Friday's Scenes From Charlotte
Friday, April 13, 2012
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Welcome to the opening day of the 3rd annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte. The event is the fifth on the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Weather conditions today and throughout the weekend are expected to be picture-perfect. The Full Throttle teams should be on the track at 1:30 p.m. |
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The new 1/8-scale Traxxas radio-control Funny Cars — featuring all four John Force Racing entries — made their debut at the event in a special display in the pits. The debut also included the DTS-1 timing and scoring system that allows fans to stage their own authentic races. |
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The weekend didn't start out to well for Super Gas racer Joseph Michaels, of Monroe, N.C. His '80 Plymouth Arrow broke the left rear axle on the launch and veered onto the starting-line A-board. He was not hurt.
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Fourth-Nitro Generation race fans Natalie and Lora Collins, of Derby, Kan., added their names to the "fan wall" on the back of Top Fuel racer Hillary Will's trailer. |
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| Teammates Tony Schumacher (left) and Ron Capps (right) were among the many drivers signing autographs. |
Four-wide, Pro Stock-style! |
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A wild first Pro Stock qualifying session yielded some great performances. Jason Line (above) recorded the fastest speed in class history, 213.91 mph (previous best was 213.57 by Erica Enders). Line's e.t. was 6.505, which was bettered in the same foursome by Allen Johnson (left), who ran a 6.504, breaking Line's track record of 6.510, set here last fall.
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Matt Hagan exploded the body off his Funny Car for the third straight year at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, turning his Aaron's Dodge into a convertible with a booming engine explosion on his first qualifying pass. |
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Ron Capps and new crew chief Rahn Tobler made the best run of the first Funny Car session, a 4.105. |
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Four wide is what the fans come to see, and they're seeing plenty of it. (Above) Khalid alBalooshi, near lane, had the best elapsed time of the first Top Fuel qualifying session with a 3.894.
(Left) The final foursome was an impressive one that featured Tony Schumacher, Spencer Massey, Morgan Lucas, and Antron Brown, but no one was able to better alBalooshi's time. |
Eleven years after Bobby DeArmond recorded the first official nine-second Stock pass, Don Fezell became the first driver in the eights when he drove his Daddy Warbucks Cobra Jet Mustang at an 8.95 during Friday's qualifying. Fezell also topped 153 mph on the run. |
John Force and Traxxas' Mike Jenkins met the media to talk about the company's new 1/8-scale Funny Cars. |
[5:30 p.m] Dave Connolly is showing no signs of rust in his return to Pro Stock after having not run since this event last year, placing the Industrial Distribution Group Chevy in the No. 3 spot with a 6.528 best. Jason Line took over the No. 1 spot with a 6.493 and ran 213.43 to back up his earlier 213.91 for the national record. |
[6:30 p.m.] Jack Beckman moved up into the No. 2 spot in Funny Car, driving his special-edition Freightliner Dodge to a 4.113. John Force followed him up the charts, moving to No. 2 with a 4.122. Ron Capps' 4.10 still leads. |
For a short time during the second Funny Car session, we had the Three-Wide Nationals when Lane 3 was temporarily out of commission. Pictured, from top, Robert Hight, Jeff Arend, and Alexis DeJoria. |
In the final quad of Q2, Steve Torrence raced the Capco Contractors dragster to the No. 1 qualifying spot in Top Fuel with a 3.799. The track record is 3.771 held by Tony Schumacher. |