Sat, Oct 31, 01:38 AM BAYTOWN - Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Session # 2

By Michael L. Jex Big Speed, Career Numbers for the Cruzer

BAYTOWN, Texas - Notes from round 2 qualifying in Funny Car at the 2nd Annual Matco Tools Supernationals, 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):

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Left Lane: Del Worsham Runs 12.340/ 77.99 Now #18, (Best prior run: 10.055/ 86.28 Was #18)
Right Lane: Tim Wilkerson Runs 5.286/221.83 Now # 6, (Best prior run: 5.259/222.00 Was # 6)

6:32 PM Wilkerson's fire in round one wasn't too bad, the crew did not even have to change out all the wiring and plumbing on the car to get ready for round two of qualifying. Wilkerson lifted at the top end, the header flames went out before the 800-foot mark.

The gray stuff in the air in Worsham's lane wasn't mist, it was Goodyear tire smoke.

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Left Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 4.807/319.60 Now # 1, (Best prior run: 6.443/148.83 Was #14)
Right Lane: Chuck Etchells Runs 6.513/138.95 Now #11, (Best prior run: 5.690/173.04 Was #10)

The GMC tent here at Houston has a couple of trucks sporting a green with flames paint job similar to the Interstate Batteries Funny Car. They are complete with Cruz's signature on the front fenders.

Cruz's funny car lurched each time the timers locked up the clutch tighter, the awesome torque being applied to the track clearly visible. He just misses being the second person to run in the 4.70's with a Funny Car.

Etchells had something go away in the clutch department, he left a shower of sparks at the 800-foot mark.

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Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 10.466/ 81.70 Now # 3, (Best prior run: 4.944/299.90 Was # 3)
Right Lane: Gary Densham Runs 5.545/193.63 Now # 5, (Best prior run: 5.104/301.40 Was # 5)

Densham did a three blips of the throttle burnout, making the windows rattle each time he blipped the throttle.

Capps shook the tires and aborted the run early. The flames went out on Densham's AAA Funny Car before the 800-foot mark, we couldn't see why from here.

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Left Lane: Randy Anderson Runs 4.848/318.92 Now # 2, (No prior time)
Right Lane: Tom Hoover Runs 10.638/ 81.10 Now #10, (Best prior run: 5.411/202.24 Was # 9)

Randy runs career bests in both ET and miles per hour with that run.

There wasn't even a flicker in the header flames all the way down the racetrack.

Hoover lost traction coming off the concrete pads in his Avenger.

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Left Lane: Frank Pedregon Runs 11.606/ 82.17 Now #15, (Best prior run: 6.205/144.02 Was #15)
Right Lane: Dean Skuza Runs 9.410/ 89.95 Now #19, (Best prior run: 10.318/ 79.48 Was #20)

Both drivers shook and rattled right off the starting line, then lifted at almost the same instant.

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Left Lane: John Force Runs 4.876/313.15 Now # 3, (Best prior run: 5.041/302.82 Was # 5)
Right Lane: Al Hofmann Runs 6.128/167.50 Now #15, (Best prior run: 10.525/ 81.82 Was #21)

Qualifying or not, it's always a great matchup when these two future hall of fame drivers line up against each other at the starting line.

Hofmann wins the burnout contest by a large margin, the fans shouting their approval. Force had a few sparks pop out the header pipes out the top end of the track, perhaps the reason the run didn't match up to Cruz's career best numbers earlier tonight. Hofmann lost traction in the middle of the track.

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Left Lane: Jim Epler Runs 5.423/202.61 Now #13, (Best prior run: 9.188/ 98.69 Was #19)
Right Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 4.875/311.31 Now # 3, (Best prior run: 8.489/ 98.86 Was #18)

Tony runs one thousandth of a second quicker than the Boss, the header flames looming large all the way to the finish line.

Jim gets the Easy Care Funny Car back into the program, but he got off the throttle just past half track.

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Left Lane: Whit Bazemore Runs 12.029/ 76.60 Now # 5, (Best prior run: 4.908/313.04 Was # 5)
Right Lane: Vicky Fanning No Time Now #19, (Best prior run: 8.396/ 93.46 Was #19)

Whit staged first, and sat there for a long time waiting for Vicky to stage. Starter Rick Stewart finally throws the redlight, but it was too late for the clutch and other components in the Winston Funny Car to work properly, and instant tire smoke was the result.

Bazemore was waiting for Vicky at the top end of the track, I'm sure a conference about what happened will ensue shortly....

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Right Lane: Glenn Mikres Runs 5.171/292.30 Now # 8, (Best prior run: 5.847/192.92 Was #15)

Mikres moved left and right several times, but got into the top half of the field.

The crowd is still buzzing about the 4.807 319.60 run Cruz Pedregon had earlier, the bump spot is held by Ronny Young's Green machine.

7:06 PM