Fri, 16 Aug 2013, 18:26 PM Top Alcohol Dragster Qualifying Notes, Session #2

By Larry Sullivan

BRAINERD, Minn. - Notes from round 2 qualifying in Top Alcohol Dragster at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, 32nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals 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:

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Left Lane: Paul Fishburn Runs 5.519/251.06, Now #9; Best prior run: 24.553/36.37, Was #14

4:52 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 80 degrees, relative humidity 41 percent, barometer 28.81 inches, adjusted altitude 3,289 feet, track temperature 108 degrees.

Fishburn had some problems with the launch in round 1, but he avoided that problem this time around. Nice, clean launch and a problem-free run.

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Left Lane: William Litton Runs 5.567/259.76, Now #11; Best prior run: 5.800/250.41, Was #11
Right Lane: Edwin Schmeeckle Runs 5.563/217.53, Now #10; No Prior Run

Two more straight runs, but Schmeeckle's car started trailing smoke and slowing as he passed half track, leaving some "stuff" on the track. The Safety Safari rolled to the rescue, cleaning up debris and fluids, mainly in the shutdown area. Litton lost a lot of ground early with tire shake, then recovered and made a strong finish.

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Left Lane: Clif Bakx No Time, Now #13; Best prior run: 5.632/263.87, Was #12
Right Lane: Mark Taliaferro Runs 5.299/270.81, Now #1; Best prior run: 8.751/97.41, Was #15

Bakx made a weak burnout, no tire spin or smoke. He never did get the car fully staged and the engine went silent. Taliaferro made a nice run, right to the #1 spot. Then Bakx' car was pushed away

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Left Lane: Robin Samsel Runs 5.453/258.22, Now #8; Best prior run: 5.490/259.56, Was #9
Right Lane: Randy Meyer Runs 5.453/258.02, Now #7; Best prior run: 5.447/255.63, Was #7

Two very nice-looking runs, with identical ETs and almost identical speeds.

Robin Samsel's incremental times: 60ft-0.980 sec., 330ft-2.483, 660ft-3.614/219.86 mph, 1,000ft-4.594.
Randy Meyer's incremental times: 60ft-0.971 sec., 330ft-2.493, 660ft-3.634/219.97 mph, 1,000ft-4.600.

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Left Lane: Bill Reichert Runs 5.421/258.81, Now #5; Best prior run: 5.433/265.27, Was #5
Right Lane: Marty Thacker Runs 5.422/262.28, Now #6; Best prior run: 5.444/264.29, Was #6

Again, amost identical results, Reichert a thousandth quicker, Thacker over 3 mph faster.

Bill Reichert's incremental times: 60ft-0.961 sec., 330ft-2.455, 660ft-3.590/219.94 mph, 1,000ft-4.566.
Marty Thacker's incremental times: 60ft-0.935 sec., 330ft-2.404, 660ft-3.565/213.20 mph, 1,000ft-4.567.

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Right Lane: Gord Gingles Runs 5.526/266.79, Now #4; Best prior run: 5.369/269.19, Was #4

Gingles made a good-looking run, but lost more than a tenth of a second from his earlier effort. From the incremental times, it appears he lost most of it between 60 and 330 feet.

Gord Gingles' incremental times: 60ft-0.990 sec., 330ft-2.535, 660ft-3.710/216.45 mph, 1,000ft-4.690.

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Left Lane: Jim Whiteley Runs 5.283/272.83, Now #1; Best prior run: 5.329/271.46, Was #2
Right Lane: Alan Bradshaw Runs 5.373/265.06, Now #3; Best prior run: 5.368/258.96, Was #3

Nice side-by-side runs for these two, Whiteley taking over the #1 spot, Bradshaw staying third.

Jim Whiteley's incremental times: 60ft-0.920 sec., 330ft-2.362, 660ft-3.492/219.01 mph, 1,000ft-4.460.
Alan Bradshaw's incremental times: 60ft-0.943 sec., 330ft-2.437, 660ft-3.568/221.31 mph, 1,000ft-4.534.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink