Sun, 14 Nov 1999, 04:10 PM POMONA - Funny Car Round 1 Eliminations

By Larry Sullivan A Few Surprises

POMONA, Calif. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Funny Car at the 35th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals:

  
 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   4 Tony Pedregon       4.955 295.72  Q   13 Tommy Johnson Jr.   5.227 293.79
 *****WINNER***** 0.500  4.981 304.74  E1                  0.498  5.159 282.36

12:24 PM 4.60's were good enough to win in Top Fuel - the track is pretty tricky right now. A tuning challenge, but it will likely be the drivers that can tug the brake, or pedal the best that will win in round one this morning.

The track may be sunny, but Team Castrol walked all over the last paragraph... Tony led at every interval all the way to the finishline.

 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   1 Ron Capps           4.853 307.72  Q   16 Al Hofmann          5.251 288.27
 *****WINNER***** 0.488  4.970 291.89  E1                  0.442  5.045 295.14

Capps raises the ante on Team Castrol - a Titan missle shot down the left lane. Hofmann's last ride in this car (he will drive for Jim Dunn next year) may be the quickest losing time of the round. The cars were moving around at the top end, hazing the tires slightly.

  
 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   2 Jim Epler           4.908 312.93  Q   15 Cory Lee            5.248 295.72
 *****WINNER***** 0.550  5.056 300.00  E1                  0.538  5.209 267.91

Epler passed Cory just pass the 330-foot mark. Wisps of tire smoke started for Cory Lee a little further downtrack, he trailed Epler by over three carlengths at the finish line.

  
 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   3 John Force          4.923 300.46  Q   14 Tim Wilkerson       5.237 262.33
 *****WINNER***** 0.523  5.082 292.27  E1                  0.520  5.295 222.03

Force was open for the taking, Wilkerson was ahead all the way to the eighth. Problem was Wilkerson made a hard move to the left and crossed the centerline just past halftrack.

Remember Hofmann's time?

  
 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   5 Jerry Toliver       5.000 303.64  Q   12 Del Worsham         5.220 252.14
 *****WINNER***** 0.526  5.053 304.87  E1                  0.508  5.242 263.15

Another good drag race, both cars dancing around some at the top end. The excitement started just before the finishline for Worsham, he blew up the motor with a flash of flame and the body burst panel sailing high into the air.

There is stuff in the right hand lane, time for a cleanup. 12:43 PM

  
 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   6 Whit Bazemore       5.032 304.25  Q   11 Scotty Cannon       5.188 294.56
                         6.319 259.86  E1 *****WINNER***** 0.518  5.513 270.81

12:46 PM Scotty Cannon is one of two Funny Car drivers nominated for Rookie of The Year honors, the other is Bob Gillbertson.

Here both cars have terrible 60-times, both over a second. Bazemore proceeded to smoke the tires, then pedaled in vain trying to catch Cannon. Scotty pedaled very quickly at the start, that proved to be the big difference in this race. He will face John Force in round two and Force will have lane choice.

 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   7 Dean Skuza          5.034 292.65  Q   10 Bob Gilbertson      5.178 244.16
 *****WINNER***** 0.525  5.036 302.21  E1                  0.570  5.391 212.29

Skuza pedaled it after the tires started to chatter, then thundered the rest of the way to the finish. All the Winston No Bull money in the world wouldn't have helped Gilbertson at that point. So one No Bull contender is gone, Pro Stocks Darrell Alderman is still in the running.

  
 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   8 Frank Pedregon      5.055 291.70  Q    9 Dale Creasy Jr.     5.071 300.13
                  0.540  7.248 119.04  E1 *****WINNER***** 0.528  5.929 177.02

The winner of this matchup will face Ron Capps in round two. Pedregon went about twenty feet and dropped a cylinder, then slapped a cone with the exhaust header. Creasy may have smoked the tires at the start due to "Salad Bar In Trunk", the latest sign that things are alive and well in the Mad Magazine camp.



Next round Force will race Cannon, Epler versus Skuza and Tony Pedregon will face Toliver. Rember Al Hofmann? 12:58 PM