Fri, 25 Sep 2015, 17:10 PM Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Dave Rowe

MADISON, Ill. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Funny Car at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, Fourth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Left Lane: Dale Creasy Jr. Runs 4.992/143.34, Now #1

3:30 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 88 degrees, relative humidity 34 percent, barometer 29.61 inches, adjusted altitude 2,857 feet, track temperature 115 degrees.

Creasy leaves the line and starts to move around. He loses a cylinder or two on the right side of the engine and drifts to the right. About 400 feet out the chutes come out, then gets to the 500 foot mark and bangs the blower.

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Left Lane: John Bojec No Time, Now #3
Right Lane: Brian Stewart Runs 7.251/93.42, Now #2

Bojec hits the throttle on his burnout and the engine revs too high. He comes to a stop and has an oil leak. He clicks it off and gets out of the car and over the wall. Stewart rattles the tires at the hit and has to pedal. He makes a move toward the wall and has to give up on the run.

This is Bojec's second oil down this year and it will cost him $2000.

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Left Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 4.184/290.44, Now #2
Right Lane: Chad Head Runs 4.154/294.88, Now #1

Pedregon was drifting to the left all the way through the run but never had to back off the throttle. Head made a clean pass to take the early pole.

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Left Lane: John Hale Runs 6.275/107.07, Now #5
Right Lane: Courtney Force Runs 4.058/307.37, Now #1

Hale gets about 300 feet out, strikes the tires and has to give up on the run. Force goes right down the groove with a clean pass to take the top spot for now.

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Left Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 4.150/302.41, Now #2
Right Lane: Tim Wilkerson Runs 4.337/227.08, Now #5

Pedregon makes a clean pass and gets in the second pass for now. Wilkerson was on a decent pass but strikes the tires about 500 feet out and has to back off the throttle.

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Left Lane: Robert Hight Runs 4.148/251.58, Now #3
Right Lane: Alexis DeJoria Runs 4.073/305.91, Now #2

DeJoria makes a c;ean pass to get in the second spot for now. Hight was on a decent pass, out in front of DeJoria to the 660 foot mark, then he hazes the tires and backs off the throttle early.

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Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 4.047/308.50, Now #1
Right Lane: John Force Runs 4.071/314.53, Now #3

A good side-by-side, both right down the groove. Capps moves into the top spot, Force to third.

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Left Lane: Matt Hagan Runs 4.116/313.51, Now #6
Right Lane: Jack Beckman Runs 4.053/313.73, Now #2

Beckman goes right down the groove with a decent pass and moves into the second spot for now. Hagan makes a clean pass but was falling behind all the way through the run.

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Left Lane: Tommy Johnson Jr. Runs 4.218/239.10, Now #12
Right Lane: Del Worsham Runs 4.033/313.95, Now #1

Johnson was on a decent pass but has issues near the end of the run and the car noses over early. Worsham goes right down the groove with the quickest pass of the round to take the top spot to end this session.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink