Sun, 10 Mar 2024, 16:57 PM Top Alcohol Dragster Final, Round 4 Eliminations

By Dave Rowe

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Results of final, round 4 eliminations in Top Alcohol Dragster 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
  212 Joe Maynard                           176 Jeff Veale                   
E4   ****WINNER****  0.075  5.275 272.67                     0.078  5.311 281.07
 Prior rounds:
E3    (J Fricke    ) 0.365  5.209 274.44      (J Nataas    ) 0.085  5.302 274.11
E2    (A Sampey    ) 0.051  5.310 271.52      (K Stalba    ) 0.039  5.459 270.43
E1    (D Dietrich  ) 0.065  5.237 272.23      (M Cummings  ) 0.028  5.497 269.24
 Qualified:             #2  5.226 274.11                       #16  5.477 271.08

4:51 p.m. Weather conditions: air temperature 71 degrees, relative humidity 49 percent, barometer 29.98 inches, adjusted altitude 1,222 feet, track temperature 101 degrees.

The #16 TAD qualifier has never won a national event. #16 has been to the final round 4 times (including G'ville in 2019) but never won. This is the 2nd consecutive year that a TAD driver has made the final round here in his first national event (C. Krohn last year). A coin flip off of the line, Maynard pulls in front by the time they reach the 60 foot mark. Maynard extends his lead to half track, then Veale starts making up ground. Veale continues to reel in maynard but runs out of race track.

Joe Maynard's incremental margins: 60ft(0.005), 330 ft(0.031), 660ft(0.056), 1,000ft(0.055). MOV: 0.0396 seconds (approximately 16 feet).

Maynard becomes the seventh TAD driver to win in his first national event.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink

E-mail rick@fastnews.net for information about supporting these reports.