Fri, 19 Sep 2014, 18:49 PM Top Alcohol Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #2

By Dave Rowe

ENNIS, Texas - Notes from round 2 qualifying in Top Alcohol Funny Car at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, 29th annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals 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: Bryan Brown No Time, Now #21; Best prior run: 15.041/72.93, Was #21
Right Lane: Clint Thompson Runs 5.928/224.81, Now #12; Best prior run: 11.116/95.17, Was #20

5:11 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 87 degrees, relative humidity 55 percent, barometer 29.31 inches, adjusted altitude 3,452 feet, track temperature 109 degrees.

Thompson rattled the tires hard off the line, pedaled once and got the tires to settle down. He gets about 1100 feet out and backs off the throttle. Brown shut off after his burnout, not sure why.

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Left Lane: Doug Gordon No Time, Now #16; Best prior run: 6.077/183.12, Was #15
Right Lane: Nick Januik Runs 5.859/255.43, Now #12; Best prior run: 10.195/87.15, Was #20

Gordon has problems after the burnout, starts leaking fluid and has to shut down. Januik shakes the tires at the hit and makes a move to the right. He pedals once, gets it back in the groove and salvages the run. He improves and moves up to the 12th spot.

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Left Lane: Steve Gasparrelli Runs 5.647/257.53, Now #3; Best prior run: 5.986/254.33, Was #15
Right Lane: Jay Payne Runs 5.749/255.29, Now #11; Best prior run: 8.688/98.77, Was #20

A good side-by-side, both right down the groove. Gasparrelli moves all the way to the third spot, Payne moves up to the 11th spot for now.

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Left Lane: Sean Bellemeur Runs 5.654/255.15, Now #4; Best prior run: 5.761/252.14, Was #12
Right Lane: Greg Hunter Runs 5.947/250.74, Now #16; Best prior run: 8.635/111.28, Was #20

Hunter lost traction early, pedaled once, then got the slicks to bite. He improves from his earlier attempt and gets in on the bump for now. Bellemeur makes a clean pass and moves up to the fourth spot for now.

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Left Lane: Kris Hool Runs 7.590/119.43, Now #11; Best prior run: 5.727/254.47, Was #11
Right Lane: Lance Van Hauen Runs 5.775/247.84, Now #13; Best prior run: 7.552/172.54, Was #20

Hool comes off the line and starts moving to the left. He gets out of the groove, makes a quick move toward the wall, then backs off the throttle and steers it back to the groove. Van Hauen makes a decent pass and gets in the show in the 13th spot for now.

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Left Lane: Tony Bartone Runs 11.646/121.29, Now #10; Best prior run: 5.723/254.95, Was #10
Right Lane: Nancy Matter Runs 22.180/33.62, Now #18; Best prior run: 5.974/229.90, Was #18

Matter goes up in smoke at the hit and backs off the throttle quickly. Bartone rattles the tires, gets about 60 feet out and gives up on the run.

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Left Lane: Terry Ruckman Runs 5.713/253.09, Now #8; Best prior run: 5.706/252.52, Was #8
Right Lane: Mark Billington Runs 5.815/248.07, Now #14; Best prior run: 5.817/247.47, Was #14

Billington has another good run, almost identical to his first attempt. Ruckman makes a clean pass but doesn't improve.

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Left Lane: Dale Brand Runs 5.760/256.16, Now #5; Best prior run: 5.668/259.61, Was #5
Right Lane: Shane Westerfield Runs 5.683/254.18, Now #8; Best prior run: 5.709/254.71, Was #9

Westerfield starts drifting to the left, gets very close to the centerline around half track, but never backs off the throttle and steers it back in the groove. He improves and moves up a spot in the order. Brand was moving around early in the run but was able to keep the car under control. He slows from his earlier attempt and stays in the fifth spot.

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Left Lane: Steve Harker Runs 5.611/260.11, Now #2; Best prior run: 5.584/261.02, Was #2
Right Lane: Brian Hough Runs 5.638/254.71, Now #3; Best prior run: 5.670/255.53, Was #6

A good side-by-side, both right down the groove. Hough improves from his first attempt and moves up to the third spot. Harker slows a little and stays in the second spot.

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Right Lane: John Lombardo Jr. Runs 5.535/261.88, Now #1; Best prior run: 5.576/260.71, Was #1

Lombardo drifted to the left, then back to the right, then settles down in the middle of the lane. He stays on the throttle all the way through the run and makes the quickest pass of the weekend so far.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink