Drag Race Central | Presented by Summitracing.com

Sat, 3 May 2003, 12:17 PM

Pro Stock Qualifying Notes, Session #2

By Larry Sullivan

COMMERCE, Ga. - Notes from round 2 qualifying in Pro Stock at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 23rd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals presented by Pontiac 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: Barry Grant Runs 8.008/126.73, Now #32; Best prior run: 20.185/37.13, Was #33

11:44 AM It's 72 degrees, 76 percent relative humidity, the barometer 30.01, with a track temperature of 90 degrees under a light overcast.

The bump time as we open this second round of qualifying is JR Carr's 6.970. Grant shook hard last round, so if he gets it hooked up solid here we should get a pretty good idea of what to expect - but he was out of the throttle around half track.

Left Lane: Chris Garner Runs 7.023/196.96, Now #25; Best prior run: 7.550/187.44, Was #30
Right Lane: Troy Coughlin Runs 6.876/200.11, Now #1; Best prior run: 10.323/88.31, Was #33

Okay, Troy should give us a baseline for this round if he gets a clean run...he shook hard in round one. No problems here, a 1.011 60-foot time and our second eighty of the weekend, his brother the only driver to get into the eighties yesterday. Stand by for wholesale changes in the field once the "hitters" start making their runs.

Left Lane: Nick Fratt No Time, Now #32; Best prior run: 7.264/193.71, Was #31
Right Lane: Tim Freeman Runs 6.973/199.26, Now #18; Best prior run: 7.672/140.77, Was #32

Fratt's car pulled out of the front of the lane and headed back to the pits.

Left Lane: Ray Franks Runs 6.974/198.41, Now #20; Best prior run: 7.073/195.42, Was #31
Right Lane: Tom Martino Runs 6.942/198.47, Now #11; Best prior run: 7.036/196.90, Was #29

Two improved runs, but the whole field should step up this session.

Left Lane: Larry Morgan Runs 6.955/198.99, Now #16; Best prior run: 7.048/196.44, Was #31
Right Lane: Fernando Cuadra Runs 6.903/199.76, Now #4; Best prior run: 7.026/197.83, Was #29

Nice pass by the Mexican driver with a 1.012 short time and a string-straight run. Morgan got in, but on the bubble, so he is unlikely to stay there.

Left Lane: Gene Wilson Runs 6.987/199.46, Now #27; Best prior run: 7.035/197.45, Was #31
Right Lane: Mike Thomas Runs 6.914/198.76, Now #6; Best prior run: 7.015/197.02, Was #28

Wilson's engine is supposed to be the better of the two Morgan entries, but he lost a lot of ground in the middle of the run.

Left Lane: Tom Lee Runs 6.949/199.67, Now #17; Best prior run: 7.017/197.71, Was #30
Right Lane: Dave Northrop Runs 6.896/200.50, Now #2; Best prior run: 6.993/198.12, Was #28

Lee just misses the cut with the new Allen Johnson Stratus, to be driven by Darrell Alderman. Northrop puts the Grumpy-powered cavalier way up in the field - but the big dogs haven't run yet.

Left Lane: V. Gaines Runs 6.889/200.53, Now #3; Best prior run: 6.889/200.53, Was #3
Right Lane: Darrell Alderman Runs 6.870/200.74, Now #1; Best prior run: 6.870/200.74, Was #1

Alderman may not want to give up his Neon quite yet...

Left Lane: Terry Adams Runs 6.870/201.22, Now #2; Best prior run: 6.967/196.47, Was #24
Right Lane: Ben Watson Runs 6.868/199.67, Now #1; Best prior run: 6.983/197.77, Was #29

New top dogs...Watson with a 0.997 60-foot time!

Left Lane: George Marnell Runs 6.924/199.76, Now #13; Best prior run: 6.956/199.40, Was #24
Right Lane: Greg Stanfield Runs 6.870/200.38, Now #4; Best prior run: 6.978/198.52, Was #29

Marnell's car did a dance in the first part of the run...he's in, but that time probably won't stay in the field.

Left Lane: Mark Whisnant Runs 6.889/199.32, Now #7; Best prior run: 6.950/198.38, Was #24
Right Lane: JR Carr Runs 6.912/199.49, Now #13; Best prior run: 6.970/198.15, Was #27

Carr started the round on the bubble, was 27th by the time he ran. Nice run by Whisnant, but Carr is dangerously close to the bump spot with several heavy hitters still to run.

Left Lane: Jim Yates Runs 6.850/201.10, Now #2; Best prior run: 6.944/198.61, Was #24
Right Lane: Mike Edwards Runs 6.846/200.95, Now #1; Best prior run: 6.962/198.67, Was #27

1.01 60-foot times, a pair. New #1 and #2. Mike Thomas is now on the bump at 6.914, with Carr just above at 6.912.

Left Lane: Allen Johnson Runs 6.861/201.40, Now #3; Best prior run: 6.943/200.05, Was #25
Right Lane: Scott Geoffrion Runs 6.863/200.83, Now #4; Best prior run: 6.939/199.55, Was #23

1.010 60-foot time for AJ, 1.000 for Geoffrion. Bye-bye for Thomas and Carr.

Left Lane: Warren Johnson Runs 6.854/201.85, Now #4; Best prior run: 6.936/199.02, Was #24
Right Lane: Taylor Lastor Runs 6.847/200.77, Now #2; Best prior run: 6.934/199.37, Was #22

Potential bumpees are KJ and Cuadra. WJ and Lastor dispatched them with ease. Now it's Jeg Coughlin and Greg Anderson on the spot...

Left Lane: Ron Krisher Runs 6.890/200.11, Now #15; Best prior run: 6.936/199.11, Was #24
Right Lane: Mark Pawuk Runs 6.858/201.22, Now #5; Best prior run: 6.925/199.79, Was #22

1.01 for Krisher, 1.00 for Pawuk in the first 60 feet. Bye-bye Anderson and KJ (but they haven't run yet).

Left Lane: Bruce Allen Runs 6.862/200.74, Now #8; Best prior run: 6.925/198.79, Was #24
Right Lane: Greg Anderson Runs 6.821/203.00, Now #1; Best prior run: 6.901/201.16, Was #18

Just two pair left. Allen had a 0.994 60-foot time, Anderson a 1.012, bumping Krisher and Northrop. Anderson resets the track speed record and takes over #1.

Left Lane: Kurt Johnson Runs 6.840/202.67, Now #3; Best prior run: 6.908/200.89, Was #21
Right Lane: Jeg Coughlin Runs 6.822/201.04, Now #2; Best prior run: 6.897/199.40, Was #19

Jeg started this round #1, was #19 by the time he staged. Not to worry, both got in easily, bumping Gaines and Whisnant, putting Troy Coughlin on the bubble at 6.876 to end a turbulent round of qualifying.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink