K&N Filters Winternationals
Pomona
(Feb. 27-29)
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44th Annual |
| Friday |
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as K&N Winternationals gain speed |
Rookie Funny Car driver Eric Medlen remains the early star of the 44th annual K&N Filters Winternationals, which resumed Friday after a week-long rain delay. Medlen posted the only 4.7-second pass of the day, a 4.79, to retake the lead in the nitro-burning class from team owner John Force, who had leapfrogged his protégé earlier in the session.
In Top Fuel, Tony Schumacher's 4.51 from last Thursday kept him on top. The best run of the day in the category came from Texan Darrell Russell, who posted another 4.52 to stay in second place. The extra week didn't help the Pro Stock field close in on first-round leader Greg Anderson, who improved to a 6.73 to stay No. 1 in Pro Stock.
The top four positions in Top Fuel remained unchanged with the majority of the movement in the field coming mid-pack. Therefore, Schumacher and his U.S. Army squad remain the provisional No. 1 qualifiers with their previously posted 4.514 at 326.32 mph.
 Tony Schumacher
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"I think everyone came out today expecting to run 4.40s, but no one did," said Schumacher, who ran 4.57. "We all should have been running low .40s and high 5.0s. The air was really good and the track was excellent. I'd like to tell you that I shut it off at half-track because I got scared or pedaled it six or seven times, but we're just not sure what's wrong.
"That's the slowest pass we've made in a long time. We didn't lose any cylinders - we may have blown through the clutch, I don't know -- but it wasn't just us either. If one guy runs slow you figure they made a mistake, but when no one can get down the track, maybe we all just misjudged it."
After opening with a career-best 4.520 in Round 1, Russell took low E.T. honors for the day with a 4.522 at 306.05 mph in Joe Amato's Keystone/DeeZee rail. Teammates Doug Kalitta and Dave Grubnic stayed third and fourth on the ladder with a 4.53 and a4.57, respectively.
B&J Transmissions racer Mike Strasburg of Lindon, Utah, is on the bump with a 5.157 at 198.90 mph, the only E.T. in the top 16 that isn't in the four-second range. Top Fuel results
After watching his boss, 12-time series champion John Force, knock him off the top spot early in the second session, Round 1 leader Medlen came roaring back in his Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang with the first 4.7-second pass of the event to lead Funny Car. The official numbers had Medlen crossing in 4.792 seconds at just 306.46 mph. Force ended up second in the Castrol High-Mileage rig after a 4.834 at 318.92 mph.
 Eric Medlen
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"Some of the guys in front of us were going to the left a little bit to Bernie [Fedderly, team tuner] made that clear to me of what to expect," said Medlen. "It got to half-track and put a hole out and pushed me over a little. Having three cars sure helps, because I'm sure after John ran, Austin [Coil, team crew chief] gave some of the numbers to our crew chiefs and maybe gave my crew chief a little more info than some of the other guys had.
"I've enjoyed being the No. 1 qualifier the last week, even if I was a little apprehensive about come back. It's still a dream, and no one has woken me up yet. I'm sure all of the other cars will run good too as they get more laps on their cars and that you'll see more 4.70s tomorrow."
Cory Lee and Gary Densham backed up one spot each on the grid thanks to Force's stellar run. Lee's 4.844 at 318.02 mph from last Thursday puts his Pandemonium XIII Funny Car third, while Densham's Auto Club Ford follows behind in fourth by three-hundredths of a second.
No. 16 qualifier Jack Wyatt is the only driver in the Funny Car field who didn't post a four-second pass. His Race Girl flopper carried him through a 5.009 at 299 mph Friday, which is better than the efforts of Jim Head, Tony Bartone, Bob Gilbertson, Jerry Toliver and others on the provisional DNQ list. Funny Car results
Anderson not only picked up .013-second on his opening pass but he also gained a friendly buffer from the field when teammate Jason Line slipped into second place. At the halfway point of qualifying Anderson's Vegas General Construction Pontiac Grand Am is first with a 6.730 at 204.57 mph, while Line's KB Framers hot rod follows with a 6.756 at 204.08 mph.
 Greg Anderson
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"I'm very happy with where we're at," said Anderson, "but I'm a little shocked with what's going on with the others cars. They're all struggling to get down the track. Maybe they're over-reacting to what we're doing and going into panic mode. I don't know, but I'm shocked.
"That run didn't feel like it was that great, but the 60-foot was better than my first run and there's still room for improvement. Of course, in my case I'm looking at improving a hundredth or so while everyone else will be looking to improve four- or five-hundredths. I still think they'll be able to catch up to me this weekend, but right now I'm pretty surprised."
Veterans Larry Morgan and Warren Johnson were each nudged down a spot by Line as neither driver managed to improve on their first pass. Morgan's 6.765 at 204.05 mph in his Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T places him third, while Johnson's 6.781 at 204.23 mph leaves him fourth in the field.
Two-time series champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. managed to get his Jeg's Mail Order Chevrolet Cavalier into the field Friday but his 6.833 at 202.52 mph has him riding the provisional bump. Pro Stock results
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