Sat, 19 Oct 2019, 16:59 PM Top Alcohol Funny Car Round 1 Eliminations

By Dave Rowe

ENNIS, Texas - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Alcohol Funny Car at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, 34th annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
        Bye                                   5 Doug Gordon                  
E1                                            ****WINNER****  0.082  5.455 269.94
 Qualified:                                                       #1  5.446 269.24

3:40 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 88 degrees, relative humidity 34 percent, barometer 29.11 inches, adjusted altitude 3,414 feet, track temperature 119 degrees.

Gordon was the number one qualifier and gets the bye here. Gordon makes a little move to the right, back to the left, then goes on through with a good pass.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    9 Brian Hough                             3 Annie Whiteley               
E1   ****WINNER****  0.045  5.566 266.48                     0.114  5.513 270.00
 Qualified:            #11  5.665 215.27                        #2  5.455 271.19

Hough gets out of the gate first but Whiteley starts making up ground quickly. She gets closer as they go down the track but runs out of racetrack. hough gets the holeshot win, the 12th of his career.

Brian Hough's incremental margins: 60ft(0.045), 330 ft(0.043), 660ft(0.036), 1,000ft(0.026). MOV: 0.0165 seconds (approximately 7 feet).

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  433 Bryan Brown                             1 Sean Bellemeur               
E1                   0.103 11.623  74.01     ****WINNER****  0.019  5.471 269.56
 Qualified:            #10  5.626 263.26                        #3  5.462 269.40

Bellemeur gets the holeshot and starts to pull away. Brown gets about 200 feet out, makes a little move to the left, then loses traction and has to give up on the run.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  440 Steve Burck                             4 Chris Marshall               
E1                   0.080  7.821 120.80     ****WINNER****  0.083  5.499 266.58
 Qualified:             #9  5.620 265.90                        #4  5.477 267.75

This is the first time Burck and Marshall have faced each other in eliminations.

Burck leaves the line and starts moving to the right. He keeps heading for the centerline, gets about 200 feet out and wisely backs off of the throttle. Marshall goes right down the groove with a good pass to take the win.

Bellemeur will have lane choice over Marshall in the next round.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  552 Kyle Smith                              2 Shane Westerfield            
E1                   0.029 16.447  51.69     ****WINNER****  0.067  5.498 269.24
 Qualified:             #8  5.609 254.86                        #5  5.480 270.05

This is the first time Smith and Westerfield have faced each other in eliminations.

Smith gets out of the gate first but has problems. He makes a hard move to the left, the rear of the car swings around wildly, and he heads for the wall. he quickly gets off the throttle, steers the car back to the right and avoids contact with the wall.

Westerfield goes right down the groove with a good pass to take the win.

Westerfield will have lane choice over Hough in the next round.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 7735 Steve Gasparrelli                       8 Jay Payne                    
E1                   0.072  8.637 103.32     ****WINNER****  0.078  5.577 265.80
 Qualified:             #7  5.599 252.95                        #6  5.488 269.13

Gasparrelli and Payne have each won 11 times against the other in prior events.

A coin flip off the line, Payne gets the early lead. Gasparrelli gets about 300 feet out, strikes the tires and backs off of the throttle. Payne makes a clean, straight pass and pulls away for the win.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink