Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals NHRA Winston DragRacing
Sunday

Elimination Round 1 Results
Elimination Round 2 Results
Elimination Round 3 Results
Final Round Results

Top Fuel Dragster

Results for Elimination Round 1 
CHANDLER, Ariz. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top
Fuel at the 17th annual Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals presented by Pennzoil:

 W/L  Driver                                       RT        ET   Speed

 (W) Doug Kalitta (MAC Tools Dragster)           0.469      4.609 313.66
 (L) David Grubnic (Montana Express Dragster)    0.527      7.498  92.75

11:01 AM  After the usual pomp and circumstance, including a live marching
band from the Salvation Army and a moment of silence for the late Dave Schultz, the
first pair of cars rolled through the water and took center stage.  Kalitta almost
didn't make this round, the team finding problems and changing the engine at the
last minute this morning.  But when the green came on, the Mac Tools car left hard
and streaked away, while Grubnic was struggling, losing traction before the
330-foot marker.
 (W) Darrell Russell (Valvoline/Keystone Dragster0.475      4.658 309.34
 (L) Andrew Cowin (K&N Autometer Dragster)       0.506      4.774 306.40

This was a good drag race, but Cowin's car dropped a cylinder almost
immediately and Russell's bracket-racer laid down yet another mid-4.60s pass for
his fifth win light in a row.
 (W) Tony Schumacher (US Army Dragster)          0.526      4.628 315.49
 (L) Robert Reehl (Hi Torque Starters Dragster)  0.534      4.994 238.47

Schumacher led this one wire to wire, Reehl's car slower off the mark and
losing ground at each incremental timer.  The win light is Schumacher's first of
the season after an uncharacteristic first-round loss at Pomona.
 (W) Doug Herbert (Snap-On Tools Dragster)       0.538      4.955 287.72
 (L) Paul Romine (CARQUEST Auto Parts Dragster)  0.561      5.815 154.76

On form, Herbert was a big favorite against his IHRA-legal teammate and
Romine made a race of it for 660 feet, but then both cars started eating parts,
Romine's with a dead engine by 1,000 feet and Herbert's with several dead cylinders
(and a few missing parts).
 (W) Mike Dunn (NY Yankees Dragster)             0.505      9.332  87.79
     was unopposed

Last night Dunn predicted a 4.52 to 4.55 for this pass and his launch wasn't
overly aggressive for this car, a 0.845 60-foot time pretty average for Dunn's
Yankee dragster.  But the rear tires started black-tracking and then lost traction
completely about 150 feet out.  Dunn loses lane choice against Russell next
round.
 (W) Larry Dixon (Miller Lite Dragster)          0.493      5.407 286.07
 (L) Bobby Baldwin (Baldwin Racing Dragster)     0.695      6.516 130.54

Dixon's crew chief Dick LaHaie hardly ever beats himself, but it took lots of
luck and Dixon's driving skills to get the "big W" on this one.  Baldwin was very
late at the start, but then Dixon began smoking the hides about 200 feet out and
was there for the picking.  Baldwin closed the gap, but then his car nosed over,
the engine dead, possibly a broken blower belt, while Dixon did a great job of
recovering from a complete loss of traction to hook the tires back up and complete
the run.  He wins by a big margin, but loses lane choice to Kalitta in round
two.
 (W) Gary Scelzi (Team Winston Dragster)         0.503      4.640 313.51
 (L) Rhonda Hartman-Smith (Fram Filters Dragster)0.505      5.177 202.12

Hartman-Smith left right with Scelzi and made a race of it to 330 feet, but
then "the Big Red Machine" started pulling away.  Hartman-Smith's car was trailing
smoke from 330 feet on and appeared to lose the blower belt near the 1,000-foot
marker, leaving a trail of oil in the right lane.  Scelzi meets Schumacher in round
two, "Shoe" with lane choice.
 (W) Kenny Bernstein (Budweiser King Dragster)   0.510      4.651 313.15
 (L) Tim Gibson (BME Dragster)                   0.474      7.120 109.56

Gibson had a good light, but then it was all Bud King, Bernstein running his
third mid-sixty of the weekend while Gibson was up in smoke at 200 feet.  Bernstein
will have lane choice against Herbert in round two.


















Top Fuel Dragster



Results for Elimination Round 2





CHANDLER, Ariz. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 2 eliminations in Top
Fuel at the 17th annual Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals presented by Pennzoil:

 W/L  Driver                                       RT        ET   Speed

 (W) Darrell Russell (Valvoline/Keystone Dragster0.530      4.634 311.85
 (L) Mike Dunn (NY Yankees Dragster)             0.502      6.070 530.00

1:08 PM  Russell put Dunn in the left lane and the strategy worked, Dunn up
in smoke after 100 feet or so while Russell was running his best lap of the
weekend.  Dunn pedaled, trying to regain traction, only to go up in smoke once
again, a couple times.
 (W) Kenny Bernstein (Budweiser King Dragster)   0.493      4.647 309.84
 (L) Doug Herbert (Snap-On Tools Dragster)       0.486      7.337 112.67

Bernstein opted for the left lane, where he won in the first round.  Hoping
to repeat his first-ever win in Top Fuel, which came ten years ago, also here at
Firebird, Bernstein virtually duplicated his first-round run while Herbert went up
in smoke early in the run.
 (W) Tony Schumacher (US Army Dragster)          0.524      4.620 314.31
 (L) Gary Scelzi (Team Winston Dragster)         0.503      4.656 313.66

Scelzi came into this round with an 11-4 edge over Schumacher, having won in
their last five meetings, but today it was Schumacher's turn in a very good drag
race.  Scelzi took a couple hundredths lead at the start and was still leading at
330 feet.  But Schumacher ran him down before half track and led the rest of the
way, the margin of victory = 0.015 seconds (approximately 7 feet).  Schumacher will
have lane choice over Russell in the semifinals, by 0.014 seconds.
 (W) Doug Kalitta (MAC Tools Dragster)           0.496      4.672 310.41
 (L) Larry Dixon (Miller Lite Dragster)          0.509      4.703 312.13

Another good old drag race, Dixon closing on the top end but running out of
race track, the margin of victory = 0.044 seconds (approximately 20 feet).  Kalitta
will face Bernstein in the semifinals, Bernstein with lane choice by 0.025
seconds.


















Top Fuel Dragster



Results for Elimination Round 3





CHANDLER, Ariz. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of round 3 eliminations in Top
Fuel at the 17th annual Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals presented by Pennzoil:

 W/L  Driver                                       RT        ET   Speed

 (W) Doug Kalitta (MAC Tools Dragster)           0.473      4.631 313.15
 (L) Kenny Bernstein (Budweiser King Dragster)   0.476     11.279  91.97

2:40 PM  Bernstein chose the left lane, where he has run well the past two
rounds.  This time the lane let him down, the rear tires enveloped in smoke before
he went a car length.  Kalitta's car has been flawless today, running yet another
sixty for an easy win and a trip to the finals.
 (W) Darrell Russell (Valvoline/Keystone Dragster0.506      4.622 312.28
 (L) Tony Schumacher (US Army Dragster)          0.524      4.844 289.57

Russell was riding a six-round win streak, Schumacher only two.  Both have
been consistently in the mid-sixties today, but this round saw Schumacher's streak
end and Russell's extend to seven straight rounds.  Russell was never headed,
leaving first and then extending his lead when Schumacher's Army dragster started
smoking the tires near half track.  Schumacher did all he could, grabbing the brake
and getting traction back once, only to lose it again near the 1,000-foot marker.
Russell goes to his second final round in a row with a perfect career record,
earning lane choice over Kalitta by 0.009 seconds with his quickest ET of the
weekend.


















Top Fuel Dragster



Results for Final Round 





CHANDLER, Ariz. - SUMMIT FastNews - Results of final, round 4 eliminations in
Top Fuel at the 17th annual Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals presented by
Pennzoil:

 W/L  Driver                                       RT        ET   Speed

 (W) Doug Kalitta (MAC Tools Dragster)           0.488      4.628 309.84
 (L) Darrell Russell (Valvoline/Keystone Dragster0.534      7.416 111.94

4:20 PM  Between rounds Matco Tools apparently stepped up because Russell's
dragster now sports a big "Matco Tools" label in the previously-blank area below
the cockpit.  But the new sponsorship (duration unknown) may have been a jinx, the
Joe Amato-owned dragster up in smoke after 100 feet while Kalitta was making yet
another flawless run in the "Mac Tools" dragster. Winning the race of the
toolchests, Kalitta reverses the outcome of their second-round meeting at Pomona
two weeks ago.  The win is Kalitta's sixth in 15 career appearances and evens
Russell's final round record at one win, one loss.  Kalitta's last win was at
Sonoma, Calif. last year.














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