Sat, 3 Nov 2001, 08:52 PM FMDRS 7-6 - Federal-Mogul Dragster Round 1 Eliminations

By Larry Sullivan

LAS VEGAS - Results of round 1 eliminations in Federal-Mogul Dragster at the Division Seven FMDRS Final:

 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
  18 Ed Vickroy          6.544 170.99  Q        Bye
                  0.000 No Data        E1

12:38 PM Vickroy didn't make a run yesterday, so this is his

 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   8 Mike Strasburg      5.608 253.33  Q    9 Brandon Henkelman   5.609 256.16
 *****WINNER***** 0.424  5.521 256.94  E1                  0.484  5.737 251.39

5:08 PM With over 850 cars on the grounds for this event, things are running a bit behind schedule, but we have been steadily sending cars home since about 1:00 p.m. today. Now it's time to cut the sixteen-car fields for Federal-Mogul cars in half.

This first pair qualified in the middle of the field, but at most divisional races you would expect them to meet in a much later round, a very tough field showing up here this weekend. This time it was all Strasburg, sawing the tree down and then bettering his qualifying effort by almost a tenth of a second. Henkelman had problems from the start, his car sluggish off the line and never really picking the pace up until past half track. Strasburg needs to win this race to win the Division 7 title, so he's three rounds away from his goal now.

 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
  11 Karl Brounkowski    5.692 255.92  Q    6 Paul Jones          5.606 255.53
 *****WINNER***** 0.480  5.671 257.04  E1                  0.434  6.148 254.62

Jones chose the right lane, not the usual pattern here. That may have been a mistake, his excellent reaction time more than offset by severe tire spin, the car shaking so hard he had to get completely out of the throttle. By then, Brounkowski was long gone, running a couple hundredths of a second quicker than his qualifying pace.

 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   1 Duane Shields       5.429 262.49  Q   16 Gary Anderson       5.910 245.27
 *****WINNER***** 1.094  7.689 114.92  E1                  0.087  7.199 118.73

Shields made the conventional choice, taking the left lane. Shields showed his driving "smarts" here, Anderson leaving way early and Shields waiting to settle down before launching his car. Then Shields' car began shaking and skating around, getting very close to the centerline, and Shields wisely lifted to avoid crossing the centerline, which would have given the win back to Anderson. He lost lane choice to Strasburg, setting up a very important matchup for the second round.

 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   2 Brian Hough         5.532 257.87  Q   15 Larry Miersch       5.809 239.61
 *****WINNER***** 0.483  5.470 260.76  E1                  0.448  5.787 238.89

Miersch left first, but Hough made that up in the first 60 feet,a nd then made an almost flawless run while Miersch's car was dropping cylinders a nd picking them back up again, the header flames very ragged. The track crew checked the right lane, but it was all clear.

 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   7 Don Hudson          5.608 253.95  Q   10 Steve Federlin      5.624 254.76
 *****WINNER***** 0.425 No Time        E1                  0.394  7.117 124.37

"First or worst." Federlin lit the red bulb, but Hudson got out of the groove, near the wall, and when he tried to correct it the car dove across the groove and straddled the centerline, taking out the half-track timing reflectors. That gave the win to Federlin, who loses lane choice to Hough next round.

 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   3 Darren Nicholson    5.583 253.47  Q   14 Tony Bartone        5.737 240.68
 *****WINNER***** 0.513  5.615 251.91  E1                  0.433  5.760 248.25

Bartone did his job with a great light, but didn't have the ponies this weekend and Nicholson ran him down on the top end for a car length win. Margin of victory = 0.065 seconds (approximately 24 feet). Nicholson's car was trailing a cloud of spray or smoke on the top end, but the track check came up clear. He has lane choice against Brounkowski next round.

 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   4 Brandon Bernstein   5.592 244.87  Q   13 Darryl Hitchman     5.732 228.85
 *****WINNER***** 0.421  5.506 243.19  E1                  0.476  5.770 227.08

Bernstein didn't leave much on the table, sawing the tree down and then pulling away for a surprisingly easy win. The gap was about a tenth of a second at half track, more than three tenths at the finish line. Bernstein picked up almost a tenth over his qualifying run, the car finally running close to its potential.

 Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-Rd-Qua-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed
   5 Dave Hirata         5.601 253.14  Q   12 Kent Nuckols        5.704 249.12
                  0.540  6.011 218.65  E1 *****WINNER***** 0.428  5.665 250.60

Last pair. Hirata was late and then pedaled it, the car appearing to push out a head gasket when he did so. The header flames were very erratic and there were several flashes of flame from the left side of the engine the rest of the way down the track. Meanwhile, Nuckols made a very nice run, starting with a grat light and then driving down the middle of the groove for a surprisingly easy win over a usually tough opponent. Nuckols loses lane choice to Bernstein in round two.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink