langdon Runs 3.815/323.19, Now #2
Right Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 3.773/323.66, Now #1

This was a great side-by-side drag race...Schumacher launched hard and then got real loose just past half track, but set the track E.T. record to go to the number one spot. Tony Schumacher's incremental times: 60ft-0.834 sec., 330ft-2.123, 660ft-3.026/282.48 mph. Langdon was right there with Schumacher with a great pass to go to the number two spot. Shawn Langdon's incremental times: 60ft-0.852 sec., 330ft-2.165, 660ft-3.066/282.66 mph.

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Left Lane: Spencer Massey Runs 3.807/323.43, Now #2
Right Lane: Antron Brown Runs 3.869/313.88, Now #6

Brown with a nice pass to get into the top half of the show. Antron Brown's incremental times: 60ft-0.857 sec., 330ft-2.182, 660ft-3.099/275.51 mph. Massey launched hard and keep it hooked up to go to the number two spot. Spencer Massey's incremental times: 60ft-0.846 sec., 330ft-2.157, 660ft-3.058/282.72 mph.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink