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Sat, 2 Oct 2004, 07:05 PM

Funny Car Qualifying Notes, Final Session

By Rick Green

JOLIET, Ill. - Notes from final, round 3 qualifying in Funny Car at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Fourth annual CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals 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:

Left Lane: Vinny Arcadi Runs 5.013/290.13, Now #16; Best prior run: 8.911/95.66, Was #24
Right Lane: John Lawson Runs 5.075/292.84, Now #19; Best prior run: 6.699/130.28, Was #23

Lawson got to about half track and lost traction and pedaled it one time, but it was not enough to get in the show. Arcadi with a good looking pass until around 1200 feet and that is when the engine went away, but he still gets in the show. This is his first oil down of the season and it is a freebie.

Left Lane: Jeff Arend Runs 4.854/320.36, Now #9; Best prior run: 6.043/142.93, Was #24
Right Lane: Tim Wilkerson Runs 4.876/318.62, Now #11; Best prior run: 5.747/198.64, Was #23

Arend launched hard and keep the Goodyears stuck all the way down the 1320 to get in the show and that bumped out Arcadi. Wilkerson with a good pass to get in the show and that will bump out Gilbertson.

Left Lane: Dale Creasy Jr. Runs 8.188/102.74, Now #24; Best prior run: 5.495/191.78, Was #24
Right Lane: Jerry Toliver Runs 4.832/317.27, Now #8; Best prior run: 5.233/217.53, Was #23

Creasy Jr. lost traction by the 330-foot mark. Toliver with a great looking pass to get into the top half of the field, and that will bump out Bode and put Bazemore on the bubble.

Right Lane: Johnny Gray Runs 4.850/317.34, Now #10; Best prior run: 5.045/305.63, Was #21

Gray with great looking pass straight down Broadway to get in the show and that will bump out his teammate Bazemore and put Head on the bubble with a 4.909 seconds.

Left Lane: Terry Haddock Runs 13.068/66.35, Now #21; Best prior run: 5.024/303.30, Was #21
Right Lane: Bob Bode Runs 4.844/308.50, Now #10; Best prior run: 4.965/288.27, Was #18

Haddock lost traction right off the starting line and clicked it off. Bode launched hard and then used up an engine, but got into the show. That will bump out Head and put Bartone on the bubble. This is second oil down of this event for Bode so it will cost him $2000.

Left Lane: Bob Gilbertson Runs 4.830/316.82, Now #8; Best prior run: 4.998/301.74, Was #19
Right Lane: Jim Head Runs 11.324/73.36, Now #18; Best prior run: 4.909/310.48, Was #17

The quickest field ever in Funny Car had a 4.873-second bump and we are three cars away from beating that mark.

Head was up in smoke as soon as he hit the throttle and that was the end of his weekend. Gilbertson with a great looking pass straight down the groove to get into the top half of the show. That will bump out Bartone and put Capps on the bubble and now we are two cars away from the quickest field ever in Funny Car.

Left Lane: Whit Bazemore Runs 4.847/314.31, Now #12; Best prior run: 4.913/261.72, Was #19
Right Lane: Tony Bartone Runs 4.862/317.64, Now #16; Best prior run: 4.907/315.56, Was #17

Bazemore was moving all over his lane, but stayed with it to get into the show. That will bump out Capps. Bartone with a nice looking pass to get into the show on the bubble and that bumped out Wilkerson and we now have the quickest field in Funny Car.

Left Lane: Ron Capps Runs 4.947/263.31, Now #18; Best prior run: 4.895/316.38, Was #18
Right Lane: Tommy Johnson Jr. Runs 5.361/192.11, Now #15; Best prior run: 4.858/318.92, Was #15

Johnson Jr. strikes the tires around half track and clicks it off. Capps starts using up an engine around 800 feet with a quick fireball and he will not get in the show.

Left Lane: Tony Pedregon Runs 4.828/309.70, Now #8; Best prior run: 4.837/313.07, Was #10
Right Lane: Gary Densham Runs 4.769/326.32, Now #3; Best prior run: 4.803/320.81, Was #6

Pedregon with a nice pass to get into the top half of the show. Densham with a great looking pass to move up the ladder. Gary Densham's incremental times: 60ft-0.890 sec., 330ft-2.297, 660ft-3.278/260.11mph, 1,000ft-4.084

Left Lane: Gary Scelzi Runs 11.427/79.10, Now #7; Best prior run: 4.827/324.59, Was #7
Right Lane: Phil Burkart Runs 4.858/266.16, Now #5; Best prior run: 4.789/323.43, Was #5

Scelzi smoked the tires by 300 feet and clicked it off. Burkart was on a good looking pass until 1100 feet when the engine went away with a quick fireball.

Left Lane: Eric Medlen Runs 4.763/325.30, Now #3; Best prior run: 4.798/322.27, Was #6
Right Lane: John Force Runs 4.697/332.75, Now #1; Best prior run: 4.750/325.53, Was #2

Force launched hard and keep it hitting on all eight and the Goodyears stuck all the way down the 1320. Force with the quickest pass in the history of NHRA Funny Car, and he will now need a 4.744 second pass to back up the record. Force with the second fastest pass in Funny Car and he will need 329.42 mph pass to back this up for the mph record. John Force's incremental times: 60ft-0.881 sec., 330ft-2.269, 660ft-3.231/264.86mph, 1,000ft-4.023

Medlen looked like he was standing still next to Force, but he had a great pass and that was a career best mph. Apparently he hurt something on the top end because there is oil in his lane, but that is a freebie.

Left Lane: Cruz Pedregon Runs 4.766/325.30, Now #4; Best prior run: 4.788/322.50, Was #5
Right Lane: Del Worsham Runs 4.829/312.64, Now #2; Best prior run: 4.730/328.54, Was #2

Another good drag race to finish the session with Cruz picking up and moving up the ladder one spot. Worsham with another good pass, but will stay number two.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink