Sun, 10 Mar 2024, 11:33 AM Funny Car Round 1 Eliminations |
By Dave Rowe |
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Funny Car at the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, 55th annual NHRA Gatornationals:
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 121 Terry Haddock 5 Chad Green E1 0.129 9.894 85.50 ****WINNER**** 0.068 4.018 325.37 Qualified: #12 3.989 315.86 #5 3.887 329.2610:55 a.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 61 degrees, relative humidity 72 percent, barometer 30.01 inches, adjusted altitude 603 feet, track temperature 82 degrees.
Green is 2 - 1 against Haddock in prior events.
This is the 20th time (in 48 starts) that Chad Green has been in the top half of the field. Terry Haddock beat Green in Rd. 1 at Charlotte-2 last year.
Green hits the throttle and starts pulling away.
Haddock leaves the line, goes up in smoke and gives up on the run quickly. Green goes down the groove with a
clean pass to take the win.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 116 Paul Lee 771 Alexis DeJoria E1 0.095 7.681 89.54 ****WINNER**** 0.094 3.955 327.19 Qualified: #10 3.940 324.67 #7 3.900 327.74Alexis DeJoria is 106 - 104 in Rd. 1 in her career. Paul Lee is 2 - 6 against DeJoria in Rd. 1.
DeJoria is 6 - 2 against Lee in prior events.
Lee hits the throttle, starts shaking the tires, then gives up on the
run about sixty feet out. DeJoria goes down the roove with a clean, straight pass to take the win.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 10 Buddy Hull 3 Bob Tasca III E1 0.071 5.068 185.03 ****WINNER**** 0.089 4.450 290.01 Qualified: #15 4.116 304.87 #2 3.829 337.75Bob Tasca was 17 - 4 in Rd. 1 last year.
Buddy Hull is making his 1st start in the FC class. The #15 FC qualifier at this race has only won twice in Rd. 1 in the last 15 years.
Tasca is a little behind off of the line, goes into tire shake about 10 feet out and has to pedal. Hull gets a little further, rattles the tires and has to pedal. Tasca recovers quickly and stays on the throttle for the rest of the run. Hull can't get the tires to settle down and finally gives up on the run about 600 feet out.
DeJoria will have lane choice over
Tasca in the next round.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 703 Jim Campbell 4 Ron Capps E1 0.123 5.559 128.63 ****WINNER**** 0.092 3.870 332.18 Qualified: #14 4.090 294.24 #3 3.871 333.00Ron Capps is 17 - 0 against Jim Campbell. That is the most wins for 1 driver against another without a loss in the FC class. Jim Campbell is making his 129th start.
Capps gets out of the gate first and starts pulling away. Campbell gets about 300 feet out, strikes the tires and has to give up on the run. Capps goes on through with the quickest pass of the round so far and his quickest of the weekend to take the win.
Ron
Capps' incremental times: 60ft-0.876 sec., 330ft-2.232, 660ft-3.139/286.50 mph.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 241 John Smith 374 Austin Prock E1 0.126 7.831 96.30 ****WINNER**** 0.057 4.357 293.92 Qualified: #16 4.312 257.48 #1 3.820 334.65The #1 FC qualifier has won this race 14 times. The last time the #16 FC qualifier won a round at this event was 2014 (John Force).
This is Prock's first race in a Funny Car.
Prock leaves the line first and
starts shaking the tires. He has to pedal a couple of times, gets the slicks to bite, but had a couple of
cylinders out for the rest of the run. Smith lost a cylinder at the hit, the car made a move to the left, then
he backed off of the throttle and watched Prock limp down the track for the win.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 348 Daniel Wilkerson 14 Matt Hagan E1 0.055 3.927 317.12 ****WINNER**** 0.105 3.869 329.58 Qualified: #13 4.048 307.37 #4 3.883 331.20Matt Hagan was 17 -4 in Rd. 1 last year. (He beat Tim Wilkerson in Rd. 1 here last year). Daniel Wilkerson is making his 15th start. He is 0 - 2 against Hagan.
Wilkerson gets the advantage off of the line and goes down the groove with the quickest pass of his career. Hagan started reeling him in and gets around him a little past the 660 foot mark to take the win with his quickest pass of the weekend.
Daniel Wilkerson's incremental times: 60ft-0.879 sec., 330ft-2.249, 660ft-3.169/279.73 mph.
Matt Hagan's incremental times: 60ft-0.869 sec., 330ft-2.237, 660ft-3.135/288.46 mph.
Matt Hagan's incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.040), 330 ft(-0.038), 660ft(-0.016). MOV: 0.0086 seconds (approximately 4 feet).
Hagan
will have lane choice over Green in the next round.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed 256 Blake Alexander 8 J.R. Todd E1 0.132 9.123 85.37 ****WINNER**** 0.048 4.203 221.92 Qualified: #11 3.977 317.94 #6 3.897 324.90J.R. Todd wins 66% of his Rd. 1 races when he has lane choice. Blake Alexander is 1 - 9 against Todd in Rd. 1 races.
Alexander gets about sixty feet out and strikes the tires. Todd gets about 600 feet out, hazes the tires and has to back off of the throttle.
Capps will have lane choice over Todd in the next
round.
Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
7 John Force 71 Cruz Pedregon
E1 ****WINNER**** 0.067 4.260 225.18 0.082 4.340 213.10
Qualified: #9 3.920 324.67 #8 3.912 329.58
Cruz Pedregon wins 74% of his Rd. 1 races when starting from the top half of the field. The last time the
#8 FC qualifier won this race was 2005 (W. Bazemore). John Force is 23 - 14 against Pedregon in Rd.1 here and is 82 - 40 against Pedregon in prior events.
Force gets off of the line first and starts pulling away. They both get about 600 feet out and strike the tires. Force gets back on the throttle for a second, Pedregon doesn't, then Force pulls away and takes the win.
John Force's incremental margins: 60ft(0.010), 330 ft(0.019), 660ft(0.019). MOV: 0.0952 seconds (approximately 30 feet).
Force will have lane choice over
Prock in the next round.
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