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Sat, 9 Oct 2004, 12:07 PM

Pro Stock Qualifying Notes, Session #4

By Jim Samuel

MOHNTON, Pa. - Notes from round 4 qualifying in Pro Stock at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, 20th 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:

Left Lane: Kurt Johnson Runs 6.759/203.46, Now #15; Best prior run: 6.780/204.32, Was #20
Right Lane: Ron Krisher Runs 6.742/204.08, Now #10; Best prior run: 6.746/204.73, Was #10

11:30 a.m. - Weather conditions: air temperature 62 degrees, relative humidity 85 percent, barometer 29.57 inches, adjusted altitude 841 feet, track temperature 70 degrees.
This is the fourth of five scheduled Pro Stock qualifying sessions.

Johnson broke a wheelie bar last evening and was not in the field at the end of the third round. Both Johnson and Krisher had clean runs. Krisher stayed where he was in the order and Johnson moved into the 15th spot, bumping Jeg Coughlin. Bob Benza is on the bubble now with a bump time of 6.765 seconds.

Left Lane: Bill Shorts Runs 6.971/197.42, Now #24; Best prior run: 6.981/197.74, Was #24
Right Lane: David Strouse Jr. Runs 6.871/200.20, Now #23; Best prior run: 6.864/199.76, Was #23

Neither driver was in the field when they staged for this session. Both needed career-best ETs to make the field. Neither one got the quickness they needed and will have one more chance to make the field.

Left Lane: Dave Northrop Runs 6.809/201.85, Now #22; Best prior run: 6.804/202.30, Was #22
Right Lane: Fernando Cuadra Runs 6.773/202.00, Now #17; Best prior run: 6.795/201.97, Was #21

Another pair of drivers who were not in the field. Both have run quicker than the bump in their careers. Cuadra came close but missed by a hundredth of a second. Northrup was not as quick as his third session time and did not improve his spot in the order. One of the cars hit the wall in the shut down area, but we can't see which one it was and there was no announcement. Whoever it was, the driver was quick to open his car door and get out.

Left Lane: Jim Yates Runs 6.775/202.88, Now #21; Best prior run: 6.774/202.82, Was #21
Right Lane: Jeg Coughlin Runs 6.719/204.82, Now #7; Best prior run: 6.774/205.32, Was #18

Yates and Coughlin had identical ETs in the third session, but Coughlin was faster. Both needed to beat the bump time of 6.765 seconds to make the field. Coughlin got the pass he needed and more, going from outside the field to the top half of the order for now. Yates was not as quick as yesterday and is still not in the field.

Left Lane: Ben Watson Runs 6.986/164.53, Now #20; Best prior run: 6.774/202.94, Was #20
Right Lane: Bob Benza Runs 6.765/203.68, Now #17; Best prior run: 6.765/203.31, Was #17

Benza just got bumped by Coughlin and needed to beat the 6.759 second bump to get back in. Watson was also outside the field. Both drivers had good-looking laps but neither was quick enough to make the field.

Left Lane: Warren Johnson Runs 6.770/203.86, Now #18; Best prior run: 6.774/203.52, Was #19
Right Lane: Mark Whisnant Runs 6.745/203.95, Now #12; Best prior run: 6.759/204.20, Was #15

When they staged their cars, Johnson was not in the field and Whisnant was sitting in the 15th spot in the order. Johnson moved up one spot in the order but not enough to make the field. Whisnant had his best pass of the weekend so far and moved up three spots in the order.

Left Lane: Bruce Allen Runs 6.744/203.95, Now #13; Best prior run: 6.751/203.92, Was #14
Right Lane: Allen Johnson Runs 6.717/204.08, Now #7; Best prior run: 6.750/203.55, Was #13

Both Allen and Johnson were quicker than their previous three attempts and both moved up in the order with a pair of good passes down the track.

Left Lane: Mark Pawuk Runs 6.758/203.37, Now #15; Best prior run: 6.751/203.61, Was #15
Right Lane: Rickie Smith Runs 6.745/204.23, Now #11; Best prior run: 6.741/204.01, Was #11

Both drivers had good runs -- Pawuk with just a little sideways action at 100 feet -- but neither moved up in the order. Both are in the field for now.

Left Lane: Steve Johns Runs 7.314/142.16, Now #6; Best prior run: 6.716/205.04, Was #6
Right Lane: Greg Anderson Runs 6.693/205.57, Now #1; Best prior run: 6.715/204.70, Was #5

Anderson went right down the middle of the lane to take over the top spot in the order and set a new track record. Ken Koretsky has been quickest all weekend and he has yet to run in this session, so we'll see if Anderson's ET holds up. Johns' pass looked good for the first 100 feet then started to fall off the pace.

Left Lane: Dave Connolly Runs 6.739/204.42, Now #10; Best prior run: 6.731/204.76, Was #10
Right Lane: Jason Line Runs 6.695/205.54, Now #2; Best prior run: 6.714/204.60, Was #5

Whatever Anderson did to his car, Line must have done too because he just had a strong run to move into the second position in the qualifying order, just two-thousandths of a second behind his boss. Connolly's run looked okay but was not as quick as he was yesterday.

Left Lane: V. Gaines Runs 6.710/204.82, Now #5; Best prior run: 6.730/204.42, Was #9
Right Lane: Larry Morgan Runs 6.714/204.82, Now #6; Best prior run: 6.710/204.60, Was #5

Gaines had his quickest run of the weekend and moved up four spots in the order, jumping over Morgan.

Left Lane: Mike Edwards Runs 6.708/204.42, Now #4; Best prior run: 6.707/204.70, Was #4
Right Lane: Kenny Koretsky Runs 6.714/205.10, Now #3; Best prior run: 6.697/205.16, Was #3

Both drivers made good-looking laps but neither beat his best time from the third session. At the end of four sessions, Greg Anderson is at the top of the order with an ET of 6.693 seconds and Kurt Johnson is on the bubble with a bump time of 6.759 seconds.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink