Thu, 8 Nov 2001, 06:58 PM POMONA 3 - Top Fuel Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Rick Green

POMONA, Calif. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Top Fuel at the 37th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

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Left Lane: Wyatt Radke Runs 8.346/93.21, Now #2
Right Lane: Arley Langlo Runs 6.959/117.91, Now #1

Radke lost traction right off the starting line and Langlo had puff of tire smoke around the 330-foot mark.

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Left Lane: Mark Kinsella Runs 5.257/208.68, Now #1
Right Lane: Don Garlits Runs 10.228/71.85, Now #4

Garlits in a red, white, and blue dragster with Matco sponsorship was reported in the USA Today yesterday as the number one driver in the NHRA Top 50 driver's list. He and Force were guest at special breakfast for the media this morning. Garlits dropped a bunch of cylinders right off the starting line. Kinsella dropped some cylinders on the top end.

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Left Lane: Don Lampus Runs 4.654/316.82, Now #1
Right Lane: Clay Millican Runs 4.695/309.91, Now #2

Lampus with a great looking pass and his fastest of the year. Millican right there with him.

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Right Lane: Robert Reehl Runs 4.786/302.01, Now #3

Reehl with a good looking pass here.

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Left Lane: Joe Hartley Runs 10.945/81.89, Now #8
Right Lane: Chris Karamesines Runs 11.777/86.12, Now #9

Karamesines was up in smoke as soon as he hit the throttle. Hartley blistered the hides about 100 feet off the starting line.

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Right Lane: Tim Gibson Runs 4.707/297.88, Now #3

Gibson dropped a cylinder or two on the top end.

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Left Lane: Andrew Cowin Runs 4.622/319.60, Now #1
Right Lane: Rhonda Hartman-Smith Runs 4.842/290.76, Now #6

Cowin with a great looking pass to jump to the top of the pack. Hartman-Smith labored off the starting line before she got it to hook.

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Left Lane: Tony Schumacher Runs 4.598/323.12, Now #1
Right Lane: Doug Herbert Runs 4.612/317.42, Now #2

This is good side-by-side drag race with the Schumacher jumping to the top here. Herbert was right there with him.

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Left Lane: Darrell Russell Runs 4.722/305.84, Now #8
Right Lane: Mike Dunn Runs 4.624/318.32, Now #4

Russell was dropping cylinders on the top end.

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Left Lane: Gary Scelzi Runs 4.592/320.97, Now #2
Right Lane: Doug Kalitta Runs 4.559/321.81, Now #1

Here we go with three and four in points and this was a good looking drag race. Kalitta was the quickest and fastest to half track and held on to take the number one spot for now.

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Left Lane: Larry Dixon Runs 4.575/317.05, Now #3
Right Lane: Kenny Bernstein Runs 4.528/324.59, Now #1

Here go number one and two and Bernstein used up an engine on the top end, but took the number one spot. Bernstein with the quickest 60-foot time of the session. Dixon was slower to every incremental.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink